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Tine was not having it that day, not at all.
The law student had already planned his entire Friday to wrap up the weekdays properly, which also included finishing a group class project with his teammates—which was fortunately also his best friends, Fong, Phuak, and Ohm—that was due on Monday the week after. He was already thinking of relaxing while working on his part of the project in the campus library, but his friends of course had to have other plans.
After their classes were over, Tine found himself already being dragged to a newly opened coffee shop which was located only a few blocks away from their campus building. And there he was, already whining and groaning all the way while complaining to his friends for wanting to finish their group project in a coffee shop. For a second, Tine could already sense that their project would not be finished any time soon.
“I mean—why can’t we just do the papers in the library? It’s much quieter there!” Tine whined, his eyebrows already knitted in annoyance as both of his arms were literally held tightly—or rather, hauled—by Phuak and Ohm while they were walking down the streets, to where the coffee shop was. So that Tine wouldn’t run away, Ohm had said before.
“Oh, come on, Ai’Fong has been craving for their coffee caramel milkshake since, like, last week. This coffee shop went viral in Instagram! How are you not excited at all?” Phuak answered Tine, whereas the latter still had a sour face on. Tine then lazily rolled his eyes, still trying to pry his friends’ hands off his arms. “I hope you guys remember that I don’t exactly like coffee?” Tine replied, which was left unanswered by three of his too-excited friends.
He could only sigh, looking at the sign in front of the coffee shop building which was already near from where they were standing.
Espresso Lab.
Even as the four men were entering the coffee shop altogether, Tine was still so full of complaints, which caused his friends to awkwardly smile and give their wai every time somebody inside the shop turned and looked at them in a weird manner. “See? People are everywhere, do you think we can even find a seat? Tsk,” Tine wailed, scratching the back of his head as he observed their surroundings.
He could see people—be it alone or in huge groups—sitting with different kinds of beverages and cakes on top of the table. Only one word could express this entire situation right now, and it was: crowded. Not only that it was stressing Tine out because he was sure there would be too many obstacles if they decided to complete their group work here, he was also distracted by the smell of freshly ground coffee beans which interrupted his smelling senses. He disliked coffee, and this only made things worse.
“And why would they even play indie rock music in coffee shops? Can things get any worse?” Tine spoke once again, looking around to at least find any empty table for the four of them, with their paper materials still held in his hands.
“It’s by Desktop Error! Stop nagging so much, oh God,” Ohm reached out to playfully bash Tine on the back of his head in annoyance, causing the latter to grunt in surprise. “We’re really not going to get anything done in the end! Just let me order my precious coffee caramel milkshake first, then we can go through our papers,” Fong finally spoke, sneering at Tine before making his way to the counter and make his order. Tine then sighed, slowly shaking his head. What an incredible way to end the weekdays, whew.
If anything, Tine had not been paying attention to the counter at all, although his friends had been muttering about how good the coffee shop’s desserts looked. Instead, Tine was busy fiddling with his phone, trying to simply follow the steps of his friends in front of him while they were looking for an empty table for four after Fong finished ordering his drink.
As Tine was too focused with his phone, the boy did not even realize that he was walking too slow behind them all, until his other three friends were already making their way to the corner of the coffee shop where an empty table could be spotted. Once he snapped back to reality, Tine noticed that he was already standing in front of the counter where Fong had made his drink order earlier, far away from his friends.
However, as soon as he was about to pick up his pace to find Ohm, Phuak, and Fong, a calm, baritone voice rang in his ears out of sudden.
“Hello, are you here to make an order?”
Once Tine turned his head and pried his eyes away from the screen of his phone to look at the person currently talking to him, he was stunned by the sight he was offered.
Oh.
Without being able to utter a single word out of his lips, Tine’s mind suddenly went blank, staring at the man behind the counter who was probably still waiting for a reply from him. The boy’s eyes immediately observed the stranger’s face features, almost instantly admiring his brown, hawk-like eyes, pointed nose, sharp jawlines, slightly messy brown hair, and bow-shaped lips—which caused Tine’s lips to slightly gape without saying a single thing. The man in front of him was beyond beautiful.
“Hey?”
The voice immediately snapped Tine back to reality for the second time, as the boy realized that he had probably been looking at the stranger like a madman. God, what an embarrassing first impression. With a puzzled expression, Tine awkwardly scratched the back of his head, seeing the way the man’s eyebrows were starting to furrow while paying attention to Tine’s weird behavior.
“Oh, y—yes, sure, sure,” Tine stuttered without thinking before he spoke, nodding a few times as he started blinking his eyes rapidly, trying to draw a normal smile on his visage—yet it turned awkward in the end. On the other hand, the handsome stranger—cashier? Barista?—behind the counter only looked at him in an unreadable expression, as if he was trying to check whether the person in front of him was alright.
