UNISTAR : Invisible Moon [English Version]

ลำดับตอนที่ #18 : Chapter 16 : The Smiling Moon

Invisible Moon
 

Chapter 16

The Smiling Moon

"The moon that is smiling upon the sky,

is spectacular and stunning."

#WINisWIND

"Win."

P'In called my name with such a gentle voice, it almost took my breath away.

"Krub." I responded, a little jumpy.

P'In called my name again! Although it wasn't the first time, the more he did, the more I realised I was falling for him. Now, it was difficult for me to even make direct eye contact with him.

I stood there nervously as he walked towards me.

Once the faculty Moon selection had ended, Boss and I walked out of the room until we reached the canteen. We parted ways and I was planning to go back to my dorm when P'In stopped me.

Right now, there were only a few people at the canteen and nobody noticed P'In. His invisibility mode was probably activated.

But for me, the fact that P'In was standing right in front of me brought out an inexplicable sense of excitement within me. I couldn't understand why, but this feeling seemed to have intensified over time.

"Are you free?" He asked.

"Uh...I don't have anything urgent right now. Do you need my help with something?"

"About the Moon contest." P'In said.

"Oh right." I nodded in acknowledgement.

Mr. Chana did say that P'In would conduct a special training to help the selected candidate.

When I realised that I would have more chances to be closer with P'In, my heart began racing.

"Follow me." He said, leading the way.

I blinked, feeling confused. Still, I followed him without even knowing where we were going.

P'In walked out of the faculty building. I followed him but kept a distance of around 3 metres between us. It was surprising that many students were looking at me, but no one noticed P'In.

I was amazed by it. For me, who had been invisible my whole life and suddenly becoming 'visible', I didn't know if it would be possible to switch back into a fading person as easily as P'In did.

P'In was leading the way until we arrived at the student committee building. Generally, the building is restricted to the student body. Since P'In was the university Moon, he had the privilege.

Anyhow, it was evening now, so the building staff should already be off work. How could we get in?

"P'In. The building must be closed now." I reminded him. I'm still not sure why he came here.

"I have the key." P'In took out a key without turning to me.

"Oh..." I realised. "You already asked permission to use the room after hours?"

I heard that if any students wanted to access the room post its official hours, they must ask for permission to get the key.

"Yes." He replied, leading me to the second floor.

I followed him quietly until he stopped in front of a large room. When P'In was unlocking the room, I was wondering what this room was used for. Then, when P'In turned on the lights, I widened my eyes, astonished by the sight.

It was a large performance rehearsal room. There were several types of musical instruments arranged in the room like piano, violin, drum, guitar, trumpet, trombone and others. There were also various Thai musical instruments and art performance equipment for dancing, ballet, Thai boxing, Thai art dancing, and so on.

This must be the training room for the Moon and Star candidates!

But...P'In led me here...could it be that...

"What can you play?" P'In turned to ask me.

"Uh..." I had no idea how to answer him. I wasn't good at sports, music, or any type of performance.

"I learned piano for one month before..." My voice quivered due to embarassment.

Back when my sister was taking piano lessons, I tried joining them too but eventually discovered that I didn't have the talent for it — I couldn't control my fingers that well, therefore I had no choice but to give up.

"One month..." P'In seemed doubtful, as if he was wondering whether one month of learning piano would be good enough for performing on the stage or not — definitely no way!

"Uh...I also learned khim[1] for one year." I said in an undertone. When I saw how good my sister was with western music instruments, I realised that despite my efforts, I would never be as good as P'Wun, so I switched to Thai music instruments. I thought that the khim would be easier to learn compared to the piano, no more tangled fingers. However, it didn't take long for me to admit that I had absolutely no musical talent. I simply couldn't match the pace, so it was difficult for me to play advanced songs.

"Let's try." P'In said while leading me to the other side of the room.

The room echoed in silence. At this time, there was nobody in the building except me and P'In. Everyone had probably gone home. So when I walked towards the Thai music instruments, the vibe was rather mystical.

"Oh...P'In?" I was confused. Why did P'In just walk around to hide behind me?

Before I could even ask, P'In suddenly...

