UNISTAR : Invisible Moon [English Version]

ลำดับตอนที่ #23 : Chapter 21 : The Air In the Limelight

Invisible Moon

Chapter 21
The Air In the Limelight

"The air reflected light, creating a rainbow that's visibly attractive."
#WINisWIND

I couldn't remember how long P'In and I embraced. I couldn't remember how long his warmth had enveloped me. It wasn't until P'In released me that I realised it had been a while.

"I'm sorry." He said.

It was dark, so I couldn't see his expression clearly.

"Never mind." I wanted to say something more, but I decided not to. I wasn't sure how P'In felt right now. Perhaps it was better not to say anything.

"You'll go back?" P'In asked while turning away, avoiding eye contact with me.

I figured that P'In was wondering whether I would go back to the restaurant to join the seniors or not. I understood him even though he didn't say it directly. P'In didn't want me to go back to that place.

"I'd rather go back to my dorm." I answered.

"I'll send you back." P'In just nodded.

"You'll send me back to my dorm?" I blinked. It was very surprising that he offered to send me home. But how would he send me?

P'In then simply led the way. I followed him feeling confused. I saw P'In texting someone and I didn't dare to ask him.

After walking for a while, I saw a van parked nearby. A man in a work shirt with an MW staff name tag got off from the van. I knew he was P'In's manager and assumed that this van must be the agency's car.

"N'In. You scared me to death! You suddenly told me to come here and you didn't even wait for the car to properly stop before running off like that. It's such a relief that you're still alright. If PD Kwang knew, he would definitely kill me."

"I'm sorry." P'In said.

His manager just nodded as he saw that P'In wasn't injured. Then he noticed me, and seemed very curious about my identity.

"Who is he?"

"My buddy-code junior. Can we send him back to his dorm? Please?" P'In answered.

"Oh...So he is the Archawin that you mentioned."

I was surprised that he could remember my name. I think it was because P'In asked his manager for permission to give his private phone number to me before this.

"Okay, no problem. Let's go." The manager replied.

"Thank you so much, P'In and K'Manager." I said.

Then, we both sat in the van, but we didn't talk after that. He seemed pensive, as if he was still lost in the memories of the past.

Today, I saw another side of P'In, allowing me to understand him better. Although he radiated positiveness, he had also been through a tough time in the past.

It was a deeply hidden side of P'In that was rarely seen.

Several days later, I was very busy with preparations for the Moon contest. The XU Official Facebook page had already posted the photos of Moon and Star candidates for the voting process. I felt a bit shy when I saw my photo posted in public. I was glad to see people liking my photo and commenting something like; 'He is cute!', 'I'm rooting for him'!, 'I love him!'.

Some people also asked about my Instagram and Twitter, but no one knew and I was also too shy to tell them. Plus, I was also too shy to share my photos, so I've never posted any of my own selfies on my IG or Twitter.

However, it was quite interesting to read those comments. I realised the feeling of being in the limelight by now. A fading person like me still had not gotten used to it yet. It might take some time.

"Oh...no..." I gulped when I saw that P'Wun — my sister — liked my photo on the Facebook page. Though she did click like on almost every Moons' photo, I was still shocked to see this.

She commented 'So cute! Cheering for you!' but she didn't seem to realise it was me. Because the photo was only captioned 'Win — Business Moon', and not my full name. To top that, I look so different with makeup on and without makeup. It wouldn't be surprising if she couldn't recognise me.

Thinking about P'Wun, I just remembered that I hadn't contacted my family since I moved to the dorm. It was common for me to be fading and forgotten. I thought I should contact them. P'Wun also lived in a dorm but at a different university.

'Should I tell my parents that I'm participating in the University Moon contest? They would be so shocked.'

In the past, when P'Wun participated in a piano contest, my parents went to cheer for her. To be honest, I wanted my parents to come cheer for me as well. However, I might not win. I might not become the University Moon. I didn't want to let them down. So it would be better to just not tell them. Even if only my classmates knew about it, that was enough for me.

