MYMOON, Chapter 25:
“Who the hell’s calling me now?”
Panli freed one hand from the massive bouquet. With some difficulty, he reached into his back pocket to pull out his phone, careful not to let the large bouquet, now held with just one arm, slip and fall. When he saw the name on the screen, he quickly answered the call.
“What’s up, Pradipat?”
[I’m about to reach the airport.]
“What? Weren’t you going to visit Aunt tomorrow, Phii Fah?”
[I changed my mind.]
“I actually wanted to visit Aunt too…”
[Dad’s doing much better now. You don’t need to worry. Just focus on your exams.]
“…”
[And don’t feel guilty about anything. Whether I go or you go, it’s the same—we’re both her kids. Got it?]
“Yeah… I get it.”
[Did Dad call you?]
“Yeah, he called and was laughing with me.”
[Alright… then don’t overthink it. I’ll call you again when I get to
Hong Kong.]
“Okay.”
Panli ended the call with his brother and slipped the phone back into his back pocket. He wrapped his arm around the bouquet again, securing it, before joining the line to enter the meeting room.
“This person has a staff badge…”
A woman stationed at the door spoke up when she saw the “Staff” badge he was holding. Panli removed the badge from his neck, worried it might get obscured by the bouquet.
“Ern, take him to the staff seating.”
“This way, please…”
Panli followed a petite woman into the meeting room. The spacious room had tiered seating like an amphitheater, with a large stage set up for various performances.
“…”
“Who’s your partner?” the petite woman asked as she stopped at the row of seats closest to the stage.
“Klaijai,” he replied.
She widened her eyes slightly, then smiled and said, “Phii Klai’s boyfriend needs to sit close to the left corner, because Phii Klai will be on the left side of the stage.”
“Okay… Thank you so much.”
Panli thanked her before walking into the row. But a conversation caught his attention from the last cushioned seat in the row. He saw the girl who had guided him into the meeting room talking with her friend. Though they weren’t speaking loudly, their proximity allowed him to overhear.
“So epic, epic, epic!”
“What’s with you, Ern?! You’re shaking like crazy.”
“Phii Klai’s boyfriend is soooo handsome… insanely handsome, like, shockingly handsome. I was trying so hard to keep my cool when I brought him into the meeting room.”
“For real?”
“Totally, girl!”
“Which one?”
… The girl named Ern turned to point at him for her friend to see. But she quickly looked away when she noticed him staring, then dragged her friend out of the room in a hurry.
“Th-the guy…”
Panli smirked, thinking to himself…
Told you I’d be everything for Klaijai.
Now I’m even making him look good.
Panli chose a cushioned seat near the end of the row on the left, as the girl had suggested. He plopped down, placing the bouquet of flowers on the empty seat to his left, which he’d reserved. Not long after, someone sat in the seat to his right.
Seeing the seats nearly full, Panli pulled his phone from his back pocket and opened the LINE app to send an encouraging message to Klaijai.
Panli: I’m already seated in the meeting room, right by the stage.
Panli: Give it your all, KhunKlai!
“Hello, dear audience…”
Panli quickly put his phone away when he heard someone speak through the microphone. A beautiful female emcee walked out from behind the red curtains and stopped at the center of the stage.
“The next performance is called ‘As If in a Dream’… Please enjoy!”
As soon as the emcee finished, the warm yellow lights illuminating the large room went out, plunging it into darkness. Then, a single spotlight shone onto the stage.
It was at this moment that Panli saw Klaijai sitting with his khim on the stage, dressed in a shimmering pearl-colored short-sleeve round-neck shirt and a silver phua nung. But Klaijai wasn’t alone on stage. To his left was a man with a poeng mang drum, and to his right, another man sat with a saw u fiddle. Both men wore Thai attire similar to Klaijai’s.
Panli couldn’t take his eyes off the sweet-faced figure. Klaijai glanced up at him briefly before lowering his gaze to the beloved instrument before him.
When the sound of the khim began to play, it was as if everyone in the auditorium was entranced. The poeng mang drum soon joined, complementing the melodious notes. At that moment, Panli couldn’t look away from Klaijai, and his heart began to beat irregularly when he saw a sweet smile grace the other’s face.
His heart pounded even harder when the wide room returned to its original brightness, and a woman holding a microphone emerged from behind the curtain, beginning to sing…
“Heaven destined us to meet, what magic brought us together, or was it fate that drew the line, to give my steadfast heart to only you.”