“Oh, okay, what would you like to order?” The person asked, and Tine could swear he was dying a little inside as soon as he saw the man’s widening smile, showing his row of teeth. It was even worse when Tine realized how the man kept his eyes on him, probably because he was waiting to note his order.
Oh God, the menu, the menu, menu board, where, Tine chanted in his head while scanning his surroundings rapidly to find just anything he could order. As soon as his eyes were set at a random menu he found on the menu board, Tine quickly blurted out, “Ah, I—Iced Americano.”
The barista nodded, immediately reaching a hand out to grab a clear cup, while his other hand was already holding an opened black marker. He then eyed Tine once again, his blinding smile was still evident on his visage. “Classic Iced Americano. Alright, can I have your name, please?”
“T—Tine, it’s Tine,” The student answered while following the man’s motion as he wrote his name on the clear coffee cup. Without realizing, Tine swallowed a lump in his throat out of nervousness, his eyes trailing back up to observe the man in front of him. No matter how long Tine was staring, the only thoughts he could come up with were this man is so damn beautiful and would it be weird if I asked about his name?
It was too unusual for Tine to be this tense, nervous, and uneasy, that he was even starting to question himself. He was the Mr. Chic of the campus, for the love of him, that even his friends knew that Tine had a knack for flirting.
The problem was the fact that Tine had never actually flirted with a man before. Had the person been a woman, it would be effortless for him to deliver sweet, subtle flirty lines towards her. However, now that he found himself being somehow sparked by an attractive man out of nowhere, he suddenly did not know what to do or how to behave. It was safe to say that the stranger had left him breathless, although the man was literally only taking orders from him, just like any other barista would.
“I thought that someone like you would’ve enjoyed sweet stuffs instead,” The barista said, chuckling a little as he started inputting Tine’s order to the cash register without even looking at the stunned boy. “But you like Iced Americano, yeah?” He continued, finally tilting his chin up from the cash register and meeting Tine’s eyes once again—still with a small smile painted on his distracting lips.
Well, damn. It was not the first time the stranger had looked at Tine right in the eyes, yet Tine still found his chest trembling and his heart pounding every time the man did. Tine then blinked rapidly, moving his already parted lips while trying to form a coherent sentence. “Yeah, yeah! It’s—it’s my... Favorite. Sure. Yes. Iced Americano,” He replied, and even his own ears could catch himself sounding like a literal robot. It was embarrassing.
“Yeah?” The barista raised one of his eyebrows slightly, tilting his head to the side as he continued staring at Tine, as if the man was trying to analyze his expressions. Dear Lord, I hope he wouldn’t notice that I’m practically nervous as hell right now, Tine thought to himself.
Deciding that he should probably stop embarrassing himself in front of the attractive stranger, Tine immediately fiddled with his wallet, properly paying for the Iced Americano he ordered, before shooting the man another awkward—and slightly apologetic—smile and quickly muttered his thanks. With that, Tine took quick strides away from the counter, without noticing that the smile on the barista’s lips had gotten wider as he walked away.
“And here I thought you hated coffee,” Fong said, his eyes scanning from the tight expression on Tine’s visage, down to the cup of dark Iced Americano the latter held on his right hand.
When Tine returned to his friends with a cup of Iced Americano earlier, the three had stopped focusing on their work and looked at Tine in a weird manner with their eyebrows furrowed instead. The boy sat on an empty seat next to Fong right away, rolling his eyes in a playful manner as he saw how weirded out his friends looked. All this, just because Tine got himself a cup of coffee? Pfft. “What’s wrong? Tine the Mr. Chic can’t try anything new, now? Since you guys dragged me to a coffee shop, might as well buy something, you know,” Tine complained while stirring his Iced Americano with the straw, looking downright offended.
At Tine’s defensive reply, Ohm, Phuak, and Fong then rolled their eyes as well. Phuak waved his hand dismissively, returning his focus on the paper in his hand. “Let’s just focus on this first. Okay, out of all fundamental aspects of lawyering, we have only yet to finish how to distinguish between material and immaterial facts for the presentation, it’s still halfway done. Ai’Tine, have you finished the research for this part?” Phuak asked, diverting his attention from the piece of paper to look at Tine.
On the other hand, Tine had his free hand on the straw, already angling it towards his mouth as he listened to Phuak talking. As soon as he sipped the Iced Americano, a wave of bitter taste invaded his taste buds, causing Tine to immediately scrunch up his face at the horrible taste of the coffee. “Heck!” The boy immediately screeched, pulling the straw out of his lips and sticking his tongue out reflexively, brows furrowed.
“This tastes like literal crap, hell—what am I even drinking!” Tine continued whining, putting his cup of Iced Americano on the table. He then reached out to grab Ohm’s water bottle which was put on the table, gulping the content without any doubt.
