#ลับ-จ้าง-รัก

[lurkingteapot]

I'm pretty sure kidnap will disappoint me in the story department, but I cannot WAIT to see Ohm and Leng on screen together -- what we got to see at the book launch and fan gathering a month ago already seemed super promising, and anything I've seen since just supports this. I'm just gonna say it: Ohm getting to act with someone new for each of his series gives us this much food, I wish gmmtv were brave enough to mix everything up more often.

[imogenegomi]

Of course we're not even five minutes into episode one of Kidnap before Ohm takes his shirt off 😂

[heretherebedork]

Kidnap

I am going to lose my entire mind over this show. Just in case y'all were wondering. Like, I am gone. I am consumed. Look at them! Look at that! Poor little rich boy with trauma, poor man who's turned to crime to save his beloved brother, a kidnapping that shows the poor little rich boy what love and family look like... I am doomed by the narrative in the best way possible. @absolutebl GMMTV is gonna GMMTV but hopefully I can have a good time along the way.

[itsallaboutbl]

KIDNAP ลับ-จ้าง-รัก [OFFICIAL TRAILER]

[pharawee]

—KIDNAP · ลับ-จ้าง-รัก · 6 September 2024

[g12xxx]

KIDNAP ลับ-จ้าง-รัก EP 1

James and Min are so bad at this and Q was right Min is the worst kidnapper. He has already fallen for Q 😭.

Overall I liked the first episode and look forward to next week.

[de-ligts]

a small canon-divergence fic I wrote after Kidnap’s first episode 🖤 I love a meet-ugly and I wanted to explore that scenario without the kidnapping plot and this happened.

[lurkingteapot]

Kidnap ลับ-จ้าง-รัก Ep 2

Held off so I could watch with @galauvant and man, it was a blast! Do I need to check my brain by the door when I watch? Sure do. But when I do, it's fun. Production value is good, which helps; the writing itself feels kind of wonky, but I can ignore that for now because for all the implausible bits, when it's funny, it does genuinely crack me up.

On to the live blog!

starting off on a nightmare, huh

wow James just really has no scruples whatsoever, does he? Doesn't think of rich people as human. Which -- relatable? but. oof.

Sleepwalker! So novel chapter and episode DO share a title

asdfasdfasdf this seems way more menacing

oh, Leng makes EYE CONTACT, good job my boy

oh wow that fake blood looks incredibly fake but we'll take it, eh

adfasdfsdfasdfds

ty for giving us more of a timeline here!

merch discovery

slapkiss!

oh, what are the medals for, Min?

hahaha that acting experience paid off, huh

or maye you just wanted to get him shirtless

FLIRTING

KHAI JIAO

man Ohm's so pretty

debt and more debt. Min, my boy ...

DEAL

MORE MERCH

asdfasdfasdfasdf

nice shot of Q's butt, team

asdfasdf THE EYEBROW

that CANNOT be comfortable

he's also not breathing like someone who's asleep so I'm guessing he's faking it

called it

Min is so FLIRTY wtf, dude, not the time!

awwww

oh, nightmare time

sleeptalking

oh, he cries pretty.

adfasfasdfasdf

oh idk, Q, MAYBE THE TRAUMA???

that's true

SALA WATER

have you met a lot of kidnappers then, Q?

he's so fond I cannot

oh? this is different now

oh, it's Siia Muu

I wish my hair looked that good after sleeping on the couch

Q has his NUMBER I'm laughing my ass off

this would be VERY awkward if it were actually sexytimes (and they ARE both dressed)

asdfasfasfasdfasfasdfasdfasdfasd

JEEN'S HAND OVER MEN'S EYES I cannot, funniest shot of the show right there

ok, continuity: it looks like Min's room is on the same floor as the living room in this shot, but in the next one, it's upstairs? (which tracks with the novel)

Khanomjeen is so pissed

asdfasdfsadfsadfasdfasdfasdfasdfas

MEN IS NOT BUYING IT I love him so much already

He's seen your browser history, Min.

god this show is so FUNNY

she's so smitten and he's so conflicted (and not interested)

this is really cute, actually

he's not five, Min.

