Archive of Our Own ^beta

Shit. He was definitely being followed. Lowering his head and pulling down the rim of his hat to hide his face, Kim made way for the busiest part of the street so he could disappear into the crowd. 

Even though he normally abhorred being around so many people, even he could admit that a bustling street had its uses sometimes. 

Weaving through the waves of people, he ducked behind trees and bushes, peeking out just enough to check if the area was clear. In highsight, going out without sunglasses and a face mask had been a stupid idea.

He had hoped that during rush hour, no one would pay attention long enough to notice his face. But, he had been recognised. And not in a good way. 

From the looks on these guys’ faces, it was safe to assume they weren’t Wik fans that wanted to ask for an autograph and a picture. Rather, they seemed to know him, or at least they knew of his last name, from the other kind of business his family was dealing with. 

Despite the fact that Kim was very much not involved with the family’s business anymore. He just liked to keep an eye on things, poke his nose in business that definitely shouldn’t be poked. 

He was nosy like that. Which often came with consequences. But hey, it was part of the job.

He usually didn’t mind taking care of things with people that wanted to hurt the family, but doing so in the middle of the street was going too far. Even for him. So, hiding behind a stall that sold fruit, it was. Once the immediate danger passed, Kim straightened up and followed the crowd until he could duck into a small coffee shop.

He could wait an hour or two, he had time. Glancing at his phone, he didn’t have any missed calls or texts. There was no pressing business, no one to bother him. Perfect. 

Kim could hunker down in a dark corner, hide behind the screen of his laptop, and then proceed to ignore the world for the next 120 minutes. After taking note of where all the exits were, of course. 

The small cafe he had wandered into seemed like the ideal place for it too; quiet without being completely empty, filled with old fashioned furniture and decorations, just kitschy enough to be cute and not unpleasant. The scent of freshly baked goods beckoned him enticingly towards the counter, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. 

He looked very much out of place. Clad in a leather jacket and dark clothing, he stood out like a sore thumb along the warm tones and beiges of the cafe as he bounced on his heels slightly. 

Just where was the barista? 

The register was surprisingly empty. Peering around, he noticed a small reception bell sitting in front of a note in heavy, cream cardstock paper that invited him to ‘please ring the bell for service, we are currently understaffed!’. O-kay. It was one of those shops then. 

Very well then. Kim would gladly support a small business instead of the fancy chain coffee shops littered around his neighborhood. Especially since the pastries smelled so good. Taking his hand out of his pocket, he pressed on the small bell and drew his fingers back when it tinkled. 

“Coming!” A gentle voice carried out from behind a beaded curtain, followed by the rasp of the beads as a tall figure came through the door of what Kim presumed to be the kitchen. He came out back-first, turning carefully once he was through the curtain and balancing a heavy tray on his hands.

He was wearing oven mitts; cute, frilly pink oven mitts that protected his hands from the tray that must have come straight out of the oven.  

A tray that smelled amazing . Not that Kim was paying that much attention to it. He was too busy staring at the prettiest boy he had ever seen in his life. Tall, with seemingly-soft hair that fell into his eyes, the boy’s lips were curved into a small smile as he carefully arranged the pastries on the counter behind the glass in neat lines. 

His eyebrows furrowed as one pastry refused to cooperate and sit in line with its peers. Taking a longer pair of tongs, he reached in to poke it into position until he was satisfied. 

The sneeze guard case protecting the pastries closed with a small clack. Then, the boy straightened up to put the tray away.

Immediately, Kim’s eyes snapped towards the name tag pinned to his apron. The cursive font introduced him as Chay. 

The boy, Chay , Kim’s mind supplied unhelpfully, wiped his hands with a towel and finally, finally looked up at Kim. If the rest of him was pretty, then his eyes were ethereal. Well, crap. 

