Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Taehyun’s mornings are always the same, day after day: he kicks the covers off promptly at 7 in the morning, manages a 15-minute shower, slips into his required attire– a pair of black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a black tie– in 5 minutes, preens in the mirror for 10, sits down with a steaming bowl of rice and finishes it in 15 minutes, packs himself a box lunch in another 15, and leaves the house at 8AM on the dot so that he can arrive at work by 8:30. He’s timed himself multiple times to get the steps down pat, and so far, he’s been impeccable with keeping up with this ritual for the past 3 years. Taehyun is anything if not a man of routine, and he prides himself in that.

So when Soobin brushes past him as he steps in through the front door, commenting incredulously that his tie is done properly, he’s downright puzzled.

“What do you mean? I know how to tie a tie, hyung.” Taehyun’s a little ruffled at the tone of his supervisor’s voice, and a roll of his eyes conveys it.

“Huh. Well, it sure didn’t seem like it when you came in yesterday.” Much to Taehyun’s chagrin, Soobin doesn’t elaborate any further, and shuffles away to his cubicle with a sip of his coffee (which is a shockingly light brown), leaving Taehyun with more questions than answers.

Taehyun soon finds that Soobin isn’t the only one who’s surprised to see him; a similar incident occurs when Seoyeon drops by to deliver a stack of copies. 

“Oh!” She stifles a giggle before placing the papers into his hands. “Your shirt’s tucked in today!”

Taehyun’s eyebrows furrow considerably. “Isn’t it always?”

She taps her chin at the inquiry and, again, has to struggle to suppress any laughter, as if the thought of Taehyun with his shirt untucked was comedy gold. “Not yesterday, no.” And with that, she’s gone as quickly as she came.

He’s met with a string of similar comments throughout the workday, even earning an offhand comment about his hair being coiffed from his boss, and he’s almost convinced that the whole office is in on some prank that he wasn’t informed of, and if that was the case, he wanted in, thank you very much. 

He sets upon confronting the interns about it on their lunch break, sliding in between the two tittering teenagers with an overly dramatic cough. They shoot him matching blank expressions, but luckily for Taehyun, they don’t seem to be perturbed by his presence, as Woonhak shoots him a “what’s up, hyung?”, while Yujin just stares at him wordlessly as usual. (He’s not sure if he’s ever heard the kid speak.)

Taehyun fumbles with his tupperware with a little grumble, stabbing at a piece of pork with his chopsticks and shoving it into his mouth before responding. “Was I.. a little off yesterday?”

The two share a look before nodding their heads timidly. “You were the most disheveled any of us have ever seen you.” Woonhak claims. "You were all over the place like this." His hands flail around wildly, as if he was trying to emulate how much of a mess Taehyun had been the other day.

“Mussed hair, untucked shirt, haphazardly done tie.. It was like someone else was in your body.” Yujin interjects abruptly, his eyes wide as saucers.

Taehyun, while impressed that he finally knows what Yujin’s voice sounds like, doesn’t know what else to do other than nod. “Hm.”

By the end of the day, he still hasn’t an inkling of what’s happened– there was no reason for him to break out of his routine as everyone had said, but then again, everyone had said he had. He especially isn’t going to question Jiheon of all people when it comes to remembering things. That girl probably keeps a well documented and up to date list of every time she’s been wronged, complete with timestamps, so if she's telling him that he somehow forgot how to log onto his computer, then he must have.

Despite that, he’s still mulling over it as he packs his things up into his bag, and when he shuffles alongside the other commuters to squeeze into the subway car like sardines, and he nearly misses his stop because he’s so lost in thought (which also is out of character for him).

Taehyun doesn’t even know what could be causing this, because he has zero memory of any of this happening. He couldn’t even tell you what color his tie was that day, or what side dishes he packed for lunch, and that’s what puzzles him.

While he admits he doesn’t have the best memory, he remembers things well enough to pass as someone who does. And he certainly would at least be able to remember what happened the day before, but he doesn’t, and it bothers him.

What exactly was going on here?

When Kai clocks in for his shift at the local convenience store, the last thing he expects is for Eunchae and Minju to laugh at him. Sure, the laughing itself isn't anything new, but their laughter is usually directed at whatever silly cat video Minju has pulled up on her phone and not right in his face, so to say he's bewildered would be an understatement.

His confusion must be clearly written on his face, because Eunchae manages to stifle her giggles long enough to at least make an attempt to explain, but she bursts before she can get so much as a syllable out.

"Sorry, sorry... I just started seeing Statue Kai again, I can't do this..."

The words set off another wave of laughter in Minju as well, which means Kai is nowhere closer to an answer and his coworkers are doubled over in front of him, bodies shaking with the giggles.

Once they've managed to calm down enough to properly, Kai finally understands the source of their laughter- for some reason, he had come into work with absolutely no knowledge of how to stock the shelves and a newfound stoic and no-nonsense attitude.

"Normally you're so animated, you know? Even if you don't really play along with Eunchae and I, you still know how to have a little fun. Whoever possessed your body just wanted to work and get the job done, no joking around. Which, like, I know we get paid for, but we all know we don't get paid enough to actually give a shit about being efficient or maximizing productivity as long as everything gets done eventually." Minju shrugs, swiping up on her phone, as if proving her point. "Eunchae and I started calling that version of you Statue Kai because you were like, stone-faced or something. The biggest smile we saw you sport that day was this tight lipped one that made you look like an AI generated version of yourself. Eugh."

"Yeah! Like, we all slack off, because there's literally no reason for three people to be on shift at a time anyways... there isn't even enough to do to keep one person busy for the full four hours. And yeah, the lack of smiling really threw me off..." Eunchae has the decency to be kind about it, as opposed to Minju, sending him an apologetic smile.

He listens to their detailed account of what happened that day, and the more they talk, the more confused he gets– how could he act so out of character and have absolutely no recollection of what he'd done or said, or anything about that day in general?

Come to think of it, he'd been having weird dreams lately. He's not usually the type to have dreams at all, but for the past month or so, he’s had this recurring dream in which he's some guy named Taehyun who wears a suit and works at a boring old office, playing desk jockey and answering the phone all hours of the day– and it’s startlingly lucid.

For a second he thinks that maybe his dreams have something to do with this uncharacteristic behavior, but scraps that idea as soon as it pops up in his head– body switching is a thing of the movies and books, not in real life. There's no way he's actually switching bodies with this Taehyun guy while he's in Kai's body. 

That's not something that just happens... right?