Q is like "oh ... family ..."

see, this is why having one blanket per person is the superior option

HE JUST ASKED HIM STRAIGHT OUT and also Min LIED HIS ASS OFF THERE

CUTE

more nightmare? no, just sleepwalking

oop those are stairs

okay dude this sounds made up though. the waist touching, ear whispering bit, anyway. bit too convenient, no?

SPONSORSHIP TIME

also nice to see choco pie still likes to sponsor Ohm's shows

this is so NORMAL XD

ah, this is chapter 1 info

this was a code lock in the book, which imo makes more sense

exact quote, nice

in the book, he already got ambushed here, huh

wtf are you DOING, Min?! looking all over for him like that, fine, but AT HIS HOUSE?

I like how they set this up tbh

why is there no pic of his dead wife up

oof kiddo kiddo

aww he's been crying

Q that's CRAZY talk

oh this is -- oh. Oh.

OH??

Oh next week looks INCREDIBLE

[lurkingteapot]

Kidnap novel thoughts: chapter one, "Real Stunt"

I don't know that this is going to be of interest to anyone other than myself, but I took notes on what I got from chapter one that weren’t mentioned in episode one (with the understanding that there may be differences between the two). I don't think anything here is spoilery as such, and my Thai isn't great so I may have misinterpreted things, so just to be safe, I'll keep it under a cut for a week or so, at least until ep 2 rolls around. Possibly longer.

Not tagging it with the show's main tag for now, either.

Anyway.

ages: Men and Khanomjeen are 17, Min is 23

in the novel, Min's clothes are in bad shape to the extent that James has noticed, and I wish they'd included that detail in the filming, too.

during the meetcute, Min has a complete “oh no, he’s hot and 100% my type visually and in another life I'd totally try to shoot my shot” moment in the novel and I’m glad they did not do the full slowmo or any of the other topical devices for it in the episode (though some of it is still there, judging by reactions in the tag). I thought going for the “staring at the picture for longer than perhaps necessary” instead was a smart move.

Yada is the one who had Q kidnapped; she’s also who owns the casino, and she knows a number of people who are higher up the pecking order than Kachaa (Q's dad) is.

Q's dad is the deputy commander (? รองผู้บังคับการตำรวจ) of the narcotics division and very much the "believes in due process and the law" type who doesn't back down to people with influence, and Q regularly gets into fights with him because this backbone frequently lands him (or the whole family, unclear) in dangerous situations.

Q thinks his dad doesn’t care about him and that’s basically why he gets on the flower selling kid’s case the way he does

Min has a moment of "is anyone even going to notice this kid is gone if we kidnap him? he's always alone" and cannot imagine what kind of life that must be

Min and Q rub each other the wrong way a lot— Min feeling like Q acts high and mighty/arrogant, Q feeling that Min is too blasé about ruining his jumper.

James has offered shady work to Min before but also feels Min isn’t really the type for operating between the regular world and the grey-grey area James inhabits. Min thinks of James as a big brother who’ll help in whatever way he can except for lending money.

Reading back, I should probably try and take notes while reading more ... and it's entirely possible I misinterpreted a thing or two because my Thai is not that good. We'll see.

[lurkingteapot]

Kidnap ลับ-จ้าง-รัก Ep 1

Live blog under the cut! I've removed my novel comments that are potentially spoilery in any way; may share them in a different post.

this starts exactly like the novel, I am LIVING

(not surprising considering the novel was written to spec but still!)

did Ohm get his actual car into this?! I'm still not over that

I love Khanomjeen already

"I've eaten" LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE

Min I'm just saying, his arms seem fine (for legal reasons this is a joke)

it IS a big house that probably would solve a lot of problems if sold

I'm sort of gld I didn't read past chapter one yet because I get a feeling that this episode, at least, is pretty much 1:1 for the novel chapter

ohhh I like

oh this scene godDAMN

I think I need to separate everything out into episode thoughts vs novel thoughts, I'm getting all mixed up here

in uniform at home, huh

a Chongqing-style hotpot place!

these two are SO underdressed for a casino

what do you mean, "PRETEND", he doesn't know shit, James!

