UNISTAR : Invisible Moon [English Version]

ลำดับตอนที่ #10 : Chapter 8 : The Air And The Leaves

 

Invisible Moon
 

Chapter 8

The Air And The Leaves

"The leaves floating in the air

sometimes reach the sky."

#WINisWIND

I was staring at the little carp on the table for so long.

It was folded delicately using magazine paper. Its appearance might look plain, but because it was folded by P'In, the UNISTAR Moon, its value was worth much more than just recycled paper.

I was impressed by the MW company's management. At first, when I went to the queue, I thought it would be crowded and that I would have to wait for so long before it's my turn. I mean, think about it, how many fans of P'In would be there? But it turned out that the staff had divided the queue into ten lines and conducted verifications via member card or QR code on cell phones in order to prioritise registered fans and grey-shirt wearers.

Most UNISTAR fans had a card called 'MW Member Card', which offered discounts and collectable points when they purchased products or services sold by MW company. When the UNISTAR project was launched, they also launched a special card — the MW Unity Fan Club. All we needed to do was just register with our real name, email address, and phone number to receive news and updates of UNISTAR. This card could be used as a normal MW member card, with additional privilege for all products that UNISTAR members represented. All payments would earn them Unity points to redeem various rewards, such as reserving the seats at UNISTAR events, upgrading fanmeet tickets as well as redeeming limited edition UNISTAR gifts.

When I got into the queue for P'In's carp, I didn't have that card yet, so I couldn't get into the priority line, and needed to wait with other fans. Many fans who weren't P'In's fans also fought hard to get in the queue. I realised the benefit of being an invisible person just then, because I could sneak in the queue, and nobody noticed. Finally, I managed to get one. Luckily. Although I felt a little guilty, it was P'In...P'In who told me through his gesture that I should come and get it. So I assumed P'In wanted to give it to me. Well, that was how it looked anyway.

The hashtag #CarpFish was trending on Twitter after that event. Many fans tweeted to show off P'In's paper carp, while DomKati who missed that event or other fans who couldn't get one were wailing.

"I'm glad I got you, little carp." I was resting my chin on my hands while poking at the paper carp, making it rotate.

"Should I name it?" I thought as I recalled P'In's gesture yesterday. I couldn't stop myself from smiling unconsciously.

"Hey, little carp. What name would you like?" I asked the carp fish, which just stayed still. No response.

"Oh no, I'm going crazy. Why am I talking to a carp?" I held my head nervously as soon as I realised it.

I needed to prepare for my lessons as the semester would commence tomorrow.

I gently placed the carp near the lamp on my bedside table. Then I went through the textbook on business foundation for the class tomorrow.

Since I had read the textbook until late at night, I woke up at 8 a.m. The class was going to start at 9 a.m. When I finished getting ready, I went straight to the lecture room.

I found an empty seat beside some friends. The same group of friends I was with during our orientation session. I had to greet them three times before they noticed I was there.

"Oh, it's you. Sorry, what's your name again?" The first one who greeted me was Boss, a first-year student. He could easily befriend anyone, including me. Boss was the first person who greeted me and didn't forget to accept my friend request on Facebook. I was so glad, even though he forgot my name, it didn't matter.

"I'm Win, can I sit with you?" I asked.

"Sure. Go ahead" Boss immediately took his bag off the seat so I could sit here.

"Thank you!" I said.

Then, Boss continued talking with his friends. Boss must be the most outstanding first-year. He was good-looking and good at sports. Seniors had already asked him to be an athlete at the Freshy sports event. No wonder he became the centre of attention among all freshmen.

"Eh, why are the sophomores joining us?" A friend asked, pointing to the back of the room. There was a group of second-year students who I recognised from orientation.

"Yeah. I heard from a third-year senior that Teacher Chana is the lecturer today and everyone loves his talk." Boss answered.

"Wow! Is that the teacher who graduated from overseas? I heard he's also a former marketing consultant for many big and famous companies."

"Right. He once gave a talk at TED Talks too."

I was listening and slightly nodded at this new information.

I had been an invisible person since I was born. I was accustomed to being a listener rather than a speaker. Actually, I wasn't sure that business faculty would be suitable for me. It seemed like this major required a high standard of communication skills. However, I intended to change myself, so I selected this major to challenge my abilities. Perhaps, I would be able to develop my character, from being non-existent to becoming existent. I didn't really need to stand out.

