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Phichit is tired. He is so tired that he actually considers taking that one fucking picture for Yuuri, that he has been begging him to take. Because, even though Phichit is tired as hell he cannot under any circumstances fall asleep. The guy is in the train. Again. Which shouldn’t be as surprising as it is to Phichit at the moment, because, goddamnit he’s been on the same train as Phichit for the last two months. It’s very probably just because Phichit hasn’t slept in the last 56 hours due to his exams and bus shooting schedule so he is just living in some kind of trance where apparently everything surprises him. Even the regular appearance of the pretty Korean guy who is sitting a few feet away from him.
And because Phichit is really, really tired and apparently exceptionally careless today he decides to try to take a sneaky photograph of Pretty guy and send it to Yuuri so he can gush about him later. Phichit fumbles to get his phone out of his pocket and almost drops it in the process of doing so, the short moment of panic waking him up a little. It only lasts for a few seconds though, before his mind is clouded with fatigue again. Phichit presses the home button and the screen lights up immediately. His three hamsters are his wallpaper and he smiles at them before remembering what he actually had wanted to do. Take a photo of Pretty Korean, without him noticing. Shouldn’t be too hard, Phichit is like, super good at taking photos subtly, otherwise he wouldn’t have that much blackmail material of any of his friends.
Phichit goes to his camera and raises his phone while pretending to type. He’s trying very hard not to look suspicious while also doing his best to find a nice looking angle. When Phichit finds it, he takes the photo. And the lightning goes of. And Pretty Korean looks up, at him, directly. Phichit thinks that he wants to die now. Or at least disappear. Dark grey eyes are boring into him and he shamefully lowers his phone to his lap and starts chewing on his lips.
“Uhm.” he says and curses himself because normally he would probably be able to make a joke or something. The Korean raises his eyebrows, then looks Phichit directly into the eyes for a few seconds, before turning away. Phichit looks away fastly too and feels himself blushing deeply. It’s too late for anything and he’s just too tired to deal with his embarrassment . So he just pushes the thoughts aside and closes his eyes for a second.
“I’m sorry sir, you fell asleep and I don’t want you to miss your stop, so where do you need to get out?” a female voice pulls him out of his sleep. Phichit startles and looks up to see a woman with long dark hair in a braid and violet eyes. He opens his mouth to say something but doesn’t manage to get anything out except for a sound that’s somewhere between “Hu?” and a yawn. She smiles.
“Which station do you need to get off the train? I hope it’s not too late already.” she repeats and Phichit finally feels in a state of being able to answer. He looks at the signs, where the next stations are announced and realizes that he has missed his station. His groan seems to give the woman her answer and she gives him a pitying look.
“Thank you for waking me up, though. That’s really nice.” Phichit says and picks up his backpack from underneath his seat. She nods at him and make her way down the waggon to wake up another sleeping passenger. It’s dark out, Phichit realizes when he gets off at the next stop and he tries to find his orientation. His mind is still hazy and Phichit walks up to one of the train line’s plans. It turns out, that he is not that far away from his actual stop so he just decides to walk. The movement and the fresh air will probably do him good. So he starts his way, with no real destination or actual knowledge of what he’s doing. About fifteen minutes later he is pretty sure he’s lost. Or just too tired to actually recognize anything.
His salvation comes in form of a coffee shop. The smell hits him when somebody enters the shop and Phichit stops dead in his tracks staring at it. He sees one barista behind the counter and two people sitting by the windows and decides to get himself some caffeine to get home safely.
Phichit regrets it though, as soon as he enters. Because behind the counter stands the Pretty Korean, looking up when the doorbell jingles. He squints at Phichit and recognition passes over his face, before it falls into a passive and neutral mask. Phichit shifts uncomfortably but he can’t leave now, because a) that would make things even more awkward and b) he really wants a coffee. So, he strides over to the counter and puts on a smile. He tries to, but considering his lack of sleep he isn’t sure if it works.
