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ลำดับตอนที่ #33 : Chapter 31 : The Moon Returned to the Sky
Invisible Moon
Chapter 31
The Moon Returned to The Sky
"The moon would shine as bright as ever,
and the air would be alone forever."
#WINisWIND
The next day, The photo that P'Noey had posted was spread all over social media — the photo of P'In cleaning painted insults on the faculty's building.
Currently, most people blamed those fans for overreacting and dirtying a public area. What the fans did would cause a negative impact on P'In's image as well. There were also many people anticipating a press conference from MW and some of them said it was too early to judge the situation. However, P'In's fans still mentioned that if P'In and I were actually dating, they wouldn't accept it.
I thought that MW decided to handle the situation with caution. That's why none of the UNISTAR members, including P'In, had commented on this yet. But the UNISTAR official page and Twitter had already announced the date for a live press conference in three days' time.
Since everything was just fake news, sooner or later, it would be resolved.
My life was back to normal. No more anti-fans harassing me in the university compound. But sometimes, other faculty students would look at me strangely. Only my classmates and my seniors truly cared about me. Oat was also concerned about me. My mom, dad and P'Wun gave me encouragement. I also saw P'Wun arguing with people who bullied me on Facebook and Twitter.
"Win. I'll cheer for you, no matter what!" P'Wun said.
"I can't believe you really hugged IN! Since when did both of you get this close~? Ahhh~! You're so lucky! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Honestly, I was so excited when I saw this photo. I'm probably the only DomKati who wants this to be true. Why isn't it true? If IN were my brother-in-law, I would be happy for the rest of my life~!"
I didn't even know whether to laugh or to cry.
I also wanted to tell her that I really wanted her dream to come true but it was impossible. So I just let her scream, and listened without saying anything.
At least now, I knew that I wasn't alone. The presence of many who were willing to help me made everything so much better. However, what weighed on me the most wasn't the anti-fans or the UNISTAR contest — it was about my feelings for P'In. I still couldn't move on. I didn't know how to control my heart, so how could I stop falling for him? I should return to normal as soon as possible.
"N'Win. Mr. Chana is looking for you." P'Noey told me during the lunch break. So I separated from my friends after finishing lunch, and headed straight to Mr. Chana's office.
"Sawaddee krub, Mr. Chana." I raised my hands to pay respect.
"Archawin, how are you? You've been through a lot recently." His expression showed concern.
"But don't worry. MW will explain this sort of negative rumour to the public. Just relax. PD Nattakorn will find a way to solve this, because it's also affecting UNISTAR's image."
"Thank you, Mr. Chana." I could only say thank you.
"Intrakorn will be holding a press conference for you. He will deny the fake rumour about the Moon contest, and I'm going to join the conference to support him as well."
I was really grateful for P'In and Mr. Chana's help.
"Well, I really don't understand how such a rumour could have surfaced. There were others in the judging panel too, not only Intrakorn." He shook his head.
"I chose you to be the Moon candidate. I already checked your total score in the contest. Intrakorn gave you a realistic score. To be honest, Wayu is actually the one who gave you an unreasonable score — all full marks. To be honest, the other teachers also gave you very good scores, especially for your interview part. If people said that you and Intrakorn colluded to cheat in the contest, it's too exaggerated. I'll help to defend this issue as much as I can."
"Thank you, Mr. Chana." I thanked him again. I really appreciated his help.
"And you, Archawin. I'll ask the student committee to help you record an interview video. I plan to post it on social media around the time of the MW press conference. I want you to deny all the fake rumours yourself. So don't worry, everything will be fine."
"Yes, Mr. Chana." I nodded.
"Well, may I ask a straightforward question?" Mr. Chana crossed his arms and looked at me.
"What is the relationship between you and Intrakorn? How did those photos come to be?"
I flinched, but I decided to answer and not disappoint him.
"Our relationship isn't like what people misunderstand," I told him the truth.
"P'In is just my senior, and I'm close to him because he is my only buddy-code family. The photo of me visiting his dorm was the time that P'In invited me for dinner. The photo of us hugging, at that time P'In was sad about his late parents. And the one in the toilet, it was just a mistaken angle. We were actually just having a normal conversation."
"Oh, is that so? Alright then." Mr. Chana nodded.
"It makes sense. You two are the only ones in your buddy-code family. That's why both of you have such a close relationship."
I could only say in my mind that the truth was 'we were just buddy-code brothers. I was the only one who was expecting more.'
"I'm very relieved that both of you are just seniors and juniors." He continued.