"Hello my dear students. Wow! It seems like we have a full house today."

When the teacher entered the room. The sophomores who seemed to be familiar with him were joyfully greeting the teacher, while all the freshmen stayed quiet.

Mr. Chana was a male, but his clothing and style was trendy and very fashionable. His way and tone of speaking was a little straightforward and blunt, with a hint of sarcasm at times.

"So many second-years today...I know all of you." Mr. Chana pointed to many sophomores humorously. Then he began the PowerPoint slide.

This course was called 'Intro to Business', according to the curriculum, was an overview of general business knowledge, which included management, finance, marketing, and so on.

"The first thing you need to know," Mr. Chana said, using the mic attached to the podium.

"About my teaching style is that I don't like using textbooks, as I believe you can read them by yourselves. I like teaching through case studies, because you can analyse and widen your outlook. And today, I've prepared a case study that all of you probably know so well. Let's go through them now..."

When Mr. Chana showed the first slide, I heard many students screaming slightly, because it was—

'UNISTAR Case Study'

Well, Mr. Chana was indeed up-to-date. He knew how to get students' attention.

"Before starting, I'd like to ask. Can anyone tell me what is UNISTAR?"

"University's Moon." "Handsome guys." "Idol."

There were a lot of sophomores raising their hands, as many freshmen were still a little nervous.

Mr. Chana nodded, but he said,

"UNISTAR is a brand, and the 'UNISTAR project' is a branding[1]."

A brand? Oh right, I thought. When people asked about what UNISTAR does, many people would say that all UNISTAR members were brand ambassadors[2].

"UNISTAR's target market is teenagers like all of you," Mr. Chana explained.

"The agency created what teenagers liked in order to promote their products — the Moon and idols. Thus, UNISTAR members are brand ambassadors, and all UNISTAR's events and activities are actually marketing campaigns by MW company, both direct and indirect."

I listened and nodded while taking down the lecture notes.

"Did you know that you're already enslaved by MW's marketing strategy? You're attracted to them. You purchased the products they represent. You would buy what they used and bought. Plus, when you went to scream your lungs out at their events, you were helping them to promote indirectly."

After he said that, a sophomore raised her hand to ask.

"Teacher ka, then how can I quit being UNISTAR's slaves?"

This question made many students laugh.

"Then you just need to stop liking UNISTAR." Mr. Chana said with a smile.

"Can you do that?"

"No, I can't."

Many students replied unanimously.

"It's too late."

"I love P'In!"

"I already tied myself to the fandom."

"P'Wayu is my husband."

The whole lecture room now was filled with laughter. Mr. Chana was smiling along and continued.

"The UNISTAR project is a unique marketing strategy in contrast with many common brands. In general, a brand's marketing team would pick a presenter who is best-fitted for each product. However, the UNISTAR project was the total opposite. The newly released products from MW company are all made for the best-fitted UNISTAR member. Not to mention, the primary standard of creating new products depended on both UNISTAR and fans."

The PowerPoint slide was showing a group photo of all UNISTAR members. Many students quickly took photos of it. I dare say they didn't do that because they were focused on learning, they just wanted to show on Facebook or Instagram like: Today I learned about UNISTAR marketing.

"I talked with Producer Natthakorn once. Do you know him?" Mr. Chana asked.

"I know!" "PD Kwang!" "Ahh, I'm P'Kwang's FC."

I just realised even the PD of UNISTAR had his own fan club.

"The PD said, typically, the brand has an image limitation, but UNISTAR is flexible because it applies the system of the 'centre'. So, even if there are many commercial campaigns with different images, the centre member can be changed."

Then, Mr. Chana displayed P'Sea's photo.

"The prominence of UNISTAR members is that every member has their own outstanding characteristic. Well, students, we can try to analyse this together. This young man, what is his brand image[3]?"

"Beautiful." "Pure." "Innocent." "Gorgeous."

Mr. Chana nodded, then changed to the commercial advertising associated with P'Sea. Most of them were cosmetic, skin-care, and also airway related products.

I could easily understand the example. The characteristics of the ambassador and products must match, so that could be considered as branding. I loved the way he taught.