“Hello, welcome to Crispino’s Café, what can I get for you?” Pretty Korean says and Phichit squints at his nametag. Seung-Gil, it says. Well, at least he now knows the name of the handsome man. Phichit thinks that Seung-Gil is handling their kind of awkward situation really professional. Well, he guesses that Seung-Gil has to, and Phichit understands because he himself works in a clothing store on weekends and he is very professional. He just helps people, even when they argue and he is very good at saying not so nice things when people choose the wrong things in a nice way. And especially that one time, when the three girls were gossiping like hell while shopping he didn’t start gossiping with them or stopped doing his work to eavesdrop. No, he just continued refolding shirts because; Phichit is in fact, very professional as well.
Also he’s been daydreaming he realizes as Seung-Gil clears his throat and has his eyebrows raised. Honestly, his eyebrows are even more amazing up close. Very dark and bushy and they are angled nicely. Phichit starts wondering if Seung-Gil gets them done professionally.
“Sir? Are you going to order anything or just keep staring into thin air and keeping me from cleaning?” the Korean says, and there’s a hint of annoyance in his voice. Not so professional then, Phichit could have done that better, he is sure. And he’s almost slipping into his thoughts again. Goddamn fatigue.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry,” he says and stands up straighter (he starts laughing internally at that) “Uh. Like, could you maybe just fill a big cup with espresso?” he asks after scanning the Café’s menu. The barista looks at him, questioningly.
“I’m pretty sure that much caffeine is not good for health,” he says.
“Yeah, well. Neither is staying up for almost sixty hours and standing under stress during that time, but here I am,” Phichit comments. Seung-Gil’s eyebrows are amazing, because he can lift a single one. It’s really fucking unfair that he is this pretty and so talented.
“Well then. Are you sure you don’t just want a big cup with black coffee?” he questions.
“Not to be rude or anything, but like, shouldn’t you just accept my order without questioning it?” Phichit counters.
“I would, but it’s part of the contract to watch out for students who want a shitload of caffeine in the middle of the night.” Seung-Gil says and puts his hands on the counter, leaning on it.
“Hm. Wait how do you know I’m a student?”
“Who else would want that much caffeine after not having slept for a long time when it’s exam time in universities?”
“I guess I didn’t consider that. Can you just please, please get me something big and warm that wakes me up enough so I can get home safely without falling asleep on the sidewalk?” Phichit asks, exasperated.
“If you’re that tired why don’t you just take a taxi?” Seung-Gil suggests. Phichit has to laugh at that:
“I’m a student. How the hell am I supposed to be able to pay a taxi?”
“You seem to have enough money for coffee.”
“A cup of coffee is hardly more expensive than a taxi unless you’re at Starbucks which I am not, for obvious reasons,” Phichit says. He then stifles a yawn.
Seung-Gil seems to consider that then says:
“I’ll make you something. Not that liquid heart attack but something to wake up a little. Name?”
“How should I know what that thing is called? You are the barista in here, not me,” Phichit questions.
“Not the name of the drink. Yours,” Seung-Gil explains and grabs a paper cup as well as a pen.
“Oh,” Phichit suddenly feels stupid, “Uhm. Phichit. With P H” he adds. Because every coffee shop he’s ever been to, got that wrong.
“Alright. Wait here, will you?” Seung-Gil says and scribbles on the cup before starting to bustle around the machines. Phichit watches and his eyelids start fluttering again, weighing a lot more than usual.
“So. Uhm. I just wanted to say sorry for taking that picture of you in the train. It’s just, you’re like, really pretty and my friend didn’t believe me, so I wanted to give him proof and I didn’t know the lightning was still on,” Phichit apologizes, finally. He feels better instantly.
“Yeah, it was kind of clear that you didn’t know. You looked really surprised,” Seung-Gil says, deadpan. Maybe Phichit doesn’t feel better. He isn’t sure yet. So he just laughs nervously and uncomfortably and then sighs. He’ll probably regret his actions later.
Seung-Gil turns around again, the cup in his hand. He puts it on the counter and punches something in the cash register. Phichit is suddenly fascinated by the steam that curls into the air from the cup. It’s forming figures for a split second and then changes again.
“The steam is almost as pretty as you, Seung-Gil,” he says and doesn’t even really register the slight blush spreading on the Koreans face.