Seeing Tine’s reaction to the strong taste of the coffee, the three friends could only heave a sigh in an I-saw-it-coming manner. “That’s Iced Americano for you, you fool,” Ohm responded and snatched his bottle back from Tine’s hand. On the other side, Fong frustratedly massaged the bridge of his nose, staring at Tine with pure disbelief evident on his visage. “So much for trying something new, Mr. Chic,” Fong muttered, shaking his head a little before quietly offering his coffee caramel milkshake to the poor boy. Which was, of course, accepted.
As Tine was quietly sipping Fong’s coffee caramel milkshake, he looked around at his friends with a sheepish apologetic look, awkwardly grinning at the three before diverting his attention back to the cashier counter—more specifically, the barista with sharp features, piercing gaze, alluring smile, and bow-shaped lips, who was taking orders from another customer at that moment. Tine then huffed his breath, lightly clicking his tongue.
I still don’t know his name, but oh, well.
In the end, the Iced Americano ended up being drunk by Phuak instead.
“Why am I even doing this,” Tine muttered to himself.
The next day after his first meeting with the so-called attractive barista, Tine found himself walking down the streets with his bag thrown over his shoulder, making his way to Espresso Lab early in the morning. It was literally only 8 A.M., and although Tine did not have any class for the day—it was technically Saturday, the boy was so eager to wake up early and even spray his nicest perfume in order to visit that one coffee shop once again.
Why? Of course, to meet the barista who had caught his attention since the day before.
On the Friday evening after Tine finished his group work with his friends and went back to his dorm, he simply found it difficult to stop thinking of the stranger. Tine was weirded out himself, especially since he had never been this smitten over someone he had only exchange a very few words with, in his life. At one point, he even asked his own self whether he was sane or not.
So, there Tine was, walking down from his dorm building to where the coffee shop was. He was inwardly thankful that the distance between the dorm building, Espresso Lab, and his campus was not exactly too far from each other, so he could simply take a walk there, without going through much hassle.
“Something is definitely wrong with me,” Tine said to himself once again before sighing. No matter how much he told himself that this was dumb to do—especially for a stranger he barely knew, he still went anyway, without even knowing whether the coffee shop would be open that early or not.
As soon as Tine snapped back to reality, he could already see the Espresso Lab sign only a few meters away from where he was standing. He then inhaled a deep breath, walking towards the glass door of the coffee shop and looking inside.
And he was there.
The barista was there.
Without realizing, Tine already had a small smile plastered over his lips, as soon as his eyes landed on the familiar figure of a man, currently wiping the surface of the tables. The stranger probably had yet to notice the fact that Tine was in front of the shop, thus the boy decided to push the door and entered, causing a small ring of bell to be heard.
At the sound of the bell, the barista quickly turned his head to the source of the sound, and both of their eyes met again.
After looking right into the stranger’s deep, dark orbs, Tine felt as if all oxygen was sucked out of his lungs right away. With his breath held tight, Tine threw the man the least awkward smile he could manage to go with. “...Hey,” He spoke, walking inside the coffee shop and closing the door behind his back.
The barista immediately stood up, and if Tine was not imagining things, the boy could see how the man’s eyes sparkled and widened a little as soon as their eyes met. It was probably just my imagination, sheesh, Tine had thought.
“Oh, hello, welcome back. It’s you again,” The man greeted Tine back, mirroring the boy’s smile before he placed both of his hands behind his back. He then took in Tine’s appearance right before his own eyes, realizing that the boy was standing very still. “Uh, anyway, the coffee shop just opened half an hour ago, so... Yeah. It’s still empty,” The barista continued.
And, yes. Once Tine decided to get a grip of his consciousness and looked around, he realized that the entire coffee shop was indeed empty, unlike how busy it was yesterday when he had to come there with Ohm, Phuak, and Fong. Furthermore, he had only realized the fact that both of them were technically alone, and the usual indie rock music that would be put on had even yet to be played.
Tine, dumbfounded, started to scratch the back of his head while sheepishly smiling at the barista. “Yeah, I’m... I wanted... I wanted to study here. The atmosphere here is actually nice and... Yeah, I might be more productive studying here rather than my dorm?” Tine spoke, trying to make sure that his voice did not waver, before walking closer towards the cashier counter—exactly where he first met the attractive man yesterday.
He then heard a short chuckle resonating from the barista, as the man walked behind the counter and immediately wore the coffee shop’s dark blue apron. “That’s nice, I’m glad that this place can give you comfort, I suppose,” The man said, wriggling his eyebrows slightly before placing the palm of his left hand on top of the stacked clear coffee cups. “Iced Americano again, to wake you up? You look sleepy,” He continued.
He told me I looked sleepy? Did he pay attention at me? Me?
As Tine’s smile obliviously gotten wider, he started blinking his eyes rapidly once again—a sign that he was nervous—before nodding anyway. “Oh, s—sure, that would be great. Yes,” The student replied, gripping the edge of the wood counter with both hands a little too tight without him even noticing that his knuckles had turned white. The boy was too blinded by the barista in front of him to do so.