There were quite a lot of people liking my photo on the Facebook page because the seniors in my faculty had actively promoted it. Ever since I became the Faculty Moon, I had received a lot of friend requests on Facebook. Compared to before, when most people always forgot to accept my friend requests, it was the opposite now. However, the number of likes on my photo still wasn't the highest, as other Moons were more popular, well-known, and also had many followers on Twitter and Facebook. Most of them already had a lot of fans.

"It's quite a pity that our UNISTAR member can't help his faculty's Moon to promote." P'Tong said when we met. I nodded in understanding.

P'Wayu and P'In didn't post anything about their own faculty's Moon. Perhaps it was because they were appointed as the judges as well. It was enough that they were allowed to train their junior Moons, if they also promoted them, it would be quite unfair.

Speaking of P'In, he seemed to be busy with his UNISTAR work. I didn't meet him often, but he would sometimes send me messages, asking about my preparation for the Moon contest such as 'How is it going?' 'Is everything okay?'. I usually just replied back with 'no problem' or 'everything is alright'.

Although he was busy and had no time to meet me, he didn't ignore me. P'In even sent an email by using his work email address.

From:

Subject :

Read this

His email only contained two words. There was no subject title either, but there was a file attachment. When I opened the file, I was really amazed.

P'In had compiled and listed the possible questions that the judges might ask me during my general knowledge performance, including knowledge about China and the Chinese language, Architecture and Astrology, as well as Basic Engineering, which P'Wayu might ask too.

I replied to the email with a 'thank you'. P'In must be very busy, but how did he find time to help me compile all these questions? He was such a dedicated person.

I was spending most of my time preparing for the contest, so I didn't have much time to hang out with friends. Until the day before the contest, the student committee arranged a rehearsal session, and XU University had already installed a huge stage on the football field.

I spent most of the day rehearsing the queue sequence and walking on the stage. After I finished, I went back to the dorm and fell asleep as it was super tiring. However, I woke up in the middle of the night, as I was too excited about the contest.

Time flew so fast. I couldn't believe that the air like me would be on the stage for the University Moon contest tomorrow. I hoped that everything would go well.

The Moon contest would be held in the evening, but the student committee told us to prepare and standby in the morning.

The stage on the field was set up in a very grandiose manner. I heard XU University hired an outsource company to install the stage. This contest was considered one of the most prestigious events for the university, as two UNISTAR members were appointed as judges. Which was also why MWTV as well as many other famous companies became sponsors for this event.

This University Moon contest event allowed the current XU students to enter for free and were given priority. All they needed to do was show their Student ID card to be allowed access. Outsiders could also attend, but as the seats were limited, availability was on a first come first serve basis. I saw many DomKati wearing grey shirts, and DomWhai wearing purple shirts.

All the Moon and Star candidates had to rehearse over and over. During the lunch break, we were provided with a free lunch box. I was eating while reading the question list for my general knowledge performance. I didn't know any other candidates, so I could only smile at them and they also smiled back. We didn't talk much, just introduced our names and faculties.

In the afternoon, the stylists came to do our hair and makeup. We were wearing our formal university uniform. As the male makeup was simpler than the female, we finished first. The contest would start in a few hours. I spent the rest of the time preparing for my performance.

I also observed the audience from behind the stage. There were many students and UNISTAR fans waiting outside. A few MWTV staff were also present to record our contest. I heard that P'Wayu and P'In had arrived too, but they were dressing up separately at a hotel nearby because UNISTAR had their own stylists.

While I was preparing for the performance in the dressing room, others were just talking. Some of them were also taking a selfie to post on IG, while the rest of them were playing on their mobile phones.

At that time, the door opened. At first, I thought it might be other candidates, but when I saw who came in, I gasped. It wasn't only me, other people were also surprised.

"P'In..." My eyes widened.

I had never seen him wearing the UNISTAR uniform in real life before. Although I've seen the photos, it was the first time I've seen it for myself. The UNISTAR members would only wear this uniform during fanmeets or special events.

