My Moon, Chapter 19.2 pg 8
My Moon, Chapter 19.2 pg 8
He closed his eyes, praying that the person he helped wasn’t Klai, begging that the events of that day didn’t really happen. But he couldn’t escape reality, and he’d have to face many more truths from here on out. Panli opened his eyes and looked up at Phii Dom.
“Klai, right, Phii Dom? …” A lump rose in his throat as he tried to say the next sentence. He forced down the heavy ball of emotions before continuing, “The person I helped in the bathroom that day… it was Klai, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah… the person you helped was Klai.”
Panli had never been punched full force in the face before—usually, he was the one throwing punches—but when he learned this truth, he finally understood what it feels like to take a hard hit to the face.
His mind went blank.
And his whole body started to feel numb.
“Klai wasn’t hurt by him, right, Phii Dom? …” Panli remembered Phii Dom already mentioned this, but he just wanted to double-check, to be absolutely sure that after he left the bathroom, leaving Klai alone, he was safe. “After I walked out of the bathroom… did that guy do anything else to Klai?”
Phii Dom shook his head before saying, “No… Klai wasn’t hurt by him.”
“…”
“And you don’t have to feel guilty either… because you didn’t know it was Klai in the bathroom, and it’s been a long time since then.”
“…”
“But the reason I’m bringing up that day is because it was the starting point of everything.”
“…”
“I’ll keep telling you…” Dom waited until Panli nodded, signaling he was ready to listen, before continuing, “Even though that jerk Merk didn’t dare mess with Klai anymore, I was still worried about him. I was afraid Merk might harass Klai again.”
“…”
“So I secretly went to check on Klai at the faculty building… I saw him sitting at a table on the fourth floor almost every day. At first, I thought he was just finding a quiet spot to read, but when I looked closely, I noticed he was only staring down below.”
“…”
“…And one day, when Klai didn’t come to class because he was sick, I sat in that spot myself… That’s when I realized it was the perfect vantage point to see clearly.”
“…”
“But I didn’t immediately assume Klai had a crush on you… So I went to grill Kant, thinking Klai probably told him everything.”
“Is Klai really close with Kant?”
“Yeah… those two have been best friends since high school. They’ve been through a lot together. Kant’s always been there for Klai.”
“…”
Panli thought if he could choose…
He’d want to be by Klai’s side through every moment too.
“And Kant really did know about it… He spilled everything, recounting every detail of what happened that day all over again…”
Panli stayed silent while listening to Dom’s story. He spoke with a serious tone and intense eyes. He bit down on his lower lip until it stung when he learned that Merk had told Klai’s friend group about Panli singing at Boss’s bar, using it as a bargaining chip to meet Klai. And Klai’s friend, who had a crush on him, agreed to the deal… trading their friendship for just a few hours with him.
Everything Dom told Panli made his heart ache, because as someone who values friendship, he knew how awful it feels when someone doesn’t appreciate the meaning of the word “friend.”
“And in the end, Kant said… it was because of that day that Klai started secretly liking you, and he still does to this day.”
“…”
“But Kant asked me to keep all this a secret. If Klai found out he told me these things, he’d feel uneasy.”
“…”
“Kant said only three close friends know about this… Klai never told anyone else. The only reason they found out was because they caught him sneaking glances at you on the fourth floor. That’s when he finally confessed.”
“…”
Panli understood why Klai didn’t tell Dom himself. He was probably worried it would affect him somehow. He’s always thinking about other people’s feelings.
“…”
“And after I found out, I never thought about telling anyone… not even you.”
“…”
“But the day before Klai’s birthday, Kant came to wait for me at the faculty again. He told me something he’d just learned not long ago. He couldn’t help but worry about Klai, afraid he’d feel bad being alone, so he secretly told me.”
“What happened to Klai this time?”
Dom sighed before recounting Klai’s past. He told Panli about a senior who tricked Klai into confessing his feelings just to win a bet with friends, and about Thot, one of the people involved in Klai being harassed by Merk. Merk had spread the story of Klai’s confession and rejection to everyone in their department, turning it into a cruel joke. Just knowing Thot was friends with Merk already made him want to smack him with his favorite pair of shoes, but hearing what he did to Klai made his blood boil even more.
“Does one person really have to deal with such awful people and terrible things like this?”
“Now do you understand why I decided to tell you all this… and why I want someone like you in Klai’s life?”
“…”
“If you say you want to take care of Klai… Panli wants you to know who’s hurt him before… and who’s still messing with him.”
“From now on… if anyone messes with Klai again—”
“…”
“I’ll crush them under my foot.”
“Back then, I wanted to beat the crap out of those two jerks, Shin and Thot… but Klai wouldn’t point them out.”
“Kant, right? Kant probably knows them.”
“I already went to Kant… but he asked me to let it go. He didn’t want to make things harder for Klai. And Kant himself already felt guilty enough for secretly telling me so much.”
“…”
Dom raised the cigarette, nearly half-burned, to his lips again before saying, “But when I thought it over carefully… I decided to let them go.”
“…”
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