“Alright, you can take a seat—wherever you want. Since you’re the first customer today, I’m going to deliver the cup to your table,” The barista said, emitting a dry chuckle as he wrote Tine on the empty coffee cup.
“You... Remember my name?” Tine asked, noticing that the barista did not bother to ask for his name, like how he did the day before. The man then tilted his head up to meet Tine’s eyes once again, putting down the black marker he used before shrugging lightly. “I do. Don’t ask me why, I just do,” He smiled, looking down to find that Tine was already holding his wallet in his palm. “Anyway, the coffee’s on me. It’s on me. My treat,” The barista continued before Tine could reach his hand out to pay for his order, causing the student to immediately blush out of surprise.
“H—Huh? What?”
“Your Iced Americano,” The barista grabbed the empty coffee cup with Tine’s name on it, shaking it a little bit, before continuing, “Is my treat. You’re getting it for free. Let’s just say that it’s a gift for you since you’re my first customer of the day,” He said, still smiling as he placed the cup back down. On the other hand, Tine was still trying to process the entire situation in his little head, going blank for a couple of seconds trying to register what the barista told him.
“Oh... Thank you so much,” Tine finally replied, trying to suppress a wide smile to appear—as he did not want the man to realize how giddy he actually was. While awkwardly shoving his wallet back into his pocket, Tine then pretended to look around the coffee shop, although he already memorized every nook and cranny of the shop even since yesterday. “Do you... Give free cups of coffee to random people?” He asked, purely out of curiosity.
Although the handsome barista had told Tine to take a seat to let him deliver his cup of Iced Americano to the table, Tine kept mindlessly standing in front of the counter, paying attention to the barista’s movements with both of his eyes as the man prepared his coffee.
The barista then chuckled again, and Tine swore that he could practically picture the man’s smile in his head, although he had his back against Tine. “No, of course. I just want to give it to you. Looks like you need it to start the morning,” He replied, causing Tine’s entire body to tense again.
What is this man even trying to say?
As Tine was about to ask further, the barista already turned to him, holding a cup of Iced Americano in his right hand. “Here. You should go and take a seat,” He placed the coffee on top of the counter where Tine was still silently standing. With a smile, Tine stiffly nodded, grabbing the cup of cold coffee as he locked his eyes with the barista.
As soon as the barista was about to turn his back on him again, Tine called out. “Uh, anyway,” Tine spoke, causing the man behind the counter to return his focus at him once again. The expression on the barista’s face told Tine that he was waiting for a continuation, so Tine continued while speaking in a somewhat hoarse voice, “Can I know your name?”
At the question, the barista’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “Oh, sure, sure,” He replied. “My name is Sarawat. Sarawat Guntithanon,” The barista—Sarawat—offered his hand right away, which made Tine immediately reach out his right hand as well to grab his hand. “I’m... Tine Teepakorn,” Tine responded with a soft tone, without realizing that he had tightened his grip on Sarawat’s hand out of reflex.
Could not exactly blame Tine, since he was literally feeling like a high-schooler-in-love as soon as their hands touched and made contact. If anything, he also wondered why the barista had yet to let go of their so-called handshake as well, which placed both of them in an awkward position.
“Uh, s—sorry,” Tine finally broke the deafening silence, slowly pulling his hand away from the handshake as he threw Sarawat an apologetic smile. The latter also did the same, though—he could only hope that he would not see him as a weird person for behaving this way around him.
“Again, thank you... For the coffee. Right. Thank you,” The student continued, inhaling a deep breath and biting the insides of his cheeks before he politely smiled once again, then walked towards an empty table on the corner of the coffee shop—the exact spot where he and his friends did their group work the day before. As he made his way to the table, Tine could only mutter for the love of God, Tine, you’re so dead, you’re so dead countless times to himself.
Sarawat. Guntithanon.
I finally know his name.
Once Tine took his seat, he glanced back at the barista behind the counter, who was already busy with setting up the coffeemakers. At one point, Tine sighed, admiring the way Sarawat seemed to be so focused in taking care of his work that the latter did not even notice that Tine was looking directly at him. It was fine, though—Tine did not want to be known as a creepy stalker, for sure.
And for a few moments, Tine properly observed the barista, taking in his appearance and memorizing every single detail he could find in the man. In just a glance, Tine could already conclude that Sarawat looked great in his black shirt, rolled up sleeves, and the dark blue apron over his shoulders. The barista surely looked fit, and the fact that the black shirt he was wearing was sticking tightly against his skin was not helping Tine at all.
He is too beautiful. God surely has favorites.
Heaving a sigh, the student then looked at the cup of Iced Americano sitting on top of the table. “The way I forget that I absolutely hated coffee whenever I’m in front of him... What is this absolute clownery?” Tine muttered to himself, shaking his head multiple times before groggily taking a sip from the Iced Americano, all while inwardly cringing and trying to control his facial expression—just in case the barista looked over at him. Needless to say, Tine ended up still scrunching up his face at the bitter taste of the coffee.
