elements

chapter 1

At the corner of Harveston Street, a young man came outside his store, a standing sign tucked under his arm. He placed it down gently and angled it towards the street, stepping back to observe how it looked. Hm, he thought, maybe a little bit.... He turned it slightly to the right and then nodded, happy with the result. Facing the street, he grazed his eyes over the multiple stores that were lined up in front of his and sighed.

It was another one of those days for Elements. There Kim Taehyung stood, arms in his apron pockets, sadly admiring the empty streets of Harveston on a Friday morning. His nifty little sign seemed to mimic him- the chalk was faded and dusty but the words written were bold and energized: Elements: Coffee First, Reading Second, Third, and Fourth.

Taehyung turned and went back inside, the door lightly jingling on his way in. He stretched and looked around the room, making sure that everything was in place. The four bookshelves on the top balcony sat still while the sun softly hit them, giving the books a sort of glow. Down below, the cafe was as clean as ever: tables wiped, chairs pushed in, and floors swept.

Finishing his inspection, Taehyung walked back behind the counter and sat on his stool, beside the register. The only sound that surrounded him was a faint hum that came from the kitchen- probably Kim Soo's. He watched the clock that slowly ticked towards 11 am and decided to continue reading where he had left off.

He sat there for a while, gingerly brushing his pointer finger along the edge of the paper when he was ready to flip the page. Nobody came in and nobody bothered his reading. It would've been nice if it wasn't for the fact that serving customers was his livelihood. Taehyung stopped at a middle paragraph and frowned at the thought. It's never been this slow either. He exhaled disappointedly and stared at the door, hoping the bell would ring even a little bit.

He almost jumped when it actually did.

"Welcome! Welcome to Elements!" he exclaimed and got up excitedly, leaving the book on the counter. Taehyung squinted trying to get a better look at the customer but failed to do so. I should have just brought the glasses with me. It was only when the man came two feet in front of him that he could finally see who it was. Taehyung's shoulder dropped and some of the excitement he had slowly vanished along with the dust circling the room. "Hey Kyong."

Kyong scoffed at Taehyung while grabbing his wallet out from his jacket. "Are you not happy to see me?" he asked, noticing the look of dismay on Tae's face.

"No, I am," Taehyung murmured, grabbing a paper cup from the rack. He walked over to the espresso machine and started brewing a double-shot, placing the paper cup underneath the portafilter. "You're early today."

Kyong followed him and went to the pick-up area of the counter. "Yea," he replied, putting his hands in his pockets, "I need to leave Harveston for a while."

"Why?"

"My mom's feeling ill and there's not much I can do for her when I'm here. Honestly, I feel like leaving Harveston forever."

Taehyung felt his chest twinge at those words and stared back at Kyong. "It's not that bad," he claimed, "it just... needs a little more adults and a lot less teenagers... I guess." Taehyung checked on the drink and noticed that the espresso had started slowing its stream into small drips. He took out the portafilter and dumped the grounds into a trash can beneath him. "Any flavorings?"

Kyong shook his head and folded his arms. "Harveston teenagers aren't the same, Taehyung. We both know this. Like, think about it. There are teenagers who like to read. There are teenagers who would die for a book. Yet Harvy's teenagers... they wouldn't hold a book in their hands if their life depended on it."