'actual brother' my ASS

oh that's a cute pic

did he just ask "is he your type" I THINK HE DID

bro the sunglasses at night thing is SO sus

you're so bad at this I'm sorry

if you keep staring at him like that, he WILL notice

cannot help having a pavlovian reaction to Ohm in a music shop, sorry

he would not be able to hear that clearly from where he's standing

clearly not playing himself, but it's FINE

someone's having second thoughts

THEY'RE SO BAD AT THIS

oh the tan and the cap are a GOOD look, dang

oh that kid BURNED him. "give people flowers, maybe then they'll want to be friends with you" this kid

it's a comedy

adfasdf he dead-ass DROPPED him

James pulling his own weight after all, huh

"we have GOT to stop meeting up like this" (nobody actually said this except it would've been very funny)

if you don't want to die vs if you want to live, huh

he drank so much I'm surprised he didn't piss himself tbh (yes I know GMMTV)

Q is SUPER fed up with the situation rather than scared, it's almost impressive

SOMEONE is used to problems being solved with money (he's not wrong)

oh SMART, gotta give it to Q he's got a good read on Min AND he's gutsy

here we goooo

still gotta suspend my disbelief at how he managed to move that fast, but hey

Preview:

that is uh. very fast moving. but I'll TAKE it.

I really enjoyed myself! It's not usually my type of story, but I'm gonna give it a shot for the next few episodes at LEAST.

[lurkingteapot]

Kidnap ลับ จ้าง รัก novel summary: chapter two, "Sleepwalker"

I finished chpt 2 ahead of ep 2 airing and decided to post this now for accountability. If the episode is anything like the chapter, we're in for a ride.

Full summary (comprised of the notes I took as I read along) under the cut, very likely contains SPOILERS for episode 2. No comparison with the actual episode other than what we saw in the preview, seen as the episode hasn't aired yet. Under the cut, there's a short impression, then a long blank spoiler space, then the detailed summary (~1.5k).

Impression:

This story is so funny. I laughed a lot over the course of this chapter -- Min is a delightful mix of clueless, good-hearted, and practical; Q is Very Done with everything, and Men delights in being a bratty little brother with all that entails.

S

P

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Min brings Q to his house; unties Q. Q immediately tries to run. The alley Min and Men's house is in is a dead end and pretty deserted, and on a canal. When Min catches Q again, he takes his phone and yeets it into the canal. He's very aware of the fact that he probably made enemies of the people who hired him and that they'll kill them both if they learn he left Q alive. Back in the house, he puts fake blood on Q for a picture of "evidence" that he sends to James. Q and Min agree on a plan: Min will pretend he dumped Q somewhere but that Q wasn't actually dead and escaped/saved by an anonymous 3rd party; that way, it's not exactly his fault and (he hopes) everyone walks free. Q isn't at all happy about being held prisoner regardless. Min agrees to share everything he learns about the people who hired him with Q once everything's settled in return for Q leaving him out of it when he goes to report things.

Q takes a shower and chooses a clean shirt from Min's wardrobe, but the one he picks, Min doesn't want him to wear – it was given to Min by Men. He gets Q to take off the shirt by just looking sad at Q's sarcastic "what, is he dead?"; he makes fun of Q for being a sucker, after. Despite Q's protest, Min ties their wrists together so Q can't escape while Min's asleep. Min falls asleep immediately because he's exhausted, but wakes because Q is having a very vivid nightmare, thrashing and talking in his sleep. It's a bad nightmare – he fights Min when Min tries to wake him; Min ends up basically hugging him to pin his arms to his sides. When Q realises he's safe, he sags into Min's side, not caring who holds him. Nightmare appears to have been a flashback.

When Q regains awareness of his surroundings, he gets mad at Min for holding him – seems astonished when Min tells him he was having night terrors and talking in his sleep.

Min mixes a red soda for Q because that's apparently his panacea (note: sponsorship segment?) from growing up in a film crew. Q feels bad about startling Min and tells him he hasn't had night terrors in a long while. He calls Min a crappy criminal for caring so much. When Min tries asking Q about his nightmare (he was shouting for his dad), Q shoot him down. Min feels bad about the way Q's wrists are rubbed red from the string he tied them with and offers to untie him if he promises not to run. Q agrees and this time, he means it.