Yuck. Still tastes like crap. Great, Tine.
After that, Tine started unpacking the bag he brought to the coffee shop, the one he usually brought to the campus. Yeah, Tine had actually planned everything from the beginning, that he would actually bring his tasks and law papers with him in order to look as if he was really going to study in the coffee shop.
He surely hoped that the barista would never know that he was only trying to find excuses to visit and see him in the coffee shop, at least not for now. Most of Tine’s works were practically almost done, he could just finish them all in his dorm, yet here he was—smitten over someone he just met.
As Tine was pulling out his stacks of paperwork and several law books out of his bag, he felt someone’s presence next to him. As expected, once he turned his head slightly to look at the source of the footsteps, he saw Sarawat, standing right beside his table. Tine immediately started staring, swallowing a hard lump in his throat as he saw the barista up close, and not knowing what he was supposed to say.
“Law student? Interesting,” Sarawat started in his usual calming voice before starting to scan the papers Tine had laid on top of the table, then turning his attention back to the seemingly startled student. “Sorry—I just wanted to ask, out of curiosity. Do you have a favorite music band?” The barista continued, catching Tine completely off guard.
Huh? That was random.
After blinking for a few seconds out of nervousness, Tine blurted, “Oh, S—Scrubb, it’s Scrubb.” Truthfully talking, it was actually Tine’s favorite band. If anything, Scrubb was probably the only band Tine listened to, as he simply could not find any other band who could have a similar vibe to them. However, the fact that Sarawat downright asked him about his favorite band out of nowhere completely bugged his mind.
“Alright, thank you,” The barista replied, showing Tine his small smile before pointing towards the student’s Iced Americano with his chin while walking back to the counter. “Drink it before the ice melts,” He continued.
In embarrassment, Tine only mirrored Sarawat’s smile, although his hand went nowhere near the cup of Iced Americano on the table. “That was odd,” Tine murmured, before continuing where he left off earlier. As he was about to prepare his highlighters and pens, his ears immediately caught an all-too-familiar melody, ringing through the entire coffee shop. Tine stopped in his tracks, a cease starting to appear on his forehead.
Music started playing inside the previously silent room, and it was Your Smile by Scrubb. Scrubb!
Again, Tine was dumbfounded. He had been trying hard not to overthink the situation, as he kept telling himself that he was only imagining things. However, how was Tine supposed to push everything that happened between him and Sarawat today to the back of his head?
He had somehow assumed that Sarawat’s eyes lit up as soon as their eyes met, and although Tine told himself that he was only imagining it, he kept seeing the same expression on the barista’s visage multiple times already that morning. The barista had even treated him a free cup of Iced Americano out of nowhere—although he did not exactly enjoy the coffee—and said that he just wanted to give it to him. The man even remembered his name although they had only met once, before. And now this, the fact that Sarawat had asked him for his favorite band and played their song in the coffee shop out of nowhere. Was Tine just being too much?
“...You’re just overthinking it, Tine. Yeah, right. Stay focused,” Tine whispered to himself, heaving another sigh that morning as he started mindlessly flipping his law papers, although his head was already distracted by the busy barista in front of him—named Sarawat Guntithanon—as well as the Scrubb song being played in the coffee shop, making him unconsciously sing along to the song itself.
That Saturday went by like a flash for Tine, as he spent almost the entire day in Espresso Lab with his law paperwork, books, and highlighters in both of his hands. Not long after he enjoyed the silence he had inside the coffee shop, accompanied by the melodic ring of Scrubb songs, the coffee shop had started gaining more and more customers, until the entire room was filled with dozens of people—just like how it was, the day before.
Once Tine grasped the situation around him, he realized that another barista—later, he found out that her name was Earn—had already accompanied Sarawat behind the counter, with the same dark blue apron hanging over her shoulders. Sarawat himself seemed to be busy and packed, as he had to take endless orders from multiple customers and make them as well.
That’s good, Tine thought. This way, the barista would never notice the fact that Tine kept stealing glances—or even worse, staring—at him every a few seconds. If Sarawat somehow realized how the student kept looking in his direction throughout the hours, the barista would probably think that Tine was a creep.
“That barista is so damn handsome, you know?”
Tine heard a lady speaking in a hushed tone from the table right behind him, and he could not help but to slightly tense. He had never purposefully listened to any stranger’s conversation—respecting people’s privacy, Tine had said—even in public, yet he somehow ended up eavesdropping while pretending to be focused on his work.
“Do you think it would be weird if I asked him for his number?” The voice of another woman—probably the friend—came up, and giggles could be heard from their table.
Tine then quietly sighed, inwardly agreeing with the women behind his table that yes, the barista named Sarawat Guntithanon was indeed handsome. And hot. And beautiful. And eye-catching. The more Tine thought about it, the more Tine realized that he was nowhere near the same level as Sarawat. The barista was so popular that there were customers who actually paid more attention at Sarawat, who worked there regularly, rather than the food and beverages sold at the coffee shop itself.