"The rules for MW artists are very strict, especially regarding an idol's relationship. A few years ago, there was a popular idol who lost all his fame because he was in a relationship. In the end, he lost both his fans and his girlfriend. Furthermore, the strength of the UNISTAR Project is the members' image and Intrakorn is the face of PR for the company. He shouldn't even think about having a personal relationship. His fans aren't okay with either female or male pairing. There was one time when Intrakorn was cast into a boys' love drama, the fans became really mad. The official page and Twitter were filled with bad comments. So imagine that in real life."
I understood it, but was still feeling a bit sad.
"Being an idol will restrict your freedom to have a relationship. If it leaks to the public, the agency would definitely ask you to break up. So I felt relieved that your case was just a misunderstanding. Otherwise, you both will be hurt. It would be an unhappy ending."
"I understand, Mr. Chana." I didn't know what to say. Honestly, I wanted it to come true.
But as he said, it was not only impossible, the dream about me and P'In shouldn't even happen.
I should only be his junior, and shouldn't expect more.
"So I'll tell Intrakorn to emphasise on the buddy-code family relationship. And about the contest's judgement, I will ask the student committee to reveal your total score so that everyone will see that Intrakorn gave you fair points. Anyway, I won't show Wayu's points for you — or it'll cause a bigger issue. I must tell PD Nattakorn to teach him. I really don't understand, other than Ratchapol, is there any UNISTAR member who is normal?"
Mr. Chana said as he facepalmed himself.
Ratchapol? That must be P'Leo. Well, I sort of agreed. Other than P'Leo, other members were really...unique.
"Alright, that's it. You can go now. When you record the video, you can just repeat the same thing you just told me, just to make sure that our facts are aligned."
"I understand. Thank you so much."
I then left his office.
I knew everything would be solved soon, but somehow, my heart wasn't really happy about it.
A few days later, the student committee contacted me for the recording. Mr. Chana sent me a brief script of what I should say. Basically, it was just like what I had told him. The leaked photos of me were all misunderstood. We were simply buddy-code brothers and not in a relationship.
Moreover, Mr. Chana noted that I should add a few more points to support my claims. So I said...
"My gender preference is female, not male. For me, P'In is like my brother. I admire him so much. I was very shocked that everyone misunderstood our relationship because we are both male, and he's my role model. I'd like everyone to know that I'm uncomfortable with this fake rumour spreading around."
My brain was so blank while I was recording, so I just memorised the whole script that Mr. Chana wrote for me.
My interview video was uploaded just an hour before P'In's interview started. His press conference was arranged in the MW Entertainment building. Everyone, including P'In, his manager, PD Kwang, Mr. Chana, and the head of the student committee, was scheduled to participate.
I was reading the comments on my video while watching P'In's press conference live on the UNISTAR official page. For now, many people showed empathy for what happened to me. Some people said they would still cheer for me. Some people also blamed P'In's fans for stirring up unnecessary trouble.
I then focused my attention on the livestream. P'In wore the UNISTAR uniform that was usually reserved for UNISTAR formal events. His expression was still emotionless. However, he didn't look so happy today.
"Mr. Intrakorn, is the rumour regarding you and XU Moon dating true?"
The journalist brought up the topic right at the start.
"It's a misunderstanding," P'In responded through the microphone.
"Then, how do you explain those photos?" The journalist continued.
"Win and I are in the same buddy-code family. There's only the two of us. So we are quite close. I invited him for dinner at my dorm once. When I saw him in my faculty, I always talked to him. There are many things we can talk about."
P'In answered with an empty expression. Even I couldn't tell whether it was his normal expression or P'In just didn't want to talk about this.
"That's right." His manager supported him. "I'm also aware of N'Archawin. N'In had already registered his name for N'In's personal contact. I once drove him back home as well. I can tell that N'In and N'Archawin are like brothers."
After that, some journalists turned and whispered to each other. Some others were taking notes.
"So you're telling me that Mr. Intrakorn and N'Archawin aren't dating, right?"
"Now...we are not." P'In replied.
"Just an hour ago, N'Archawin also published a video to explain the rumour. He said he wasn't gay. What about you, Mr. Intrakorn? You aren't gay, are you?"
This question caused P'In's face to change. It was hard to tell if he was shocked, displeased, or uncomfortable.
"Are you gay, Mr. Intrakorn?" The journalist repeated his question as P'In stayed silent.
"Does it matter?" He said flatly. Somehow, his voice sounded serious.
That journalist turned pale.
PD Kwang seemed to realise the awkward situation, so he jumped in.
"Excuse me. I do think this question is a bit rude. My boyfriend is also a male. If you're asking this sort of question, aren't you discriminating against homosexuals?"