The next few days pass without a hitch, and for a moment Kai thinks that he's finally free of those strange out-of-body dreams and can return to his normal life. But as luck would have it, the next day, he wakes up in a room that's just slightly too clean (whoever Taehyun is, he's merely appropriately messy, with only a few stray shirts piled on his desk chair), on a roomy bed that has just a little too much space because there's only one plushie on it as opposed to Kai’s preferred twenty.

Kai (or Taehyun, depending on how you look at it) sighs and rolls himself out of bed. Luckily, the phone on the bedside table shows that it's a Saturday, which means he doesn't have to worry about figuring out how to tie a tie again, getting to the office on time, or being scolded by that one really tall guy who he thinks is Taehyun's boss, or something. He doesn't even know if he should be worried, though– for all he knows Taehyun is just a figment of his imagination created to guilt him for his life decisions, because he's the polar opposite of Kai in more ways than one.

He has a stable office job, for starters– a far cry from the dead-end part time job that Kai works– and what seems to be a proper workout routine, if the variety of dumbbells lying around and the ample stock of protein powder in the pantry are any indication. The closest Kai has ever gotten to the gym was making a New Year's resolution to start his fitness journey, buying a pile of athletic wear, and promptly forgetting to ever sign up for a membership.

There's also the brown tabby cat that skulks around the apartment eyeing him warily like it knows it's Kai in Taehyun's body, not the real Taehyun. Again, assuming Taehyun is a real guy. He doesn't really know what to do with it, having never cared for a pet himself, (do cats take walks out like dogs do?) but he at least has the sense to roll out of bed and fill its food and water bowls when it makes its presence known in the doorway.

As he's watching the feline scarf down its meal, he once again becomes cognizant of how real this all feels, and once again he's wondering if it really is just a dream.

He's been dismissive of the idea on multiple occasions, but he can't help but wonder... What if Taehyun is a real person? What if Kai really has been switching bodies with him and he could very well fuck up Taehyun's very real life with some very real and bad choices? He can't fathom how he'd cope with that possibility. He might not be the most responsible person in regards to his own life, but he knows better than to wreak havoc on someone else's.

With his curiosity piqued (and his heart pounding with anxiety), he tears his attention away from the cat to the sleek black computer desk in the corner of the bedroom to find some paper, preferably a sticky note of sorts, and a writing utensil– which isn't hard, because Taehyun's desk is relatively neat save for a few papers and not bogged down with lyric notebooks and half-read novels like Kai's.

He seats himself in the ergonomic chair (which reminds him he should probably replace his chair, it hurts his back) and pens what he hopes is a friendly message to the guy whose body he's inhabiting.

"hey i'm hueningkai!! i think this might be silly of me to write if this really is just a dream.. but anyways i'm kind of in your body right now and it's happened a few times before and it sucks :< if you're a real guy can you text me at 010-xxx-xxxx so i can at least try to fuck up less? just in case it keeps happening~ thanks!! >w<"

He's happy with the content of his note- it's not too long, gets his point across, and best of all, he doesn't sound dry. (It's half the reason why he uses all those emoticons, after all.) He adds another smiley face and a heart, just in case, though.

He just hopes that Taehyun is a real person, so he isn't completely insane for writing the note in the first place.

At the same time, Taehyun– who is very much real, by the way– is waking up in a bed that's teeming with stuffed animals and the scenic view of rumpled clothes scattered across the floor, and he groans audibly as he removes a plush bunny from underneath his form. There's an upbeat tune blaring in his ears, and he vaguely registers the language as Japanese, concluding that it must be a popular anime song being used as an alarm. How "Kai" (he thinks that's the name of the guy whose body he's in, but he's not certain if he heard anyone correctly) wakes up to such loud music without feeling irritated, he'll never know.

Sure enough, when he picks up the phone sitting on the bedside table, the screen reads "time for work!! T_T", which he remembers is the convenience store in front of the Shin-Nonhyeon Station. A quick parsing of the schedule pinned in the work KakaoTalk chat lets him know he should be there by 10AM, and since the clock reads 09:15, that gives him a full 45 minutes to get himself together and take the subway to the store. He might be in a different body, but Taehyun isn't about to give up on his punctuality even in his dreams.

At least, he thinks this is a dream. Everything feels a little too realistic to be just a dream, but there's really no logical explanation for why or how he ended up in another man's body if this is real, so he settles for the idea that this is a dream. Maybe this is some manifestation of how his life would have ended up if he did end up pursuing that singing career his parents were so against. (though admittedly, he's just guessing that this Kai character is a musician of sorts, if the multitude of instruments in the room were anything to go by. Also, he swears he's not judging Kai for his lifestyle- it's just so different from his current life.)

Regardless of whether or not Kai really is a musician or not, seeing the instruments, which are evidently well-loved and used frequently, reminds Taehyun of a simpler time- a time where he didn't have to care so much about making the correct decision to further his career and get himself on the right track. He thinks of his only work friend, Beomgyu, who still plays the guitar in his free time, and for a moment he lets himself be wistful, thinking of what could have been. He wonders if his lofty dreams of stardom would've ever come into fruition, if he'd actually given it a proper chance- or, well, if he'd been *allowed* to give it a proper chance.

His musings are rudely interrupted by the same anime theme song ringing from the phone, the pop-up message now reading "c'mon!! you're going to be late!! >:(" and with the time showing 9:40, he's definitely going to be late to Kai's shift (which, at least for now, is Taehyun's shift too) if he doesn't get a move on.

He throws on a tshirt and some jeans from the closet, because he doesn't know whether to trust the clothes lying on the floor. Kai doesn't seem like a complete slob, from the looks of his room, but for all he knows those clothes could be growing a new species of mold, and he is *not* taking those chances when there's plenty of perfectly clean clothes in the closet.

Taehyun somehow manages to locate Kai's subway pass, his wallet, and keys in 5 minutes (which doesn't seem like all that impressive of a feat, but mind you, all of them were in completely different locations throughout the bedroom), and, after locking the door behind him, breaks into a brisk jog out the door to the subway station. He's found out very quickly that this body isn't nearly as fit as his is, and that even a light run manages to get him out of breath in about five minutes, so he's tried to limit himself to the bare minimum so he's not constantly winded.

Luckily, thanks to his immaculate pacing, he manages to squeeze himself through the doors of the train right before they close, which means he'll get to work with seven minutes to spare. He isn't sure if Kai is the punctual type, but if he wasn't before, he certainly will be under Taehyun's influence.