Tine could not exactly blame those people, though. He was also one of them, someone who was sparked by the barista right away when it was only their first time seeing each other.
After listening to the chatter from the table behind his, Tine turned his attention towards the counter once again, taking a good look of Sarawat who was currently spraying whipped cream on top of a cup of Frappuccino. The man was one of God’s favorites, indeed, as the barista was technically sweating—probably due to the long-sleeved shirt he had been wearing—yet he still looked charismatic. No wonder there were so many people wanting to know his name or ask for his phone number.
And Tine, he was just another random person who had a tiny crush on the barista, it seemed.
“Tine?”
The familiar voice of a man started to disturb Tine, who currently had both of his eyes closed and was in the middle of the dreamland. Although his name was called, Tine was still deeply unconscious, his eyebrows furrowing at the slight annoyance and disturbance in his sleep.
“Tine, wake up.”
As soon as the student’s brain registered the disturbing voice inside his head, Tine’s body immediately jolted awake, his already reddened and swollen eyes slightly widening once he started to gain consciousness. Once Tine was awake, the first thing he noticed was the fact that it was dark outside, as seen through the window of the coffee shop. He could see how the sky was already black, indicating that it was already late.
The second thing Tine noticed was a denim jacket which was draped over his body, with its sleeves hanging over both of his shoulders. The student then cringed lightly, rubbing both of his eyes with his palms as he straightened his back on the seat, showing just how sleepy he still was.
The third thing Tine noticed was the presence of a man beside him, who was currently crouching down beside his table as if to level with him. Still with his furrowed brows, the student turned his head slightly, looking at the person next to him.
Sarawat.
“You fell asleep,” The barista said, as soon as Tine noticed his presence next to him. It was pretty much obvious, though, as Tine could practically feel aches all over his back—most probably due to the uncomfortable sleeping position. He could only wonder, for how long did he even sleep in the coffee shop? It was already late at night, and once Tine looked around him, he could find that the coffee shop was nearly empty, with only a few customers left.
Tine then sheepishly looked back at Sarawat, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I would fall asleep,” He stated, finding that his voice was already hoarse as he just woke up from a... Nap. His hand then touched the denim material of the jacket draped over his shoulders, gently pulling the sleeves forward. “This... Isn’t mine...” Tine murmured in confusion.
“It’s mine,” Sarawat cut in, a gentle and soothing smile decorating his visage as the barista reached out to grab the jacket in Tine’s hand. “You looked like you needed it, that’s why. It’s already 7 P.M., you slept for... 5 hours, I suppose,” He continued, before slowly standing up from his crouching position and chuckled at the puzzled student. “I wondered how did you sleep so peacefully when the entire coffee shop was so noisy.”
5 hours of sleep?
Tine could not simply hide the embarrassment in his face, as he immediately felt flush creeping up both of his cheeks at the information he had just learned. He then let out an awkward chuckle, not knowing how he was supposed to act as the barista was still looking in his direction, with the denim jacket held in his hand. Before Tine could utter a word, Sarawat interrupted again, “Anyway, wait here.”
The man then walked towards the counter once again, leaving Tine speechless.
Once Tine was finally alone in his space, he had then just realized that he was such a clumsy ass. He started messing his hair, looking over the table to find that all of his papers had turned into a mess, that his report even looked crumpled as he slept on it. The student sighed, starting to properly pack his papers and books into his bag, preparing to leave the coffee shop—since it seemed to him that he had spent way too much time in there.
In the midst of all that, Sarawat returned back to Tine’s table, with a cup of Caramel Frappuccino on his right hand. The barista then handed the cup over, signaling Tine to grab what he offered.
“Huh?” Tine blinked his eyes multiple times in confusion, yet decided to grab the cup of Frappuccino anyway. His eyes then started traveling from the cold drink up to Sarawat’s visage, silently asking for any sort of explanation on why the man gave that to him. On the other side, the barista only rolled in eyes in a joking manner, before pointing at the still full cup of Iced Americano on top of Tine’s table.
“I know you don’t like bitter stuffs,” Sarawat began, startling the student a little. Hearing that, Tine’s entire body tensed again, this time out of nervousness. His lips started parting and closing, just like those of a fish, as he tried to make up anything inside his head to contradict what the barista just said. “I saw you cringing at the taste of the coffee multiple times already, so I decided to make you a sweeter drink instead,” The man continued.
Oh.
I was caught.
Tine then emitted an empty laugh, turning his head slightly to look at his Iced Americano, realizing that it was still full. Tine had been trying to take little sips of the free Americano as a way of showing his gratitude towards the barista, yet he simply could not drink the coffee, much to his dismay. The student then looked back at the cup of Frappuccino, swallowing a lump in his throat. “O—Oh, you noticed,” Tine replied, inwardly cursing at himself for being caught so early.
