Something Sweet

“I swear to god, Yuna,“ you yell, setting foot into your bar, “if even one shitty bottle of Jim Beam is missing, I am firing your feline ass, no matter how fine our customers think it is.“ You can hear a rustle from behind the bar, the clinking of glass, but no response yet. Caught her in the act. “I don’t care how many times you apologize, you can take those long legs and walk all the way home.“

You’re halfway to the countertop when a black ears peek out from behind the bar. Not the blonde tips you’re expecting from Yuna, but black with white tips.

Ryujin’s ears are standing at full attention as she rises further, a restocking clipboard in hand and a towel thrown over her shoulder.

You stop. She speaks.

“That—“ She pauses, pinches her lips together and raises her eyebrows, “—was really inappropriate.“ Tilts her head, squints her eyes at you like she’s a little disgusted, her tail swaying in that slow and deliberate way. “Not to mention, it felt kind of racist towards catgirls?“

“Oh my god, you’re not Yuna,“ you reply, sheepishly.

“Nnnnope. Sure ain’t.”

“I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

She recoils a bit. “You would have wanted your youngest employee to hear you talk about her fine ass?“

You fluster, trying to maintain professional composure. “Wha— no, come on, you know that’s not—“

She breaks the tension with a laugh she can no longer hold in. “Relax. I’m just busting your balls, boss. Besides, Yuna’d probably take it as a compliment anyways.“

“Where is she anyways? She’s supposed to have the open shift.“ You join Ryujin behind the bar, take a peek at what she’s already crossed off the clipboard list and start turning any bottles that aren’t facing label forward.

“We swapped shifts.“ She dips back down beneath the bar, rumbling with boxes of garnish. “I’m opening, she’s closing.“

“Shouldn’t you have discussed this with your boss?“ You say it more like a formality than anything. It doesn’t really matter who fills the shift, as long as you’ve got a girl serving drinks at any given time.

She stands back up again, leans against the bar top with one hand. “We could have, but it was an emergency.“

“Oh.“ You pause, consider it. “Is she alright?“

“She’ll be fine,“ she says, a smirk playing on her lips, her tongue pushing through her teeth. “Plan A with her little fling didn’t work out, so, she’s in need of,“ she shrugs, and you can fill in the blank, “you know.“

You chuckle, lean against the wood. “You could have just said she was fine.“

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in always adhering to company policy?“

There’s no way that was a coincidence. Your footing needs a moment to re-center. Your eyebrows need time to adjust from being blind sided. “You know,“ you begin, walking out from behind the bar, “you could just come out and say whatever it is you’re trying to get at.“

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.“ She checks the clipboard again, squints her eyes like she spotted something worth noting. Her ears betray her, both angled right at you, like they can’t chance missing your response.

“Yeji told you about last night?“

Ryujin scoffs, like the question itself is a little insulting. “We shared bunk beds all throughout college. If you two actually hooked up, I would have known which way your dick curves by now.“

You reel back, but can’t help but laugh at her being ridiculous. “Then you should know nothing happened between us.“ You start taking down the flipped stools from the bar, putting them down on the ground.

She plants an elbow on a now free spot. “Yeah, why is that?“

“Company policy,“ you answer, and you shrug, continuing your work.

“God, you’re lame.“

“I’m consistent.“

She reaches in the sink with still wet glasses, plucks one out, and takes the towel from her shoulder, drying it. “No, you’re comfortable.“

“And that’s a bad thing?“ you ask. Take a step back, cross your arms, bracing for her response.

“Depends on who you ask.“ She holds the glass up to the light, checking for smudges. “If you ask me, comfortable is lame.“

You dismiss the notion. Laugh, slightly forced, once, and continue taking down stools. Her little session of laying into seems to continue, probably because you didn’t intervene.

“Like, I get it, man.“ She sets the glass on the counter. Dives under the bar again. “You built yourself something nice here. A good bar, steady source of income, lots of people to talk with.“

You don’t interrupt her, but with all the stools down, you move towards the door, flipping the closed sign to open.

“Eye candy to keep you busy, and nothing that threatens any of it.“

That gets you to comment. “I’m taking it you’re the eye candy in this psycho-analysis of me?“

“Yep,“ she exclaims loudly, her thumb rising above the bar just long enough for you to catch it, before disappearing again. “Me, Yuna, Yeji, Lia and Chaeryeong. In that order, by the way.“

“I know like four girls that would dispute your rankings.“

She pops up from behind the bar, a thick cube of ice in her hand, dropping it in the cleaned glass. “You’re not going to dispute it?”

“It’s company policy to not sexually harass or rank my employees.“

“Oh please,“ she chuckles, “what kind of pervert human starts a bar named The Calico and then only hires hot and young cat thirens to then cower behind company policy?“ Ryujin turns around, scanning all the bottles. “Aren’t you supposed to be like, a little perverted about?“

“You applied for the job,“ you point out.

She turns her head, locks eyes with you over her shoulder. Squints her eyes. Her tail flicks behind her, that sway it has when she’s thinking, crossing past her eyes a couple of times before she speaks. “That’s—okay, fine, that’s fair.“ She turns back towards the shelves. “But only because you pay well.“

Your smile pulls into a smirk. She can’t see it, but you know Ryujin. She can feel it. Her ears twitch, only to confirm it.

“Look,“ you start, opening a can of worms that should really stay closed, and then stop. Start again. “I like Yeji. I do.“

Ryujin just continues rifling through bottles of liquor, as if she’s giving you the space to continue, not interrupting her own pace. “But…?“

“But I like all of my personnel. As people, not as prospects.“

“Bullshit!“ She turns around and gives you this look that could make you confess to a lie you didn’t tell.

“I’m serious,“ you bite back, walking back towards the Ryujin. You take a seat at the bar, inspecting Ryujin now. “Besides, Yeji is a thiren. Thiren and human DNA doesn’t mix.“

The look she gives you this time is worse, by a multiplier of at least ten. It’s almost too easy to pick up the words behind it, something incredulous and a little rude. She makes sure you’ve properly heard it though: “Jesus dude, nobody is asking you to start a family with her.“