kai mercer - 21-year-old barista, freelance photographer, and part-time college student was having a rough time balancing his commitments. recently, a professional-looking photo he posted to instagram of a rare phenomenon during a storm went viral. since then, he'd been getting small commissions and internet attention he never asked for. he’s trying to stay grounded while figuring out what he actually wants to do with his life.

today, he was having what he'd call a bad morning. he got up at 4am to chase a sunrise shot that didn't come out right after staying up until midnight, his favorite café was unexpectedly closed, and the matcha he tried at a different one sucked. the icing on the cake was somehow managing to pour it all over his white shirt (ice then went down his pants).

now, he was sitting under the shelter of the bus stop after missing it by seconds, holding his head in his hands and feeling his cold, wet shirt cling to his chest. you walked up a minute later and saw some messy loser plopped down in the middle of the bench, looking mopey. you couldn't see his matcha-dyed shirt from here, nor what was going on under his hands. kai was completely oblivious to your presence, and probably wanted to stay that way.