He explains what’s in the cup to Phichit – a lot of black coffee, one double espresso, caramel milk and two shots of hazelnut syrup. Phichit is mesmerized by the way he talks and his voice and doesn’t even listen properly to Seung-Gil. He pays and takes his cup and then Phichit is really surprised by how good it tastes.
“What did you put in there? It’s so good!” he exclaims and Seung-Gil looks confused.
“Maybe I’ll tell you another time. Just get home and sleep,” he says.
“Yes, I’ll do that. Thank you! Goodbye!” Phichit says and leaves. The coffee is the best thing ever and he makes his way home, safely, even managing to properly change and brush his teeth before he falls into his bed and sleeps right away.
In the next morning (or rather, afternoon because he wakes up at 2.30 PM) he gets embarrassed again and spends good five minutes groaning and cringing. Then he sees his coffee cup, standing on his bedside table and is surprised that his name is actually written right for once.
He becomes a regular at Crispino’s though in the two weeks he’s been going there now he’s only met the grumpy barista Michele, the excited Emil and Georgi who’s kind of dramatic but in a nice way.
Two weeks after the Seung-Gil incident (that Leo and Guang Hong found so funny they laughed for about half an hour) he is having dinner with Yuuri and Viktor. Bad idea. He seems to have forgotten that he third wheels literally every time they go out together. It’s not like they’re doing it on purpose they just start talking and kissing and giggling among themselves at some point while Phichit sits next to them contemplating his life.
This time they had wanted to meet up as a trio because Phichit belongs to the official Viktuuri-Wedding-Planner-Squad. As Yuuri’s best friend and best man they had wanted to talk about guests, decoration, stuff like and somehow it’s turned into Viktor and Yuuri sharing loving glances and talking about how amazing the other will look in his tuxedo. Phichit watches the other people in the restaurant and chokes on his water when he spots Seung-Gil six tables away.
The Korean is sitting together with two girls and two other guys and Phichit takes out his phone to zoom in closer on them, to almost choke again when he realizes that the guys are, in fact Michele and Emil. One of the girls has her back to him but she’s got bright red hair. The other one has long black hair and when she shifts a bit Phichit recognizes her as the woman from the train, that woke him up.
In the following half an hour Phichit watches the other table closely and still keeps up with Yuuri and Viktor. It gets obvious that Seung-Gil is fifth wheeling pretty soon. Phichit feels his pain and looks back at Viktor and Yuuri who are scrolling through some locations on their phones. When he looks back to the other table again, Seung-Gil is gone. Phichit feels kind of disappointed and promptly starts looking around the restaurant, trying to spot Seung-Gil eventually taking his phone’s camera for help.
“Honestly, did nobody ever teach you that it’s impolite to take photos of people without their consent?” a voice says next to Phichit who jumps and turns around to see Seung-Gil standing a few feet away from his chair.
“Uhm,” Phichit says intelligently “Actually I was watching you fifth wheeling your group over there and wanted to know where you went. Which now, that I said it, sounds really weird.”
Seung-Gil raises his eyebrows. He looks really good, he’s wearing a black turtle neck with long sleeves and how did Phichit never see this gorgeous jawline before?
“It doesn’t seem as if your two companions give you that much attention right now, does it? So you’re not in a better position than me,” Seung-Gil says.
“I never claimed to be! Also, they’re planning their wedding!” Phichit protests.
Seung-Gil gives the two at Phichit’s table a look and seems about to go, when Phichit is struck with an idea.
“Hey! Okay, so I have an idea that’s actually somewhat weird, but I think I fucked up any first impression anyway so it doesn’t matter. Do you want to get out of here? We could go for a walk or something, I mean, it’s better than watching your friends being in love, right?” he proposes quickly. Seung-Gils stops mid turn and looks at him, is eyebrows are scrunched together in confusion.
“Are you serious?” he asks incredulous.
“Yeah? Kind of? Would I have asked otherwise?”
“We don’t know each other though?”
“A lot can change in a night?”
Seung-Gil keeps staring at Phichit like he’s trying to figure something out.
“I guess? I’ll just say my goodbyes, I think. Meet you outside in ten.” the Korean says finally and just walks of to his table.