Kim buried his hands deeper into his pockets to prevent himself from instinctively reaching up to push those curls out of his eyes to get a better look. He wasn’t that much of a weirdo. Even if he was certain that the hair would feel heavenly under his palm. Maybe even better when he tangled his fingers into it and gave a hard tug as he- 

All of his daydreaming came to a screeching halt when he noticed the small expression of shock on Chay’s face. Immediately it was washed away, the small, polite smile returning but this time it seemed strained with anxiety. Damnit. 

Kim had gone and found himself a fan. There went all his fantasies of having a meet-cute in a coffee shop, like some of those Wik/Reader AUs he pretended he wasn’t reading. 

To take the kid out of his misery, he pressed his lips together and gave him a small nod. “Hello, good afternoon,” he started, lifting his gaze up towards the menu plastered on the wall behind Chay, “I would like a cappuccino and…maybe one of those pastries? What do you recommend?” 

An awkward moment of silence later, Chay blinked and twitched slightly like a robot that had been given a jump start. He tilted his head to the side cutely. “O-of course. Let me talk you through our selection. Do you have any allergies? Any preferences?”

Kim silently shook his head no. Well, secretly he preferred everything chocolate, but it was much easier to pretend to be silent and cool. Plus, it gave him an excuse to look at Chay for longer. 

The more Chay talked, the looser his expression became. Especially when it came to the pastries, he relaxed completely, confidently telling Kim about the ingredients, method of baking, even the care he took to not cross-contaminate the pastries with common allergens. It was clear he was the one making everything from scratch. 

His eyebrows were narrowed in concentration. He was adorable. 

Mouth twitching into a small smile, Kim eagerly took in the information, even though he didn’t really care about pastry making that much. At last, he conceded and ordered what Chay recommended, waving off Chay’s insistence on giving him the pastry for free since he had been talking Kim’s ear off for so long. 

He left a hefty tip too. Just to make a statement. 

He just didn’t know what the statement actually was. 

After getting shooed away from the counter so Chay could get started on his order, he took a seat in one of the little armchairs in the corner. Groaning as his back sank into the plush material, he pulled out his laptop and headphones so he could get some work done. 

And by work, he meant completely ignoring his emails and procrastinating by messing around with the mixing programs he used for his music. Despite his manager’s complaining, it was part of his creative process. 

Or so he deluded himself. 

A small yelp coming from the counter made him lift his gaze from his laptop. A flustered Chay was waving his hand and sticking it under cold water, clearly having burned himself with the espresso machine. The rest of the customers’ curious glances made the barista’s ears flush bright pink. 

Chay lowered his head and pretended to be extremely interested in how the tap worked. Next to him, the espresso machine hummed quietly. 

One side of his mouth quirking up, Kim moved slightly so he had a direct line of sight to where Chay worked from his seat. So he could keep an eye on him and make sure Chay wasn’t trying to sneak pictures of him for social media, of course. 

His laptop whirred to life on his lap. Had he even brought his charger? It didn’t seem like anyone else in the establishment was on their phones, nor were there any computers in sight. It was like Kim had stepped through a portal in time and landed in a timeline where people actually socialized in coffee shops. 

Disgusting. He pulled his headphones over his ears before anyone tried to speak to him. 

Speaking of the other customers, there were quite a lot of them, considering the hole-in-the-wall location of the cafe. However, Kim noticed, none of them had gotten drinks. Everyone only had pastries in front of them instead. Weird. 

“P’Wik,” Chay’s voice tinkled out from his left, “your order is ready!” 

Carefully, the boy placed the steaming cup in front of him, as well as the plate with the cake piece Kim had ordered. A matching set, Kim took note, both pieces having the same blue flowers painted on the edges. Cute. “Please enjoy it, phi,” Chay bowed slightly and rushed off with the tray held close to his chest towards the kitchen. 

Kim did not ogle the boy’s legs as he ran away. They just happened to be in his line of sight. Of course. 

Whatever, he needed some caffeine. Taking the cup in his hands, he blew away some of the steam and leaned in to take a sip. 

