Kkotpi Cafe, An Autumn Tuesday in 2024, 11:05 AM
The scent of fresh flowers and fresher coffee filled the air of a small cafe nestled in the center of a quiet alleyway. Propped open doors gave access to a quaint interior, light-colored walls and eclectic trinkets sitting among floral displays, self-serve desserts, and mismatched tables that had clearly, lovingly, been sourced from various secondhand and thrift stores.
Quite unusual for this time of day—the typically liminal space between the breakfast and lunch rushes, Lee Minhee’s cafe was at full capacity as gaggles of young admirers filled up each chair and even stood around to catch a glimpse of the owner’s nephew.
Amid the ambient clanks and clinks behind the counter, several eager voices floated about—some hushed and giddy, others more exuberant in nature.
“Welcome to Kkotpi~” Minhee and her nephew’s voice nearly harmonized as a regular stepped in, briefly freezing at the unexpectedly full house before visibly relaxing at the sight of the staff members toiling away at their posts.
“Taeyang! Oh my-“
“Hi, Mrs. Gu,” the 25-year-old greeted, carding a My Melody-bandaged hand through his dark hair and grinning shyly under the woman’s gaze which swept over him as if taking in every minute detail.
“What are you doing here? Gosh, it's been-” The older woman cut herself off with a delighted laugh.”It’s been far too long since this place’s been graced by your handsome face. Minhee’s snark can only get her so far.”
A bashful laugh spilled from the handsome face in question, a boyish grin overtaking his features as he busied his hands to escape the compliment. Nearby, his aunt remarked to Mrs. Gu that she loved her snark before gasping and fretting over an accidentally decapitated rose.
“Uhm, well…it’s a bit of a long story haha…” He trailed off, gesturing to the commercial machine before him. If he knew anything about Mrs. Gu, it’s that she wouldn’t be going anywhere without a full story. “Shall I get something started for you first?”
Mrs. Gu ordered her usual for the season, an apple cinnamon latte, before insisting that he tell her everything.
So, he did.
Up until a little over a year ago, Taeyang had been a normal, though incredibly welcome, sight among regulars as he’d spent every day outside of school working behind the coffee counter since high school. It took the weight off of his aunt’s shoulders as Minhee took care of crafting little bouquets or tinkering about in the kitchen. One viral Instagram post later, he’d been scouted by an entertainment company and all of his free time went there—honing his craft for a career he wasn’t even sure he wanted…until he was sure.
By the 10th month of training, he was absolutely sure that he didn’t. And thank God this company’s contract was forgiving, unlike the place he’d slaved at all throughout his teens with nothing to show for it besides some improved singing and dancing skills. The first try wasn’t all bad, though. He’d learned a lot and met some really important people; people like Kim Miso, who sat amongst the crowd of adoring fans with a shit-eating grin and a sparkly pink Z Flip weighed down with cute charms. She simply had to send video proof to Dongho that their mutual friend was a celebrity celebrity.
The group of mostly women hung onto his every movement, soft laugh, and vocal inflection as he spoke, even when he was finished serving up another customer’s perfectly crafted caramel vanilla iced coffee with a dazzling smile. Hands free, he leaned against the back counter as he continued speaking to an animated Mrs. Gu whose latte sat half-drained, the foam long-dissolved as she’d laughed and gasped in all the right places. Behind her, the other patrons were clearly envious of their familiarity.
This was Yu Taeyang for crying out loud! A viral sensation between dozens more sneaky Instagram photos and the occasional pre-debut video posted to his last company’s YouTube channel. When they posted his ill-timed debut, he’d only gotten more popular…only to disappear immediately after. No promotions, no social media posts. He was just…gone from the public eye for reasons only he, Miso, and a few former staff members would truly know. He’d made sure to tell Mrs. Gu (and the secondary audience) that he simply wanted to focus more on other things.
Miso, who had skipped her way over somewhere along the way, buried a guilty feeling underneath a twirl of her bottle-blonde hair and a dramatic swoon over how diligent and cool her bestie was. Secretly, she gave him a meaningful—I’m still grateful—look that he acknowledged with a wordless serving up of yet another gukhwappang, on the house. She’d now had three since arriving.
He continued regaling his tale without a beat.
Upon leaving his company, most of Taeyang’s time went back to completing his degree. He was a theater and traditional dance student before his second scouting and would continue to be one until his upcoming January graduation. While the cafe and some dance coaching kept him afloat as he looked for auditions to pursue his true passion, he was busy preparing for an end-of-year production of Secretly Greatly.
A blurry, clearly snuck Twitter pic of his laser-focused profile is what finally tipped everyone off to the fact that Yu Taeyang was back behind the counters of Kkotpi, meticulously serving coffee and smiles to whoever wandered in.
When the first wave of adoring fans filtered in the day before, Minhee had commented that she was happy to have him back, and she teasingly pinched his cheek for good measure.
“…and now I’m here.” Taeyang finished his story with a grin and a shrug before gesturing with a polite two hands to Mrs. Gu. “And you are here!”
The exclamation was punctuated by a little chuckle from the both of them before he clasped his hands warmly around one of her smaller ones, grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with someone he’d known since he was 16. “It was really nice to see you again, ma’am.”
A quick glance at the swinging tail cat clock across the room confirmed that a good 35 minutes had passed.
“Do you...still teach those pottery one-classes?” he asked, subtly nodding at the clock. If memory serves, she only had 20 minutes to go up the street and get her things set up.
The middle-aged woman followed his line of sight and gasped, rushing apologies and thank yous while quickly gathering up her bag. She retrieved a 10000 won bill to slap onto the counter.
“It was lovely seeing you, dear! I’ll come back later for the change!” The words spilled from her in a hurry while she quickly made her way across the cafe and out the door. There were a few scattered giggles and amused mutterings throughout the crowd while, at once, the sudden commotion seemed to break the spell on several customers who also had somewhere to be. Taeyang just exhaled an amused puff of air through his nose as he watched a huge portion of customers filter out at their own pace.
“Oh, I like her! She’s SO cute!” Miso commented, skate-covered feet kicking as they hung just out of reach of the foot rung. She held out the remaining half of her bread pastry, clearly full and, as her bestie, it was his job to finish her leftovers.
A dismayed sound escaped one of the remaining onlookers, immediately followed by the slap of hands over her mouth and her friend’s poorly contained chortle.
Taeyang suppressed another laugh, mumbling a thank you around the mouthful as he reached out to warmly pat his longtime friend’s head. A buzz sounded from the kitchen and Minhee, who stepped down from her stool to tend to whatever was in the oven, spoke up, “Alright, prince charming, it’s lunch rush in an hour. Get back to work! You too, Miso! If you’re here, you’re helping!”
”Yes, unnie~”