"Bam..."

P'In moved towards me, raising his hands. He was acting like he was trying to scare me, with an emotionless face. Only the 'Bam' sound was a little louder, even if it was still in a monotone.

"P'In?" I looked at him, muddled.

P'In tilted his head as if amazed, then he lowered his hands.

"You aren't scared of ghosts?" He asked.

"Huh?" I blinked.

"If it was Wayu, he'd be shocked." P'In continued.

I was confused for a while. At first, I couldn't understand what he was trying to imply. But then I eventually understood.

Because this area looked quite mystical, it also gave off a spooky feeling, adding to the fact that the room was too quiet as well. If I stayed alone, I would certainly be scared. If someone suddenly jumped out and shouted "Bam!" to me, I would be frightened too.

If P'Wayu was here, there's no doubt that he would end up shocked because P'In was invisible to him.

Then, why wasn't I shocked? Obviously, because P'In wasn't invisible to me.

However, if P'In had truly disappeared from my sight and then suddenly said 'Bam...' I'd be scared out of my wits too.

"You can see. Not fun teasing." P'In murmured. So I became more confused.

What? P'In was planning to tease me?

I was completely stunned.

A person like P'In...wanted to tease somebody?

For real?!

But...how could he tease someone with that poker face?

"Play. I'll listen." Seeing me standing still, P'In went ahead and opened the wooden cover for me.

I swallowed hard before sitting on the floor. I picked up the khim sticks, raising my hands to pay respect, a custom in our Thai culture. In fact, I hadn't played khim for a long time, so I was struggling to even hold the sticks properly.

But the biggest problem was...

"P'In...I forgot the notes." I confessed.

P'In stared at me for a moment.

"Play any song." He said.

"But...I forgot every song." I admitted, feeling guilty. Since I hadn't played for a long time, and I didn't usually listen to Thai traditional songs, there was nothing in my head, neither the notes nor the melodies.

P'In went quiet for a while. I felt so bad because P'In had chosen me to be the Moon, but I was useless. I would only disappoint him.

I was worried, so I turned to look at P'In. However, he didn't seem to be disappointed, he seemed to be in deep thought instead.

After that, P'In walked to the ranat ek[2] on the opposite side. He sat down slowly, raising his hands to pay respect before grabbing the ranat sticks, and started to play a song smoothly.

P'In was playing the ranat? I widened my eyes.

His posture was both gentle and elegant. Although he was wearing our university uniform, P'In looked as magnificent as an angel.

I couldn't take my eyes off him. Normally, I wouldn't have much interest in traditional Thai music. Nevertheless, I was attracted to P'In's play. It was beautiful, as if it possessed some sort of powerful magic. The rhythm, gesture and sound were in harmony. It was indeed the most symphonic Thai song that I had ever heard.

My mind went into a trance as it flowed along with the melody of P'In's playing until it finished. P'In then slowly placed down the ranat sticks.

I was pulled out of my trance.

"Recognised it?" P'In turned to ask me.

He was asking about the song that he just played.

"What?" I was startled, still a little lost after my trance.

The song that P'In just played wasn't too difficult. It sounded familiar. It might be the very first song that I had learned.

Oh, I remembered. The song laments the love for a woman, composed by Prince Benbadhanabongse, the son of King Rama V of Thailand.

The lyrics began with...

Oh my dear, my beloved moon, I came to say that I love you...

"P'In, the song you just played is called 'Lao Duang Duan[3]', right?"

I was quite confident. Although I wasn't good at playing music, I liked to study the history of the song that I had learned.

"Yes." He nodded. "Can you play?"

"Krub, I'll try."

I said while picking up the khim sticks. The melody started playing in my head and I managed to recall most of the forgotten notes.

I placed the sticks on the khim strings gently and began to play.

The sound of khim that I was playing merged with the sound of P'In playing the ranat in my head. It was the first time that I could play Thai music with emotions.

I let myself flow with the rhythm, my hands were moving smoothly along with the khim's melody. By the time I realised it, I had already finished playing a song in front of P'In.

I glanced at P'In nervously, because it was the first time that I played music in front of other people besides my teacher and other students.

