Maya Tawan Ep 7

It’s interesting how the plot is working backwards, explaining the backstory through flashbacks, at least in this episode anyway. Mattana is continuing on her interview with KhetTawan, realizing that only a few pieces are left to clarify, signifying that the end of her time with KhetTawan is drawing near. She didn’t know whether she should be ecstatic that she will finally have her article or be sad because she won’t have the excuse to see him again.

What she doesn’t realize is that she is changing the very way KhetTawan sees the world. Through her glass half full perspective, Mattana is showing KhetTawan that the women he consorts with or has any experiences with in his life, does not make up the entire female population.

Case in point, the scene on the cliff that overlooks the breathtaking sunset. Khun Ak is happy to see his friend with Mattana and leaves them to their devices. KhetTawan is showing her what part of the sunset he likes and she’s snapping the camera. She peers at him hesitantly and tells him that she would like to take a picture of him with the sunset so she could feature it with the Abbott’s interview portion.

“Don’t use the Abbott’s interview as an excuse,” he says.

“Does it work?” she questions beguilingly.

He smiles, “I’ve never had a picture coupled with that “tawan” (sun) before.”

She beams at him as he gets up and stands for her.

“I’m going to call this picture, the two suns, isn’t that appropriate?” she asks with a smile.

He calls her over to him, she thinks he wants to take her picture, but he wanted a picture with her. They take a selfie.

“I want a picture with the pain in the butt reporter who never gave up stalking me,” he teases.

He asks her not to share their picture but that he would like a copy of it.

As they made their way back, they meet some fans who still recognize him. The two girls inquire for a picture, which makes him hesitate because he’s no longer in the entertainment industry, but he couldn’t say no to their harmless demand.

But once the pictures are out of the way, a few belligerent men made snide comments to KhetTawan regarding Mattana. This angers KhetTawan who was ready to pummel their faces in, but Mattana stops him.

“Why did you stop me?!” he bellows, “you ought to be happy if I get in a fight, you’ll have something to write about.”

Mattana waits a bit before saying, “have you calmed down now?”

“You’re not angry? Those guys insulted you!” KhetTawan exclaims, still furious.

“Thank you for protecting me, but I’m not angry. Well a little but not enough to-“

“Why not?”

“It’s not worth it,” she replies, “besides, those guys are drunk. People who are drunk are capable of doing/saying anything without realizing it. My mom always taught me that no matter what I do I must use my conscience and not my emotions.”

She continues, “there are crazy people out there, why should we risk our lives fighting them?”

This gives him a different perspective and he says with concession, “you are a strange woman. Most women I know don’t rationalize things before they act.”

“Not all women are the same as the models you are familiar with. Don’t tell me that you think all women are like that?”

“At first I thought I knew what women are like, but lately I’ve changed my mind,” he smiles at her and she looks away with embarrassment.

The reminder that her time with him isn’t infinite, Mattana immediately feels like her head is under water. She couldn’t breathe, she feels suffocated.

She was under the impression that love should develop from friendship- the process of learning slowly about each other- not because they spent a week together. She couldn’t love him, could she? Mattana denies the concept. KhetTawan tells her that she can return to the hotel the following day because the doctor has confirmed that she is back to normal now.

He takes the opportunity for their final night together to continue with the interview. They walk to the deck of the restaurant that overlooks the sparkling town. The town’s lighting serves as if the night is filled with stars.

“Is there something in particular that is off limits to the article?” she questions before they start.

He thinks carefully, “there are two things. And you must give me your word.”

“What are they?”

“Firstly, my mom and sister. They are both dead and I don’t want them to fall prey to the media,” he says. “Secondly, the case from two years ago. I have nothing to say about it.”

“Not even to stand behind your innocence?” she questions.

“The court has determined that I am innocent- so that is the truth.”

“So they still cannot find who the murderer is for that case?”

“Why?” KhetTawan turns to her with bite in his voice, “do you think I was the murderer?! No matter how wicked I am, I don’t want to go to hell. (I) wouldn’t hurt a women and then kill her off in cold blood!”

Mattana is taken aback, he’s always defensive and sensitive about those two issues. “I didn’t utter a word that you’re the murderer. Let me tell you something- if I truly thought that you were the murderer, I would never dare to enter your home- I’m just as afraid to die!”

He glares at her and tries to calm himself down. He stands up and walks over to the banister of the deck.

Flashback, he decides to rekindle the past for her, he starts with the story about Pin, who died that fateful day two years ago.

