For the last few years, the name WinTeam has become synonymous with healing for me.

First introduced in the Thai BL Until We Meet Again, Win and Team have returned in their own series, Between Us, a drama adapted from the novel Hemp Rope by LazySheep. It follows the complex relationship between scholarship swim student, Team (Prem Warut), and the vice president of the swim club, Win (Boun Noppanut).

While Win and Team’s story occurs parallel to the events that take place in Until We Meet Again, Between Us delves deeper into the trauma and need that made Win and Team so dynamic in the first series.

Whether a viewer has read the novel or not, it’s immediately evident that what sparks between Win and Team is an innate understanding of each other neither fully realizes, as if the pain and need within recognizes itself in them.

As heartwarming as the friendships in this series are and as cute as the comedy is, the darker, more profound moments inside Between Us stand out to me the most. Team’s trauma and Win’s struggle with belonging sets viewers up for a story about two lonely, suffering people who find what they are looking for inside each other.

In only the first two episodes, we’re already offered a rocky, uncertain relationship between two young men that becomes much bigger than the one-night stand it starts as. Their intense desire for each other and longing interactions are much more than lust. What starts off as a beneficial relationship becomes a dependency neither can do without.

Destiny doesn’t need words.

Prem Warut and Boun Noppanut step beautifully into their roles, shaping up the characters they’ve carried with them since Until We Meet Again first aired. There’s a noticeable shift in confidence, their acting much more controlled and visibly appealing. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and it shines on screen. From the telltale moments when each character falls into a burdened silence to the lighthearted way they play off their stress and trauma, Boun and Prem convey the duality that makes this couple so profound.

Win and Team touch hearts because the only people they can be honest with are each other. To those around them, they are simply the magnetic Win and the playful Team, each projecting a mask to the world. A mask that they remove when alone. Alone, they are two different people, the yearning between them so strong they visibly shake when facing each other.

While the series hasn’t progressed into the deeper dynamics of their relationship, viewers are aware from Until We Meet Again that Team has nightmares and becomes dependent on Win for the sleep he needs to compete well on the swim team. The nightmares foreshadow the trauma Team carries with him, a trauma we’ll become more familiar with in Between Us. A trauma that Prem Warut delivers brilliantly, transitioning effortlessly from the magnanimous Team to a brooding, anxious boy full of doubts and fears.

The same goes for actor Boun Noppanut. In the first series, we are introduced to the responsibility Win feels toward Team, but in Between Us, it goes much deeper, delving into Win’s need to be seen by those he loves. It’s a need he wears. From the bleached hair to the piercings to the tattoos, he’s a walking billboard that screams, “Need me. Let me belong here. Please see me.” And, like Prem’s portrayal of Team, Boun also carries this beautifully, pulling off the stern overachieving traits that make Win so dynamically intimidating while offering moments of vulnerability that make him easy to relate to.

In two episodes, Between Us set the stage for a much bigger story to come. I, for one, am ready to face the trauma and need between them and the pitfalls and healing they go through to make the relationship they develop work.

For a series about two people who depend on each other for the love and security they crave so desperately, check out Between Us now on iQiyi or Studio Wabi Sabi YouTube.

Rating- 4 out of 5