P'In looked like he was deep in thought.

"Com Arts Moon plays the Thai fiddle." P'In stated briefly, but I could understand immediately.

For the university Moon contest this year, the candidate from the Faculty of Communication Arts would be playing the Thai fiddle; a traditional Thai musical string instrument. I assumed that he was talented and could play it well, otherwise, P'In wouldn't need to point it out.

Even though P'In didn't say it directly, I could understand his thoughts. P'In might think that 'Lao Duang Duan' or The Moon Serenade wouldn't be special enough to perform on the stage.

"How about this song?" P'In grabbed the ranat sticks again. He had picked a new song for me, so I watched him with keen interest.

P'In began to play the song, this time the tempo was almost two times faster. I was stunned. It was so fast that I thought if I played like this, my hands could break.

This song had a different tone compared to Lao Duang Duan. It was a fun song that was full of energy.

"Oh!"

I finally recognised the song when P'In reached its long beat section.

'The Prelude of Chinese Hammered Wood', the legendary song from a Thai movie called 'The Overture'.

Right! I remembered that in this movie, the main protagonist's opponent, who was also named 'Khun[4] In', was extremely talented in playing the ranat. Like him, P'In was equally, if not more, talented with the instrument.

Wow! It's an interesting coincidence that the character's name was 'Khun In' and this man was 'Moon In'.

The melody that P'In was playing from the start until the end was so powerful.

I was unconsciously clapping my hands along.

While I was wholeheartedly admiring P'In's skill —

"Can you play this song?" P'In asked. I almost dropped the khim sticks when I heard him.

"Huh?!" I exclaimed.

I couldn't even catch up with a basic song, not to mention this legendary song.

"Can you?" P'In asked again.

"Well..." I swallowed. I wanted to be honest and say that I couldn't do it, but P'In seemed expectant.

"I'll try."

Therefore, I took a risk. My hands were trembling while placing the sticks on the delicate strings of the khim.

I couldn't remember the exact notes. The teacher who used to teach me this song liked to let his students try on their own, but it was too difficult. I remember that I had only played a few times before giving up. Nevertheless, some notes still felt familiar, accompanied by the melody of P'In's ranat playing in my head. I probably could play it, perhaps, I just might...

I began to play. I felt a bit embarrassed because the sound was quite distorted, it wasn't as beautiful as P'In had played, but the show must go on. I began to play random notes, so I kept it going till the end.

I bit my lip and felt sweat forming on my forehead. This song was indeed difficult. I was trying to play the fast long beat like P'In did, but my arms felt tense and painful.

Oh no! This section was too long, I almost cried. I did my best, increasing the beat of the sticks on the khim with my hands. Perhaps I didn't do it properly, or I hit it too hard because...

It finally —

Bam!

"Wha!" I screamed and stepped away from the khim.

Because the khim's strings suddenly snapped, my eyes widened. I was both shocked and embarrassed at the same time.

When I realised what I had done, I thought P'In would be angry at me.

However...

I heard a laughing sound, which made me turn my head.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I was so stunned, I dropped the khim's sticks.

It was the first time I saw P'In laughing. Although it wasn't that loud, still, it was rare to see P'In with a laughing expression besides his usual emotionless one. When he was laughing, his eyes seemed to smile along. His expression right now was so dazzling.

A few years ago, there was a celestial phenomenon — the smiling moon in the sky. The soft colour crescent moon looked like a smile in the sky, together with the two shiny stars as if they were its beautiful eyes.

I remembered being very impressed by how brilliant that smiling moon phenomenon was. But now that I had discovered a real brilliant Moon like P'In, I had to change my mind.

Even the smiling moon in the sky, couldn't be as exquisite as a smiling Moon like P'In.

P'In indeed had such an attractive smile that could draw me towards him.

P'In seemed to realise that I was staring at him, so he stopped laughing. His expression went back to normal, but it was still obvious that he was trying to hold his laugh.

"P'In. I'm really sorry that I broke the strings, I think playing music doesn't suit me." I decided to be honest with P'In.

"That's alright." He answered. Then he walked to the drawer and brought the spare string and tuning equipment.

