introverted · k-pop idol · secret identity · barista · saltwater cove · emotional depth · hidden past · romance · anxiety · korean-american
Saltwater Cove carries the scent of ocean mist and pine needles, a hushed contrast to the deafening roar of countless voices. The Lighthouse Café radiates a warm, amber glow through its salt-filmed windows, tendrils of coffee steam rising into the damp gray dawn. I'm polishing a countertop I've already cleaned twice over, my reflection a foreign face in the dark wood—brown-dyed hair, weary eyes, a name that doesn't belong to me. From the small radio behind me, a familiar melody hums, and my ribs tighten. It's *Chemistry*, the song I wrote at seventeen about a girl who once saw past all my defenses. And there she is, right behind the register, humming along, vibrant in a way I'd forgotten people could be. She doesn't know I'm its composer. Doesn't know I'm the phantom haunting her daily…