TL;DR Version:
After their kiss on the roof, neither Pat nor Pran wants to admit their feelings. Pran doesn’t even want to talk, which leads to Pat doing everything he can to make him, including chasing him on a school trip. The group activities only piss off Pran’s friend Wai, but when it’s just the two of them they open up. Enough to start a competition to make each other fall in love.
Recap:
Pran lays in bed touching his lips, remembering the big kiss. Pat pounds on the door, but Pran won’t let him in.
They’ve finished the bus stop and the two student groups have gathered. Pat and Pran keep not-quite-meeting eyes. Afterward Pat tries to corner Pran to talk, but Pran says there’s nothing to talk about. They’re interrupted before Pat can push further.
Pran, who has been looking miserable this entire time, is leaving his guitar at Wai’s place before going home. If his mom finds it he could end up transferred again.
In contrast, Pat freely has his drum set at home. He sees Pran across the way, but Pran closes the curtain. Pat uses school papers as an excuse to go over to Pran’s place. Pran’s Mom isn’t just unfriendly, she’s nasty, refusing to pass the papers along. Pat’s father doesn’t help, but Pran’s takes the papers at least. Pran watches the entire time.
The architecture students are on a bus for a volunteer trip. One of them mentions how no one from any other faculties has shown up, which is the cue for Pat’s entrance. He tries to steal Wai’s seat, but Pran ignores him and Wai kicks him out.
They reach a beautiful beach town where there’s an unexpected pot joke, and then the students do various activities. Pat keeps trying to get closer to Pran, Pran keeps avoiding Pat, Wai keeps getting angrier. Eventually, during a game where Pat and Pran are physically forced into proximity, a game of my nightmares, they fall onto the ground together. Wai sees red.
None of the architecture students are happy with Pat, and Pran tells them to ignore him. Pat won’t be ignored, sitting next to Pran and stealing food off Wai’s plate. To stop a fight from breaking out, Pran says he’ll talk to Pat.
They meet on the beach at night. Pat wants Pran to say what’s on his mind. Pran asks him not to make things harder on him and leaves. It wasn’t much of a talk.
Not easily put off, Pat follows Pran on an errand into town. After some teasing and without Wai around, Pran lightens up. At the local market, Pat has fun driving Pran crazy, and Pran puts up with it like things are normal.
On their way back to town some car trouble leads to Pran face-planting in mud and smearing it on Pat. They go for a cleansing dip in the ocean that turns into a cute wrestling-throwing-each-other-in-water fight.
Laying on the beach they finally talk. Pran wants to know if Pat hates him, and really they are both skirting around how they really feel about each other. Pat can’t hate them because their positions are too similar. Pran was angry when he got transferred, but anger isn’t hate. They end this nice interlude with the open question of what their lives would be without their parents fighting.
Then there’s some printer ink PPL.
At the next activity, Wai and Pat end up paired to spend the night together in their host’s home. Wai is taking the opportunity to beat Pat up with the help of the other students. When Pran tries to stop them his loyalty is questioned, and as things look dire he shouts that has a confession.
Pat, who knew what was up, is ready with a fist when he opens the bedroom door. It’s the young nephew of his host, not the other students.
They’re all drunk thanks to Pran, who is pretending to drink and lying about heartbreak to keep them away from Pat for the night.
He goes down to the beach where Pat grabs his wrist. Sitting in the sand, Pat pushes again about the kiss and tells Pran he doesn’t like Ink. Neither of them wants to admit to liking the other and this leads them to tease and challenge each other, which is where they’re most comfortable. They decide on a competition, whoever falls in love first loses.
Which would be a great place to end it, but instead we get seaweed snack PPL with them flirting.
Thoughts:
Once again Pran is closing himself off, leading Pat to come after him. This time though, I really noticed how Pat was doing the work to get them to communicate, but every time he finally got Pran to talk he put pressure on him to say something. Pat didn’t want to admit to his own feelings. In some ways, that doesn’t feel like Pat, but since it ended with them competing again I guess that’s just how they are comfortable relating to one another.
Which is a kind of rom-com situation that might not be my favorite thing. I want to see them present their genuine feelings, but this is only the halfway point so I understand there’s still time for growth.
Speaking of romcoms, that’s the only reason the stuff with the friends is still okay. I question why Pran is still friends with these idiots and doesn’t tell them, at least, that Pat is a friend of his. But if he did that, there would be no reason for the comedic situations with his friends wanting to beat Pat up so he has to lie and get them drunk. Seriously though, who wants friends like that?
So far Pran’s mother seems to be the worst of the parents in a very obvious way. I wonder if in the next six episodes we’ll get insight into why her behavior is the worst of all of them. At the very least, it justifies Pran’s hesitance to get involved with Pat, because his mom is so unreasonable.
I had to pause watching this just because of time-management issues and I’m really happy to be watching it again.