My Moon, Chapter 17 pg 1
My Moon, Chapter 17 pg 1
Chapter 17:
“Is there another problem with your personal work, puppy?” Klai asked.
“Yes,” Panli replied.
“Would it be too intrusive if I wanted to confirm whether the personal work you keep mentioning is the business you run with your friends and seniors?”
“…”
“I remember you mentioned having friends and seniors as business partners. But if you’re not comfortable sharing, that’s okay, Panli. You might want to keep it private.”
“It’s not intrusive,” Panli said. “I can tell you about it. I hadn’t shared yet because I planned to take you to the store and tell you it’s mine. But since you asked first, I’ll tell you now.”
“…”
“KhunKlai, do you know the clothing brand Once in a Blue Moon?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yes, it’s the clothing brand I run with my partners.”
“Panli… this brand is pretty famous to me! Last year, I saw their store open in Siam, and my high school friends were buying from it and posting all over Instagram.”
“…”
“Even though I don’t use Instagram much and only check it once in a while, I still saw how popular this store is all the time.”
‘...’
Most men’s clothing tends to be dark, street-style, while women’s clothing is often cute and pastel-colored.
“I really love the sound of your voice when he’s excited,” Panli said.
“I was genuinely excited, Panli. Who would’ve thought I’d become close to the owner of a famous clothing brand I’ve been eyeing for a while? I wanted to buy something like everyone else, but… I didn’t have anyone to go with and never got the chance.”
“You are the Klaijai, someone near hearts you know… Why wouldn’t you have a close friend who owns Once in a Blue Moon?”
“You’re right… I forgot I’m the Klaijai.”
Yesterday’s conversation floated back into his mind after learning that his close friend, Moon, was one of the partners of a clothing brand hugely popular among teens. Panli shared how he and his partners started the business, overcoming obstacles to build their brand’s reputation—a far-from-easy journey. The brand first gained traction on Instagram, with friends helping to promote it. From there, it grew more well-known. Moon said the hardest part was making their brand unique and distinct.
Klai wasn’t surprised that so many people, including his high school friends, loved this brand. Panli and his partners knew exactly how to target their main consumers and executed brilliant marketing strategies. Now, they even had their own store at Siam Square.
Klai was genuinely proud of his puppy 😊
“I can’t believe our close friend is practically the boyfriend of the owner of Once in a Blue Moon, the store we’ve been ordering from online for almost a year,” said the petite friend carrying a large brown paper bag containing a box of custom-made leather shoes. She turned to look at the cheerful voice’s owner.
Klai shook his head lightly, smiling faintly at his friend’s words.
Truthfully, Klai hadn’t planned to visit Once in a Blue Moon, which had just released a new clothing collection a few days ago. He came to Siam Square after class because the regular leather shoe shop he’d ordered from called him to pick up his custom shoes, and he also wanted to buy some shorts for a beach trip tomorrow. So, he drove over.
But during class, Moon sent him a LINE message with a drawing of a white rabbit wearing black sunglasses, sitting cross-legged on a crescent moon, followed by a message:
“Phii Pi told me to try designing a print for the new t-shirt collection. I’ve been out of ideas lately, but one word keeps popping into my head.
“...”
“That word is ‘troublemaker.’”
“...”
“So I drew this cheeky, mischievous rabbit.”
When Klaijai replied to the message saying that this rabbit was probably naughtier than him, Pie, who was sitting beside him, leaned over to look at the picture in the chat. Pie started asking about the drawing of this rabbit, so Klaijai had to tell his close friend about Panli’s shop. This led to Pie insisting on coming to Siam with him because he wanted to buy a t-shirt from the new collection.
“Come on, Klaijai, let’s go into the shop,” Pie urged.
“Okay,” Klaijai responded, watching as Pie pushed open the large glass door decorated with colorful stickers in the shop’s signature style. His almond-shaped eyes glanced up at the blue English letters spelling out the shop’s name on the white building. Then, Moon’s voice echoed in his mind once again.
‘KhunKlai, wait to buy the shirt at the shop with me, okay? Don’t go by yourself.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because Phii Pi loves to roast me. He’ll definitely tell you something bad about me. And if the other one is there too, I might get completely trashed.’
‘Alright, I’ll wait to go with Panli.’
Klaijai let out a soft sigh, knowing full well he was breaking his promise to Moon. But he hadn’t planned to come in the first place. Everything happened so suddenly, and today Panli had an exam in the evening. Klaijai didn’t dare call to invite him, worried it might make him rush and lose focus. So, he decided to come with Pie first.
He’d call Moon tonight to confess.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t be upset.
The smaller man followed his friend into the shop. Klaijai scanned the surroundings. The clothes on the first floor were mostly t-shirts, for both men and women.
“He doesn’t seem like the naughty guy you described at all,” a deep voice said from behind.
Klaijai flinched slightly before turning to the source of the low voice. He guessed the tall, broad man smiling at him was “Phii Pi,” the important business partner Moon didn’t want him to meet.
“…”
“I’m Pichop,” the man introduced himself.
“Hello, Phii Pi,” Klaijai greeted.
Though Phii Pi’s earlier comment had sparked some curiosity, Klaijai chose to raise his hands in a polite wai before seeking answers. Phii Pi nodded slightly, eyeing him from head to toe.
“You’re much cuter in person than in the picture.”
“In a picture?” Klaijai asked, puzzled.
“Yeah, I saw you in the photo you sent me yesterday,” Phii Pi said.
“…”
“Yesterday, Dee sent me the designs for the new collection via LINE. There was this cheeky rabbit design. I thought it was cute, so I asked where the inspiration came from,” Phii Pi explained, pulling out his phone from his pocket. He tapped on it briefly before showing something to Klai. “And you sent me a photo of Klai.”
The smaller man stepped closer to Phii Pi, his lips pursing slightly when he saw a photo of himself sitting in a Japanese restaurant in the chat between Phii Pi and Panli. Klai only just realized Moon had secretly taken and kept a photo of him. And when he scrolled down to read the message that followed…
‘Inspired by this one… my little troublemaker.’
It made Klai so shy he couldn’t meet Phii Phii s eyes.
All his doubts were cleared up by the photo and message Moon sent to Phii Pi. No wonder Phii Pi had charged toward him like he was targeting prey, completely confident he wouldn’t miss. That was because Panli had sent the photo beforehand. But Klai didn’t know how much Moon had told his senior about him.
Maybe Panli just mentioned his name, Klai, like when he introduced him to high school friends.
But judging by the LINE message… Klai would bet a bit more.
Phii Pi probably knew he was the ‘little troublemaker.’
Klai looked up to meet Phii Phii s eyes as he slipped the phone back into his pocket. He gave a sheepish smile, then tried to think of a way to shift the conversation to feel less embarrassed.
“So, when is you releasing this collection?”
“You mean the troublemaking rabbit collection?”
“Yeah.”
“Probably won’t be released.”
The smaller man furrowed his brow slightly and asked, “Why not?”
“Because he said he was possessive. he didn’t want anyone else to own the naughty rabbit. If he saw the rabbit design on someone else, he’d probably get mad and not let it go. So, I’ll hurry up and design a new one instead.”
Sometimes Klai miscalculated… because some questions didn’t make him feel less shy at all. Instead, they made him even more embarrassed, causing him to lift a hand to rub his warm ears, as he often did.
Why is this puppy so possessive…?
But if they were measuring possessiveness, Klai might just give him a run for his money.
Klai was sure that the little puppy couldn’t outdo him.
:)
“Phii … if I buy shirts from this store, does that mean some of the money goes to Panli’s pocket too?”
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