UNISTAR : Invisible Moon [English Version]

ลำดับตอนที่ #32 : Chapter 30 : The Faraway Moon

Invisible Moon

Chapter 30

The Faraway Moon

"The shining moon may seem close,

but it's still out of reach."

#WINisWIND

I didn't understand P'In. I didn't understand myself even more.

We both stood in the elevator. Though P'In had already unclasped my hand, we were still silent.

At this moment, there was only silence between the fallen Moon – me – and the shining Invisible Moon – P'In.

It was already dusk, so I should find something to eat for dinner and go back to the dorm, take a shower, and study. However, I wasn't hungry and didn't want to go yet.

The fading Moon – me – just followed this Invisible Moon. Nothing else to do, nowhere else to go, only walking with P'In.

As I didn't do my makeup today, I was simply air right now. Fading Win. And since P'In was the invisible Moon, if he didn't want to be seen, no one would notice him.

I was curious. Where would he take me? Because he didn't say anything, only led the way until we passed through the university's gate. Tonight, a temporary night market was arranged nearby. There were many foods and various types of stalls here. I looked around, it was quite crowded, but no one noticed me and P'In.

I was wondering if P'In would like to buy something here, but he just walked past them without even a look. P'In headed to the convenience store not far away, so I followed.

"Uh...P'In, what do you want to buy?" I asked.

"Cat food." He said as he browsed the pet food shelf.

"Oh..." I realised. P'In did say 'cat food ran out' and told me to come and buy it with him earlier.

So, he actually did want to buy cat food.

But the store wasn't that far, it was easy to come. Why did he need someone to come along? I was trying to figure out the reason, but still couldn't anyway.

"Tuna or salmon?" P'In asked me which cat food flavour to choose.

"Uh..." I never had a pet before.

"Which flavour does your cat prefer?"

"Don't know." He said. "I've never asked the cat."

"Huh?" I blinked.

'What? P'In! If you did ask and the cat could answer, it's definitely not a normal cat!' I thought.

"Uh..." I used another way to ask.

"Which one ran out faster?"

"Not sure." He said in a flat tone.

"Almost the same."

"Uh..." I scratched my head, and had no idea how to help.

"P'In, why don't you buy both?" I suggested.

"So your cat can eat different flavours."

"Oh, good idea." P'In agreed. So he took those two packs of cat food to the cashier. Then, we both walked out of the store.

The street lights were so bright here. As we were walking, P'In stared at my T-shirt for a long time. I took a look at myself. I worried if it was dirty, but it wasn't. My T-shirt was purple, a bit large, with a rattan tree logo and the text 'DomWhai'.

"I don't like this T-shirt." P'In critiqued my shirt.

"Uh..." I said.

"It was from P'Wayu. I just borrowed it and I'll return it to him later."

P'In looked at my shirt and didn't say a word. While we passed through the night market on the way back, we saw a number of clothing stalls. I thought P'In would be in a hurry to feed his cat, but he just stopped at a male clothing stall.

"How much?" P'In pointed at a grey shirt with short sleeves.

"199 baht." The seller told us. P'In didn't even bargain, he just paid for it.

"No plastic bag." P'In added and took the shirt, paused before handing it to me.

"Wear." P'In said, short. I gasped.

"You want me to wear it now?" I asked.

"Yes." He nodded. "At night, it's cold."

"Oh? It isn't that cold. I'm alright." I didn't want to say no, but I was confused. The weather wasn't cold at all.

"I've already bought it." P'In looked at the shirt in his hands. I didn't know why, but his words made me feel like he would be sad if I didn't wear it.

"Okay. I'll wear it." I took the shirt and wore it over my current one.

"Button it," P'In said.

"Alright." I obliged. I didn't know whether I should cry or laugh.

I finally realised why P'In bought this shirt.

He just didn't want to see 'DomWhai' on me. He must really dislike this T-shirt from P'Wayu.

That's why he bought me a grey shirt — DomKati's colour.

Did P'In really preferred for me to only be in his fandom?

Or was it just my imagination?

P'In and I eventually went back to the dorms. I thought everything was done, and we would be separated. However, when I said goodbye, he said...

"How about we feed the cat together?"

He sounded like he was pleading, so I couldn't deny him.

I was in his dorm again. His room was still neat and clean. The total opposite from P'Wayu's room.

P'In poured some cat food into a bowl and kept the rest on the shelf. He walked out to the terrace and I followed him.

It was a bit colder than downstairs. I was glad that I was wearing the shirt he bought.

"Hold it." P'In handed me the cat bowl and looked around.

"Tri." P'In called. "Tri, Tri."

At first I wondered what he was saying, until I realised that it was a cat's name.