"Then, how about him?"

Mr. Chana changed to P'Leo.

"The prince." "Handsome." "Elite." "Gentleman."

The atmosphere in this room was very lively.

Mr. Chana explained that P'Leo was the centre ambassador for real estate and hotel business related campaigns with his elite and perfect image. I learned that UNISTAR apparently selected the member by characteristic. The same goes for P'Natee who had a straightforward, vigorous, and powerful personality, so he was the centre ambassador for vehicles and sportswear campaigns. And P'Wayu, who was humorous and lively, became the centre ambassador for amusement parks, restaurants, culinary and foodstuff related campaigns.

"How about him? Our very own senior. What's his characteristic? Can anyone tell me?"

However, when P'In became the topic. Everyone went silent.

No one answered.

"What's happening? Don't you know your senior?" Mr. Chana narrowed his eyes.

Some students began to say, with no confidence.

"Numb?" "Emotionless?" "Invisible?"

These answers were unlikely highlights for branding.

"IN or your senior — Intrakorn, is an exclusive one because he is PR[4]. Do you know what 'PR' means? Well, it's your homework to figure it out."

"Intrakorn is the positive image of UNISTAR. He is the optimistic power which we can't see but can feel. He made the UNISTAR brand look trustworthy and impressive. Accordingly, IN became the centre ambassador for nonprofit campaigns, to promote brands with a good image, such as environmental protection or Thai culture conservation."

What I had learned from this class allowed me to understand more about the UNISTAR project background.

All in all, the most important criteria to become a UNISTAR member was characteristic, apart from being handsome, smart and attractive.

Well then, what was my characteristic? I asked myself.

Fading? I sighed.

After class, I had lunch with my classmates, the same group with Boss. I was delighted. Even though they almost didn't notice I was around, they didn't forget to look for me.

I had an English class in the afternoon and in the evening, I had to join the orientation session again. I heard from Boss that today's session would be a buddy-code family activity.

Buddy-code family in college was different from common buddy games. The code number in this buddy-code family was our student-faculty number, which was assigned to our names sorted by the Thai alphabet. All seniors, freshmen, as well as alumni with the same faculty and student number in each year would be in the same buddy-code family.

So this bond wasn't just temporary, it would keep going on until we graduated. Everyone within the same buddy-code family would always help each other and get together at least once a year — the time of welcoming a new first-year member. It was sort of like a family-friendship bond.

I was really excited because I didn't have this kind of activity during my primary or high school. Despite having no friends in university, at least I would have a buddy-code family, helping each other during my four-year of study here, and even after graduation, this family bond would remain for a long time.

At least, a fading person like me would have a buddy-code senior taking care of me. Anyway, I wonder who would be my buddy-code senior? I couldn't wait to find out.

Today, all freshmen were gathered in the building courtyard. I was surprised because our faculty building was full of people.

"Hello, freshies! How are you today?" P'Tong spoke through a megaphone.

"How was your first day of classes? Today, we'll be doing the activity that everyone is looking forward to — The buddy-code family activity!"

"Hooray!" All the seniors were excited.

"As you can see, our faculty is especially crowded today because all your seniors are gonna take you for a buddy-code family dinner! Isn't that great? The elders - our fourth-year or alumni seniors will treat you to a free meal."

Some friends who loved activities were clapping hands, excitedly.

"However, it won't be fun if it's too easy. So, we have a little fun game prepared for you, freshies."

'Another activity?' I was worried. A fading person like me would be in trouble.

"We've already placed your codes with your names on the tables. You can find yours there. Your buddy-code seniors have already written down your missions, and prepared some special props or equipment if needed. When you get your mission, you can do it here, at the building courtyard. We'll keep an eye on you. Once your seniors are satisfied, they'll bring you out for dinner."

Oh...it hadn't even started and I was already nervous. If I did my mission among the crowd, I wondered whether the seniors would see me.

"Are you ready, freshies?"

"Yes."

"I can't hear you! Louder, please. Otherwise, we'll go back, and you'll miss your free meal."

"Yes!!!"

When they heard the words 'free meal', everyone cheered loudly.

Soon after, they allowed us to begin our buddy-code missions. I walked to the table in the last row. I knew my student code number should be towards the end because my first name started with the second-to-last letter in Thai alphabet.

