Kris looked up at the menu of the Coffee House, analyzing it like an eagle hovering of its target. He was running late for class but he could not ignore his growling stomach. Deciding to settle for a cup of Americano and a bagel, he stood in line with other hungry students. Whilst struggling to keep his eyes open, he rummaged his bag for his wallet. A strong scent of cologne tickled his nostrils and Kris couldn’t help but flinch and take a step back. He could never quite appreciate them because he was so sensitive to the smell he’d end up having a sneezing spree. He knew it was coming from the stranger in front of him. Kris tried to hold his breath and focused his gaze away from the stranger standing in front of him, hoping it would make the tingling sensation in his nose disappear.

And that was when his eyes found the familiarity of the patterns peeking out from beneath the stranger’s sleeves. There was something about the way the lines on the stranger’s wrist reminded him of home. 

There was a period of time Kris had gotten so used to seeing marks on wrists that he felt like a cashier at the supermarket, scanning for scars on wrists like barcodes. Three years ago, Kris would pay a little too much attention to wrists, instead of faces. He couldn’t help it; it’s like he was brought into a different world where such details seem to make a lot more difference because his lover then was adorned with them. He didn’t think there was anything ugly about them, having paid more attention to them because he wanted to understand more about the pain of his clinically depressed lover. If anything, he thought it made him even more beautiful than he didn’t already know he was.

This bittersweet feeling left Kris slightly puzzled and he couldn’t quite place it. As he lifted his gaze to focus on the stranger, incessant tapping on his back rudely interrupted him.

“Excuse me, I think you dropped something. “ Kris spun around in slight annoyance, only to realize the kind man behind him had just informed him of a receipt for the Economics textbook he’d purchase just last week took a suicide plunge out of his bag and onto the floor beside his shoes.

He muttered a quick “thanks” as he bent over to pick it up. When he turned back to face the front, he’d realize the stranger was no longer in front of him. He was at the other end of the counter, back facing Kris and waiting for his order. Great, Kris thought. Feeling disappointed that he lost the chance to hear the stranger’s voice or see the face the scars had belonged to, he stepped forward and placed his breakfast order to the lady at the counter instead.

By the time he was done and walking to the other end of the counter, he wasn’t too sure why he was hopeful to meet the stranger there.

“ Two Caramel Lattes.” No sooner did the barista placed two coffees on the counter had the stranger grabbed both cups and headed straight for the exit, back facing Kris the whole time. Outside the door stood a tall, dark-hair boy in the cold autumn wind, clutching onto his trench coat for warmth. Upon seeing the stranger, the sides of his lips came up to meet his ears.

That smile. No, it can’t be.

There was no doubt Kris was staring a double image. Kris felt the tunes in the Coffee House drown itself out, he could hear nothing except the way his stomach threatened to heave itself right out of Kris’ mouth. A wave of nausea overcame him as he tried to grapple with the fact that his paths had come to cross with Park Chanyeol once more.

 The name itself scared the living daylights out of Kris, because where there was Park Chanyeol, there would be someone else that looked all too recognizable when he was waiting for the order of his coffee. Kris watched as the stranger handed a coffee to the taller boy, his eyes a little too focused when lips met forehead before they proceeded to walk.

“Sir, your Americano and Bagel.” He barely registered the barista’s voice as he made a run towards the restroom and locked himself in the bathroom. The taste of bile hit him before he realized he hadn’t eaten anything since the night before.