However, Tine could hear a small laugh coming from the barista, who then shook his head. “Whenever you talk to me, you sound like you’re about to faint, you know. With all the stutters,” Sarawat playfully said, before waving his hand dismissively.
Well, because I really am about to faint, duh.
“What do you mean? I never stutter,” The student immediately responded, his eyes widening slightly as he tried to avoid any sort of eye contact with the still grinning barista. He then started silently stirring the Frappuccino with the straw, before deciding to speak again. “If this is for free again, I don’t want it. I’ll properly pay for the drink,” Tine continued.
“You want to pay for the drink?” Sarawat immediately asked, a second after Tine finished talking. That surprised the student a little bit, seeing the man’s somehow enthusiastic side. Before Tine could reply with anything, Sarawat then turned his back towards him, walking towards the counter. “Alright, wait for a second, there. Don’t move,” He spoke, without looking at Tine—who already had a befuddled expression on his sleepy visage.
Once the man walked into the storage room, Tine was left alone again, all by himself. He started sipping the Frappuccino little by little, slightly relieved that it tasted sweet, although it still had coffee in it. After looking at several customers leaving the coffee shop one by one, Tine had only realized that Scrubb’s song was still playing.
The currently playing song was Everything by Scrubb, and although it should have made Tine felt happy or jolly, he heaved a sigh and felt helpless instead.
How was he supposed to get over his dumb crush for Sarawat like this?
While Tine was dwelling on his thoughts, Sarawat walked towards his table again. When Tine noticed his presence, he took a good look at the man in front of him, who was already dressed in a black t-shirt and the denim jacket he put on Tine when the student fell asleep earlier.
The man already looked stunningly hot in just a black shirt and dark blue apron; Tine had thought. However, seeing this casual style of the barista was proven to drive the poor boy even more insane. Who had even allowed this man to look this good?
“Let’s go.”
“Huh?” Tine raised both of his brows, obviously surprised by the sudden invitation of the barista to go with him. His eyes widened and he was left speechless, not being able to process what Sarawat had just told him. The latter only shrugged a little, placing both of his hands into his jeans pockets before replying, “You went here by walking, so your place should be near. Let me walk you back.”
After a few seconds of silence, Tine rapidly blinked, gripping the hem of his clothes as he was still baffled by the barista’s random offer. “But... What about the coffee shop...” Tine said while looking around, seeing that a very few customers were still there—with their books and laptops and all, just like how Tine was.
The person being asked only shrugged once again, pointing at the cashier counter with his chin. “Earn is here, anyway. She will close the shop in a few hours, don’t worry,” Sarawat responded. As soon as Tine was convinced, the student then nodded, properly gathered his belongings, and finally grabbed his bag. With a Frappuccino in his hand, Tine stood up, showing a shy smile towards the barista who had been waiting.
And that was how Tine and Sarawat ended up walking to Tine’s dorm building together. Tine was inwardly grateful that the barista looked carefree and comfortable while talking to him, especially since the man had offered to walk him home, even when Tine was basically a no one to him.
Throughout their walk back to Tine’s dorm, Tine could not help but to smile all the time, feeling butterflies fluttering inside his stomach every time their skins accidentally touched. Tine silently admired Sarawat, as one of the many people who were stunned by the barista, and the student thought that being friends with Sarawat would probably be enough for his hopeless romantic ass.
For the first time in his life, Tine felt as if the dark sky looked even more beautiful than how it usually did, as if the twinkling stars somehow shined brighter than any other day.
During the night walk, Tine finally found out lots of new things about Sarawat. About how he was a fresh graduate from the campus Tine was also studying at, about how he actually owned Espresso Lab, not worked there, about how Earn—the other barista—was his close friend, and about how Sarawat always listened to indie rock songs and never really listened to Scrubb at all.
“Huh?” Tine turned his visage towards Sarawat.
“If you never listened to Scrubb, why did you put on their songs nonstop today?” He continued asking, his eyebrows furrowing in a playful manner as his lips jokingly curled up into a grin, not quite believing the fact that the barista did not listen to Scrubb, after all day of playing the band’s song over and over again.
The barista only heaved a sigh, not even looking back at Tine as he continued walking alongside the student. “You told me that you liked Scrubb, that’s why I played their songs for you,” Sarawat replied, his voice somehow faint yet Tine could still catch him speaking. What the barista said completely knocked the wind out of Tine’s lungs, causing the student to grow quiet.
Why does he keep saying ambiguous things like this?
“Oh... Oh. Sure,” Tine awkwardly responded, not knowing what else to say as he himself became slightly shy, realizing the fact that the barista even played Scrubb’s songs endlessly simply because Tine told him he liked the band. They fell into another comfortable silence, only being accompanied by each other’s presence, as well as the sounds of crickets as they continued walking to the dorm.
Tine was indeed thankful that it was already dark in the evening, with a hope that Sarawat would not notice his currently flushed, pink cheeks as they walked side by side.