Min goes to sleep on the sofa in the living room, locking Q into his room. When Q wakes, he's mad about it. Min wakes to his phone ringing. It's Khanomjeen – turns out Min lost track of the day of the week over the whole kidnapping business and forgot that Men was supposed to come home (in that he knew Men would come home Wednesday, but forgot Wednesday was today.) It's already past noon, and Khanomjeen and Men are about to arrive. Min panics – tries to get Q to shut up and not let Men know he's here. Q's not having it – for one thing, he needs to pee. In his haste to get Q to the bathroom and back, Min threatens Q, but Q isn't pressed. Min pushes him, and he falls onto the bed. Min tries to subdue him by wrangling his hands above his head and pressing down on his wrists, straddling Q. Q just isn't scared of Min, not even one bit. Men walks in on them and immediately backs out, apologising and claiming he didn't see a thing, have fun! Min realises what position they're in and explains, in a panic, that it's not what it looks like.

Q looks at Men and realises that he probably had medical issues, and that the cost of caring for those probably were what led a guy like Min to take a shady job. Khanomjeen is pretty annoyed – "oh, so THIS is why you forgot to pick up Men?". Men is like "Q's totally my brother's type", Min tries to deflect like "how would you know, I've never even been in a relationship". Q protests the 'spoiled rich kid' descriptor Men saddled him with (as Min did before). Min tries to explain Q's presence by claiming he's a fellow stuntman and they were rehearsing a scene. Men doesn't think Q looks like a stuntman, slight as he is. Min claims it's for a BL show (…) and continues to dig himself a deeper hole, then leaves, claiming he has to take Khanomjeen home – she doesn't particularly care because it means a few minutes of alone time with Min. Q and Men talk; Q realises he knows the expensive private hospital Men was at. Men tells them their parents are dead and proceeds to try and sell Q on Min. Q: "we're just friends" Men: "yeah, and I'm just saying."

Min comes back and gently nags Men about his meds; Q feels like he's seeing a different person. Everything about how he interacts with Men make it clear to Q that Min acted from desperation when he took the job – which doesn't make it okay, but Q feels like he kind of gets it now.

Min read up on how to proof a room for a person with parasomnia and proceeds to do just that. Q is baffled. They're about to fall asleep. Min makes Q promise not to try to run, "for my brother's sake if nothing else". Q sarcastically asks whether he should pinky promise. Min expects Q to have night terrors again, and he does; this time he sleepwalks to the door. Min uses what he learned reading up on parasomnia, tries to get him to settle, leading him gently back, and they end up so close their noses brush, lips almost touching. Q's still asleep. When they're back in bed, Min thinks on how Q is SUPER his type, again, and how did he end up in this situation? Min ties their wrists together very loosely to make sure he'll notice if Q sleepwalks again.

The next morning, Min goes to collect the money for the job from a locker at a remote park on the city outskirts. He pays Siia Muu back the 300k he owed and is already thinking of how he can find money to … pay back his employer? and to settle the interest payments (?? I thought he still had money left?). He's accepted he'll probably always have debt + will just have to try and spread it out.

James calls him in a panic: apparently he only just learned (?????) that Q is Big Kachaa's son, Big Kachaa just got ambushed, and did Min get rid of all the evidence? Min hurries home, thinking at least he and Q are on the same side for now. He calls Men, who tells him Q just left. Min feels like he's been struck by lightning.

Q arrives home to see his dad's car dented from being deliberately crashed into and the windshield (bullet-proof glass) riddled with bullet damage.HIs dad looks worse for wear from the ambush, but is on the phone with his subordinates anyway, as usual. Q waits to be noticed, then gets mad when his dad does not just refuse to pass the case to someone else, but doesn't even notice Q is dressed strangely (in Min's way-too-large-for-Q clothes), or that he was gone for three days. His dad always seems to put doing the right thing first, even though it cost Q's mum her life, nearly cost Khachaa his on several occasions, and now nearly cost Q his (though he doesn't tell his dad that). Q storms off. He had to watch his mum die and really resents his dad for it -- Q feel like as his dad can't change the world, or even just the system, by himself, so why can't he have a little consideration for his family?