Which he almost spit out immediately. Nearly gagging, he breathed in shallowly through his nose and tried to swallow down the disgusting liquid that was currently trying to pass itself off as a coffee in his mouth without tasting it. It rushed over his taste buds, coating everything like a sludge of solidifying lava. 

Terrifyingly bitter, it was both burnt and raw-tasting at the same time, immediately making Kim’s stomach churn and start rolling in warning. 

If processed, this liquid would probably be able to be used as car fuel. Or in a bomb that would level out the city. 

Could Chay be an assassin? Trying to take him out with poison? 

Impossible, Kim had selected this place completely at random. Placing the cup down onto its plate, he noticed his hand was trembling as he reached for the glass of water to wash the taste down. 

Well, now he knew why no one was ordering drinks in this establishment. 

At least the pastries seemed to be good. He tasted just a small crumb, just to be safe. You simply don’t know nowadays. 

*** 

Finding himself scraping his fork against the empty plate to get some of the last bits of frosting, Kim realized something. Chay was an amazing baker, but he was a terrible barista. 

How had this shop stayed open for so long? It was obvious this was an old, family-owned business. Maybe Chay was a newbie here, Kim decided. And had completely bungled the barista training. 

Well, no one was perfect. And Kim did get his use out of the awful coffee. Everytime he caught himself messing around instead of working, he punished himself with a sip. This way, with his taste buds and stomach screaming at him for mercy, he got an extremely productive hour and a half.

He would have continued, but at this point he was in the middle of the cup and could already tell his body would make him pay for it. Pushing the cup away, he sat up and started packing up his bag. 

It was already starting to get dark outside. Had he really stayed here for that long? 

Immediately, Chay was there to clean up. With a happy smile, the boy picked up Kim’s plate, only for the smile to cool down into a small pout when he noticed that the cup was still mostly full. “Didn’t phi enjoy the coffee?” he asked sadly. 

Picking the cup up, he pressed his lips together, completely breaking Kim’s heart. Poor thing, he must have been so excited to finally get a coffee order. And there Kim was, being an absolute asshole by not finishing it. Suddenly, Kim had the urge to grab the cup and finish the coffee in one gulp. Just to remove the pout from that sweet mouth.

But even he didn’t hate himself that much. 

“No, don’t worry,” he reassured Chay, “I liked it. It’s just that…I already had two cups of coffee today and forgot. I can’t sleep if I drink too much coffee, you know?” 

This was pathetic. Kim was pathetic. Because why did he let out a sigh of relief when Chay immediately perked up and nodded eagerly. If the boy had a tail, it would be wagging happily behind him. “You could have told me to make you some decaf, phi! Next time, okay?” 

Yes, Kim found himself nodding like an idiot. Next time. Well, people did say sowing was the fun part, he thought as he watched Chay bounce away towards the kitchen to wash the dishes after he wiped down Kim’s table. 

It is the reaping that will get you. 

***

Honestly, Kim was not the one to blame for his bad decisions. Originally, he had meant to just order some cake, maybe even take some pastries home to nibble on as he worked. But Chay had excitedly told him about the latte art he had been practising, and who the hell was Kim to say no to such an adorable face? 

He made a mental note to pick up some antacids later from a pharmacy. If this kept going, he was going to need all the help he could get. And make an appointment to go get his stomach checked.

As Chay carefully frothed the milk, he happily told Kim that he personally didn’t drink coffee. He didn’t like the taste of it, nor how it made him all hyped up and shaky. No, Chay preferred tea. This is why Kim was the lucky one that got to try all of Chay’s abominationscreations. 

Yeah, Kim wouldn’t drink coffee either if every cup he made tasted like battery acid mixed with Professor Utonium’s chemical X. But, he digressed. 

While watching, Kim found out that Chay and his older brother owned the cafe, but Chay’s Hia had broken his leg and was unable to work until he healed. This was why Chay was suddenly in charge of the register and espresso machine. 

