Absinthe

☾︎✯☽︎

"Damnit! Where are my keys?" I cussed, rummaging through my jacket pockets until my phone started ringing. It was my father. "Pa, I'm kinda in a rush. So Imma need you to make it quick."

"Where do you gotta be at this hour?"

"Work obviously."

"I thought you lost your job."

"That was then. This is now. I managed to find a job."

"Oh... well that's good to hear."

"Is that all?"

"Christ! Can't a father call and check up on his son?" he said in Mandarin. "I swear I'm starting to think the only reason you chose to move to South Korea was to run away from home instead of "wanting independence". Can't even make time to even call too."

"Last time I checked, you seemed very eager to have me move out of the house so I can "explore and do some soul searching instead of staying home 24/7" after I got discharged from the military," I responded back in Mandarin.

"I know what I said but call every now and again, so I know you're still alive and won't worry as much as I did when you were in the military. My blood pressure is already high as it is, and I refuse to die before you get married and have my first grandchild."

I rolled my eyes.

"Speaking of marriage and grandchildren, have you met anyone lately? A potential girlfriend perhaps." He switched back to English.

I suppressed the urge to sigh. "No, Pa. No girlfriends."

"Boyfriends then?"

"No! I don't swing that way and even if I did, my disinterest in dating and relationships won't change."

"Bolin, you're already in your thirties."

"Just because you got married at thirty and had a child a year after doesn't mean I should do the same. I won't die or lose a kidney over it."

"But you're not getting any younger. And you shouldn't be talking that nonsense. Your body count is higher than the average fuck boy and I'm honestly surprised you haven't caught any STDs nor have any unplanned pregnancies."

""Don't be silly and wrap the willy". That's what you've always taught me ever since I hit puberty."

"But doesn't it get lonely? Surely enough, despite having casual one-nightstands, don't you crave and desire to have a connection with someone?"

I halted my actions and didn't give a response to his questions. I didn't have anything to say to argue or contest his claims, but I didn't have anything to say to refute them either.

He sighed. "I won't impose nor push the subject if it annoys you, son. If you're not ready, then that's fine."

"It's not that I'm not ready. I genuinely don't have the time for it." I emphasised rather forcefully than I intended.

"I know, but there's no harm in giving it a chance and settling down. Besides, it would be nice having a lovely daughter-in-law and a grandchild."

"I gotta go, Pa. I'm running late." I hung up before he could say anything.

I eventually found my keys and left my apartment.

☾︎✯☽︎

"So, like, are your eyes naturally hazel grey or are those eye contacts?" the patron asked.

"My eyes are naturally hazel grey. Never really been a fan of contacts." I answered. "Or putting stuff in my eyes for that matter."

"You really have nice eyes and nice tattoos." She commented, staring at my tattoo sleeve.

"Thank you."

"So where are you from? You don't look like you're from here."

"Born and raised in Australia. Do you want a refill?"

She laughed at my brashness. "You don't like talking about yourself, do you?"

"I don't really like sharing too much about myself with strangers, especially on the first meeting," I told her.

"We don't have to be strangers and there's nothing wrong with sharing some stuff about yourself. And who knows," she leaned in her smiled flirtatiously at me. "maybe things might get interesting, and it can be a start for something."

I leaned closer to her, startling her slightly. Her cheeks turned pink as she licked her lips in anticipation.

"Look, I'm sure you've met a lot of bartenders whom you've talked to, flirted with and whatever," I said. "But I'm not one of them and I have no business getting too involved with my patrons. I'm here to give you a service. Not exchange numbers so we can hook up later."

Her flustered expression was now replaced with a glare.

"I do apologise for the blunt response, but boundaries needed to be drawn so you don't get too comfortable," I smirked.

"Asshole." She growled under her breath as she grabbed her drink and left the bar.

"Jesus Christ! What did you say to her?" Chris appeared at my side right after the patron left.

I was introduced to him and his barback, Felix by Chaeyoung as soon as I found out I was on the same night shift roaster as them. Our shifts at each of the clubs under The Coup Detat were organised according to a weekly rotational roaster. That meant I would be changing bars and clubs every week and that week I was starting my shift at Pink Venom, the same club I saw Lisa for the first time.

"Nothing. I just told her that I'm here to give her a service and not get into her pants. And she took exception to that." I answered.

"Now let's not get ahead of ourselves, mate. For all we know, she was just being friendly."