The uniform's design was similar to the university uniform. The ensemble consisted of a long-sleeved white shirt paired with black trousers and leather shoes. The unique feature was the navy blue suit jacket with a high collar, decorated with patterns sewn on with golden thread and gold shoulder loop. The most attractive symbol was the moon and four-pointed star brooch, which was the logo of UNISTAR.

P'In looked extremely handsome in this uniform. I was mesmerised.

"Are you well prepared?" P'In talked to me, without any concern about other people looking at us.

"I'm okay. Thank you so much." I answered. I was a little nervous to be in the centre of attention.

"See you on stage." P'In nodded and just left the room.

The room was silent for a while until some candidates started talking to me.

"It's so good to have a senior who is a UNISTAR member." The Engineering Moon said.

In fact, it was common to have a senior Moon taking care of their junior, as it was sort of a traditional senior and junior bond in college. There were many seniors who came here as well. However, because P'In was a UNISTAR member, he received more attention.

"Your senior is also a UNISTAR. Will P'Wayu come?" The Communication Arts Moon asked the Engineering Moon, they seemed pretty close to each other.

"I'm not sure." He said. "P'Kaow — P'Wayu's close friend just came a few minutes ago. P'Kaow said P'Wayu always cheers for me, but he may not come here in time as he hasn't finished doing his makeup."

I didn't know why but I was trying hard to hold back my laugh. I thought about the time P'Wayu was mad at P'In who often nicked his cosmetics. P'Wayu had said he couldn't live without makeup, he couldn't let the fans see his face without makeup. P'Wayu must be very serious about this.

"Hi everyone! The contest will begin soon. Please head backstage now."

A senior staff member announced.

The contest would start soon...I started feeling a bit nervous. I tried to hold myself together.

Afterwards, the Moon and Star candidates lined up backstage. We were going to walk on the stage in sequence, just as we practised. I was standing beside Nina, my Faculty Star.

I was also curious about the contest atmosphere. Listening to the tumultuous sound made by the audience. I figured that the football field was as crowded as it sounded, making me even more nervous thinking about it.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Hello all XU family. Welcome to the XU university Moon & Star Contest!"

When the MCs announced the start of the contest, an overwhelming cheer boomed in the area. The loud sound indicated an apparent large audience and I could feel excitement building up inside me.

After that, the MCs talked about the details of the contest and its sequence before thanking the sponsors. At the mention of 'MWTV' and 'You can watch the live contest and playback in MWTV Official fan pages, YouTube and Twitter', the screaming turned much louder than it already was.

"So without further ado, let's meet all the Moon & Star candidates from our 12 faculties!"

The audience gave us a big round of applause. The Moon & Star candidates from Engineering went out on the stage first, and my faculty was somewhere in the middle. Based on the cheering sound, the Moon from the Faculty of Engineering and the Moon from the Faculty of Communication Arts were very popular. The Star from the Faculty of Accounting also received a similar welcome. I heard she was featured in many music videos and advertisements.

"The Moon & Star candidates from the Faculty of Business Administration..."

I felt nervous. It was my turn now, so I walked out to the stage with Nina. I was so nervous that my mind turned blank.

This was the first time I stood on the real stage, but I couldn't see anything except the spotlight and stage floor. The surrounding sound was tumultuous as I couldn't hear anything clearly.

I felt thankful to the seniors who forced us to rehearse so often that even if I closed my eyes, I could still walk on the stage normally. So, no matter how tense I was, I could still keep going, despite being so anxious that I could barely control myself.

I walked around the stage with Nina, among the cheering sound of the audience. We stopped in the middle of the stage, standing in line with the rest of the candidates.

Now that I could gradually pull myself together, I finally saw the cheering signs in front of me. Most of them were held by DomKati and DomWhai — P'In's and P'Wayu's fans, followed by those for Engineering Moon, Communication Art Moon, and Accounting Star. With a little hope, I still looked around for my cheering sign. I was surprised when I saw the sign written 'N'Win Fighting!'.

