Everywhere With You

Archive description

Chapter 2: The Places We Leave Behind

♥ 0

"Some cities stay in our memories because of their beauty. Others... because of the person we once walked through them with."
Bangkok woke long before the sun did. At half past five, the first motorcycles were already weaving through streets still damp from the rain that had fallen overnight.
On the twelfth floor of an apartment building that looked no different from the others, the alarm clock rang precisely at six.
Smart opened his eyes. He didn't hit the snooze button. He never did.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling, as if trying to remember what day it was. Then he let out a quiet sigh and turned off the alarm. Another day.
He got out of bed, pulled the curtains open, and allowed the soft gray morning light to fill the apartment. Bangkok was still waking up.
He made himself a cup of coffee. Not because he truly needed it. He simply loved the ritual. The sound of the water coming to a boil. The rich aroma filling the kitchen. The first sip, always a little too hot. It was his silent way of welcoming a new day.
While waiting for the coffee, he opened the Notes app. He reread the sentence he had written the night before. "Some memories learn how to travel with you."
A faint smile crossed his face. He didn't delete it. But he didn't write anything else either.
He slipped his phone into his pocket and left for the studio.
In Chiang Mai... Boom was still asleep.
The hotel curtains barely allowed the morning sunlight to filter through. The room remained wrapped in the quiet stillness of dawn.
His manager knocked twice. "Boom."
Silence.
She knocked again. "If you don't open the door in one minute, I'm coming in."
A muffled groan came from inside. "Five more minutes..."
She chuckled softly. "You've been saying 'five more minutes' for the last ten."
The door finally opened. Boom stood there with his hair completely messy. "Good morning..."
"Good morning to you. Breakfast ends in twenty minutes."
He glanced at the clock. "Twenty?"
"Nineteen."
Without another word, he disappeared back into the room. "I'm coming!"
She shook her head with an amused smile. Over the years, she had learned that Boom could be the most punctual person in the world... As long as someone forced him to get out of bed.
An hour later... The hotel lobby was crowded with tourists.
Boom wore a black cap and a face mask. Even so, a small group of fans recognized him.
They didn't run toward him. They didn't scream. They simply raised a hand shyly.
"May we say hello?"
Boom smiled with his eyes. "Of course."
He walked over to them. He posed for photos. Signed a few postcards. Asked where they had traveled from.
Then a little girl, no older than ten, held out a small handwoven keychain. "I made it myself."
Boom accepted it with both hands. As though it were something fragile.
"Then I'll take very good care of it."
The little girl's smile grew so wide it seemed she'd forgotten how to blink.
A few minutes later, as the car pulled away from the hotel, Boom kept looking at the tiny keychain resting in his hands.
It wasn't expensive. It wasn't perfect. But it had been made with him in mind. And that made it irreplaceable.
Meanwhile... Back in Bangkok... The photoshoot had moved to a different location.
This time, it was an old café tucked away on a narrow street. The creative director wanted everything to feel natural.
"Perfect, Smart." "Now look out the window." "As if you're waiting for someone."
Smart nodded. He rested one arm on the table. Turned his face slightly. And looked through the glass.
For a few seconds... There were no cameras. No studio lights. No voices. Only a distant gaze.
The photographer slowly lowered the camera.
"That's it..." "That's exactly what I was looking for."
Hundreds of kilometers apart... Without knowing it...
One held a handmade keychain. The other stared at an empty chair across the table.
Two completely different moments. The very same feeling.
As though both of them were quietly waiting... For something. Or someone.
To come back.
End of Chapter Two.