The same two girls from the other day (were their names Eunji and Minji? They don't have name tags, so he's not sure) greet him when he steps through the automatic doors, giggling incessantly as if *he's* the funny joke. He merely waves with a tight little smile, unsure of how to approach them, and somehow that action in itself is hilarious enough to make them burst into laughter.

"Oh, oh, it's Statue Kai again! I'd know that smile anywhere." The girl with the blunt bangs (he thinks this one is Eunji) sputters with a blinding grin. The other girl merely nods in between giggles, and from their reactions you'd think they had discovered the funniest joke, unbeknownst to anyone but them.

Taehyun doesn't know what "Statue Kai" is supposed to refer to, and he kind of doesn't want to. The last thing he wants is to have to deal with their incessant energy, which they seem to have no shortage of. He just wants to do the job Kai has been hired to do, and go home so he can hopefully make his way back to *his* life the next day. 

The gods must be smiling upon him today (but not enough to stop him from living someone else's life, apparently), because the four hour shift goes by relatively quickly- mostly because he did all the actual work, while the two girls spent the better part of their time filming various Tiktok challenges. He has half a mind to be annoyed by it, but he figures it might be for the best, if he doesn't want them on his back whatsoever.

The commute back to Kai's house is a blur, and somehow Taehyun feels exponentially more tired from a mere four hours in a convenience store than eight hours at his sales firm. He's never been one for midday naps, but sleep takes a gentle but firm hold on him against his will, and before he knows it, his eyelids are drooping and he's succumbing to slumber, silently hoping he's back to his own 177cm body by the time he wakes up again.

Chapter Text

It's Monday morning. Taehyun stirs, but he's wary. His hand meanders around the surface of the bed he's on, so that he can check whether he's in plushie hell again, but then he registers the uniform beeping of his alarm and not the shrill melody of Kai's anime opening of choice in his ear, and he lets out a sigh of relief. When he opens his eyes, he's greeted by the sight of his tidy, no-nonsense room, and Hobak, who's grooming herself in the corner. His fingers curl into a loose fist, silently cheering that he's back home and not in Kai's room.

Not that there was anything wrong with Kai's room. Or maybe something is slightly off, or maybe he's just being an asshole about it. He doesn't want to judge, and he certainly would be the last person to judge another's room setup, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't wrap his head around how Kai has space to squeeze his lanky body onto his bed with all those stuffed animals on it.

That aside, the whirlwind of events he's been swept up by the last few days have helped him learn to appreciate the mundane aspects of his life, the things he took for granted or even dreaded. He's always known he was a creature of routine, but he never thought he'd see the day where he was comforted by the crispness of the dress shirt on his body, or the snugness of his tie around his neck. He certainly never thought he'd ever come to think of his dress shoes as old friends, but now he's almost glad to see them sitting by the door. (Is that normal? Probably not. Normal people don't personify their shoes.)

He's even glad as he steps into the musty little office he spends his day in, and not the run-down convenience store Kai works at. Not that there was anything wrong with Kai's job. Taehyun thinks every job is respectable, unless you're like, a serial killer or a loan shark or something, because he really does believe it takes all sorts of jobs to make the world go round. He's not really sure if what Minju and Eunchae do should really be considered essential work, but that's neither here nor there, and to be frank, he's not all too interested in them beyond being Kai's coworkers. (He still thinks Statue Kai isn't funny in the slightest, so they clearly don't have the same sense of humor.)

Taehyun, once again, swears he's not judging Kai. He's just... learned to be grateful that he's living a life that suits him, one that he's tailored for himself and his needs, that's all. But now that he thinks about it, Kai's lifestyle just doesn't resonate with him in the slightest. Living on his own all carefree, simply getting by with a part-time job... It's simply the antithesis of the stability Taehyun has worked so hard to achieve.

But he recalls the instruments scattered on Kai's floor, worn with constant use but still in good condition with proper care, and he feels a flicker of envy burn in his stomach. Then the plushies - Taehyun had been a bit annoyed by them, but judging from their nearly pristine states, it was clear to anyone that those were well loved and cared for by Kai, too. Not to mention Kai's phone wallpaper- a photo of him and his friends at some anime convention- and he remembers Kai's blinding, toothy grin, and the fact that his friends were sporting matching smiles.

He clearly leads a happy, fulfilling life, despite how it may look from the outside. The small ember of envy grows into a bigger flame, searing his insides with jealousy.

How was Kai so happy with so little? And why hadn't Taehyun found the same sort of happiness? He'd followed the life rulebook to a T. He'd gone to college fresh out of high school, gotten a respectable degree, and gotten hired at a fairly well-known sales firm. He works out 2-3 times a week, goes out for drinks every so often with his coworkers, and sometimes he lets himself bum out on the couch with a beer. He gets paid well enough to afford rent and his cost of living, and still has some cash left over to treat himself. He doesn't have the most glamorous life, but he's fine with that. He's just suddenly not sure if "fine" is enough.

The burning pit of envy morphs into anger. Why was he so jealous of Kai? Why was this virtual stranger causing him to question all the life choices he'd made- choices he made with confidence that they were correct? Taehyun's efforts can't have been for nothing. He can't have been wrong.

Taehyun shakes his head and gives his cheeks a good hard smack to return to his senses. He has a job to do, after all, and he doesn't get paid to fill his head with useless thoughts, and he certainly shouldn't be taking out his frustrations on a guy who might not even be real. (In that case, Taehyun should be mad at his subconscious for conjuring up such a man.) Beomgyu, who sits at the next desk over from him, gives him a weird look and mouths "are you okay?", but before he can mouth an answer in return, the tall shadow of Soobin suddenly looms over his desk, which can't possibly be a good thing.

Soobin's not his boss or anything, just his supervisor, but he sure carries himself like he's the one handling Taehyun's payroll. Despite that, they're still quite friendly with each other, and occasionally Taehyun will allow Soobin to whisk him and Beomgyu (sometimes Seoyeon, if she's feeling particularly sociable that day) away to the bar across the street for after-work drinks. That being said, if Soobin's at his desk, that usually means that there's something wrong.

"Hey, look, Taehyun, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..." Soobin's voice lowers his voice so the others can't eavesdrop, which is definitely not a good sign, "According to the mid-quarterly report, your sales are down 20% from last quarter, and Boss told me to like, I don't know, let you know so you can get your shit together or something." Soobin's lips press into a thin line, and Taehyun doesn't know what to say.

