A Taste of Collaboration | Josh Dun | Jordan Fish | Charlotte Vega

1 - The Day When Flashbacks of Business Meets Competition

Kitsune Café, a small, simple-looking café with a variety of flavors. They serve drinks, rice bowls, pastries, and coffee. Their signature coffee comes highly recommended. The Sumatra coffee beans are brewed to perfection, offering a bold and distinctive taste. Pairing their signature coffee with a croissant enhances the experience.

Josh, the owner of Kitsune Café, sat deep in thought, watching people pass by his café through the window. It was already summer, but the café was quieter than usual. He couldn't stop wondering if the new cake shop next door was the reason for the drop in customers. His café had been around for two years, while Helen and Co., the cake shop, had only opened a few months ago.

Josh wasn't just the owner of Kitsune Café—he was also part of the band Twenty One Pilots, alongside his best friend, Tyler. Even though the band was just the two of them, they always called themselves a band. With four albums and a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their hit song "Stressed Out," Josh once thought he'd opened the café just to fill the time when he wasn't performing or recording.

But over the years, the café had grown into something more. It became a place full of growth and success, and now, two years later, it stood as a business he could be proud of.

He remembered when the foot traffic in and out of his café was almost non-stop, especially during the summer months. Loyal customers would linger over cups of coffee, their laughter filling the air. But lately, fewer of those familiar faces showed up, and the once-busy vibe felt subdued.

At first, he hadn't been too worried. Change was inevitable, and competition was common in this area. Still, the timing of Helen's opening and the sudden dip in his sales made him uneasy.

When Helen and Co. cake shop first opened, Josh welcomed it warmly, thinking they would only sell custom cakes for special occasions like birthdays, weddings, or other celebrations. But to his surprise, they also sold pastries, coffee, and their signature doughnuts. While Josh thought their coffee tasted basic compared to his, their pastries and doughnuts were on another level. He knew the owner, Helen, and had always found the 'Co' in her store's name made it seem friendly. But to him, Helen wasn't as pleasant as her store's name suggested.

A few weeks after Helen and Co. opened, Helen came to Kitsune Café and met Josh. She explained that the bookstore next to her shop was owned by her brother named Andrew, which is why there was a connecting door between the two. The 'Co' in her store's name referred to her friends, who supplied the pastries and doughnuts, while she focused on custom cakes, coffees, and managing the business.

That day was one Helen couldn't forget. Since her store was next to Kitsune Café, customers would sometimes bring Kitsune coffee into her shop while eating her bread. Although she had a rule against outside food and drinks, people often ignored it or left when she asked them to comply. So, Helen visited Kitsune not just to explain the bookstore and the meaning behind 'Co', but also to suggest a business collaboration with Josh. However, the conversation was awkward, and the answer she received was even more uncomfortable, leaving that day etched in her memory.

"So," Josh said, breaking the silence as he continued staring at his glass. "What kind of business collaboration are you proposing?"

Helen, also fixated on her glass, felt uneasy. She had been given a free iced matcha latte from Kitsune, but the drink tasted too sweet—or maybe it was just the awkward tension in the air that made her unsure if it tasted good or bad. "I'm proposing a collaboration where we create a connecting door between your café and my shop. We could also share the profits."

Josh smirked.

Oh no. Helen immediately sensed something was off. That wasn't the reaction she had been expecting from Josh.