I was both surprised and happy. I had never thought anyone would actually cheer for me. It wasn't easy to see them from the stage. It seemed like that cheering sign belonged to my faculty cheering group. Because I saw Nina's cheering sign as well.

I was very touched. It must be P'Tong and P'Noey who gathered these people to cheer for us.

"These are all the Moon and Star candidates from the 12 faculties! Please give a round of applause to all of them. And tonight... only one will be crowned the XU University Moon and Star of the year."

What the MCs said made me nervous again. It was true that Mr. Chana and my seniors were banking on me to become the University Moon, but this gigantic stage today made me panic. I thought it was enough if I got through the contest smoothly.

"And now, for the most important element of the contest – the judges..."

When the female MC said this, the fans screamed at the top of their lungs. The MC had to stop and smile until the audience quieted down.

"It seems like our judges are very popular. Our three teachers must be very happy." The male MC teased, followed by a roar of laughter from the audience.

"Let's welcome our judges!"

The judges came out from the opposite side of the candidates. The first one was the oldest teacher. The MC introduced each judge by their names, beginning with a professor from the Faculty of Science, followed by a female professor from the Faculty of Architecture, and lastly a young male teacher from the Faculty of Arts.

"Next, the judges from the student representative committee..."

The audience broke out the loudest screams even before the UNISTAR members made an appearance.

"The 3rd year XU Moon from the Faculty of Business Administration...the third generation of UNISTAR — Intrakorn Dechapraphas..."

P'In's name was announced first. He walked out wearing the full UNISTAR uniform, surrounded by cheers from the audience. The cheering was even louder than every candidate combined. I personally thought that even people who were outside the university could still hear them.

P'In's expression was still as calm as always. The only difference was that the P'In on the stage was like a shining moon in the sky, outstanding and luminous.

"And the last judge...The 2nd year XU Moon from Faculty of Engineering...the fourth generation of UNISTAR — Wayu Chotithanakarun..."

P'Wayu appeared wearing the UNISTAR uniform, accompanied by a cheer that was similar to P'In's. He was so dazzling with perfect hairstyle and makeup. Very handsome. Evidently, that was why he spent so much time dressing up and couldn't come to visit his freshman in time.

The judges' table was placed in front of the stage. P'In and P'Wayu waited until all the teachers sat down before they followed suit. P'Wayu was waving at his fans and gave a smile to the Engineering Moon candidate on the stage.

P'In stayed still as he always did. I flinched as P'In looked at me. I had no idea what to do, so I just nodded to him. But P'In was still indifferent. Perhaps, it was because the UNISTAR members were in the centre of attention. P'In must keep his manners, unlike P'Wayu who was always playful.

"I'll explain how the contest will be conducted. The scores will be given based on three criterias, which are: 20% from appearance and characteristic, 40% from talent performance and 40% from the interview section. The score will be calculated equally from all five judges and the candidate who gets the most total score will be crowned as the XU University Moon & Star of the year."

The MCs explained.

"Other than the Moon & Star award, there is also a popular vote award from the total likes on the XU Official facebook page. And the vote will be closed after the interview section ends."

"We'll kick off this contest with the talent performances by our candidates. While we wait for our candidates to prepare for their performances, let's hear from the judges..."

After that, all of us headed backstage. The candidates who had to change their clothes were given the later turns in the queue. And the ones who didn't need any special clothes or equipment were pushed out first.

When the judges finished their speeches, the first candidate – me – was called out. Obviously because I had no special equipment, no change of clothes. The simplest one.

"The first candidate is N'Win, from the Faculty of Business Administration. He will showcase his general knowledge performance!"

I showed up on the stage with applause. Once I stood in the middle of the stage, the audience quieted down and waited to see what I would do. I was very nervous.

Everyone was looking at me. A fading air like me was suddenly in the centre of attention.