He glances around the office to make sure no one hears. "And he asked you to tell me this instead of just calling me in for a performance review?" Soobin shakes his head, evidently uncomfortable with the premise as well. Taehyun can't quite blame him, he's only the messenger because his boss is a coward. "Okay, well, since he refuses to speak to me directly, could you tell him I have a pretty big lead with this tech company that I'm working on right now? I'm sure I can make up the difference if I can just close this. I just need a little more time." Taehyun's never once felt like he was grasping at straws at this job, and since being hired, he's consistently been one of the top salesmen at the firm. It would certainly be an understatement to say it doesn't feel great to be experiencing this feeling now.

Soobin just nods in understanding, then gives him an awkward pat on the shoulder, which Taehyun thinks is supposed to be encouraging, but ends up feeling a little pitiful instead. He tries not to shrink in shame and hopes that his position isn't in jeopardy now.

Soobin at least has the decency to invite him out for dinner after they're off ("My treat," he offers), but Taehyun doesn't feel much like heading out tonight, not while he's mulling over his noticeable lack of sales, so he politely declines and makes his way home as per usual. He's thinking of drowning his sorrows in a pack of ramen and calling it there.

He smiles as he hears Hobak's little meow when he punches his passcode into the lock, and she purrs and nuzzles against him as he takes his shoes off. She's feeling particularly affectionate today, almost like she knows Taehyun's feeling a bit down. She tails him all the way to his bedroom, which reminds him that he should check on her bowls to see if she's eaten.

After Hobak's food and water has been replenished, he tears open a packet of ramen and drops it into a pot of boiling water. The aroma of the spicy broth is sharp and warm and salty, and for the first time in a while he doesn't feel ashamed that he's resorting to junk for dinner. There's something comforting about a hot bowl of ramen after a long day.

It would be even better if he could put an egg in it, but a precursory scan of his fridge shows that he's out of eggs. Figures, because he forgot to restock his fridge last week since he wasn't in his own body on grocery day. Missing one day really does throw off his whole routine.

He makes his way into his room to search for a pen and a sticky note to place on the fridge (because he is not messing up his routine again), but when he arrives at his desk, he comes across a strange note. The handwriting is a little lopsided, but kind of in an artsy way, but what really catches his eye is the sheer amount of hearts and sparkles and kaomojis that the writer has doodled all over the note. He would have just crumpled it and gone about his day, if not for the name scrawled at the top - Huening Kai.

Oh. So Kai is a real guy. For a moment he thinks this has to be some sort of sick joke, because body switching can't be real, but Kai explicitly states that *he's in Taehyun's body at the time of writing the note*. The date scribbled in the corner, almost as an afterthought, also matches the one day that's a complete gap in his memory. Not to mention he doesn't know anyone whose handwriting resembles Kai's. Taehyun can't believe this is happening right now, but there's no other explanation for the note he's holding in his hand, so he pushes aside his shock and disbelief because he needs answers, and he's sure Kai does, too.

He punches in the number scribbled onto the note into KakaoTalk, and when a profile with a cute little selfie of Kai pops up (and not an error like he was expecting), he shoots a text:

>hey kai, this is taehyun. you left me your number?

The response comes almost instantly:

>omg wait you're actually a real dude i'm not crazy!!! :D

Taehyun raises a brow in confusion. Is this guy serious?

kang taehyun: well yeah. did you write a note to me thinking i might not be real?

kai >w< ♡: i might have.. >w< just in case you know, i wasn't sure if i was dreaming or not!

kang taehyun: same here. not sure if i should be relieved or annoyed that you're real

kai >w< ♡: well i'm pretty excited because now i can finally get some information to not fuck up your life in case i end up in your body again xD

kai >w< ♡: wait don't be annoyed i didn't do anything too bad D:

kang taehyun: right... me too. so i take it you're a student? or how old are you even?
kang taehyun: also my entire public image has been tainted because of you

kai >w< ♡: i'm an '02 liner! but not a student, college wasn't for me hehe
kai >w< ♡: well maybe you just needed to loosen up a little :D

kang taehyun: wait we're the same age then
kang taehyun: i'm fine, thanks, i have fun too you know

kai >w< ♡: no way!! what a coincidence :o

kang taehyun: yeah what are the odds

A loud meow from Hobak gets Taehyun to tear himself away from his phone momentarily, and it's only then that he remembers the pot of ramen boiling on his stove. "Shit!"

He runs over and salvages the noodles from the pot, but it's too late- the noodles are all puffy and swelling with soup, but thankfully it's not too bad, or at least that's what he tells himself. He slurps them up with his chopsticks, and it's really the warm comfort of the broth that he's chasing after, anyways, so he makes do with the overcooked noodles. Just as he's picking up the last bits of his meal, his phone dings, indicating another new message.

kai >w< ♡: it's so exciting to make a new friend!! :3c i don't know a lot of people my age, my coworkers i get scheduled with are both younger than me D: they're pretty funny though so i don't mind it

kang taehyun: are they? i wasn't too sure about that

kai >w< ♡: i mean.. you did only see them twice! they're fun when you get to know them though :>

kang taehyun: i guess that's true. i feel like they'd get along pretty well with my coworker beomgyu though

kai >w< ♡: oh is that the pretty one that looks kind of like a girl? <3 or is that the scary tall one

kang taehyun: uh.. the first one, i think. who's the scary tall one?

kai >w< ♡: not sure.. he has his own office though? i thought he was your boss

kang taehyun: nah that's just soobin. he's kind of my supervisor but not really

kai >w< ♡: idk what that means :D but he was pretty scary that last time i was in your body

kang taehyun: he's our sales team leader but he only likes to pretend to be bossy. but i promise he's not scary at all, he's actually kind of a nerd

kai >w< ♡: i have a friend who does the same thing LOL!!
kai >w< ♡: also you said you do have fun, so what are your hobbies? :3

The question unexpectedly catches Taehyun off guard. He *could* say that working out is his hobby, but that seems kind of lame, and he doesn't want to look like a weird gymbro. Then again, the guy's literally been in his body. He could say soccer, but when was the last time he actually played a pickup game with the neighborhood team? Part of him wants to say music, but would that open a can of worms he's not ready to face?

kang taehyun: uhhh i guess i like sports
kang taehyun: and i used to be pretty into music

kai >w< ♡: awww not anymore? T_T
kai >w< ♡: what kind of sports though?

kang taehyun: soccer mostly, but i like working out in general. what about you?

kai >w< ♡: umm well i like to play video games! and play instruments :D i also watch a lot of anime hehe

kang taehyun: oh yeah i saw all those instruments in your room those were pretty cool
kang taehyun: also that anime opening you have as your alarm is really loud

kai >w< ♡: well it helps me wake up in the morning so don't judge >:T

kang taehyun: fair enough, it does work well if you have trouble waking up in the morning

