Kong pressed a hand to calm the butterflies running loose in his tummy..he wished he could calm down...

He had arrived early back stage as they had instructed the participants to come an hour before the show to change and go through last minute instructions if any...He was the first among his frens to arrive..the other faculty participants who had arrived were giving him weird looks which only made him more nervous..

He smoothed his hand over his hair trying not to scold himself for taking an impulsive decision and stupidly dying it golden brown last night...

Yes!! He had gone and tried to dye it golden to match his eye colour..

He would need to wait for his frens to really know wat the honest reaction was as he wasn't gonna ask just anyone how he looked..

Most of all he hoped P'Arthit could recognize him and liked wat he had done..he wished it was not so bad...If only Rome would hurry up and get here...Kong had not returned to the dorm last night, he had gone to P'wave's, so none of his frens had seen him in this new hair colour and 'no contact lens' look yet...

He walked to the snacks table arranged in a corner of the room and pulled out an oishi drink not bothering to look at the flavour..he then walked to a chair in the far end and flopped down on it...unscrewing the cap to take a sip.

After 15 mins he felt his phone ring..he looked at the caller I.d to see tat it was Rome..

"Hey Rome, where are you??"

"I should be the one asking u tat question...u said u arrived half an hour ago. Why aren't u in the green room? Did u go somewhere?"

"I am in the corner near the window Rome.."

"Where I can't see u?? There's only some kid with golden hair there... Wait...don't tell me..." and he almost dropped his phone with his mouth wide open as he saw Kong's new look...

"Wow...!! Whose idea was it?? If this s your strategy to win the title then it's really gonna work Kong cause you look like a fucking handsome Greek God.."exclaimed Rome..he couldn't contain his excitement as he made Kong stand and turned him around looking him over...

Kong laughed nervously..
"Really...you think I look good?? Don't kid me Rome.."

"Do I look like I am joking??"Rome asked with a serious face..

"No..well from the time I came in people were giving me weird looks.So I kinda thought it looked bad.."

" It suits you Kong..I can't wait to see P'Arthit's face...he's not gonna recognize you.."

"Really...is tat good or bad...??Oh I am so nervous Rome.."

"Calm down and come on let's get changed..the others are done already..the girls ll be waiting for us to take a final picture before we go on stage..."

And they went off to get dressed and made up...

After half an hour of Rome fussing over Kong, putting on the right amount of blush and gloss to bring out his features, they were ready. They pinned on their participant numbers and walked together to meet their partners...

They were waiting for them at the corridor just outside the green rooms. Prae had on a powder blue skater dress with short sleeves and her hair set in curls, she perfectly complimented Kong's looks...Kat on the other hand looked equally pretty in a short flared skirt and floral blouse with a v neck...

"Hi girls, looking gorgeous.." Rome greeted them as they came near..

Kong kept quiet as he knew Kat would recognize him now...and just as he expected the moment she turned and her eyes fell on his face her smile froze and her hand flew up to her lips... "P'Tuan" she whispered..

Kong just stood there and smiled opening his arms for her and she ran into them..." Why didn't you tell me earlier..??"she sobbed in his hug..

"I wouldn't get to see this reaction of urs if I had N'Kat..it's priceless u know."he laughed..

"Don't you dare think I ll let u go easily if u tease me P'Tuan" she reprimanded "once the show s over u owe me a very long explanation. And a lifetime worth of ice creams..if u want me to forgive you for disappearing like tat.."

Prae was looking at them wondering wat had happened to Kat .."It's a long story Prae...I ll tell u later" Kong said.

"Ok..you look handsome Kong..I guess our chances of winning just improved.." she grinned..

They all took some pictures. Just as they finished P'August came by and asked them to line up near the back stage according to their entry positions..the first item of the evening was the dance, followed by the talent show after which they had the question round..the audience would vote through each of this based on their performance and the final count of votes plus the jury's decision would crown the campus Moon and Star of the year....

Meanwhile in the audience..

Arthit had used all his influence to bag vip seats for him and his friends..Wad and Em ended up in their group sitting next to Prem and Tay..Arthit could see tat Tay was quite taken by the young and bubbly photographer next to him..as Prem had eyes and ears for no one except Wad...Arthit thought he was the one responsible for Prem's romance as he had put him up to verify the involvement Wad had with Danny's gang..

He didn't know that Prem had already fallen for the shy and silent guy before tat, when he looked after him in the hospital after the assault in the dorm.Arthit's assignment, though, had been the one which brought them closer as Wad had trusted Prem enough to open up and talk about how his dad had used him as a pawn to settle his gambling and drug debts and how he had been brought out by his uncle who paid the gang to set him free, though not before he had suffered enough in their hands...

Tay and Em, had also bonded during the hospital stay of Rome and Wad.Tay had been there to visit his friends and Em his. Tay ended up giving Em a lift home one day and the friendship had begun...

Seeing all his friends paired up made Arthit happy and he fingered the bracelet tat Kong had put on his wrist tat day....he silently wished him luck as he had promised him tat they wouldn't meet before the show but rather after the results were declared...Kong had made him swear infact,yesterday, tat he wouldn't try to meet him before the show.

