WhyRU Episode 4 – Fighter/Tutor

Ok, Disclaimer again: This includes spoilers from future episodes so if you haven’t watched please do so.

WhyRU – Fighter/Tutor Introduction and International Links

We start up where episode 3 left off, Tutor and Fighter sleeping on each other, locked into the building.  Fighter wakes up first and sees that Tutor is snuggled up to him. I adore the snuggling scene where Tutor tries to get comfortable on Fighter, treating him like his own personal body pillow.

There is some serious sweetness in this moment. In sleep, Tutor wants to be closer to Fighter. He nuzzles his head into Fighter’s shoulder and from the book, the author gave us an analogy, Tutor was like a sleeping cat seeking warmth. That fits here. He feels so comfortable with Fighter, all his defenses are down while he’s asleep.  I can’t picture him doing this with anyone else, other than family. He knows he’s safe with Fighter. Fighter’s face during this scene show how much he really cares for Tutor. He’s happy that Tutor is sleeping on him. He’s got his crush in his arms, so close he can feel Tutor’s breath on his skin. If Tutor were awake their would be distance, but he can get as close as he wants without fear of rejection at this moment.  Also Fighter’s walls are down in this moment too. I honestly can say that I can’t see him letting anyone into his personal space bubble. He would be stiff, trying to put space between them if it were anyone else, even Hwa. But because it’s Tutor, he’s ok, relaxed and content in this moment. As Tutor puts his head on Fighter’s lap, Fighter takes off his shirt and covers Tutor with it to keep mosquitos away from him.  Another case of Fighter taking care of Tutor.

Once Fighter wakes up, he’s embarrassed that his head was on Fighter’s lap, as Fighter teases him, “Was my lap comfortable?” Its so cute to see Tutor get a little flustered.  This next clip cracks me up so much.  I put this in here, not because of relationship development, but because it makes me laugh every time I see it.  This is played by Saint’s manager, and I feel that he is all of us bl fanboys/fan girls. 😁😁

Next we see Fighter leading Tutor to his car. He wants to take Tutor home. He grabs him, leading Tutor to his car. Another instance of taking care of him. Another instance of showing how much he cares for Tutor, making sure he gets home safely.  Even though Tutor tries to sit in the back seat (I think he wants to put distance between himself and Fighter) but Fighter wont allow that. This next scene is so perfect to me, showing the changing dynamics between the two of them.

This is one of my favorite moments. Fighter teases Tutor, which causes Tutor to snap at him. Instead of being annoyed, Fighter is amused. He knows this is the real Tutor. Not the super nice happy go lucky guy he presents to everyone around him. Tutor speaks his mind to Fighter without censoring himself. Then Fighter decides to test the closeness he’s feeling at this moment. He leans across Tutor, grabbing the seatbelt, getting close to Tutors face. His eyes look into Tutor’s and then down to Tutor’s lips. Tutor gulps hard, and is frozen for three seconds. The sexual tension in that moment is thick in the air between them. Tutor comes to his sense, then gently nudges Fighter away, but Fighter smiles. He’s not the only one feeling it between them. Tutor also felt something.

As they drive home the atmosphere is good. They both are smiling, enjoying each other’s company. Fighter asks Tutor to teach him English. Tutor asks if Hwa put him up to this. Fighter admits it, but asks for it anyway. Tutor agrees easily because for one of the first time Fighter has asked for something from him. If you remember from the beginning of their flirtation, Tutor always wanted Fighter to ask politely when Fighter wants to give him something, like the drink he bought for Tutor, or needs something from him, aka teaching him English. Tutor feels happy in that moment. Fighter cared enough to treat him nicely.

Sorry for inserting so many videos, but their expressions during this clip are everything. Neither one of them want to leave each other. Tutor says bye twice to Fighter, taking his time getting out from the car. As he walks away you see a smile on his face. He’s happy that he and Fighter aren’t fighting. The warmth from Fighter makes him smile. Fighter smiles because Tutor is going to teach him, which is just an excuse to get closer to his crush. He wants to spend time with Tutor, in any way he can.  Things are going well for him. Too well, of course.  Time to throw a monkey wrench in things.

Enter Hwa who once again requests help from her best friend Tutor for love advice. She says Fighter wants to meet her. She says he’s been acting strange lately.

Hwa’s tears make Tutor weak. He’s been her best friend since childhood. He spoils her, always takes care of her, which is why most everyone thinks he’s in love with her.  But she makes him feel protective over her. She’s the little sister he doesn’t have. He feels guilty & worried that the kiss they shared might be causing problems between Hwa and Fighter. Who of course overhears the moment before Tutor tells Hwa what happened between them. Fighter is pissed. Rightly so. He thought he and Tutor were ok, that their relationship was changing into something else. Now he catches Tutor about to out him to Hwa, which would be disastrous. We know now that Hwa runs to her mother and his father every time something goes wrong, forcing Fighter to do what she wants.  If she found out he was gay, his father would know and it would be really bad for Fighter.