Taehyun's almost surprised at how *normal* the conversation is, considering the fact that they're complete strangers to each other, outside of literally occupying each other's bodies not too long ago. Then again, having to live as each other certainly makes them privy to a lot of personal information from the get go, so maybe it makes sense that they're already familiar.

kai >w< ♡: exactly!!
kai >w< ♡: btw are you free rn? would you like to meet up? ^_^

Actually, is there such thing as too familiar? Before Taehyun can express his discomfort though, another message pops up:

kai >w< ♡: not in like a weird way but i figured it would be easier to set some ground rules and things to remember if we met in person :D plus we might end up in each other's bodies tomorrow so i thought we should do this asap

kang taehyun: tbh i was a little weirded out at first but i guess you're right, texting everything is tiring, and we should probably know these things so we can stop having randomly weird days

kai >w< ♡: do you have anywhere you would suggest as a meeting spot? if not there's a nice cafe not too far from the convenience store i work at

kang taehyun: let's just meet there, all my meeting spots are pubs lol

kai >w< ♡: ohhh a heavy drinker? o_o how impressive

kang taehyun: not really, just most of the time i go out it's because someone invited me to have drinks together

kai >w< ♡: for work? or your friends? :o

kang taehyun: friends from work, i guess? mostly i just go drinking with beomgyu and soobin after we get off, though sometimes my friends from college invite me out

kai >w< ♡: woooow what a social butterfly! >w<

kang taehyun: not really... but anyways, can you send me the address for the cafe?

kai >w< ♡: sure!! here you go :D i'll see you there at 8:00?

kang taehyun: sure, see you then

--

kang taehyun: i'm meeting someone tonight, how do i vet whether he's a murderer or not

bamgyuuu: WAIT WHAT
bamgyuuu: ARE U GOING ON A DATE
bamgyuuu: I NEED TO TELL SOOBIN ABOUT THIS

kang taehyun: it's nothing like that
kang taehyun: it's a long story i'll tell you later
kang taehyun: also don't tell soobin hyung anything wtf

bamgyuuu: ur no fun
bamgyuuu: why are u meeting a dude at this hour tho r u getting scammed

kang taehyun: i hope not

bamgyuuu: do u know what he looks like

kang taehyun: uh huh

bamgyuuu: ur sure he's not a catfish

kang taehyun: like 99% sure

bamgyuuu: can i see what he looks like
bamgyuuu: pls tell me u have a pic

kang taehyun: this is his kakaotalk profile pic. i don't have anything else

bamgyuuu: holy mother of fucking god are u meeting an ANGEL
bamgyuuu: u said this isn't a date but u better make it a date NOW

kang taehyun: no we have important things to discuss

bamgyuuu: like marriage
bamgyuuu: [smirk_emoji]

kang taehyun: no
kang taehyun: he's here so i'm going to ignore you now

bamgyuuu: tyunie ur breaking my heart here 3

Taehyun knows exactly what Kai looks like, having had looked at himself (as Kai) in the mirror, so he's prepared to greet the right person once he arrives, but he's certainly not prepared to see what Kai looks like from *his* perspective. Maybe Beomgyu was right, Kai might be an angel. But this angel also sleeps with a million plushies and his Nintendo Switch and doesn't clean his room, so Taehyun's had the illusion broken prematurely.

"Hi Taehyun! It's nice to finally meet you, and not *be* you." Kai laughs as he slides into the seat across from Taehyun, albeit a bit awkwardly, and he's clearly stiff and a little tense, which is a far cry from his bubbly texting style.

"Hi Kai, did you want to order something before we get talking?" Taehyun jerks his thumb in the direction of the order counter, his other hand already cradling a strawberry milkshake.

"Oh, right- I'll be right back!" Kai nearly stumbles over to the counter, and Taehyun's more than a little concerned for him, given his tall figure. He returns about five minutes later with a cup filled with a shock of mint green, dotted with little brown chocolate chunks.

"Oh, you're a milkshake person too? I wouldn't have thought you had a sweet tooth." Kai sounds genuinely and pleasantly surprised, which earns him a sheepish smile from Taehyun. (Kai thinks this is pretty endearing and cute, considering his image of Taehyun up until this point has been this stoic, no-nonsense guy.)

"It's a guilty pleasure.. I like strawberry a lot. Also, uh, ground rules- I started making a document of all the stuff you'd need to know for my job, because from what I heard you- well, you as me- kind of nearly fucked up one of my leads-"

"Did I?! Oh my god, please tell me I didn't get you fired..." Kai practically shrinks in on himself in shame, his grip on his drink tightening.

"No, no, nothing like that- my job is fine, don't worry." Taehyun shoots what he hopes is a reassuring smile at Kai, but to be honest he's not even sure if he's reassuring himself, given his situation. It seems to do the trick though, because Kai eases up and continues sipping on his milkshake. "But anyways, there's a ton of little details you should know, so I'm trying to compile everything into a document so you know how to handle everything. Maybe you could do the same for me?"

"Oh, no, I'm not much for that kind of organization... besides, I think my job is much simpler than yours. I can probably just tell you how we restock and organize our inventory. Other than that, it's just customer service, and I'm pretty sure you know more about that than I do."

"I guess so.. and, well, now that we have each other's contact information, I can just text you if I've got any questions, no?"

Kai's eyes widen, and it's clear he'd totally forgotten that was an option. "You're a genius, now I can actually ask you and check if I'm doing the right thing instead of hoping that my guess is correct..."

Taehyun just laughs a little- he's pretty endeared by Kai in person, and he feels bad for lashing out at the poor guy in his mind. Kai blushes profusely, and it's kind of pretty, but don't tell Beomgyu that. Their moment is interrupted by an employee letting them know the cafe's set to close in about 15 minutes, and it's then that Taehyun realizes he should probably head home if he wants to get a quick shower in before he sleeps. He and Kai bid each other goodnight, with Kai quipping that hopefully the next time he sees Taehyun isn't in his body.

