Work Text:
Tinn sighed as he walked into a random dessert shop near his school. Some birthday this turned out to be, huh? Both parents weren’t free to spend it with him, destroying the family birthday dinner he had been looking forward to all week. He pulls his phone out in a final effort to find some company, calling Tiwson, only to find out he had left school hours ago, crushing any chances of him joining Tinn. Tinn put down his phone and got ready to ask for a menu when a bowl of shaved ice appeared in front of him.
“Shaved ice is served!” A boy around Tinn’s age said with a smile. He wore the same uniform as Tinn and looked familiar, but Tinn couldn’t quite remember his name. Tinn gave the boy a puzzled look, to which he explained that he was the shop owner’s son.
“Do we know each other?” Tinn asked, still trying to remember where he had seen this boy before.
“Come on. Don’t you recognize me? I’m Gun. I sit at the back of the class,” he replied. Well that was one question answered, but Tinn had a follow up concern.
“I didn’t order this.”
“This is my treat,” Gun replied.
The confusion and uncertainty was still on Tinn’s face, prompting Gun to tease him.
“Seeing your face makes me want to change my mind.” Something about that jokester’s smile seemed… familiar to Tinn.
Moments later, a lady, presumably Gun’s mom, approached the boy asking if the two were friends. Gun responded with a joke about befriending Tinn to copy his assignments later, which earned a lighthearted eye roll from Tinn. Gun’s mom then sent him off, telling him the customers were waiting for him. He wore a bright and excited smile on his face as he headed towards a microphone stand in the corner of the room.
“This is a song I like to play when I’m alone. If you are feeling lonely, share this song with me.”
Huh, perfect timing for a song like that , Tinn thought to himself. A little live music might be just what he needed on this lonely night. Gun started strumming and Tinn recognized the song - City by Three Man Down. He turned to watch Gun’s performance and the moment he sang, it was as if something clicked in Tinn.
Tinn found himself smiling. There was something about that voice of Gun’s… as if he had waited more than a lifetime to finally hear it. He couldn’t explain it, but scenarios, no, memories suddenly flashed through his head. He could smell boiled chicken… in a dessert shop? He saw old movies with subtitles in a dimly lit living room, him passing handwritten notes back and forth with someone, late night drives on a motorcycle while bathing in the streetlights of a small town breathing in the fresh countryside air. All these memories were his, but also… weren’t. Tinn knows he hasn’t experienced these things, so why does it feel like he’s remembering something long forgotten? Each vision was in vibrant color, accompanied by different smells and even some textures. But they were all silent.
Tinn snapped back into reality as Li Ming- no, Gun’s song ended. Li Ming. Why did that name pop into Tinn’s head, he wonders. The memories slowly grew cloudy as Tinn’s daydream ended. All he knew now was that Gun’s voice was beautiful and he couldn’t explain the way he now felt drawn to this boy he could barely remember just minutes before. As Gun bowed and thanked the crowd, Tinn found himself putting his hand near his chest before pulling it outward from the center - thank you in Thai sign language. How he knew that, he had no idea. He hadn’t studied a day of sign language in his life. At least, not this one. He joined the other customers in clapping for Gun, realizing the sparks of a new crush may just have ignited in his heart. He smiled as he ate his dessert, but somehow, the sugary shaved ice wasn’t the sweetest thing Tinn found that night.