“…”
“Could it be you, could it be you, the one I’ve waited for my whole life? It might be a dream, it might be just a blur, but then the dream suddenly reflects reality.”
Panli had once thought…
There might be songs that matched his feelings up to 80%.
But never 100%. Absolutely not.
“Crossing paths from dreams, until I found you, the breeze carried hope to me today.”
“…”
Until…
“No matter how far the heavens stretch, we’ve finally met. Whatever the cost, I’d give everything for you forever, until my last breath, as long as you’re with me… that’s enough.”
“…”
“It swept me to you, brought me to meet you… Fate led us to find each other. It swept me to you, brought me to meet you… A sudden spark made me love you.”
“…”
“In this life or any other, only you. I swear eternal love forever. Even if my life fades, it won’t change. I give my heart, steadfast, only to you.”
Until the very last second when he sat watching Klaijai perform this song with the ensemble…
“It might be you, could it be you? Like a dream… that suddenly reflects reality.”
That’s when Panli realized…
The person who made him feel complete,
Made this song match his feelings 100%, perfectly.
Klaijai set down the khim mallets and smiled at him. Panli smiled back, clapping to show his appreciation for him and everyone on stage. As the emcee walked out from behind the red curtain, Klaijai and his friends stood up and walked offstage, disappearing behind it.
“Dude… the one playing the khim was cute as hell.”
“Yeah, really cute… you interested?”
“Hell yeah, I’m interested. Your friend’s in this faculty, right? Get me his number.”
“Sure, I’ll ask my friend for you.”
Panli pushed his tongue against his cheek in irritation as he overheard the conversation between two guys sitting in the row in front of him. He tried to stay calm to avoid trouble, but when it came to Klaijai, he could never let things slide. At that moment, Panli lifted one foot and kicked the cushioned chair in front of him hard, causing the person sitting there to yelp and turn around with a furious expression.
“You want the number of the guy playing the khim?” Panli asked.
The other guy, about to snap back, paused and frowned in confusion.
“Yeah… why?”
“I know his number.”
“…”
“His number is three-nine.”
“…”
“But his partner’s number… that’s four-five.”
And once again, Panli slyly claimed the title of partner.
“…”
“Pick whichever number you want.”
Panli smirked before standing to his full height. The other guy looked displeased but seemed to accept that the person he was eyeing already had someone. Panli leaned down to pick up the bouquet and added one last remark…
“And he doesn’t even study in this faculty, you idiot!”
Panli easily maneuvered out of the row of seats, despite the crowd, as everyone instinctively made way for him. He carried the bouquet and stood outside the meeting room to wait for Klaijai, sending a quick message to let him know where he was.
Not long after, the person he was waiting for appeared. Panli smiled at the smaller figure, now back in his student uniform. Klaijai stopped in front of him, grinning so wide his eyes crinkled as he looked at the bouquet.
“Little pup… I saw the bouquet from inside the meeting room.”
“It’s huge, isn’t it?”
“Do you like it?”
Still beaming, Klaijai nodded enthusiastically. “I love it…”
“And…”
“Phii Klai!”
Panli’s question was cut off by an uninvited guest. He let out a quiet sigh as he watched a guy who had been playing the saw u on stage run up to Klaijai.
“What’s up, Mak?”
“I just wanted to say… Phii Klai you played the khim really well today.”
That…
“Uh, oh… yeah.”
“Phii Klai was super talented!”
Little punk…
Klaijai nodded lightly while looking at him, then said softly, “Mak… you’re pretty talented too.”
“Phii Klai…”
“Mak, hold on…”
“You keep calling him Phii Klai…”
“…”
“Keep that up, and I’m gonna smack your mouth…”
“Pup…”
Panli stopped immediately when Klaijai scolded him. He let out a heavy sigh. “Sorry… I got a bit too worked up.”
The smaller man smiled softly while looking at him, shaking his head slightly before saying, “Mak, I’m sorry on behalf of my boyfriend. He’s the jealous type.”
“Uh, this is your boyfriend?”
“Mhm…”
Panli raised an eyebrow at the cheeky kid who thought he could flirt with Klaijai, then smirked triumphantly. The kid nodded with a dejected expression.
“Then I wish you and your boyfriend a long, happy relationship.”
“Thanks, Mak… I’ll head off now.”
“Sure.”
“Come here, pup…”
Panli tried to suppress a smile as the smaller man led him away from the area. When the two of them stopped in front of the Faculty of Fine Arts building, Klaijai let out a sigh and glared at him.
