My Moon, Chapter 5 pg 5
My Moon, Chapter 5 pg 5
“Why did you choose to hold your birthday at this restaurant, Klai? Aren’t you worried it won’t feel private?”
The question from Theerak made Klai pause for a moment. He pursed his lips, noticing the two people beside him fall silent. He guessed Phii Dom and Phii Babe had only invited their darling to the event but hadn’t explained why he was celebrating his birthday at a Korean BBQ restaurant.
“Uh…” Phii Dom started to say something but paused again.
“This year, there’s another event at home for my dad, and I didn’t want the people at home to get extra tired. If we held it at home, there’d be a lot of preparations…” Klai smiled at Theerak before continuing, “Plus, I didn’t want a big event. This year, I wanted a cozy birthday vibe, more like a casual meal with friends during a holiday.”
“Ohh… you always think of others first, huh? Not wanting a big event because you’re worried about tiring out the people at home… I feel warmed just hearing that, on behalf of your family,” Theerak said.
Klai gave a small smile before saying, “As I’ve grown up, I’ve come to understand the saying… when we’re kids, we want big birthday parties with lots of friends. But when we’re older, we prefer small gatherings, inviting only close ones. The importance of a birthday isn’t just about having fun and blowing out candles—it’s about sitting together, catching up on stories from the times we haven’t seen each other, and laughing over silly things that shouldn’t happen in our lives.”
“Wow, your perspective on birthdays is so wonderful… it feels so warm hearing it,” Theerak said with a wide smile. “So today, let’s smile a lot, okay, Klai?”
“Yes,” Klai replied, returning a smile.
Everything he told Theerak was true. Klai didn’t want Phii Jeab and others at home to be exhausted, and he wanted this year’s birthday to have a warm atmosphere with only close friends. But there was one truth he couldn’t share with Theerak. Even if he said he understood and didn’t mind that his dad held an engagement party on his birthday, others might not understand his dad.
Klai didn’t want anyone to misunderstand.
He didn’t want anyone to think poorly of his dad.
He didn’t want others to feel his dad didn’t love his child enough.
Though Klai knew Theerak was optimistic and wouldn’t judge his dad without knowing him, some things were too complex to grasp. So Klai thought it was better to avoid complicated matters and share only what was easy to absorb.
The faint smiles from Phii Dom and Phii Babe showed they understood his true intentions. Klai wasn’t trying to hide the truth from Theerak—he was just trimming away the heavier emotions to keep things lighter.
To keep the other person from having too many questions in their mind…
“Klaijai~~”
Klai turned toward the cheerful voice calling from his right. The vibrant voice belonged to someone leading Mai and Kant, all approaching with beaming smiles.
“You’re here~” Klai said as his three close friends stopped at the right end of the table.
“The traffic was insane,” Kant said.
“Good thing our route wasn’t as bad as Kant’s,” Mai added.
Klai patted the empty space beside him, inviting them to sit. Pie handed him a small white paper bag. Upon seeing the logo on the bag, he realized his friend had bought him something expensive again.
“I know you’re about to scold me for buying you something pricey…” Pie said, plopping down on the long bench and scooting closer to Klai. “This is a gift from me and Mai. We split the cost, and it’s not as expensive as you think.”
Klai took the gift bag and said, “Next time, don’t buy me anything expensive. I feel bad.”
“Feel bad about what? It’s nothing.”
Klai smiled at Pie before inviting the other two friends still standing. “Mai, Kant… come sit!”
“Which side should I take, Kant?”
“I’m good with either. You pick first, Mai.”
“Then I’ll sit next to Pie. Someone’s gotta keep an eye on her when we’re out.”
“Haha, okay.”
Klai watched his two close friends settle onto the long benches on either side. Mai chose the bench on his side, while Kant sat on the opposite side, across from Pie. The table could seat twelve, with long benches divided to fit six people per side, open on both ends so everyone could easily get up from either the left or right.
At the moment, Klai’s side already had five people seated, but the opposite side only had Theerak and Kant. He blinked, glancing at the empty space in front of him. Perhaps because Kant and Theerak had never met before, they were keeping quite a distance from each other. Klai decided to introduce everyone to make the atmosphere more relaxed.
“Phii Dom already knows all my friends, but Phii Babe and Theerak are probably meeting my friends for the first time. So, I’ll introduce them, so you can greet each other when you run into them at the university,” Klai said, making eye contact with Phii Babe and Theerak before gesturing toward his first close friend. “This is Pie.”
Pie raised his hands to wai and greet Phii Dom and Phii Babe, then lowered them and waved at Theerak instead. Phii Babe gave Pie a friendly smile, while Theerak, with her chubby cheeks, waved back.
“And this is Mai…” Klai briefly shifted his gaze from Phii Babe and Theerak to follow his hand gesturing toward Kant. “And this is Kant.”
Mai and Kant raised their hands in a respectful wai to greet Phii Dom and Phii Babe, just as Pai had done, and flashed smiles at the couple. Seeing everyone’s reactions, Klai felt relieved, as they all seemed friendly with one another.
“Klai, bring the gift bags over here so Pie can sit comfortably.”
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