FLAMES - A KimChay AU

two

New Faces and Old Doubts

The morning light slipped through the curtains, waking Kim from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the feelings from the night before. The voice. That beautiful voice that he couldn’t forget. It had been pulling at him all night, making it hard to focus on anything else.

Shaking his head, Kim tried to clear his mind. It was just a voice. Nothing more. He didn’t need to think about it.

After a quick shower, he dressed in his usual simple clothes, jeans and a T-shirt with a jacket on top. He didn’t need to stand out.

Heading downstairs, he found his brothers already at the table, eating breakfast. Tankhun was reading something on his phone, and Kinn was busy checking his messages. The house felt warm, full of the usual noise and laughter.

"Morning, Kim" Tankhun greeted, looking up from his phone. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Kim nodded but didn’t really feel like talking. "Yeah, just tired"

Kinn glanced over at him. "You look like you’re thinking about something. Is it was about you're performance ?"

Kim felt a bit of frustration bubble up. “It wasn’t bad. It’s just... not good enough.”

Kinn raised an eyebrow. “Kim, you’ve got to stop comparing yourself to me and Tankhun. You’re your own person. No one expects you to be like us. Just be Kim, okay?”

Kim didn’t answer, just pushing his food around on his plate. He knew Kinn meant well, but it didn’t change how he felt. He wasn’t like them. Tankhun had his business smarts, Kinn had the spotlight. But Kim? He was stuck somewhere in between, always feeling like he wasn’t enough.

His brothers’ support was nice, but it only made him feel worse. They had everything figured out. Kim always felt like he didn’t belong.

Tankhun, sensing the shift in the mood, decided to change the subject. “So, how’s school going? Only a few months left, right?”

Kim nodded, grateful for the distraction. "Yeah. Just one more semester."

Tankhun smiled. "You’ve got this. You’ll do fine, no problem."

Kim managed a weak smile, but inside, he wasn’t so sure. His brothers were great, but they had a confidence he didn’t feel he could ever match.

After breakfast, Kim grabbed his bag and headed out. The walk to school was quiet, his thoughts still clouded by last night’s performance. The voice. Why can't I forget it?

•••

When Kim arrived at school, the usual chaos of students rushing around greeted him. But he wasn’t paying much attention. He was still thinking about that voice, about how it made him feel. There was something about it that he couldn’t shake.

He was distracted when he overheard a conversation between two classmates.

"Did you hear? There's a transfer student today. I heard he's got an amazing voice."

Kim froze, feeling his heart skip. Another person with a nice voice?  His mind raced. Could it be the person who had been singing last night? No, It couldn’t be. He was probably just imagining things.

But something about the words lingered, pulling at him.
It doesn’t matter. He quickly shook off the thought. Just focus on the day Kim, Just focus.