Chapter Text
Whoever decided to create coffee deserves to be put on a pedestal and worshiped for the savior that they are. Or at least be given an award. This thought goes through Kim’s head as he pulls into the parking lot of a coffee shop. He had never been to this particular shop before but it was close by and looked relatively empty. Which is exactly what Kim needs after the day he had. It wasn’t horrible, it would take a lot for him to consider it as that considering the way that he grew up, but there were what seems like hundreds of little annoyances that he had to deal with. Kim knows that, realistically, caffeine wasn’t going to help with his migraine but he can pretend that it will.
Kim lets out a heavy sigh and rests his head on the steering wheel before turning the car off and getting out and walking into the little coffee shop. The shop is small and has a very warm atmosphere. There were several tables around clearly meant for studying with outlets and extra lamps around them. The menu behind the counter was made with a black board with different colors of chalk used for the different sections. It was cute and quiet, only a few people in the shop including the workers.
A worker behind the counter greets him and he nods to acknowledge them before pulling out his phone, seeing a message from his manager. He starts to walk up to the counter while texting his manager back. Clearly he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings and he accidentally walks right into someone causing them to drop their drink. Kim’s reflexes kick in and he immediately grabs some napkins as he hears the other person let out a loud gasp.
“I am so sorry!”
“No, I’m sorry I was the one who walked into you.”
Both of them kneel down to wipe up the drink that is all over the floor. Kim feels some liquid drip off his leg and onto his foot and realizes that the drink must have gotten all over the other person.
“Are you okay?”
Kim finally looks at the other person and pauses. He recognized the boy in front of him but he couldn’t quite place him. Then suddenly it hit him. This was the boy from the college fair, the one who corrected the last trivia question. Kim watches as the boy’s eyes widen with realization.
“I - uh - yeah, yeah. I’m uh- I’m fine.”
Kim watches as the boy’s cheeks turn red with embarrassment and he has to fight a smile from forming on his lip. A shop worker came over to them with a trash can and a mop. She sort of shoos them away from the spill and towards the counter. Kim approaches the counter and gives an apologetic smile.
“Sorry about the mess. Just a medium black coffee for me and if you could remake whatever his drink was as well that would be great.”
Kim grabs his wallet as the boy behind him begins to protest. Kim is about to respond when the girl behind the counter speaks up.
“Chay, honey, if a cute guy offers to replace the drink he dumped all over you, you don’t refuse.”
She throws Kim a playful wink. Kim pays for the drinks and tells her to keep the change. He then turns back to the boy who is avoiding eye contact.
“You really didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s the least that I can do considering that I caused the spill. Sorry about that, again. Porchay, right?”
Porchay’s eyes widened again.
“You remember me?!”
“We met only a couple days ago. Plus you were pretty memorable.”
Kim internally chuckles at the panicked look on Porchay’s face.
“In a good way, I promise.”
They both stand there awkwardly for a few moments before the girl behind the counter clears her throat.
“You two go sit down. I’ll bring you your drinks when I’m done with them.”
Kim looks around to find a good table as Porchay begins to walk away before stopping.
“Would you like to join me? I have a little table near the back that is kind of hidden if that is something you are looking for.”
Kim raises an eyebrow at him.
“Are you sure, I wouldn’t want to bother you if you’re working on something.”
“I’m not really. You don’t have to accept but I thought that I would offer.”
“No- uh. Thanks, I'd like that.”
Porchay nods and leads Kim back to this little nook in the shop. Normally Kim would be ultra paranoid about being led into a hidden spot where he could be easily attacked. But for some reason, that Kim can’t understand, he trusts that Porchay won’t lead him into danger.
Almost as soon as they are seated the shop worker comes over with their drinks.
“Here you two go. Oh, Chay, you should bring your brother with you sometime soon. I could use the eye candy.”
“Didn’t you and your girlfriend just celebrate your two-year anniversary?”
“Hey, just because I’m not going to order anything doesn’t mean I can’t look at the menu.”
Chay laughs at this.
“Not sure what Porsche will say about me bringing him with me because my friend wants to check him out but I’ll try to get him to come.”
“It's not my fault that he is allergic to buttoning his shirts. Anyway I have to get back to work before I get yelled at. Let me know if you guys need anything.
“Will do. Thank you, Pink.”
She walks away and Porchay plays with his cup nervously.
“Sorry about Pink, she can be overly friendly at times.”
“She’s fine. I take it you come here a lot.”
“Yeah, I usually come here every Friday after my classes to study or just to relax and avoid the bus when it’s the busiest.”
“You’re still in highschool then?”
“I’m in my last year, graduating in a few months. Then I plan to go straight to college”
“And you want to study music? What made you decide to do that?”
Chay pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts.
“I guess that it is just something that I have always wanted to do. My brother and I have this plan, really more of a dream, of owning a bar on a really nice beach where he can make drinks for rich people on vacation and I can provide the live music. That would be my start in the industry and hopefully I can grow and make it big someday. We know that that will probably never happen but we can dream. I know that;s kind of dumb but….”
Chay trails off, suddenly embarrassed.
“That’s not dumb at all. It’s good to have a goal in mind. It’s a nice dream, Porchay.”
“You can call me Chay, most people do.
Kim nods and they fall into a comfortable silence.
“Why did you decide to study music?”
Kim lets out a silent huff. He should have known that his questioning would get turned back on him. He takes a deep breath, thinking about what to say.
“I… am not very good at expressing myself. When I was younger I would bottle everything up and didn’t really have a way of releasing it. Then one day I just decided to pick up this old guitar that was lying around and starting messing with it. It just felt right, I guess, like it was what I was meant to do. So I started learning how to play and applied to the university to study and now I’m here.”
“That is a really beautiful way of explaining it, P’Wik.”
“Kim.”
“What?”
“My real name is Kim, Wik is just a stage name.”
Kim doesn’t know why he’s telling Chay this but he feels compelled to do so. He grabs a napkin and writes his pseudonym on it before flipping it around a few times.
“Wik is just a different side of me. Honestly it is a part of me that I like better.”
“I think that I would like any side of you.”
Kim stares at Chay for a moment, honestly shocked. Chay sees his expression and lets out a small giggle.
“What I mean is, if this is P’Kim I’m talking to now, and P’Wik was who I met the other day, and I like both, then I think that I would like any side of you.”
Kim continues to stare before shaking his head.
“I wouldn’t be saying that if I were you. But thank you.”
Chay smiles at him. They finish their drinks in silence and chay checks his phone for the time.
“I really should be getting going. It was really nice talking to you P’Kim.”
Chay starts to pack up his things and get ready to leave. Kim’s mind is running a mile a minute trying to figure out how he could bring up them meeting again. He has no idea why but he wants to see Chay again. He knows that it's crazy and a really bad idea. Building connections with people only leads to him putting them in danger.
“Hey, Chay.”
“Yes?”
This is a really bad idea but Kim speaks before he can change his mind.
“Are you still looking for a guitar tutor?”