“Naughty… so naughty.”
“…”
“And mischievous… such a mischievous pup. Do you even realize?”
“I know… and super jealous too.”
“…”
“I know, I know…”
Klaijai let out a smile at his words. “What should I do…”
“…”
“…it feels like I can’t hold back anymore.”
“If you really can’t hold back…”
“…I shouldn’t stay a puppy like this, you know.”
“That’s not what I meant at all.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I meant your jealousy.”
“I’ve tried… tried to tone it down.”
“But it’s nowhere to be found. It’s really, really hard.”
“I think you should try being a little less cute… that’d probably be easier.”
Klaijai gave a small smile, shaking his head slightly. “Puppy…”
“Alright, I’ll try to reduce the jealousy.”
“If you really can’t, Panli, don’t force it… just let it be natural.”
“…”
“But I wants you to know… besides you, I has never looked at anyone else.”
“…”
“Even though we’re not officially together yet… I have chosen to tell everyone that you are my boyfriend. Because I don’t want anyone else to hope for more than being a senior, junior, or friend. And most importantly, I know just how jealous you can get.”
While he was hot-headed and ready to confront anyone who flirted with Klaijai, the latter calmly explained everything, which made his restless heart start to settle.
Panli often heard his friends say over drinks, “If you’re a hot-headed guy, find a calm partner, and your temper will naturally start to cool down.” Now, he understood what they meant.
“I always trust you… I’ve never doubted you, but…”
“…but you don’t trust other people, right?”
Panli nodded lightly. “Yeah.”
“Others, no matter what they do, will always just be others… They could never be you.”
“…”
Klaijai gave a small smile, stepping closer to the tall figure before standing on tiptoes to gain some height. Panli’s eyes widened as the shy bunny transformed into a mischievous one, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Klaijai laughed as Panli blinked rapidly, standing there clutching the large bouquet.
“Now do you believe no one could ever replace you, Panli?”
Panli bit his lip, staring at the smaller figure who flashed him a sweet smile. Klaijai probably thought this would ease his jealousy. But he was dead wrong.
“You’re just making me even more jealous…”
Klaijai burst out laughing, wrinkling his nose at him before saying,
“Don’t blame me… You’re the one who’s already super jealous.”
At first, Panli felt a bit guilty for being so openly jealous that it made things awkward for Klaijai. But now, he thought the jealousy he’d shown was nowhere near enough, especially compared to how overwhelmingly adorable Klaijai was.
“Klai!”
“Oh, Phii Em, hello!”
“Hello…”
Panli glanced at a good-looking guy, one of Klaijai’s seniors, approaching him. After observing for a moment, he chose to step back a bit to give them space for a private conversation. The smaller figure kept glancing at him with a worried expression, but when Panli nodded to show he understood, Klaijai turned back to talk with his senior more at ease.
The loyal puppy that he was, Panli stood holding the bouquet, waiting for his master. After a while, the smaller figure waved goodbye to the handsome senior and turned back to him, flashing a sweet smile as if trying to win him over.
“My little pup’s being so good… not jealous anymore, huh?”
“Not at all… I’m still just as jealous.”
“…”
“But this guy, I could tell he wasn’t trying to flirt. Just saying hi like acquaintances do.”
“…”
“If someone approaches with that kind of intention… I’ll respect it by not getting involved.”
“That’s what you call rational jealousy.”
“But the reason for my jealousy is love.”
“What did my little pup just say?”
Panli chuckled in his throat before saying, “If you want to hear it again, there’s gotta be a trade… Will KhunKlai agree to it?”
“Then let the little pup propose an exchange first…”
“Can the little pup sleep over at your condo tonight?”
“…”
Seeing the smaller figure furrow his brow as if deep in thought, Panli quickly added, “Phii Fah changed his mind and flew to see Dad in Hong Kong today. I’d be alone at home tonight.”
“…”
“If I’m alone, I might start overthinking again…”
Klaijai gave a knowing smile as he looked at him. “Even though I know how sly this little pup is… I’m still worried you might overthink when you’re alone.”
“…”
“Alright… I accept your proposal.”
Panli flashed a bright smile before saying, “Tonight, I’ll say ‘I love you’ to KhunKlai all night long.”
Even if you say you’re tired of hearing it…
I’ll keep saying it over and over…
I love you…
I love you, Klaijai.
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