Daybreak Medley

(Dreamer Arc) Chapter 9 - City of Angels

A few years had passed and Yumeko had participated in many missions while waiting for Zoner to be ready to hatch. A few years back, Yumeko created a marionette called Takako (貴子) to become Zoner's friend and watch over him when he was in Singapore. Takako reported to Yumeko that Zoner's power had increased tremendously. So it was time to take action.

Bangkok, or Krung Thep (กรุงเทพ), which means "the city of angels" in Thai, was their family holiday destination. It was definitely the city of angels for Zoner Sun Wukong (His Chinese name is孙悟空) himself than his family members. It was more of a family reunion for his family members with his distant relatives, so the perk here was that they did not need to stay in an expensive hotel, but could live at their relative's mansion for 1 month free and easy. Zoner's studies at the Polytechnic was over. It was a three month transitional period before he began his National Service, which he dreaded (like every other guy who needed to go through it in Singapore). It was compulsory for all males in Singapore. In a military environment, you'd need to follow instructions, be alert, and be emotionally and physically sturdy, and be street smart at all times to survive. Zoner could do barely any of those, even at gunpoint. Spending his time here would probably be as good as spending the last moments of his life to enjoy as much as he could because he would be "legally" locked up for two years. His last chance to listen to the music he wanted, play the games he wanted, and appreciated the girls he liked and craved for. His last chance to appreciate the life God had given to him before being sent to the 'gallows'. It was supposed to be a new beginning for most other guys, opening the door to manhood, but it was the opposite for him. Here's why.

20 year old Zoner was not just your typical nerd. This lover of Japanese animation, languages, pretty babes, nice music, and Power Rangers ('Super Sentai' in Japan), who had mastered 3 foreign languages (Japanese, Korean, and Thai) at 19 years of age, had below average social and communication skills, and below average awareness of subtle facial expression, body language, verbal tone, and the message between the lines that ordinary people instinctively could pick up. He had been the butt of jokes, and unwittingly made enemies with some people, usually due to misunderstanding or miscommunication. Usually, other people misunderstood his intentions because he used the wrong words at the wrong time, or he misunderstood what people said because he couldn't read between the lines, or the subtle undertones of social situations. He's a straight steel bar that was almost impossible to bend. The worry he had was that due to miscommunication with his peers or superiors, he might end up in a possible accident that his superiors or himself might not be able to prevent, and that might endanger him and others. He had never wanted to be the cause of unhappiness of other people, yet he knew he would cause it one way or another, mostly unintentionally, usually causing the other person to hate him or despise him for life.

Being straight-forward, not conscious of how others felt, lacking eye contact when speaking to another person, and being insensitive towards subtle body language and facial expressions, being naive and gullible, was a recipe for failure in today's modern society. He had all these traits. After enduring criticism that reiterated how useless he was, Zoner had virtually withdrawn from mainstream society. He had experienced rejection by the girls he was attracted to, been criticized by his teachers or colleagues and excluded from social circles formed by his classmates. He also experienced what it's like to have his views ignored by his peers. In the end, he's better off looking at pictures of pretty babes on the net, watching superhero movies that featured how a guy went from zero to hero, such as Spiderman.

Eventually, he had enough of his surroundings. Everything and everyone in this small country was reminding him of all the unpleasant experiences he had. Coming to Thailand wasn't such a bad thing either. He knew no one here, and no one knew him either. Here, he felt more welcome. After all, he brought with him tourist dollars to boost its economy. His short 1 month stay would be an enjoyable one. An escape from the drab confines of Singapore Island, where only what's on his computer screen (usually from other countries) could interest him. Since he's a lone ranger with few close friends, it wouldn't make a difference if he's in a foreign country. He had nothing much to miss when away from his home country.