101 was my code number.

Found it.

'101 Archawin (Win)'

My name was placed on the table.

I tried to find if there was any mission written nearby. I looked around — on the table, beside the table, and under the table — but couldn't find any. I did see mission papers on other tables near me though. Some people even had props like masks, dresses, or whatever else that was related to their missions.

I heard loud cheering voices from the building courtyard. My friends had already started their missions. Some were dancing, some did a parade walk, some climbed on the wall, some handed brochures, some even helped seniors to sell products. There were all kinds of creative missions.

What was mine? I didn't even see a single mission paper. What should I do?

I hesitated for a while. It might have been a mistake. So I decided to ask P'Noey, who was taking photos of freshies dancing around. P'Noey seemed to be the only senior who noticed my existence, despite forgetting my name.

"P'Noey krub, P'Noey..." I called her three times before she turned to me.

"Oh! What's up? Nong...What's your name again? Why aren't you doing your mission?" P'Noey asked.

"Well, I couldn't find my mission paper." I told her.

"Huh?" She looked confused. "What's your code number?"

"101 krub."

"Eh! There's a 101 code number?" P'Noey exclaimed.

I felt my heart dropping to my feet. Wait, was I that beyond invisible that even the seniors didn't know that my code number existed?

"Tong." P'Noey asked the head of the orientation committee.

"Is there a 101 code number this year?"

P'Tong was thinking for a moment, then he nodded.

"Yes. Normally, our faculty would only admit one hundred students per year. However, if there are students who were admitted with equal lowest scores in some years, then we'd have more than one hundred for those batches."

"Eh! So then, Nong code 101 won't have any buddy-code family, right? Because there are only one hundred students every year."

I felt like my soul was leaving my body, hopeless. It couldn't be true. My sweet dream of having a happy buddy-code family was ruined. All ruined. It was bad enough that I was invisible, even my buddy-code senior didn't exist. No way! I refused to believe that I was destined to be like a poor pitiful wind. How tragic.

"Hmm...but our batch was like this batch. We had a 101 code number."

What P'Tong said gave me some hope. Well, my buddy-code family might not be a big one with a lot of members from each batch, but at least I had one buddy-code senior, which was enough for me. It was better than having no one.

"Eh? Our year? 101 code number? Who? Ahhh!"

P'Noey was suddenly screaming, but she immediately shut her mouth when P'Tong poked her with his elbow, as if warning her not to reveal it.

"Nong krub." P'Tong called me.

"Just wait for a second. I'll find a way to give you your buddy-code mission."

Then, I saw P'Tong typing on his cell phone before he updated me a short while later.

"Well, your buddy senior was busy this afternoon, so he just arrived here. You can go and get your mission now."

"Thank you so much." I said, though I was a bit confused.

So the reason I couldn't find mine before was because my buddy senior was busy working elsewhere? No wonder. And now that he's here, I would need to go back and find out what my mission was.

Finally, on the table that only had my code and name before had a piece of paper containing my mission...the single instruction written was short, so short, very short, extremely short.

'Sweep leaves'

Wasn't it too short? I scratched my head. It was the kind of short that could barely be seen. Other friends' missions were at least written in complete sentences with subject, verb, object, or preposition. But for mine...no comment.

Anyway, the good thing was, I noticed a broom and a dustpan placed next to the table.

"Alright, if I need to sweep, let's just sweep."

I picked up the cleaning equipment and walked to the building's garden yard. It was quiet here as most people were gathering in the courtyard. Although it was a little isolated, I was relieved. Hoping my buddy-code senior would see me as I was the only person here.

I began sweeping. The grating sound of the broom against the stone tile was relaxing. I was concentrating for a few minutes, but later, I was distracted. Sweeping while watching the birds and the trees.

I loved the garden here, even though it was just a small garden surrounded by buildings. Nevertheless, because of those buildings, the garden appeared like a small green oasis in the middle of a concrete jungle, making me feel at ease looking at it.

I wiped my sweat as I was sweeping. I didn't time myself, so I didn't know how long it had taken. However, it felt long enough for me to feel tired.

"Let's take a break." I told myself. Sitting on a bench near the tree.

"Not clean yet."