P'In sat opposite to me, using a plier to cut off the broken strings.

"Are you going to fix the strings?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Yes." He said while pulling out the string from the roll then replaced it on the khim.

"You can fix the khim!" I was surprised.

P'In was not only the master of Thai music, he could also repair Thai musical instruments!

"My grandpa was a Thai music teacher." P'In replied and held out his hand towards me.

"Yes?" I blinked. What did P'In want to do? When I followed his eyesight, he was looking at the khim sticks, so I handed one to him.

He took it. He used its tip to strum the strings to test the sound as he adjusted the pins using the tuning tool.

"Ah...Your grandpa was a Thai music teacher, so you learned Thai music from your grandpa right?" I understood what he said.

"Foundation." He said, still testing the sound on the khim.

I was doubtful, he only learned the basics of Thai music from his grandfather?

"So the rest...have you been practising by yourself?" I asked.

I felt like I was getting better at interpreting P'In's 'language'.

"Yes." He nodded and finished repairing the khim. He only played a bit to test it one last time and he was done.

I was thinking about which topic I should bring up to resume our conversation, but before I could decide, P'In looked at me and explained...

"It's been ten years since grandpa passed away," P'In said.

I was shocked and hurriedly said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know this before..." I felt guilty. I shouldn't have mentioned this topic.

However, P'In didn't mind about this, he bent his head down then continued.

"My grandma loved grandpa playing the ranat."

Although his voice was monotone, there was a hint of sadness in it.

I understood immediately without needing further explanation.

P'In said that he learned the basics from his grandfather, so he was able to play some songs using Thai instruments. Then, when his grandfather passed away, P'In's grandmother must have been aggrieved. I once heard that music could heal one's soul, so P'In must have kept practising the ranat to play for his grandmother.

"I bet your grandma loves to watch you play the ranat." I said.

"Yes." P'In nodded, putting the khim equipment back to its place.

"Grandma said she recalled grandpa whenever I played."

I was left speechless by his words. I'm sure P'In's grandmother was the happiest woman, because although her beloved husband had left this world, she still had a grateful grandson who kept practising the ranat until he mastered it just for her.

I assumed that P'In must have loved his grandmother so much. Oh right, I just remembered that P'In's parents had passed away when he was young, followed by his grandfather. He must've been lonely growing up. In his world, his grandmother was all he had left.

When thinking about that, I felt like my tears were threatening to fall.

He looked at me, seemingly wondering...

"Are you alright?"

"Oh...yes! I'm fine!" I became conscious and pulled myself together.

"P'In krub." I decided to change the topic.

"The university's Moon contest will be held soon. I think no matter how hard I practice, I won't be good enough to perform it on the stage. Music is just too difficult for me. So then, what should I perform for the Moon contest?"

"You're right." P'In said as he looked at me.

"Are you hungry?"

"Huh?" I became confused when P'In suddenly talked about something else.

"Ah...a little," I answered.

"But I still have no idea about what I should perform."

"Think later." P'In looked at the clock on the wall.

"It's late. Let's eat."

I needed to adjust my brain for a while because P'In just shifted our conversation from my performance to food.

"Okay, you want to go back now, right?" I assumed P'In must be hungry as well.

"What do you want to eat?" He asked back.

"Krub?" I was confused.

"Treat you." He said.

"Huh? Why are you treating me?" I asked. I was touched that P'In didn't only train me for the Moon contest, he also cared for my diet.

"Buddy-code family," P'In said. "Compensate that day."

"Oh!" I just realised. That day when P'In and I ate suki together, P'In did say that he wanted to compensate by treating me to a meal at another time.

"What do you want to eat?" He asked again.

At first, I was going to answer that anything was fine for me. However, I was reminded of the 'Moon in the Kitchen' TV program that I saw on Twitter recently.

In the TV program, P'In was teaching how to cook Thai food. P'In usually said that he learned the Thai food recipes from his grandmother, that was why his dishes were indeed authentic Thai food.