I must be myself. No need to be nervous. Just do as I usually did. Like I had practised in front of the mirror. I told myself. Everything would be fine.

The judges were looking at me, thinking. The teacher from the Arts faculty spoke up first.

"General knowledge performance? I've never seen this before. Interesting. Tell us, how should we ask you questions?"

I held the microphone with both my hands. I tried to control my voice as I answered.

"You can ask any type of questions. Please note that it must only be general knowledge, not advanced or deeper into the subject. I'll answer all the questions within the time limit."

"All types of questions?" The professor from Architecture asked.

"Yes." I nodded. I tried to make myself look confident.

The three teachers seemed to be interested.

"Really? Let's give it a try." The architecture teacher started first.

"Who designed the Villa Savoye?"

I guess all architecture students would know this question.

"Le Corbusier," I answered.

The teacher nodded and asked the next one.

"Which art movement has the concept of 'Less is more'?"

This question was on the list that P'In had sent to me.

"Minimalism."

"What's the name of the historical period when Wat Phra That Hariphunchai was built?"

"Lanna."

"According to the law, what is the requirement of staircase construction in a residential house?"

I paused for a second. This question was comparatively difficult. I remembered that I read about it from some book in the library.

"The height of the stairs should not be more than 3 metres, the height of each step should not be more than 20 centimetres, the width of each step should not be less than 22 centimetres."

My answer made the teacher nod. The audience seemed to grow excited.

"Honestly, I didn't expect him to answer correctly." The architecture teacher said. And many in the audience were laughing in response.

"Do you want to try?" The teacher asked the oldest professor.

"How many days does the moon take to orbit the Earth?" The astronomy professor asked.

This question was also on the list that P'In compiled.

"27.3 days."

"Which planet made the 'smiley face moon' astronomical phenomenon?"

I couldn't help but look at P'In — P'In's smile.

The smiley invisible moon was so charming.

Oh no! Where was my mind going? I needed to come back.

"Venus, Jupiter and a crescent Moon." I replied.

"Which astronomical phenomenon occurred on 19 March 2011?"

"Supermoon." I answered. It was when the Moon came closest to the Earth.

But wait...why was every question revolving around the moon? Could it be because it was the Moon contest? So the professor could only think of these sorts of questions?

"Not bad." The professor praised me.

"Very interesting. I want to try too." The Arts teacher said.

Based on my research, his major was the Chinese language. So I studied a lot about China including its language, culture, society and history.

However, the first question was —

"Who is the winner of Idol Producer?"

"Excuse me?" I was shocked.

Regardless of every book, every page, every article that I had read, nothing could help to answer this question.

But wait...Was it still related to China?

If I wasn't wrong, it was a Chinese idol TV program.

Oh! I remembered. P'Wun also followed this program before and her bias was also the winner.

Let me think — I had seen the name somewhere in her posts on Facebook before.

"Cai Xukun," I answered.

"Oh..." The teacher smiled.

"Then, what about...How many members in TFboys?"

I was blinking. TFboys?

Was this teacher the same type as my sister? Although he was a Chinese language teacher, he didn't ask anything related to language or history at all. He only asked about Chinese idols.

"Karry Wang, Roy Wang and Jackson Yee. Three members in total."

I almost couldn't answer. I silently thanked P'Wun for following every idol from every country all around the world. Because of that, I knew a lot about them as well.

The teacher looked surprised and clapped loudly.

"Wow! I didn't ask the names, but you can answer too. Excellent!"

The audience also applauded because I could answer all the questions smoothly.

It was unbelievable. I felt relieved that I had prepared a lot and felt like I was lucky today.

"Can I ask too?" P'Wayu said. And DomWhai went crazy screaming.

I turned to P'Wayu. I felt guilty about P'In nicking his cosmetics before. Anyway, it was the past. I must focus on the present.

I was thinking about the engineering knowledge that I had studied.

And his first question was —

"Which veggie can give you money?"

Apparently, P'Wayu's question could actually silence the audience.

Veggie? Money?