When Taehyun makes it back to his apartment, he sees that he's got a slew of unread texts from Beomgyu, half of which involve him crying because Taehyun said he was ignoring him, and the other half asking how the "date" (which it wasn't) was going. He doesn't have the energy to put up with his friend's nosiness, so he chucks his phone onto his nightstand and shuffles into the bathroom to take a shower. However, he does have energy to be dealing with his and Kai's current predicament, so he shoots Kai another string of messages.

kang taehyun: hey, i hope you got home safely
kang taehyun: btw i thought it'd be helpful for us to input any important events or things to remember into the shared kakaotalk calendar so we know when things are happening in case we switch on those days
kang taehyun: i already put my events for the month in

kai >w< ♡: i did!! don't worry :3
kai >w< ♡ : also what a good idea!! <3 thanks taehyun :] i'll do the same tomorrow since i'm pretty sleepy hehe
kai >w< ♡: goodnight~

kang taehyun: goodnight kai

Taehyun's about to turn in for the night himself when he gets a call from Beomgyu, and he groans and rolls his eyes, but he also feels pretty bad about not responding, so he picks up.

"Hyung, this better be good, because you're disturbing my sleep."

"Oh don't whine at me Tyun, I promise this is good. I heard that someone is in need of a little boost, so I pulled some strings and found this huge opportunity... with your skills, it may as well already be a closed and done deal."

"Hyung, you're not supposed to know that.." Taehyun's shoulders slump and he frowns a little, even though he knows Beomgyu can't see him.

"I know, but Soobin's really bad at being quiet, and also we're basically deskmates. I was bound to know sooner or later."

Taehyun sighs. "You're right... so tell me more about this opportunity? How do you know it's a shoo-in?"

"Well, my dearest Tyun... it's a pretty big entertainment company that's looking to branch out into the US market. They're hoping to have someone who's familiar with music since that's their main thing. I told them I knew someone who was..." Taehyun can practically hear the shit-eating grin form on Beomgyu's face, and he rubs his temples with a sigh.

"Hyung, you know that chapter of my life closed a loooong time ago. Besides, wouldn't you be better suited for it anyways? You still play guitar and bass pretty regularly. I haven't picked up a mic in years."

"Oh no, I'm fine. When I cold called the other day, they specifically told me they wanted someone who's knowledgeable in the *vocal* field. Something about being able to market their singers better if the consultant had working knowledge of singing. Lucky for you, you have way more than a working knowledge. Plus your English is pretty good, isn't it?"

"I guess... I can brush up on it if it's needed at any of these meetings. Are you *sure* you don't want to take this, hyung? It seems like a pretty big deal."

"No, no, I'm too busy trying to nail this deal with CJ. You take it. I think this could be the big break you need."

"If you say so... thanks, hyung. Seriously. You're really saving my ass here."

"Don't I know it. See you at work tomorrow, Tyunie~"

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight. See you tomorrow."

Chapter Text

Kai likes to think he's a relatively optimistic person.

He kind of has to be, given the position he's in. To put it bluntly, he works a dead-end part time job while trying to fill the gaps in with gigs here and there, and being a one-man-band without any concrete prospects for his musical career certainly is a tall order for him to take on without having a positive outlook to keep him afloat. That, and Kai also thinks of himself as pretty resilient and stubborn when it comes to his passions, which is pretty much the only thing keeping him from giving up on his dream.

It'd be nice to have bandmates though, he thinks, as he lugs an amp with great difficulty to the back of his childhood friend Yeonjun's car. Yeonjun doesn't actually play an instrument himself, and he specializes in dance, so he's already eliminated himself from the Hueband (Huening Band) candidacy. (Kai has begged him a million times to at least be their vocalist, given that he's got some pretty solid pipes, but he's gotten turned down every time, so he's stopped asking.) Despite not being part of the band, Yeonjun's gracious enough to help Kai out with transporting his equipment to gigs, given that he's free, and Kai's gracious enough to schedule his gigs on Yeonjun's off days for maximum convenience.

Today's performance is a local college music festival in Hongdae, which is pretty convenient as far as locations go. Add the fact that it's a Saturday and the stage is supposed to be set up in a well populated area of the shopping district, and you get the theory that it should be easy to catch people's attention. He just hopes that Ninety Degrees, the indie band that asked him to be their replacement drummer, is as big in the local scene as they claimed they were. If not, then he's planning on staying behind to do his one-man-band schtick for a while anyways. A little extra pocket change that he doesn't have to split with 3 other guys wouldn't hurt.

He spends most of the car ride tapping his fingers like hand drums, going through each song in his head. The band had provided him with a folder full of the drummer's sheet music for their setlist, and he'd been practicing whenever he could so he could get it down pat. There's a few parts here and there where he wants to take some creative liberties, but he's afraid of fucking up the entire band's groove by doing so, especially since he's filling in for the drummer of all people, so he's chosen to play it safe.

With a slightly unceremonious screech of tires, Yeonjun's car sidles up against the curb, and he puts the vehicle in park, swinging himself out back so he can help unload. "Where should I put this stuff? You need all of this?"

"Oh no, hyung, just the drum set for now- you're sticking around, right? If not, I can just unload my stuff off to the side somewhere. I was going to do the set with the band first, then do my own thing for a while." Kai feels a little bad asking Yeonjun to park himself here for his sake, but Yeonjun waves it off dismissively.

"No, no, don't worry. I'll be around. Gotta support my little brother." The older male grins, ruffling Kai's hair affectionately. They're not blood-related, or even adoptive siblings, but they may as well be with how they've been attached at the hip since childhood, despite Yeonjun being a full three years older. It was Yeonjun who pushed Kai to pursue music as a career in the first place, citing that Kai was "an absolute genius" and that "the musical world needs to know who this brilliant kid is". He's done his absolute best to be there at every single one of Kai's performances, even before being his designated driver. (Proof: Kai has gotten profusely apologetic texts and sobbing calls from Yeonjun on a few occasions where he couldn't make it.) It's no understatement to say that he wouldn't be where he was without Yeonjun, even if where he was... was, well, less than desirable.

Kai just knows how to be grateful for what he has, even if he doesn't have much, which is why he thanks Yeonjun as he helps him carry the drums over to the small crowd of college-age folk that all have their arms full with their instruments and microphone stands and amplifiers, and tries to give him a little pocket change to buy himself a coffee, which Yeonjun promptly refuses.

"Nuh-uh, you keep that for yourself, Hueningie. But you got it from here, right? I'll be back at 2:30 for your performance." Yeonjun gives Kai a gentle pat on the back before sauntering off to the colorful array of clothing stores ahead, presumably to rifle through the bargain bins for something suitable for his fashionista taste.