None of them had talked about anything after the conversation ended, as both of them only comfortably walked towards the direction of Tine’s dorm building without exchanging any word. Tine? He felt contented. One part of his mind told him that he probably should not have accepted Sarawat’s offer to walk him back to his dorm, since it was obviously going to make it even harder for Tine to get the barista off his mind. However, another part of his mind insisted that it was okay for him to encounter a moment of happiness, although it was short-lived.
After a few minutes, both of them finally arrived in front of a light blue building, which was Tine’s dorm. Once they arrived, they stood in front of each other, without knowing what to say to each other for a while.
Sarawat was the first to break the silence, as he let out an awkward laugh, rubbing his nape as he looked up into Tine’s sparkling eyes. “Alright, I think I should go. You should rest, for sure,” The man said, as he was about to wave his hand and say his goodbyes. However, Tine beat him into it. “Wait!” The student shrieked out of reflex, his eyes unconsciously widening.
“Thank you for walking me back, but... I haven’t paid for this yet,” Tine continued, slowly raising his hand which was holding the half-empty cup of Frappuccino the barista had made for him earlier. He then threw a sheepish smile at Sarawat, causing the latter to mirror his smile as well.
“Right, you haven’t paid,” Sarawat stated, turning his body slightly so that he was fully facing the student again. He then stared into Tine’s eyes, unblinking, before he continued, “Give me your phone number, then. That would be the payment.”
“...Huh?”
Tine could swear that he kept getting dumbfounded, startled, surprised, and puzzled all the time whenever Sarawat was near him, and at this point, it really was getting downright embarrassing.
It seemed as if everything that came out of Sarawat’s lips sounded so unrealistic, that he had even questioned himself whether he was fully awake or everything that happened on that day was only a projection of his loneliness. His mind went blank for a few seconds, only staring at Sarawat’s unmoving figure.
“Can I? Have your number?” Sarawat said, his smile still etched on his visage. The man did not even flinch or stutter, what in the world. “It’d be nice for me to get to know you better. You’re... Interesting,” The barista continued, as if he did not notice that Tine’s heart was already on the verge of giving up on its owner.
After processing everything Sarawat just said, Tine could feel his cheeks getting hot, his eyes immediately trying to look somewhere else apart from the barista’s eyes. “Me? Interesting?” Tine quietly asked, gripping the Frappuccino cup a little too tight as his other free hand was already fiddling with the strap of his bag in a nervous manner.
“I thought it was obvious, since I kept trying to give you signs,” Sarawat answered, nodding his head multiple times as he did so.
Tine beamed.
He was definitely not imagining things, just like how he thought he did earlier in the coffee shop.
“Oh... Oh. Wow,” Tine mentally cursed himself in his head, yet it was the only coherent thought he could voice out, at his nearly-crumpling-into-pieces state. The student had a goofy smile on his visage, as he clearly did not expect things to turn that way. The Sarawat Guntithanon, the attractive barista nearly every customer had a crush on, actually thought that he, Tine Teepakorn, was interesting?
“A—Alright, then. Let me type it on your phone.”
As soon as Tine typed his phone number on Sarawat’s phone, the barista decided to send the student’s phone a missed call, so that Tine would also be able to have Sarawat’s phone number. Both of them still had their smiles on their face, and Tine was seemingly still malfunctioning even though he already convinced himself that this was really happening and not a mere dream.
“Good night, then,” Sarawat broke the silence again, shoving his phone down his pocket as he smiled at the stunned student in front of him. “Don’t forget to save my number, Tine,” The barista added, causing the smile on Tine’s face to grow wider, as the student was still trying to control his expressions and emotions in front of his crush. The smitten boy only nodded, shyly stealing glances up to look at the barista before he finally bid his farewell and walked away from the dorm building.
Tine was completely over the moon, as soon as he was back alone in his room.
How did he not? He did not even expect that every single thing that happened to him would actually happen in his life. About how he found a little crush on a barista—who turned out to be the owner of the coffee shop he was initially forced to go to with his friends, and about how said barista had told him that he found him interesting only twenty four hours after their very first meeting.
Things accelerated quickly, yet Tine could not find himself complaining. If anything, he was somehow glad that he accidentally found someone who could possibly be the source of his happiness every day, starting from that day, when he least expected it.
As the student was gleefully rolling on top of his bed while squeezing his pillow out of excitement, he was startled by the sudden ting! notification alert which could be heard from his phone. Tine immediately thrashed around the bed to grab his phone which was placed on top of the nightstand, then sat up properly right away to read the new notification on his phone.
[19:31]
08-2470-238X: hi, it’s guntithanon ;)
08-2470-238X: anyway, r u free tomorrow?
Tine smiled for the umpteenth time that evening, showing off his row of white teeth as he gripped his phone tightly, all while reading the text sent by Sarawat. For the first time in his life, although he still hated coffee to the core, Tine was incredibly grateful that he ended up going to the coffee shop with his friends that noon.
His days were about to become a lot more interesting.