I removed the cloth from my shoulder and wiped the counter, avoiding his confused gaze. "I honestly can't tell the difference between friendly talk and flirting since I've had way too many women try to get me to have sex with or date them from the moment I picked up this gig. Besides, if she was being friendly, she could have just said so."

"Well, I think we just lost one of our patrons after that stunt you pulled."

"Her inability to take rejection is not my problem. She'll get over it."

Chris raised his hands, "Whatever you say."

As soon as the music changed, my eyes moved from the counter and landed on the stage. However, instead of seeing Lisa, there was another dancer there.

"Is there someone you're expecting to see perform?" Chris asked.

"No," I answered rather too quickly and went back to focusing on wiping the counter. "There's this dancer I saw last time I was here."

"Oh! I'm guessing you're referring to Lisa," he said. "She doesn't work on Monday and Wednesday nights. She has this internship program at one of the local hotels for her degree."

Right. She's studying Hospitality.

"But why even work here if she already has a job?" I asked.

"I mean, not many companies offer paid internships and the hotel she works at is no exception. It's basically training than it is a job really." Chris answered. "Plus she has her reasons."

"Which are?"

He gave me a tight-lipped smile and patted my shoulder. "That's for you to ask her yourself."

I quirked an eyebrow at his cryptic response but soon brushed it aside and dismissed it as not being my business.

"Who is she? The dance who's currently performing." I changed the subject.

"That's Hyolyn. She only works here part-time. She's pretty good, isn't she?"

I gazed at her for a moment. She wasn't a bad dancer. She was just as good as Lisa if not better. Not to forget beautiful. Nice body, silky dark hair, glowing tan skin and a cross tattoo embroidered on her abdomen. I'm sure she was more than capable of having every man turn their head towards her. Just not me.

"Uh, guys?" Felix's voice startled me out of my thoughts.

Jesus Christ! This guy's voice has no business being that deep, especially for a twenty-two-year-old.

"What's up?" Chris enquired.

"We have a problem with one of the patrons at table 9." He informed us.

"What kind?" I asked.

"A code Karen kind of problem."

Chris and I exchanged looks briefly before I finally said, "I'll see what the fuss is about. You two go ahead with what you're doing."

Chris gave me a thumbs-up.

Felix nodded his head before disappearing into the crowd, doing his rounds.

I headed towards table 9 where I found a group of girls, roughly in their early twenties. One of them, a redhead was screaming at Chaeyoung, her face was red, and veins were protruding on her forehead.

"I don't make the prices, okay? I'm just doing my job." I heard Chaeyoung say when I got closer to their table.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way but remember it's your word against ours. And trust me, we will get our way." The redhead threatened.

"What seems to be the problem?" I chimed in with a smile, startling Chaeyoung when I stood next to her.

"Are you the manager?" the redhead asked.

"No, but she is my barback," I answered.

She didn't seem pleased, but she didn't say anything.

"What seems to be the problem?" I asked again.

"This bitch - "

"Whoa, lady," I cut her off. "If you want us to assist you and take you seriously, Imma need you to be as respectful as possible. That means no name-calling, okay?"

She rolled her eyes at me. I could already tell that she was getting very annoyed. "Your assistant is charging us two hundred thousand won for our drinks."

I turned to Chaeyoung and arched an eyebrow. She took my reaction as a signal to explain her side of the story.

"I didn't charge them anything. I simply gave them their bill." She handed me the bill.

I quickly scanned through the items on the bill. I looked at the redhead. "Did you open a bar tab?"

"Yes."

"Then I don't see where the problem is. Judging from your bill, this is the amount that you owe for the tab."

Her face became livid. "You can't expect me to pay this much for alcohol I can buy for two hundred won at the convenience store!"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "This is a bar, ma'am. Of course, the alcohol we serve here is going to be a bit pricey because we're giving you a service."

"Well, if she had told us that she was going to charge this much, then she should have told us from the jump!" the redhead contested.

"Again, I didn't charge you anything."

"Shut up!" the redhead screamed at Chaeyoung.

"You do know that you can put a limit on your tab, right?" I reminded her.

The redhead was slight. Her expression was dumbfounded.

"So, you have no one but yourself to blame for not keeping track of your tab, ma'am."

"But- she didn't tell me!"

"It's not her responsibility to tell you how to spend your money. So, either you pay up your tab or we call the cops and present them the bill. Your choice."

The leader glared dagger at him before turning to her friends, asking for extra cash and promising to pay them back.

"We're never coming back here." She hissed after the bill was paid.

"Bold of you to assume we even want to see you again, ma'am."

One of her friends pulls her before she could start screaming and left.