Usually he was working full time in the kitchen, constantly baking for the cafe’s regulars and the home deliveries they did. 

With a graceful twist of his wrist, Chay finished off the heart latte art and proudly presented it to Wik. As they both leaned over it, Chay bit his lip. Well. “It looks…” he started, sheepishly rubbing at the back of his neck. 

Interesting. 

“A little phallic, yes,” Kim agreed quietly, muffling a chuckle when the boy turned a betrayed look at him, “Mn, I don’t mind. And by the way, the name’s Kim,” he threw over his shoulder as he took his awful coffee and made for his regular spot. 

He didn’t bother hiding his smirk at Chay’s flustered sputtering behind him. 

He was still smiling when he almost spat out the latte that definitely had some coffee grounds in there. 

***

This was the day, Kim promised himself, head lowered as he stormed towards the cafe before he could psych himself out, turn around and go home. This was the day he would ask Chay out. He had spent most of his afternoons in the coffee shop for the past few weeks and low-key flirting with Chay, so much so that he had a very specific spot that all the other regulars avoided. 

The only table that had a direct line towards the counter without any obstructions.

Only once had a new customer tried to sit at Kim's table. Instantly, Chay had delicately bounced over, told them the spot was reserved and led them to a different seat. He then turned to look at Kim and sent him a playful wink over his shoulder. 

The victory, while small, was sweet. 

Kim wasn’t going to lie, he had very proudly wiggled into his well-worn seat and gotten comfortable onto what he considered his armchair, his territory. With the back of his neck flushed pink from embarrassment. 

He had promptly spent the next two hours staring over his laptop screen at Chay, pretending he was thinking whenever the barista raised his gaze and accidentally locked eyes with him. This was ridiculous. 

Perhaps the small nausea he felt whenever he was in the coffee shop could be attributed to Chay’s atrocious concoctions, he deluded himself while shoving his head in his hands and groaning. Along with the slight arrhythmia. 

The stupid butterflies rising and fluttering into a hurricane in his stomach whenever he was alone and thought of Chay’s smile, his hair or his soft hands couldn’t. It was obvious.

At his old age, Kim had a crush. It didn’t matter that Kim was only 24, barely a young adult. He was definitely too old to feel like kicking his feet at the thought of a pretty boy. 

Ergo, it was time to act. Take control of the situation before it took control of him. Or before he chickened out. Because that was a definite possibility. 

He still hesitated once he reached the street the cafe was in. Shuffling on his feet, he snuck around to peek through the windows like a pervert.

What he saw made his blood run cold. No. This couldn’t be. 

Instead of Chay standing at the register, he could see a tall man, smiling as he worked the espresso machine gracefully and chatted with the customers in line. As if he had all the rights to be there. Taking Chay’s spot. Taking away Kim’s happiness with him. 

Who was going to be making Kim’s coffee now? This guy? Peh! 

Eyelid twitching, he pushed open the door and stomped towards the counter. As he got closer, his resolve weakened at the scent of actually good coffee coming from the counter. Standing in line, all he could do was seethe silently and stew in his own thoughts. 

Stupid tall guy with his stupidly good coffee. Kim would even bet this guy had finished some sort of barista seminar and actually knew how to use the espresso machine. As if Chay’s battle wounds from the milk steamer were all for naught. 

“What can I get you?” a smooth voice asked, and Kim looked up to make eye contact with the man. All the fight drained out of him. Because this man looked a lot like Chay, and Kim couldn’t make himself fight with someone with the same big eyes. 

He hadn’t even realized the line had been moving. “I-,” he started and cleared his throat, shoving his hands in his pockets, “I would like Chay to make my order. Please” 

Bouncing on his heels, he noticed the man’s small smile lower into a serious look.

“You…you like Chay’s coffee?” 

Oh, this was getting personal now. Puffing out his chest, Kim took his hands out of his pockets and tightened them into fists. Because replacing Chay was one thing, but he wouldn’t tolerate slander against his angel’s lack of coffee making abilities. 

