I Hate Payu (Storm) And I’m Not Talking about the Weather In Episode 2 of Love in The Air starts with Rain driving back after taking his car back from Payu’s garage when he gets a call from the man himself. Rain wonders how Payu got his number and recalls writing it down on the customer slip while signing the car out of the garage. He calls Payu unprofessional whereas the biker asks Rain to pay back the repair cost. Payu suggests that Rain does not have to pay in cash but in kind that leaves the latter wondering. He asks Rain to speak respectfully to everyone around him as a punishment and ends the call. Rain drives in frustration when he hears the weather forecast on the stereo that warns citizens about frequent storms (in Thai, phayu/payu). After the call ends, Payu’s younger brother asks about his chirpy mood but Payu digresses. At the University, Sky wonders why Rain keeps hiding behind pillars. Sky pokes fun at a visibly scared Rain as they walk inside the building. Once inside, Rain is shocked after he spots Payu. The biker tries to drag Rain away but he is hesitant. Payu tells Rain’s classmates that he was here to collect his fees from Rain. He mentions that he had already collected half of it from Rain and was here to settle the other half. When he is about to reveal that he snuck a kiss from Rain, the latter covers Payu’s mouth. Rain drags Payu with him as Sky is left confused about the duo’s relationship. Rain drags Payu to the men’s room where the latter corners the student about paying back for the car repair. Payu is now up and close to Rain’s face as the younger of the two feels overwhelmed. When they hear a noise outside, Rain drags Payu inside an empty stall. Payu starts feeling Rain’s body but the latter asks him to stop. The biker asks Rain to politely ask Payu to stop by using honorifics in his sentence. Rain is adamant about not giving in so Payu tries to kiss him. As he begins to cause chaos, Payu warns Rain about people hearing them and begins to hover his mouth all around Rain’s face and neck. Rain is momentarily lost but eventually gives in by politely asking Payu to stop. Payu continues the slow torture asking Rain to promise that he won’t swear at Payu again. After a few minutes, Payu lets Rain go and the student rushes out of the stall hastily. Payu follows Rain and states that he only did what he did because Rain did not keep his end of the bargain and continued to swear at him. Rain asks Payu if he was forcing himself on Rain but Payu pats his head and states that he is considerate. Payu leaves Rain with a warning asking him to rethink using bad words. After Payu leaves, Rain cusses him out once he realises her has a boner. Sky finds Rain in the men’s room and is confused about Rain’s reaction. After a while, Rain rushes to the cafeteria and finds Ple’s brother Som there. He asks Som about Payu’s weaknesses but Som only has good things to say about the alumni student. Rain confronts Som and the two end up having a fight. Sky intervenes and apologises to Som as he leaves. Meanwhile, Rain tries to warn Ple against Payu but she also shuts him off as she follows Som. Sky confronts Rain about his actions but he responds by stating that he was going to teach Payu a lesson and asks Sky for his help. Sky eventually gives in unknowingly. The episode then moves to a bike race between two racer bikes with the blue biker, Payu winning over his friend Prapai. It has started to rain and Prapai states that they should be going as he recalls them both not liking the rain. Payu states that he no longer hates the rain. The episode then moves back to the same night when Rain interrupted the illegal bike race. Payu suddenly claims that he was sure it was going to rain soon but on the other hand, Rain wonders if Sky had gotten the right information about Payu’s presence there from his ex. Rain leaves Sky alone as he barges into the venue. Sky unwillingly follows him as Rain looks for Payu. Rain is chased by security when Payu notices the commotion and suddenly intercepts Rain. Payu takes responsibility for Rain and asks security to ignore the commotion. Inside his house, Payu begins spanking Rain. Rain asks why Payu was doing so as he gets up from his lap. Payu informs him that Rain would have been in grave danger if it were not for him. Payu is pissed at Rain and lashes out at him stating him being spotted at an illegal race without permission would possibly put an end to his future. Rain is upset with Payu and fires back admonishing him for calling Rain stupid. Rain suddenly grabs a hold of Payu’s face and kisses him with force. After breaking free, Rain promises to make Payu fall in love with him so much so that he would never call Rain stupid. Payu returns the kiss back with the same intensity and asks Rain to bring it on as he leaves Rain alone regretting his mistake. After leaving the room, Payu thinks back at Rain’s promise and wonders if Rain would have still made the promise had he known Payu better. Rain regrets his words the next morning as he wakes up in a room in Payu’s house. Payu brings him a change of clothes and the two bicker about Rain chickening out from his promise. He infuriates Rain by giving him small-sized underwear. At the breakfast table, the two bicker about the underwear some more before Payu asks Rain to finish his breakfast. Rain takes a look at an open architectural project that Payu was working on for his client. He expresses his desire to work on something like this in the future. As Rain inspects the project, Payu sneaks up behind him and looks into his eyes distracting him momentarily. Payu points out that Rain was wearing the underwear and mocks him about it. Rain is irritated and continues to finish his breakfast as Payu watches him. Payu then drops Rain at his house where he instigates Rain. Rain makes a commitment to Payu saying he will make the biker fall in love with him in a month’s time. Payu accepts Rain’s new challenge and asks him to bring it on. Inside his house, Rain wonders if Payu is making him dance to his tune but he dismisses the thought. The episode ends with a prologue from the night of the illegal race when Payu calls his boss and backs off from the race that night after Rain caused a commotion on the race track. Prapai is shocked that Payu is dismissing an important event while Payu states that Rain is more important to him. The Episode Review This episode was so much better than the last and the chemistry between Payu and Rain is so palpable. Rain’s motive behind wanting to date Payu is so generic and it is chaotic, I love it. I understand that the makers specified that Payu was bi in the first episode itself but I hope the show gives us some insight into Rain’s discovery of his sexuality when the time comes. Knowing how Thai BL dramas usually get, I am sure there will be no mention of it but one can only hope! I feel like all other side characters on the show are enablers for Rain and Payu’s romance and I love Sky for how supportive he is of Rain. However, calling your friends out when they are wrong is a great quality in a friend so Sky, Ple and Som really deserve brownie points for that. I love that Love In The Air is not trying to brush off the toxic mentality of a homophobic character before giving them a redemption arc but actually showing the audience an instance of the homophobia being called out. Payu’s life seems pretty non-chaotic for an illegal biker but I hope that future episodes bring in the tension and drama around the race because the show seems pretty slow-paced for now.