Kai isn't really sure which one of these many bands is Ninety Degrees, but lucky for him, a lanky dude peels away from the crowd to where Kai's standing with his drums surrounding him, breathlessly greeting him. "Hey, Kai, right? I'm Minjun. Thanks for filling in for Jaehun on such short notice. We really appreciate it. You got the setlist I sent you?" Kai nods. Minjun looks exactly like what you'd expect the frontman of an indie band to look like, all long limbs and baggy jeans, with a faded Pink Floyd shirt and a worn out gray flannel on his shoulders. Kai can't really see what he looks like behind the dark sunglasses resting on his nose, but his smile seems friendly enough as they go in for a polite handshake. Minjun leads him over to where the rest of the band is waiting, then introduces the others: the stocky guy in the muscle tank is Saejin, the bassist, and their guitarist is a wiry dude named Hyunsoo who's got these massive tortoiseshell frames on and the most distressed jeans Kai has ever seen.

"Hey guys, this is Kai. He'll be our drummer for today. He's the real deal, I promise. Jaehun's the one who found him and suggested him as his replacement while he's recovering, so I don't want to hear any complaints." Minjun says in a fake stern voice as he gestures to Kai.

"Dude, he's a pretty boy. We can't complain when he's going to be our main attraction today. People will probably flock just to look at him. If he's good enough, maybe we'll replace Jaehun with him instead." Saejin jokes, and Kai blushes.

Hyunsoo snickers as well. "That good for nothing bastard has got some fucking nerve, falling off his delivery bike while working of all things right before our big gig. What are the odds? He's lucky he's good at what he does. He's also lucky he found a good replacement, or we'd beat his ass."

"You can barely throw a punch, Hyun. I swear those muscles are just for show and nothing else." Minjun teases, lightly punching his shoulder.

"Shut the fuck up, we all know you wear those baggy clothes to hide your scrawny little arms, Jun-ah."

"You shut up, or I'm going to show you who's really scrawny."

"I swear to God if both if you don't shut up I'm going to gnaw on your wires and Ninety Degrees is going to be a bassist and a drum duo today."

Their words hold no malice, all smiles and playful laughter, and for a moment Kai feels a little out of place amid their cheerful banter. He's hit with a pang of jealousy for the camaraderie they share. Sure, he's made it this far on his own, and that's certainly something to be proud of, but he can't help but imagine how much more fun and fulfilling music would be if he had bandmates to share it with.

But before he can dwell on it for too long, they're being called up for their soundcheck, breaking Kai's stupor.

Once they're all set up and plugged in, Minjun gestures at Kai. "Okay, let's do our check with the intro to 'In the Rain'. Kai, can you count us off?"

Kai nods and lifts his drumsticks, counting off in sharp staccato beats. "One, two- one, two, three, four!"

--

"Bin, bin, look. I'm like 90% sure that's the guy Taehyun met up with the other day. The one he swears up and down wasn't a date." Beomgyu tugs on Soobin's arm to turn his attention away from the dessert cafe he's eyeing and toward the stage set up on the other side of the plaza, to a band that's playing some obscure indie song (their own original song, perhaps?). They're playing for a respectable crowd of about 40-50 people, some of which are actually singing along, which is pretty impressive. He then pulls up the photo Taehyun sent him for reference, and the two of them squint a little (as inconspicuously as possible, they might add) as they compare the two faces back and forth.

"The drummer? Yeah, that's definitely him. That's not a face you could mistake for someone else. You're telling me Taehyun pulled *that*? How?"

"Okay, look, not too much on my boy Taehyun. I'd say this guy is definitely in his league. Pretty impressive that this guy's in a band though, they sound good."

"Okay, jeez, didn't know you were in love with your friend like that." Soobin rolls his eyes, lower lip jutting out in an indignant pout.

"Choi Soobin. We are literally on a date right now and that's what you say to me?"

Soobin just grumbles under his breath, though he lets Beomgyu guide him over to the back of the crowd. Now that they're up close, Beomgyu is even more certain this has to be the man Taehyun mentioned meeting. But what could they possibly have to do with each other? What was Taehyun hiding?

--

All that nonstop practice is certainly paying off, because Kai knows these songs so well that he's playing like he's always been part of the band. That is, until he catches sight of a freakishly tall figure he'd recognize anywhere. It's Soobin, who he'd thought was Taehyun's boss, but was just his team leader, or something. He falters out of surprise, nearly dropping one of his drumsticks, but thankfully he manages to recover and carry on with the performance. It's not crazy to think about Soobin happening to be in a well frequented shopping center in Hongdae, but what is he doing here, in the crowd, watching him perform?

Soobin shifts in the crowd, maneuvering himself strategically with his neck craned, almost as if to get a better view, and it's only then that Kai sees a mess of fluffy hair attached to his side that he knows is Beomgyu, Taehyun's friend and coworker.

Okay. So not one, but two of Taehyun's coworkers (friends?) are watching him perform. They could very well have a great interest in the local music scene, but what are the odds, really? Also, Beomgyu keeps whispering to Soobin while squinting at Kai, so something has to be up. Kai can feel it.

But he has a job to do. Minjun isn't giving him a cut of the band's share for him to get distracted by two dudes who are doing a really bad job of not ogling him.

Beomgyu and Soobin come over to the side of the stage, where an impromptu "waiting room" for the bands (it's just a few EZ-UPs and folding tables) is set up, to say hello as Kai's winding some cords and wires into neat little rings, and Kai tries not to visibly tense up as Beomgyu offers a handshake.

"Hi, you must be Kai, right? Taehyun's told me about you. I'm Beomgyu, and this is Soobin. We're Taehyun's friends."

"Oh- yeah, that would be me. I didn't think Taehyun would mention me, we've only just met."

Kai's a little wary as he takes Beomgyu's outstretched palm in his to shake, but he's not sure why. Maybe because Beomgyu's staring at him like he knows something, or wants to know something, though Kai knows Taehyun wouldn't have said anything about the body switching to anyone else. (After all, how would they explain it without sounding crazy?) He's not sure what Beomgyu's here to investigate, but there's no way he'll uncover what's actually going on between Taehyun and Kai.

It's then that Kai looks at Soobin, then back at Beomgyu, then their suspicious lack of distance between each other, and the way that Soobin tries to conspicuously curl an arm around the other man, and then something clicks in his head. Oh. So *that's* what's happening here. He's no HR representative, and it's not like they're engaging in PDA in front of him, so it's not like he's going to file a report or something, not that he could, anyway. But it does make it entertaining for him, because these two have no idea the information he's privy to. He could crack a joke about power imbalances in the relationship, but he figures that would raise the question of how he knows that in the first place. But then again, Beomgyu only picked up Kai on his radar because Taehyun (supposedly) shared a photo of him, so it's not like he's the only one with an unexplainable access to information.