Q decides to leave again and makes his way back to Min's house. Min is shocked and angry at first -- Q promised not to run! -- but when he sees how upset Q seems, and that Q must've cried, he relents. Q makes a proposal: they should blackmail Q's father, and Min take the ransom. Min thinks Q's lost the plot, so Q changes tack and reminds him that (as Min told him initially) he knows his face, he knows where he lives, so Min doesn't really have a choice, right?

Notes: yeah ... apparently neither Min nor James realised Q's dad was a fucking bigwig cop prior to taking the job. I don't know either. How are they so bad at this. Also Min's faith that telling the folks who hired him Q escaped will go down okay as long as he pays them back seems painfully naive, but what do I know, this IS the GMM BL verse.

Q asking Min "so ... I'm your type?" was not in the novel, so I'm excited to see how that happens. A lot of the other things from the preview make more sense now that I've read the chapter, though. I look forward to watching!

[lurkingteapot]

I've started to read the companion novel to Kidnap. It's slow, SLOW going -- I'm still ill and slow, and I also need to look up a ton of vocab, but it IS going, which is a lot more than I could say for my attempts at reading a short story or the Eclipse novel last year.

So far, I've learned little the trailers didn't already share, but I'm having a good time. Finished chapter one just now and am excited to see whether ep 1 covers as much, more, or less than this. I am READY.

[lurkingteapot]

PSA for people watching (and blogging about) gmmtv's series "Kidnap ลับ - จ้าง - รัก"

you can tag your posts whichever way you like. obviously. HOWEVER. if you tag your posts just "#kidnap", they will get hit by the tumblr automod filter and folks probably won't see them -- you may not even be able to use them to search your own blog:

#kidnap the series seems to be getting a good amount of traction, and I've also seen #kidnap gmmtv used. fwiw.

[lurkingteapot]

Kidnap the Novel ch. 3: The Deal

Chpt 3, or the one where I realise I must've misunderstood something in ch. 1.

Have about 1.5k of summary under the cut! SPOILERS for chapter 3 and as such, also for episode 3 of kidnap.

Min wakes up to an empty bed and laughter downstairs. In the living room, Men and Q are sitting around, talking to James. Min rushes James outside, where James chews him out for the blood on the picture looking fake as hell, not tidying up ANY of the things he used at the place he first held Q including the water bottle, and for his naïvité about "talking to" the people who contracted him to kill Q. James then concludes that it's his own damn fault and he should've known Min wasn't cut out for this. He agrees to help Min contact the employer to pay back the money he owes anyway.

Min gets on Q's case about letting randos into the house. Q is deeply unimpressed and straight-up goes "he's the one who helped you kidnap me, right? I recognise his voice". Min grabs him in a chokehold, trying to impress on Q that he cannot trust anyone in this situation, not even Min, to which Q's reaction is just to calmly challenge Min to kill him now. Min has no idea how to react to that and lets Q go.

That evening, Min stays out late on the pretense of needing to practicea fight scene. When he comes to his room, Q seems on the edge of another night terror, tossing, turning, starting to flush, and then to cry. Q sobs so hard it reminds Min of how he felt just after his parents had died. He tries to comfort Q, holding him and stroking his hair.

At his job the next morning, Min is tired and distracted, and it leads to both him and the lead actor getting injured. Min gets furloughed until the cut on his face heals. James reassures him that the crew will absolutely want him to come back to work and reveals that the person who contracted Min and James to abduct Q has agreed to take the money back.

At home, Men is alarmed at the state of Min's face. Min tries to play it off with a "oh, you just need to kiss it better" (literally blow some air on it, but same concept), Men is like "ok clearly it's fine". When Min enters his bedroom in the evening, Q is sitting on the bed with a first-aid-kit open in front of him. He tells Min he assumes that Min got injured at work because he couldn't sleep due to Q's parasomnia. Min tries to deflect saying he was up late running lines. Q calls bullshit because how many lines will a stuntman have? Min gets annoyed and relents: yes, he messed up because he didn't sleep because of Q's parasomnia. Q looks at him, sticks a plaster over the cut on his face, grabs his jaw and leans in close … to blow on the cut. Min blushes scarlet and completely loses his composure. Q just grins and comments with an air of superiority that Min said earlier that it'd be okay as long as someone blew on it/kissed it better … so Q did. (Q's having fun teasing Min over that, especially since he remembers what Men said about Q being Min's type).