Suddenly, I heard a voice. I was startled. This voice sounded so familiar.

"P'In?" I widened my eyes when I saw P'In leaning his back against the tree. He was looking at me, emotionless, like always.

Today was the first day of the semester. It was the first time I've seen P'In wearing the university uniform, a combination of a long-sleeve white shirt and a pair of black trousers. I felt like this XU uniform looked really good on P'In. Especially with a tiny golden UNISTAR pin on his shirt, a symbol that could only be worn by UNISTAR members. I had seen a group photo of UNISTAR members wearing their university uniforms, and it was stunning. The significance of the UNISTAR pin was probably like the gear of the engineering faculty[5].

"Oh..." I stood up immediately and continued sweeping.

I glanced at P'In while sweeping. He was still looking at me calmly, but I felt a little pressured.

Did P'In feel troubled seeing the ground uncleaned? I thought. Probably because it might ruin his scenery for taking photos.

I didn't understand it, but I still kept sweeping until it was clean. Once I finished sweeping, I took the fallen leaves to the trash bin.

I was done, but P'In was still here.

"Okay." He nodded. "Wash hands."

"Huh?" I blinked in confusion.

Did my dirty hands also trouble him? I really couldn't understand him. Anyway, since I've already intended to wash my hands, I headed over to the sink near the canteen.

While I was washing my hands, I was surprised to find that P'In had followed me here.

"P'In? So...do you need to talk to me?" I was nervous because he was following me as if I did something wrong.

I didn't do anything to P'In right? Perhaps he wanted me to help him with something. I didn't understand either. P'In was such an unpredictable person.

"Let's go." P'In said shortly.

"Huh? Where to?" I was confused.

"What do you want to eat?" P'In asked with a monotone voice.

I blinked my eyes, again and again. Why did he ask that?

"P'In...are you hungry?" I asked back, almost whispering.

"Treat you." He replied.

"Huh? Why would you want to treat me?" I was stunned.

Why was the famous UNISTAR Moon offering to treat me to a meal? Why the fading, invisible me?

"Buddy-code treat." P'In said.

I tried to process his answer in my head.

'Treat...buddy-code — and today is the buddy-code family activity.'

And I just finished my assigned mission of sweeping-leaves.

P'Tong had said earlier that when our buddy-code senior was satisfied with our mission, they would bring us for a treat.

Once I've sorted all my thoughts, everything made sense.

Then, I widened my eyes.

"Oh my God!" I was shocked.

"P'In! you're my buddy-code senior?!"

"What do you want to eat?" He didn't answer my question.

Well, I wasn't in the state to answer his question either. I was too excited to think about the meal.

"Really? P'In?! Your student code is 101 too?"

"Yes." He finally replied.

Oh, right! P'Tong also said that this year, only the first-year and third-year batches had 101 students. Plus, P'In's first name initials — Intrakorn — in Thai, was the same as mine.

"Shall we go now?" P'In asked, seeing as I was still standing there.

"Alright!" I smiled happily.

Wow! I couldn't believe it. I had never been this happy in my whole life. Well, I guess sometimes bad luck would bring about good luck.

I finally realised that the blue sky after a rainstorm was indeed beautiful.

My buddy-code senior was a UNISTAR! It felt like a dream!

☽------------☽

Footnote: 

[1] Branding is the method of creating a brand and image of a product or company for specific target audiences, which is unique and distinctive compared to other products or companies.

[2] Brand Ambassador is a person who represents the brand in a positive light. This person usually possesses an appearance, characteristic, ability, preference or others which is related to the brand and its branding.

[3] Brand Image is how the brand communicates its look and feel to its target audiences.

[4] PR (Public Relation) is a method of communication that establishes the relationship between an organisation and the public, to create a positive image, credibility, or reduce conflict.

[5] The gear of the engineering faculty is the symbolic badge of the engineering faculty in many Thai universities. It usually takes the shape of a mechanical gear. People would recognise students who wore the engineering gear as students from the Faculty of Engineering.

Note from translator : 

Thank you for follow my story. I'm so happy to hear everyone comments. Welcome to DomKati, P'In fandom~ ^_^

Thank you cloverade_ for such a pretty fan art of P'In too~ I love it so much. P'In was folding carp fish by tearing paper from Win's signature collection book. lol