“Guys, I think I’m gonna go home now, yeah? We can meet up some other time to talk about your wedding,” Phichit addresses Yuuri and Viktor, who look up and nod. They all say their goodbyes to each other and Phichit leaves the money for his food and gathers his stuff up. He’s pretty sure that they are going to have sex later.
Then Phichit exits the restaurant, wrapping himself up in his coat. It’s getting warmer but it’s still cold so he slings his Bordeaux coloured scarf around his neck. He’s glad he put makeup on today, because he looks better than two weeks ago with it on his face.
Seung-Gil comes out shortly after, wearing a coat as well. It’s black and has a high collar and he looks very attractive in it.
“So, where do you want to go?” he asks and regards Phichit with alert eyes.
“The river. It’s pretty there.” Phichit decides and Seung-Gil nods, approvingly. They start walking in silence and then Phichit speaks up:
“I’ve been coming to Crispino’s a lot lately. Haven’t seen you there anymore though.”
“Michele told me. And I only work the late night shifts.” Seung-Gil answers and Phichit can see, that he is being watched from the corner of Seung-Gil’s eyes.
“I think I have to apologize for my behaviour that day. I was really out of it, back then,” Phichit says and looks at the ground he’s walking on. The cracks in the sidewalk seem very interesting right now.
“It’s okay, I guess. I mean, you seemed to be weird and yes, you taking a photograph of me wasn’t really the most pleasant experience for both of us, but I thought you were funny,” Seung-Gil says then pauses a few seconds before continuing. ”Did anyone ever tell you that you seem kind of drunk when you are really tired?”
Phichit laughs and says:
“Yeah, I’m actually told a lot. I don’t even know why I get like that. Normally I’m better at social stuff without making a complete fool of myself.”
Seung-Gil looks at him shortly before turning back forward.
“I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just blunt, as I’ve been told, but you generally see to be a bit weird. A good kind of weird, because normally I wouldn’t talk this much to someone I don’t know. I’m not really good at interacting with others,” he says and scratches the back of his head. Phichit is observing him and waits, so Seung-Gil can add something if he wants to. He does.
“I don’t normally just take walks with people, not even my friends. I know it may sound weird, but you make me feel kind of comfortable.”
Phichit blushes at the words, and if his eyes don’t betray him, then so does Seung-Gil.
They’re nearly by the river now.
“I’ve been told that I have this kind of effect on people,” Phichit says. They lapse into silence again, but it’s not uncomfortable. They reach the promenade near the river and somehow seem to have the same thought, because both Phichit and Seung-Gil move to the handrails and sit down. The river is about seven meters underneath them and Phichit sits down, leaving his legs to dangle freely over the edge of the wall and leaning on the lower bar of the handrail with his arms.
Seung-Gil sits down next to him shortly after and they just watch the water flow by for a few minutes, the light of the streetlamps glittering beneath them on the water.
“So, what do you do except saving the lives of sleep deprived students?” Phichit asks.
“I study veterinary medicine. What about you?”
“That’s really cool. I study media and communication and I try myself at professional photography,” Phichit answers. Seung-Gil makes a soft sound.
“That seems like it fits to you. Many people that know me always think I should study something like law. Or, well, it’s mostly my family saying that. But they are really conservative and I don’t have that much contact with them.” he says and turns his head a bit to the left, so that he is looking at Phichit.
“I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, no offense. I didn’t even tell Sara about it, and she is what I consider my closest friend.” Seung-Gil adds.
“As I said, I have that kind of effect on people. Also, with some people in live it just clicks. Look at Yuuri and me for example. The dark haired guy with the glasses at my table. He’s really socially anxious, shy as hell and not talkative at all, but we are best friends. When we met some years ago, he only talked much to me, and nobody else. And his fiancé, the silver haired guy, Viktor, it took him ages for Yuuri to finally talk to him properly. Viktor once said I am a fountain of good feelings and comfort, which is why anxious or laid back people talk to me a lot and find it easier to open up.” Phichit says thoughtfully and shifts a bit.