Q then asks how Min's going to get the money to pay his employers back if he can't work atm, and tries once more to sell Min on his scheme to 'kidnap' Q and extort money from his dad. Min says he can't do it since he doesn't even understand why Q would want to do that. Q asks whether he'd be on board if he told him, and proceeds to explain that he wants to take revenge on his dad. Min suggests he find a different way to do that, one that doesn't bother anyone else. Q challenges him to suggest something.

Min goes back to Siia Muu and asks for another loan. Siia Muu is like "fucking hell kiddo, I told you I never wanted to see you here again!", and tells Min to go ask for work at the Hidden Dragon.

Min goes there and gets put in a room with three guards and Yada. Yada tells him sure, he can have 400k. Min is surprised, but supposes Siia Muu put in a word for him. He then carefully inquires after the interest. Yada waves him off -- he can have the loan free of interest … if he punchs one of the guards in the face right there. Min is kind of like ????. Yada tells him she'll pay him 50k per punch. Min still hesitates. Yada kind of shrugs, makes to walk out, and tells him, over her shoulder, "Oh, I forgot … that goes for them, too". The other guards start moving in on Min, Min ends up fighting them (after apologising first, this kid is2g). He gets six punches in and receives 300k from Yada. She tells him he needn't return it, he just needs to come back to work for her. It doesn't seem like a suggestion.

Min gets fancy Japanese food on his way home and tries to pass it off as food support food, but Men isn't buying it. Min makes up something about a new job at a restaurant. Men gets excited and wants to celebrate.

When Q is in the bathroom that evening, Min calls James to make an appointment to return the money. James says the employer is willing to meet, but he wants Min to bring Q. Min refuses. James relents.

Before they go to bed, Min tells Q that he'll go tie up things with the person who hired Min tomorrow. We learn that they've come to always talk before they sleep, mainly because the atmosphere if they don't while tying their arms together gets really weird.

The next day, James and Min go to meet Phum, the man who hired Min and James. Phum immediately asks where they left Q. When they tell him he escaped, Phum points a gun at them. They try to calm him down, he threatens to shoot them. At that, Q, who followed them, shouts for him to wait, and walks out into the open.

We learn that Phum wanted to take revenge on Big Kachaa, who he holds responsible for his son's imprisonment. His son got indicted on drug trafficking charges, and he believes it's because Yada paid Kachaa off to do it and that his son is innocent. He wants Kachaa to feel as bad as he does. At first, he doesn't react to their attempts to reason with him. Q calmly tells him to just shoot him, then, and let the others walk. Min gets frantic because he knows there's no way out for Q if Phum really does shoot, but James has grabbed him and is not letting him move. Q continues to near-taunt Phum, saying that even if he shoots him, it won't achieve a fraction of a difference. Phum clings to the idea that it'll be revenge. Q reasons with him some more (in a nerve-wrackingly reasonable tone that borders on provocative with how calm it is). Phum realises it won't help, empties his chamber into the ceiling/sky, and starts to cry.

The sound of gunfire and the darkness threatens to trigger a PTSD flashback in Q. He tries hard to stay in the present. He tells Phum that his dad did not take any money from Yada, or anyone else, so if Phum's son really is innocent, he'll probably walk free very soon.

Min tells James to take Phum back and turns to Q, then yells at him because what the FUCK was he thinking, but then he realises Q is not looking so hot. Q brushes it off saying he's used to it and it isn't the first time. Min calls him on his "wanting revenge on his dad" shtick. Q feels uncomfortably seen and tries to push Min away, saying they should just part ways right here if Min still didn't want to do it, he'd find someone else who would.

Min is seriously concerned for Q, because he's now seen Q ask someone to kill him very very calmly twice. Q doesn't seem afraid to die at all, and Min cannot have that, so he agrees to take the job. It's at least partially because he'd hate never to see Q again.