PD Kwang's words effectively silenced all the journalists. I was a bit surprised to hear that P'Kwang also had a boyfriend.
"We just wanted to know whether Mr. Intrakorn has romantic feelings for N'Archawin as rumoured or not." One of the journalists broke the silence.
P'In sighed. He was staring at the one who asked.
"N'Win already made it so clear." His voice was low.
"Why do you keep asking?"
Many journalists were stunned. They didn't expect that a calm UNISTAR member like P'In would utter such cold words.
"Yes, everything is already clear. The rumours tied to the photos aren't true." PD Kwang intercepted.
"We hope you could understand N'In and N'Win's frustrations. They have been through a lot recently. By asking the same questions like this, it can make them feel uncomfortable as well. If you're all clear about this, please change the questions."
Most of the journalists fell silent for a while. I saw the comments on the livestream. Many people were also angry with the journalists, because they kept making P'In feel uncomfortable and were pressuring P'In to admit to their accusations. Obviously, they were only aiming to write scandalous articles.
"Mr. Intrakorn, even if you and N'Archawin aren't dating," another journalist decided to ask.
"But both of you are very close to each other. How could you guarantee that the Moon contest result was fair?"
"Do you doubt my judgement too?" Mr. Chana answered instead.
"Intrakorn wasn't the only one who selected the Moon candidate. There were also me, a few third and fourth-year seniors, as well as other representative teachers on the selection panel. If you're doubtful that the contest judgement was unfair, you're also accusing me of being biassed."
"It's not like that, Mr. Chana." One of the journalists seemed to recognise Mr. Chana.
"You're Mr. Chana, right? The famous business consultant? You've arranged tons of seminars with many big companies. You've also participated in many worldwide business events. If you can confirm this, then we'll trust you."
"Mr. Chana only participated in the selecting part, what about the University Moon contest?" Another journalist chimed in.
"Mr. Chana wasn't one of the judges, but Mr. Intrakorn was. Do you have any proof that the contest was judged fairly?"
"This is the total score that N'Archawin received from the judges." The student committee put up the score sheet.
"I'll only reveal N'Archawin's score by N'In and other teachers."
My contest score sheet was shown on the projector and it was the first time I saw my own score.
I received an average point on the appearance part, but it only held 20% weightage of the total score. I received the most score from the interview part. My score for performance wasn't bad either. These two parts' weightage make up 80% of the total.
Compared to the other teachers, P'In didn't give me higher scores. I was a bit surprised, as at that time, he did tell me that he would reduce my score if I couldn't answer 'who was the most handsome Moon'. However, it turned out that he didn't deduct a lot.
Anyway, by looking at this score sheet, everyone was surprised because it meant that P'In objectively awarded my score without any consideration of me being his buddy-code family.
"Did you know why I chose Archawin to be the Moon candidate?" Mr. Chana added.
"Because I was impressed by how he answered the questions. He has such a positive and powerful attitude. He can be an inspiration to many people. This is exactly the characteristic of the Moon that we have been looking for. Don't you agree? Good-looking or talented, for me, both aren't the priority."
Everyone in the room seemed to be convinced by this.
"As Archawain is also my student," Mr.Chana continued.
"I'd like to say this to everyone who is following the UNISTAR Project. Archawin has been facing a difficult time these days, both in social media and on his campus. He was bullied without doing anything wrong. I could tell he must feel really sad about this. So I'd like everyone to give him some encouragement, and also give him a chance to prove himself again."
I felt really grateful that Mr. Chana mentioned me like that. Meanwhile, I felt very guilty. As everyone trusted me wholeheartedly, but I still couldn't stop thinking of P'In that way.
No, I must control myself. I shouldn't let everyone down.
"This is the last question. What is MW Entertainment planning to do against the one who posted this fake rumour?"
"About this," PD Kwang said.
"The photo was published from a new account on Twitter. We've already reported the post to have it deleted. We will find the person who leaked it, and if it is necessary, we will go through the law and claim compensation as well."
After that, the livestream ended. I read the comments. Many DomKati felt regretful for what they did. They apologised to P'In, and some also apologised to me. Many people also blamed those anti-fans as well. They also gave me words of encouragement, saying that this shouldn't happen to me, that they would cheer and vote for me, that loving P'In's buddy-code family also meant loving P'In, and so on.
This problem was finally solved. However, I still felt like something wasn't right.
I kept asking myself again and again. Was this really what I wanted?
Nevertheless, P'In's reputation returned to normal. Even though my heart wasn't really happy, I was relieved.
I only wish for the moon to shine upon the sky.
The air like me didn't really matter.
☽------------☽
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