Pin is a woman he met one day while his sister was still alive. Pin had been sold to prostitution since she was 13 years old. She was sold all the way to Japan. When she returned to Thailand, she saved him from the ring of thugs who were about to do him some serious damage. He felt indebted to her, but couldn’t return it at the time because his sister is sick and he needed to take care of her.

He and Pin parted ways until sometime later, after he became an actor, she came back to see him at his condo. He had been trying to get a hold of her but she never returned his calls. As they meet again, she’s barely recognizable. She’s changed so much, older, skinnier and looks gaunt. He decides to take her under his wing and finds her an apartment.

He continues to care for her for a year until his manager couldn’t stand it anymore, thinking that Pin is ruining her actor’s reputation. The media became nasty with Pin and that’s when KhetTawan starts to despise the media. He never liked being in the spotlight to begin with, but the media was unbearable.

One day he suddenly gets a call from Pin, her cries and screams were heard through the phone. KhetTawan rushes to the scene, but was framed for her murder instead. That really doesn’t clarify anything, nor tell us anything different, aside from the fact that KhetTawan knows who the murderer is. Mattana makes the same connection.

“So you do know who killed her..”

“I do, but there’s nothing I can do to him,” he spat angrily. “He’s smart. He destroyed all of the evidences. Knowing is useless because I can’t do anything. But just wait, one day I will get him back with my own bare hands.”

“Can you tell me who did it?”

He turns to her, “you don’t need to know, it is useless to you.”

But- but-!! Information is power! If he knows that everyone he comes near gets hurt by that “guy” then he should at least forewarn her who the person is so she can be cautious. She’s already practically befriending the enemy. But I guess the story would be over if Mattana finds out who the real bad guy is.

They were sharing such vulnerable moment when KhetTawan turns it around and scares her, “now that you know [the story] do you still want to write about it?”

“No,” she says, “I already promised.”

“Good. Don’t disappoint me,” he warns. “Otherwise I will guarantee that you will never live in peace until the day you die.” Geez dude. “I can promise that.” And he gives her an evil smile.

Mattana has been warned.

On the drive back to KhetTawan’s domain, they see an ambulance with a body being rolled inside. Mattana finds out that the person who was killed lived close by and he was the strange man she ran into the other day. The nurse tells Mattana that he died due to a robbery- when they found his body- he had already been dead for two days now. Mattana gets an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach, it’s dread. She is suspicious and recalls that two days ago, KhetTawan was the last man who had seen him and he seemed angry about the guy. She slowly denies her suspicions with a shake of her head, “that can’t be..”

Mattana gets angry that she is the last person who learns that she will be heading back to the hotel tomorrow morning. She pouts at the nurse, not wanting to leave the premises.

“He’s a good person,” the nurse says, “he really cares about you. I know that you aren’t that sick, but he brought me here to serve as a chaperone.”

Meanwhile KhetTawan and Khun Ak have a discussion in a different part of the house and we get a flashback of the time they were going to school and were still poor. This is the backstory of his sister Parn, before she went into the dark side.

Chane has re-entered Parn’s life, returning from his study abroad. He was adopted to a rich family. As he sits across from Parn in the restaurant, he tells her not to tell KhetTawan that he’s in town. He wants it to be an element of surprise. Naïve, Parn believes him.

The next thing we know, Parn fakes a stomachache to avoid school, but she goes to see Chane instead at his fancy condo. There, Chane makes his move on her by offering her drugs. He said that they would relieve the stress. As the drug takes its effect on her, Chane seduces her.

Some time later, KhetTawan spots his sister sweating profusely and wigged out. Concerned, he forces her to see the doctor and they learn that Parn was under the influence of drugs. They force her to stop and KhetTawan makes his sister tell him who the culprit is.

They set up a scene to catch Chane in the act. But before the money and drugs were exchanged, the cops appear and Chane pulled the trigger, taking a cop down. Makes you wonder why he’s not on the “most wanted” list and is free to frolic the land with innocent people.

Back to present time, Khun Ak wonders out loud about Chane’s motives.

“What [the hell] did you do to him?” Khun Ak asks his best friend, he wonders why Chane is so committed to ruining everything about KhetTawan.

“You know me, I’m not the kind to create such an enemy- only he would know,” KhetTawan states.

Not able to sleep that night, KhetTawan makes his way to Mattana’s room for a quick chat. He wanted to check on her reaction to the dead neighbor.

“Are you not surprised that the man died? You don’t look surprise at all,” she comments.

“I’m not,” he says bitterly, “he’s an evil man and this is his only [suitable] ending.”

“How is he evil?” she questions.