"So, how'd you meet Taehyun? He's not the type to be on dating apps or anything, and he didn't mention you until recently. Did you go to school with him?" Beomgyu cuts into Kai's thoughts, giving him a pointed look.

"Oh, um, we ran into each other on the street because I was handing out flyers for work. He helped me out big time by picking up the ones I dropped... so I got his number to stay in touch, since we're both the same age." Kai hopes he's not stuttering, but he can't help but feel nervous at Beomgyu's mildly accusatory tone. It's only a half-lie, because technically Taehyun was in his body when he was handing out those flyers. "We met up because I wanted to treat him to something as a thank you."

Beomgyu raises a brow in amusement, the corners of his lips curling up into a mischievous grin that Kai can't get a read on. "Oh, same age? That's fun. You must've been *really* grateful to Taehyun to ask for his number..."

Oh, brother. He's sure Beomgyu is a perfectly nice and reasonable person outside of this insane interrogation. Surely he's just worried for his friend because Kai's seemingly shown up out of the blue and started meeting up with him. He gets it. Kind of.

Nonetheless, he's beginning to squirm under the scrutiny of Beomgyu's gaze, and he wants nothing more than to escape this conversation. (It seems like Soobin feels the same way, because he's been absently tugging on Beomgyu's hand the whole time.) "Well, erm, it was nice meeting you two, but I need to get set up again - I'd like to keep busking and take advantage of the crowds, you know?"

"Yep, it was nice to meet you too, we'll see you around hopefully! Talk to you later!" Soobin blurts, smiling through half-gritted teeth as he practically drags Beomgyu away by the scruff. Kai feels like he should be offended, but it's more entertaining than anything, considering Soobin's animosity stems from his date being interrupted by Beomgyu's interrogation. He's also kind of grateful Soobin wanted to leave so badly, because it means he can finally get back to his work.

After a quick phone call, he locates Yeonjun, who is predictably rummaging through racks of clothing with three full shopping bags already on his arm, and, together, they haul the rest of his instruments over to an empty spot in the shopping plaza. As he sets up his chair, he gives his spread a once over. He's not sure what he should get set up this time around, but he figures you can't go wrong with an acoustic guitar. There's a few girls, who he thinks are from the festival crowd earlier, hanging around while sneaking glances at him, and they giggle bashfully when he looks their way.

One of them, clearly flustered, makes her way over to him, murmuring without properly making eye contact while her friends look on excitedly. (Kai assumes she lost a bet and had to be the sacrificial lamb.)

"H-hi, you're the drummer who played for Ninety Degrees earlier, right?"

Wow. So Minjun was right, the locals are kind of aware of their band, and he's about to benefit from said awareness.

"Oh, uh, yeah that's me. I didn't think anyone would recognize me, since the drummer's usually in the back."

"Well, we really liked your playing... and, um, my friends thought you were cute."

Kai's a little embarrassed at the praise - he never knows how to respond to people complimenting his looks. "Aw, thank you! I'm about to get set up to play a bit more, and I can play a bunch of different instruments. Do you girls like acoustic guitar?" He directs his gaze both to the girl in front of him and to the other three huddled a few feet behind her, grinning. One of them clamps her hand over her mouth to hide her excitement and looks at her friends, whose heads are all bobbing in agreement in his direction.

Perfect. He's already got a crowd, and who knows, if some random teenage girls took notice of him, surely others will as well. He pulls his acoustic guitar out, leaving the case propped open in hopes that people will spare him some change, and rests it on his knee when he takes a seat.

"Okay girls, any song requests?"

"Since it's spring, could you do Cherry Blossom Ending?"

"Noooo, could you do something by Troye Sivan?"

"How about a K-Pop song? What can you play?"

Kai beams. It's been a while since he's had this much attention on him, even if it's just teenage girls who like his looks.

"Don't worry girls, I'll have time for all those requests. Let's start with Cherry Blossom Ending?"

--

Despite being forcefully pulled away, Beomgyu can't contain his excitement, but he waits until they're out of earshot to rub it in Soobin's face. "See? I told you. There's way more to this situation than Taehyun lets on. He didn't mention this guy *asked* him for his number. Kai is definitely trying to pick him up, if he hasn't already. Who asks for someone's number just to say thank you?"

"Okay, maybe you're right, but Choi Beomgyu, you are soooo not slick. I'll bet you an ice cream cone that he knew exactly what you were trying to figure out, and now you're not getting anything out of him the next time."

"Choi Soobin, you're just trying to get me to buy you ice cream. I saw you staring longingly at that one shop earlier."

"And what of it? You were so painfully obvious about grilling this guy just because Taehyun mentioned meeting him once. I might as well cash in on something I know I'm right about."

"To be fair, the last few times Taehyun has told us about going out with someone who isn't one of his drunkard college friends, it was a terrible situationship. I think I'm entitled to a little protectiveness."

"Fair enough, but I think I'm entitled to a little compensation since our date turned into an investigation." Soobin emphasizes the word "date" like he's spitting it out spitefully, crossing his arms.

"Okay, big baby, how about we share a milkshake instead?"

"Only if you promise that we'll get a chocolate drizzle and extra whipped cream."

"Deal."

--

It's near sundown once Kai starts packing up for the day, and by the time Yeonjun drops him off at his apartment, it's completely dark. Yeonjun insists on helping him bring his things back up, but he promptly refuses - Yeonjun's already done him enough favors today. Once he's done with the tedious task of lugging his gear back up to his place, he flops unceremoniously onto his bed, and starts counting his earnings.

20,000 won. Pretty good, all things considered, but he was hoping he'd rake in a little more with how sizeable his crowd got. (He'd even given out some autographs to people who wanted it "just in case he gets famous.") But at least he'll be able to buy his groceries for the week with this money, and he'll be able to get some of the good stuff this time around.

Kai pockets the cash, and lets himself dream for a moment. He thinks of a future where he's a wildly successful musician who can eat and indulge in anything he wants, much less worry about feeding himself for the week. Oh, and he also has bandmates who are like family in this fantasy, too. He'll also get himself a nice new apartment, and maybe a dog or two. Maybe he and his bandmates will live in a sharehouse together. They'll make a movie about his story, about how he built himself from nothing...

But then he opens his eyes to his cramped apartment with creaky floorboards and no working AC, with only 100,000 won to his name, and he sighs.

Again, Kai likes to think he's a pretty optimistic person. But it's more like, if he's not optimistic about his future, then who will be?