Kim wasn’t above getting into a fight for something he believed in. 

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, Kim’s hackles immediately raising for a fight in response. Then, he was pulled into a tight hug, the wood of the counter digging uncomfortably into his hip as he froze in confusion. “I knew it!” the man cried out and patted Kim’s back in strong, heavy thumps that forced the air out of his lungs. 

He felt like a bear paw was smacking against his shoulder blades, potentially breaking some of his ribs. God this guy was strong. 

His expression was equally intense as he pulled away, still holding onto Kim’s arms and keeping their gazes locked. Oh, Kim hated this. He despised eye contact, absolutely loathed it. He furrowed his eyebrows and tried to squirm away. 

“I knew I wasn’t the only one that liked my Chaychay’s coffee. You, nong, have just earned my trust as a man of true taste.” 

“Hia!” Chay’s voice came from behind the beaded curtain, “how many times have I told you to stop…oh, hello P’Kim,” he trailed off awkwardly. The man’s grip loosened.

So this was Chay’s older brother. This…explained a lot. Kim carefully extracted himself out of the man’s arms, pressing his lips together into a tight smile as he nodded at him. “Hey,” he said gently towards Chay. His arms were hurting. He rubbed at his skin to soothe the sting. 

“I’m afraid I’m not the one making the coffee orders anymore, phi. Now that Hia is back, I’m back working full time in the kitchen.” Chay’s tone was apologetic, and he poked at Porsche’s arm. “Hia, please go ahead and make your best coffee for P’Kim. Show him how amazing of a barista you are.” 

“Right!” 

Great, now Kim had two puppies with wagging tails in front of him. 

***

Porsche’s coffee was, to put it bluntly, amazing. Annoyingly so. 

Kim was bored. Where were the exciting flavours that surprised him with every sip and had made him very well-acquainted with the coffee shop’s toilet, where was the crunch of forgotten coffee grounds? Nowhere. This coffee was lackluster and banal. It was merely good coffee. Peh. Absolutely dull. 

To his horror, Kim realized that sometime, somehow, he had actually started liking Chay’s coffee. In a completely masochistic, perverted way. He was a deviant like that. 

He ranted to Chay about it during their mandatory chat while Chay picked up and wiped down his table. Chay’s coffee wasn’t just a product, it was an experience . And Porsche had just robbed Kim of it. Who didn’t like losing things. Kim was displeased. He said so to Chay, making sure to emphasize how disappointed he was.

Chay’s expression flipped through many emotions. First shock, then sadness, then hope, and at last, humor. The petal of his mouth pressed closed tightly to keep any stray giggle from escaping. He nodded. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, phi,” he apologized and bowed lowly, “how can I make this up to you?” 

“Let’s go out for a…well, not a coffee. Movie?” 

So this is what P’Kim had been aiming for. Well, who was Chay to say no? He had to please the customer, of course.

It didn’t hurt that the customer was extremely handsome and Chay had been crushing on him for weeks.

“A-alright.”

Chay’s flustered expression burned itself firmly onto Kim’s memory. He sunk into his armchair and took in his victory, eyes closed in bliss. Case closed. 

It took Porsche swatting at him with a broom to get him out of the cafe, half an hour after they had closed. 

Two years later: 

“Kim! I’m home! And I brought you something!” 

Opening his eyes, Kim sat up from the couch and rubbed at his eyes sleepily. He hadn’t been taking a nap, not at all. Poking his head over the back of the couch, he grinned brightly when he saw what Chay was holding and tilted his head back to beg for a small kiss. Of course, Chay complied.

In one hand he held a heavy bag, laden down with pastries of all kinds, still warm and steaming from the oven. And in his other hand, a large cup with a mysterious muddy colour and the tiniest hint of sediment at the bottom. One of Chay’s newest creations from experimenting with the espresso machine after hours. 

Kim’s favorite.