Not about engineering at all?!

Shame on me. I was complaining in my mind.

I had been reading the engineering foundation textbook all night, just to answer a veggie money question. Seriously?

Such a question! This must be one of those lame jokes.

No matter how I felt, I still needed to answer. The gears in my head turned so fast recalling all the vegetable names that I knew.

"Celery." I said.

Because it sounded like 'salary'.

"Correct!"

P'Wayu shot his finger at me. The rest of the judges were still confused as they couldn't get his joke.

"Which land animal can take passengers sailing through the seas?"

Again? Such an animal existed for real? Definitely not.

Another homophone joke.

"Sheep." Because it sounded like 'ship'.

"Correct." P'Wayu shot his finger at me again while the other judges facepalmed themselves. They had no idea what was happening here.

"Next! Which fish says 'Meow'?" P'Wayu kept asking.

"Catfish."

"Good! And which food has sand?"

"Sandwich."

"Nice! And which food never gets cold?"

"Hotdog."

"Right! And which food can't see clearly?"

"Burger," I said. It sounded like 'blur'.

"Great!"

P'Wayu seemed to be having fun. While most of the audience were silent. They seemed to not understand the situation here, except for DomWhai, who always screamed no matter what P'Wayu was doing.

"This one is the hardest. Which park is called 'wink boy'?"

P'Wayu asked while winking at me.

Another homophone joke? How could a park and wink boy be related to each other? It didn't make sense at all.

I was trying to think of all the names of the park and...well...oh...

"Park Jihoon, Wanna-One," I answered.

P'Wayu might mean the Korean idol who went viral as 'wink boy' before.

"Oh my god! You're amazing! I like it!"

P'Wayu was even standing as he clapped as hard as he could for me.

He seemed very happy and wanted to continue to ask, however, he was interrupted.

"I'll ask too."

It was from the one who usually never wanted to be involved — P'In.

When P'In spoke, DomKati screamed out loud but then it was followed by a long silence, as if the volume was turned down.

It was rare to hear P'In speak, so everyone didn't want to miss it.

I was focusing as well. I was curious about what he wanted to ask me.

I was thinking that it might be a question related to coconut, Thai music, Thai food, Thai desserts or something close to that.

However, P'In looked at me before emotionlessly asking;

"Which moon is the most handsome?"

I gasped. Not only me, everyone did. The judges included.

Was he possessed by P'Wayu? Really?

No one would believe that he could ever ask that sort of question.

"Can you answer?" P'In asked again.

"Ah...yes..." I tried to think about how the word 'Moon' could be related to 'Handsome'.

"Hand some moon?" I was thinking about a homophone joke. This sort of answer should be correct for P'Wayu but —

"Wrong," P'In said.

Wrong? I was stumped. What was the answer then? Or should I not think too much?

"Shining Moon?"

"Wrong," P'In said again.

I turned pale. What was the handsome moon? Or was it something very direct?

"University Moon?"

If this one was wrong too, then I didn't know anymore.

"Wrong." P'In still said.

"What is the correct answer?" I decided to give up.

This question was beyond my ability.

P'In looked at me emotionlessly and said in a monotone.

"The Moon named 'IN'."

...

I was stunned!

Which moon was the most handsome — The Moon named 'IN'.

Huh?

I wasn't the only shocked one. Apparently the moment P'In said that, all the judges suddenly turned to look at P'In with a surprised expression. Even the lame joke king like P'Wayu also gasped in shock.

The audience and DomKati fell silent.

Everyone would never have expected that this sort of answer would be said by a UNISTAR member like Intrakorn — he even said it emotionlessly.

Nevertheless, P'In seemed to be unaware that the atmosphere had changed. P'In eyes were still fixed on me.

"Why can't you answer?" P'In said with no emotion.

"You lose the point."

I was confused for a while, until I processed what P'In had just said.

What? This sort of question caused me to lose my points too?

Seriously?

I knew that P'In was sometimes the unbothered moon, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

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