“Well, he’s not wrong. Sara, she is the one with the black hair and one of the owners of Crispino’s says that I am just too blunt for my own good at times. Which is true, but she also says that I can be enjoyable company if I want to be,” Seung-Gil mumbles.
“Wait, Sara is one of the owners? Holy crap, the world is so small.” Phichit exclaims and can’t help the grin spreading on his face. Seung-Gil shoots him a questioning look.
“The evening I first came into the Crispino’s she was the one to wake me up on the train. I’ve overslept my station. So I wanted to walk home, and well, the rest is history.” Phichit tells him.
“I know you overslept your stop.” Seung-Gil says and then blushes hard.
“What? How?” Phichit asks.
“I mean, we did take the same train home for two months, and I may have noticed you before you tried to take that photo,” the Korean explains. They sit in silence again, both blushing.
“Tell me more about your friends.” Phichit demands, after having set in silence for some time. Seung-Gil seems to be taken by surprise but still comlplies.
“Sara and Michele, I assume you know him, they are siblings and own the Café. Sara still works at an animal shelter and Michele studies psychology in his first semester. They’ve had some disputes in the past, because he was really protective of her and went overboard. It got better thought, because of Emil, you know him too I think. Emil has been crushing on Michele ever since High School and two years ago befriended him. They’re together now, and Michele’s and Sara’s relationship is a lot healthier than before. Mila, the redhead, she is a dance instructor and local theatre actress so she doesn’t have the time to work at the Café, but she is Sara’s girlfriend,” Seung-Gil explains. It’s a lot, what he says and he’s not used to it. Phichit can tell by the way Seung-Gil swallows a lot as if to keep excess saliva out of his mouth and the way he licks his lips after talking. Yuuri did the same in the beginning of their friendship, though what seems to be evolving between Phichit and Seung-Gil can hardly be seen as friendship, not from Phichit’s side at least.
So Phichit starts talking about his friends. The very extra Viktor and the way he and Yuuri are just too in love. He talks about Yuri Plisetsky, the ever angry design student and his boyfriend Otabek Altin who studies music. He tells Seung-Gil about Leo de la Iglesia, one of his oldest friends and Leo’s boyfriend Guang Hong, who is an art student and the most talented person Phichit knows. He enjoys telling the Korean about his hamsters and his shenanigans with Yuuri and Viktor, the shit Yuri starts and the movie nights he has with hi older sisters.
Seung-Gil is a good listener and when Phichit is done talking he smiles, and thanks Phichit for telling him all of this. They talk longer. It’s nothing remarkable. Books, movies, music, countries they want to travel to. Things they want to do some day, and they don’t realize that time is passing.
It’s almost midnight when they do, and together they walk to the next train station. They talk during the ride, until Seung-Gil announces that he has to get off the next one.
They hastily exchange phone numbers and then Seung-Gil turns gets up and turns around to Phichit.
“I’ve had a great night, and I want to thank you for it.” he says with a small smile on his face. Phichit likes that smile, a lot.
“I can only say thank you.” he answers and grins up at the Korean. It’s Seung-Gil’s stop. The train slows down and comes to a halt. Seung-Gil looks at Phichit once again.
“I don’t do this, normally, but this night is a night of anomalies, so.” he says and before Phichit can say anything Seung-Gil has walked back to him, leaned down and kissed him on the lips. It’s short, too short for Phichit’s liking, but Seung-Gil is out of the door before he can react and the train sets into motion again. Phichit is absolutely stunned. His phones notifications go of.
from: Seung-Gil Lee
It seems that you weren’t the only one to find somebody on your train to home attractive.
to: Seung-Gil Lee
That’s good to know. Especially if I want to ask somebody that I find attractive on my train ride home if he wants to go out to grab some coffee tomorrow. ;)
from: Seung-Gil Lee
Be glad that that somebody works at a coffee shop so you can get coffee without having to pay. See you tomorrow at 2/ Crispino’s?
to: Seung-Gil Lee
Yes! Looking forward to it, sleep well!
from: Seung-Gil Lee
You too, don’t stay up to long or you’ll space out all the time and talk nonsense.
Which is actually nothing bad. It’s sort of cute.
Phichit is a little bit tired, but he’s also feeling like he’s melting. And it’s great.