My Moon, Chapter 7 pg 3
My Moon, Chapter 7 pg 3
It must feel like this burning sting...
“I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to.”
“You meant it, Thot! I saw you let New fake-push you into Klai.”
“When will you stop slandering me, Mai?”
“Me, slandering you?”
“Yeah, you. Always seeing the worst in everything.”
“Shut up, New! You’re the one who’s trouble.”
“Mai, calm down... causing a scene at uni isn’t good,” Pie tried to restrain Mai, who was fuming.
Even though Klai didn’t witness the incident from the start with his own eyes, he realized what was happening when it occurred. He could piece together the events on his own.
He looked at Thot, who was holding a coffee cup, trying to meet his gaze but soon looking away. Klai thought Thot had planned with his close friend to prank their group, though it might have gone slightly off-script. In truth, Thot and New probably intended for the hot coffee to spill on the report instead. Klai noticed Thot’s worried expression and New’s eyes darting toward the report in Pie’s hands.
Klai let out a heavy sigh, feeling exasperated with the pair. From observing their behavior, he figured they wouldn’t be hard to handle. He had no intention of retaliating with petty revenge like in a drama—it was a waste of time and pointless. Upon careful analysis, New and Thot’s mindset wasn’t much different from that of children.
The way to deal with people who refuse to grow up
Is to be the adult who reprimands mischievous kids to make them realize their mistakes.
He looked at them calmly, walking toward them with composure, and said, “The report didn’t get stained with coffee like you and Thot wanted.”
“…”
“Claiming it wasn’t intentional… it just makes you and Thot look like you’ve only grown in size, not in maturity.”
“…”
“I am not going to stoop to childish pranks for revenge.”
“…”
“Because I don’t like trouble, I’ve been patient, even though we know you and Thot have been messing with me all along.” Klai stared intensely at them before continuing, “But this time, you’ve gone too far… beyond what normal people would do.”
“…”
“If you and Thot don’t stop messing with me and my friends, I’ll have to tell the advisor everything. And don’t think the advisor won’t believe me, because I’ll explain why I distanced myself from the group.”
“…”
“I’ll talk about how you, Thot, New, and Orn didn’t contribute to the work, and I’ll mention the incident at the bar that made me decide to cut ties with every one of you. That should convince the advisor that there’s a real conflict between both sides in their advisory group.”
“…”
“I don’t think I can resolve this myself, since you and Thot won’t stop. It’s probably better to let the advisor help sort it out.”
“I-I didn’t mean it, man… my hand just went weak when I got close to you, Klai.”
“If you don’t want trouble… then don’t let your hands go weak around me again.”
Klai spoke while staring at both of them. Thot and New looked visibly worried. They probably thought he’d let it slide like always. Bringing up the threat caught them off guard, leaving them unprepared.
The petite figure walked back to his close friends. Mai was on the phone with someone, looking anxious, while Pie tapped on his phone screen before looking up at him with disappointment in his eyes.
“What’s going on?” Klai asked.
“Klai, I messaged a friend from another faculty to borrow a shirt. The plan was for you to swap shirts with them before our presentation and switch back after. But today, they’re presenting at the same time as us,” Pie explained.
“…”
“My friend probably won’t make it to uni before our presentation either,” Mai added.
Klai looked between Mai and Pie, then gave them a reassuring smile. He’d already thought of a solution for his coffee-stained shirt, so he wasn’t too worried. But it was understandable that his friends were concerned—several guest professors were attending the presentation today.
He figured explaining the situation to the professors would likely earn their understanding. But with the time left, Klai thought it better to solve the problem first rather than go in with a stained shirt and ask for sympathy.
“Our group is the fourth to present, right?” Klai asked, glancing at his wristwatch.
“Yup!”
“Then we need to go… Mai and Pie, you guys head to the room first. I’ll catch up as fast as I can.”
“Where’s you going?” Mai asked.
“I’m going to buy a new shirt at the shop across from uni. We’ve got twenty minutes… I think I can make it.”
“Oh, I totally forgot there’s a student uniform shop across from uni!” Pie said.
“Want to leave your jacket with us?” Mai offered.
“No need, I’ll bring it along. That way, I can change and get fully dressed right after.”
“Okay, okay!”
“Then hurry, Klai. When the professor checks attendance, we’ll say you’re in the bathroom so you won’t be marked late,” Pie said.
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