Meow~

The cat appeared. It jumped up to the terrace and made a purring sound. I immediately saw why P'In called it 'Tri' – because it was a tricoloured cat.

But...seriously. Why didn't he pick a more creative name? He didn't need to name the animals based on their looks all the time. First, that stray white dog was named 'White', and now, his stray tricoloured cat was named 'Tri'.

Well, I was glad that I was already named 'Win', otherwise, he might have called me 'Fade'.

"Hungry?" P'In asked the cat. The cat was snuggling at P'In's legs. So he lowered himself and fondled it. Then, the cat was lying on its back, letting him touch its belly.

'This cat is trying to seduce P'In.' I frowned.

"P'In, do you know? The tricoloured cats are always female."

I read it in an article. It said that the X-chromosome of the cat determined its colour. Since the female cat had XX chromosome, it could have three colours, while the male cat had XY chromosome.

"Really?" P'In seemingly just realised. He was observing while touching the cat's belly.

"True. Tri doesn't have that thing."

What he just said made my face turn red.

Wait...What? Why did he have to say that out loud?

Meow~

The cat probably disliked people talking about its gender. So it meow-ed loudly, using its head to rub against P'In.

"Cute." P'In praised the cat.

I frowned again, then asked without thinking...

"P'In krub. Between me and the cat, who is cuter?"

I wanted to take my words back. What did I just ask?

Was I jealous of the cat, really?

However, even though I felt so ashamed, I still wanted to know his answer. So I looked at him, expectantly.

P'In paused from petting the cat. He was looking at me, pondering.

"Say meow," P'In said.

"What?" I blinked.

"If you say meow, then I can tell." He said flatly.

"Uh..." I was stunned.

He wanted me to imitate the cat's sound, so he could compare?

I didn't know whether he was teasing me or not, but when I saw the cat looking at me. I felt like it was challenging me and I didn't want to lose.

So, I did the most embarrassing thing in my whole life.

"M...Meow~"

I made a cat's sound, with my hands moving like a cat's paws.

After I did it. I really wanted to escape from here. Oh my god. It was totally shameful.

P'In, however, suddenly laughed out loud. His eyes were smiling. I was looking at him and falling into a daydream.

The smiling Moon was so charming.

I had no idea how long I was looking at him. I snapped out of my trance when the cat called me as she looked at the cat bowl in my hand.

"Tri is hungry," P'In said. So I put down the bowl. The cat came to eat, and seemed to enjoy it.

Right! I already made a meow sound. P'In only laughed but hadn't given me an answer.

"P'In krub. Who is cuter?" I asked again. Actually, I didn't expect him to answer.

But it turned out...

"You, of course." P'In replied while looking at the moon. He didn't look at me.

His answer made me bashful.

He said I was cuter than the cat. I was both happy and shy at the same time.

Happy to win against the cat. Really?

Before I said anything else, P'In changed the topic.

"What if I ask you to keep being with me like this, will it be too selfish?"

P'In turned to me. The Moon wasn't smiling anymore. His expression was very serious. I needed to adjust my mood as well.

"What are you talking about?" I couldn't understand what he said.

"Can you give me more time?" P'In continued but didn't look at me.

I was trying to follow.

"Did you mean...about you and me?" My voice was unstable because I was afraid to talk about this topic.

"Yes." He nodded.

My breath was heavy. I was worried, was feeling awkward, and was expectant.

P'In just told me that he wanted time to think about us? Which meant he hadn't rejected me yet? Did I still have hope?

Or did he mean that he wasn't comfortable to be with me, so he needed more time to stay away, before getting back to being buddy-code brothers just like we were?

I wasn't sure what he meant, but I didn't want him to feel bad about it.

"Anyhow, you're still my senior and my buddy-code brother." I chose to make him feel at ease.

Even though I didn't want to be just his buddy-code brother.

His eyes met mine, his expression was very strange.

"Win, do you really understand?"

"What do you mean?" I was confused.

However, P'In stayed silent. He returned his gaze to the moon and didn't look at me again.

"Never mind." He said lightly. I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or the moon.

"If you want to be a UNISTAR, just forget what I've said."

I fell silent too.

"Sorry...for everything." His voice was almost whispering.

Perhaps, I overestimated myself, thinking that I could understand P'In best.

In fact, I might not understand him at all.

Even though I could be closest to P'In, however, today, I couldn't even understand his thoughts.

I followed his gaze. The sky was clear with a few clouds and the moon could be seen shining beautifully.

As I looked at the moon from here, it looked so bright as if it was so close to us.

But in fact, it was so far away.

If we reached our hand out to the moon.

We could only touch the empty air.

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