In that TV program, P'In was the main chef and P'Wayu was the assistant. In fact, P'Wayu wasn't really a good assistant as he had always sneakily tasted everything. It seemed like P'Wayu's duty was only to 'eat', because he was the best of all UNISTAR members at making such an appetising persuasive expression when eating delicious food. The audience could feel their mouths watering just by watching P'Wayu eat. It's no wonder P'Wayu was selected as the centre brand ambassador for foodstuff.

I had watched some episodes and I realised that P'In was a hands-on and detailed cook. From preparing the ingredients, chopping them up, stirring them around, until decorating the dishes. Every DomKati would say 'we want P'In to be our personal chef' in unison.

When thinking of P'In's cooking, I started feeling hungry.

"P'In." I stared intently at P'In with hopeful eyes as he waited for my response.

"If you don't mind, I want to eat any dish that you make."

After speaking out, I felt a bit shy. I wasn't sure if it was too direct or not, because P'In was a UNISTAR. I was just his buddy-code junior. Him offering to treat me to a meal was already kind enough, how could I dare to ask my buddy-code senior to cook for me?

P'In was thinking for a moment before he replied.

"Follow me."

"Huh?" I was muddled when P'In led the way out.

"Where are you going?"

"Go dorm." He said.

"Huh? Your dormitory?"

"Right." He nodded.

"Can I..." I pointed at myself, hesitantly.

"Can I really go?"

"Wanna come?" He turned to me.

"Well...I'm a bit concerned about your privacy." I was honest with him.

P'In didn't only treat me to a meal, he also gave me his personal cell number, and now, he was inviting me to visit his dorm.

If any DomKati found out about this, would they murder me?

"No come, no food." P'In said, emotionless.

I blinked, twice. Then —

"Okay! I'll go with you!" I didn't hesitate anymore, I didn't care if P'In thought I was shameless.

P'In was inviting me! How could I refuse?

After that, P'In led me out of the room. We were the last users, so I turned off the lights. However, when I walked into the hallway outside, I couldn't find P'In. There was no sign of him at all.

"What? Where did P'In go?" I mumbled.

I knew P'In was the invisible Moon, but normally P'In wasn't invisible to me.

What was happening? Or was P'In just joking about cooking for me, and he had already escaped back to his dorm?

While I was miserable with my own imagination...

"Bam..."

Suddenly, someone popped out from behind the door.

"Papa! Mama! Help me!"

I was scared to death, as if my soul had left my body.

When I finally collected myself, I saw P'In standing right in front of me. Emotionless as always, but unlike usual, he was standing on the steps, both his hands raised.

"P'In..." I called out his name with relief.

It was just P'In. I could calm myself down.

"Succeed." He said, monotone.

"What? Succeed what?" I was dazed.

"Teasing, succeed." P'In explained shortly.

I gasped for a long time before I finally caught it. Everything was so clear.

Not only could P'In do something humorous with his poker face, he could also tease other people with that same poker face. I had never thought P'In was this kind of person.

"It was fun." P'In said while looking at me.

I widened my eyes, again.

For now, there was happiness on his face that could rarely be seen. His lips curled up a bit, along with those smiling eyes, causing my heart to almost stop racing.

Why was a smiling Moon like P'In so fascinating?

My heart began to play the Moon Serenade song thoughtlessly — 'Lao Duang Duan', Win the air version.

Oh my dear, my beloved Moon,

Please do not smile like this,

My heart will fall for you.

☽------------☽

Footnote : 

[1] Khim or Thai dulcimer is a Thai stringed traditional musical instrument, quite similar to the Hammered Dulcimer or Cimbalom.

[2] Ranat Ek or Thai xylophone is a Thai traditional musical instrument in the percussion family.

[3] Duang duan in Thai means 'moon', in the 'Lao Duang Duan' song, 'Duang duan' refers to a beloved woman.

[4] Khun is a title held by Thai nobles. The title indicates a rank 'Khun'.

Note from translator :

This chapter introduces many Thai traditional music instruments and traditional song. If anyone  interested in Thai traditional music specially Ranat Ek that P'In is expert. I recommend this movie '​โหม​โร๫' or English called 'The Overture' 

(imagine P'In is wearing like the man in poster...Awww~)

LOVE  ^_^

And please enjoy the smiling moon hahaha