Fighter tells Hwa he wants to have dinner with her. This is to clear things up with how he feels about her. To talk about their relationship. But Tutor doesn’t understand that.  He’s pissed for two reasons, only one he will acknowledge to himself.  The one he tells himself is that Fighter is playing with Hwa’s feelings.  The second reason is jealousy.  Here they were getting close, and now Fighter wants to have a date with Hwa.  Because Tutor is pissed, he taunts Fighter by basically saying, you begged for it, so thats why I’ll teach you. Fighter is made but as Tutor says to him, “Please honor your teacher” basically shutting Fighter up because in that moment, he is the student, Tutor is the teacher and he has to respect him. But Fighter’s not going to take this lying down.

He ambushes Tutor outside his condo to confront him about what Tutor shared with Hwa. This is when things change again between them. He tried to help Tutor out by hiring him because he cares. But Tutor thinks that he’s trying to buy his silence. He even asks Fighter if he were to tell Hwa about their kiss.

The subtitles, I think, are a little off right here, but I think I understand what they are trying to convey. Tutor basically says Oh, but the kiss didn’t mean anything to you, you don’t really care, you were just playing. To which Fighter responds so honestly, he makes Tutor pause his attack. Fighter says in frustration “I do care” with a look to Tutor that says you mean something. But hes not ready. Especially since he is still worried that Tutor cares for Hwa. So he covers it up by saying he doesn’t want people to misunderstand. He also tell Tutor he’s trying to deal with Hwa and their situation. We know its not an easy matter as it will create major problems in his family. Tutor is angry saying “You just invited her to dinner, how is that fixing things?” He’s jealous here, whether he knows it or not. Fighter tries to imply that Tutor knows why he wants to have dinner with Hwa, to talk, to figure out how to end things. But Tutor is too blinded by his feelings to understand. The ending is lovely right here. Tutor asking if he can not teach Fighter, to which Fighter smoothly replies. “Please honor your student” making it impossible for Tutor to refuse.

Tutoring gone wrong. 😁 Sorry. Couldn’t resist.  I love this first nod to the book title and Fighter’s honest response, even if Tutor doesn’t get it.

Then Fighter starts to play on his phone. He’s bored. He knows he’s not good at English, but he’s only here to help Tutor out. Tutor gets annoyed with his lack of attention. Fighter asks why Tutor told Hwa that he didn’t want to teach Fighter. Tutor is annoyed at Fighter’s disrespect, because he takes his jobs seriously. He says to Fighter “I don’t want to teach you.” To which Fighter lashes back at him “I’m only trying to help you.”  This offends Tutor, who works so hard for his money. So he kicks Fighter out. And as Fighter tries to pay him, this happens.

This is the I’m done with you face from Tutor. I’m not even going to take your money. And here is Fighter’s o shit face. This is the look of someone who has realized they’ve gone too far.  If he’s not taught by Tutor how can he get close to him?  As he asks Tutor to take him down because Fighter doesn’t have a keycard to get out/into the building, Tutor slips up and tells him that the building doesn’t require a keycard. This is Fighter’s happy face. He knows where Tutor lives, doesn’t need his permission to enter the building. He will see Tutor again soon.

I’m inserting these last two scenes for character development of Tutor and to setup a comparison to two other scenes in later episodes.

This scene is after Tutor overhears his boss saying that they are going to have to cut staff at the bakery. Tutor overhears and tries to tell P’Kae that he can just teach more students, but even though P’Kae cut his hours, he still has a job. Tutor just lied to his boss. He’s lost some students recently and its going to be tough.

Tutor walks out from the bakery smiling until he’s out of sight line. Then he leans into the gate and lets himself be sad for a moment. Saint Suppapong is brilliant here. A single tear rolls down his face. There is no sobbing, just a moment of sadness. Then he lifts his head and moves on. This is Tutor’s character in a single moment. Times will be hard, he’s allowed to be sad for a moment, but his family and his school are reliant upon him finding income. So he dusts himself off, lifts himself out of the moment and pushes forward.

This next scene breaks my heart, but its crucial to Tutor’s and Fighter’s story.

You see Tutor walking in the rain, alone. With his resume or CV going from place to place to try to find a new job. With each rejection, his steps become heavier. The road seems longer. This rain scene he’s alone and struggling. Gone is the cheerful smiling positive Tutor from before. He trods home, weary, wet, his body and soul aching. When he gets home, he is so despondent, he slumps down, wrapping his arms around himself for comfort. He tells himself it will get better and things will be ok. He’s crying and trying to comfort himself because at that moment there is no one to lean on, no one to give solace or to give encouragement. He is alone. He doesn’t know it yet, but this is the last time he has to face this alone. Soon he will have someone who puts him before others, holds him when he’s sad. Someone who takes care of him, wipes his tears, gives him a shoulder to lean on and takes away his burdens. Soon.