The presenter just then announced the show was about to begin and the lights dimmed..they could make out the outlines of the participants as they took their position on-stage for the dance. Arthit trying to guess which one was Kong, guessing from his outline...

The lights came on and as the music started,Arthit again tried locating Kong but he couldn't..he saw his frens were searching too with equally perplexed looks.. finally it was Em who had spotted him.

"Holy cow!! Kong coloured his hair!!", he exclaimed drawing everyone's attention to the pair in the right corner moving with excellent grace and precision...

Arthit's jaw dropped as Kong and his pair moved to the centre giving them a clear view of his eyes..

"Wow he's even wearing matching contacts " Bright exclaimed..

"No, that's the real color of his eyes." This was Tay...

"If tats the real color then u mean to say he wore colored contacts daily??" Prem asked confused, his eyes widening as Tay nodded...

The entire hall was silent and stunned and the minute the dance ended the whispers about the handsome golden haired boy started...

Arthit was woken from his trance by the whispers and a smile spread on his lips...his Tuan was coming back to him...

He sat through the performances lost in his own joyful thoughts until he saw the piano with Kong rising from below the stage...

Once the floor had stopped moving, Kong had turned towards the audience and gave them a Wai before starting...as he did tat his eyes locked with Arthit's and Arthit smiled...seeing tat Kong's face broke out into the most beautiful grin,making him even more handsome...then he had put his fingers to the keys and started playing perfectly looking right at Arthit throughout the song...there was not a note out of place,he finished the recital with the reverse version of 'Twinkle Twinkle '. Again Arthit grinned at the hint Kong was giving him tat he was Tuan indeed...

The talent show ended and question round was about to begin...the participants walked in one by one as their names were announced and stood on the stage with their partners.. The members of the jury each took turns asking each participant a question..

It was soon Kong's turn. As the presenter announced his name he stepped forward and waiied to the jury by bending low...

"Kongpob, what is your idea of love?"the jury member asked..

The hall erupted in a crazy frenzy of screams and he had to wait a full 2 mins before everyone had calmed down to let his answer be heard..

"Love to me is when someone means so so much to you, that words don't even begin to describe what you feel..it's magical...beyond compare..." he said as he looked directly at Arthit...

The Judge nodded,pleased with the answer..the audience clapping loudly..

After all the contestants had answered. The judges discussed among themselves for a few mins after which they passed on a closed envelope to the presenter...

"We have with us now the results...let's begin with..." the presenter began announcing one by one...Rome won the 'cute smile' title...Kat got the 'fashionista of the year' title....Arthit smiled wide and clapped hard as she got her sash...

"Now for the most awaited last two titles....The 'Mr and Miss Popular' title by voting... 'Mr.Popular' this year goes to none other than... Kongpob from the faculty of fine arts " the applause rang out as Kong moved forward to receive the sash...he did look a bit disappointed as he knew he wouldn't get the moon title. The same person had never got both the Popular vote and Campus moon title together.

"And now...the most awaited, heavily anticipated titles of Moon and Star of the campus...The Moon title....bestowed unanimously by all jury members without dispute this year...a first in history for the same person to be getting both titles...." and the crowd screamed...

"Yes, you guessed it right Kongpob Suthiluck, faculty of fine arts..."

Kong showed no reaction, his mind was elsewhere..Prae nudged him.."Kong they're calling ur name..U won the moon title " she whispered..

"What??? " he blinked looking around in disbelief... How was this possible??no one had won both the titles so far in the history of the university...

He stepped forward still in shock as the chief guest put the second sash around him, placed a crown on his head and gave him a bouquet..

As he stood on the stage hands folded thanking the crowd,he smiled wider...Arthit was clapping and screaming with all his might from the front row....

After the show when Kong went backstage he was literally mobbed by all the students wishing him and trying to take selfies with him...by the time he accepted all the thanks and made his way to the green room he was exhausted..the room was empty though, he wondered where all the others were, just then a volunteer came in and told him he was needed for the group photos and directed him down a corridor..

As he walked down the corridor, he felt weird as though someone was following him, but there was no one behind him..he reached a door at the end of the corridor and opened it..

Was he at the right place? did he take a wrong turn ?? The room was definitely dark and empty, not a place were photos were being taken...he turned around and was searching in his pocket for his phone,he pulled it out to call Rome when he felt something wet being pressed to his nose,the phone dropped from his hand as a pair of arms held him from struggling..and then his world went black....

********************************

There the action has started...
Who do you think kidnapped Kong?
Will Arthit find him on time?

Here I would like to thank the people who gave me the photos for the last two chapters as they seemed made for this book..they appeared on Instagram after I started writing this, so it was a pleasant surprise to me..Thank you from the bottom of my heart for those beautiful pictures u made..whoever you are..I hope u don't mind me using them..😍

I ll try to update the next chapter as soon as possible so pls hold on till then...😁..