“He had a hand in human trafficking. Taking women to sell by drugging them first.”

“You sound like you knew the story well, like you knew him before.”

“I met him once before,” KhetTawan replies and changes the subject. “Rest and I’ll take you to the hotel tomorrow.” And he tells her something she didn’t want to hear, “We can schedule another time to continue with the interview.”

With sarcasm, Mattana sulks, “I can’t stay at Phuket until I die you know. The newspaper company won’t move here either. And I have no other assignments going for me.”

“Are you being sulky? I’ll take you to dinner tomorrow and we can continue the interview then.”

Appeased, Mattana smiles at him.

“Happy now?”

“How can I not be? I have no choice,” but she continues beaming at him anyway.

That night Mattana texts KhetTawan, not able to sleep. They both smile widely at their connection.

But their moment is taken down a notch the next morning. Risa appears at Mattana’s bedroom door, threatening to take Siam Sarn down. Mattana explains that her company is not aware of Mattana attempts, but Risa wasn’t having any of it and keeps screaming at her until KhetTawan enters the scene.

Tawan finally sees her for who she is when she accuses him of sleeping with Mattana.

“Stop your dirty thoughts!” he exclaims. “She’s a reporter.”

“So what? She can’t be boy crazy then?”

KhetTawan tries to explain, that she had to stay with them because she fell sick and it was his fault. And that the nurse served as her chaperone, nothing indecent happened.

KhetTawan tells Mattana to wait for him in the car.

Khun Ak guarantees to Bot that nothing happened between the two- but he doesn’t guarantee that they aren’t secretly falling for each other. This makes Bot angry.

Meanwhile in the other room KhetTawan and Risa’s relationship comes to a head. He warns her to stop talking about Mattana in a bad light again. She questions him on what’s so good about Mattana.

“I don’t know what’s good about her- but she makes me look at women differently.”

He doesn’t look at Risa the same again, “it gives me a good comparison of what is good and what is bad. I don’t know how I remained dating someone like you.” Ouch. He turned cold at her quickly. “I forbid you from entering this room again!”

Risa is floored, “you can’t break up with me! I’m not the momentary person who enters and leaves your life- I’m here for good!”

He decides to make it clear and sever their relationship, “and you can’t enter the rest of this house either!”

And that, I guess is their breakup? This will probably make Risa go coo-coo for coco puffs. Like looney ville time.

Mattana takes her anger out on the maid by pummeling her face in, haha.

As KhetTawan drops Mattana off at the hotel, it’s only been a week since she was last there, but it seems like a lifetime ago.

To soften the separation, KhetTawan tells her that he’ll pick her up for dinner, heeh.

As she’s laying on her hotel mattress, Mattana smiles and thinks about their time together at his house. Has she already fallen in love? Mattana sits up with a panic, but realizing that it might be too late.

She sees Chane at the lobby as she’s searching for a meal. He asks her to join him for lunch. So long the easygoing, flirty Chane, as he appears to have an edge to him. He asks for her business card when she tells him that if she finishes up her interview with KhetTawan today, then she would head back to BKK the following day. As a “sweet” gesture, Chane gives her a present, pawning off a pouch of gems to her. She tries refusing, feeling uncomfortable but he tells her that they weren’t expensive. She didn’t want to be rude and accepts it- strange. As he walks her through the lobby, he tells her to keep it safe in her room.

“I thought you said it wasn’t expensive..” she starts.

“I just don’t want you to lose it,” he explains.

Mattana nods her head and tells him that she will keep it in her luggage.

As she walks to her room, Chane sneaks away. He’s being all secretive, as if he’s hiding from someone or something.

Mattana tosses the pouch of gems into her luggage, already thinking about who’s the lucky person who’ll receive her re-gifting.

In complete anxiety about her “ dinner date” with KhetTawan, Mattana scrambles around for a dress. She receives a call from KhetTawan- she had recently jumped out of the shower, her hair soaking wet and still in her robe- Mattana learns that he is waiting for her in the lobby! She asks for 15 minutes but doesn’t realize that she didn’t hang up her phone, so he heard her frantically running around talking to herself, lol. Mattana is mortified.

—

There is a shift in the atmosphere for the final part of this episode. It is now clear who the bad guys are, the plot is moving forward with the dread that something bad is about to happen and yet, in somewhat of a positive note, Mattana and KhetTawan is going on a date (well to finalize the interview) and moving their feelings to the right direction. But yet, I still found this episode lacking something- probably because they’re too busy telling the backstory. But at least Mattana and KhetTawan are falling in love?