Infinite Stars

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Jojo didn't intend to stay this long.

She had merely left something behind the last time she was here, she had meant to retrieve it and then go on her way. She didn't want to reminisce about what had happened a couple of nights ago, she didn't want to wallow in her misery at the thought of the man she loved pining for someone else.

But she made the mistake of sitting alone at the bar.

And she requested a drink.

And then another.

And another.

Until her entire world was swimming and the only thing she could think about was him, and the words he meant to say to someone else. So when Sunoh sees her, clearly drunk, and nearly passed out on the bar, he can't help but feel sympathetic. He sighs, taking the place of her current supplier, and leans forward, waiting for her glazed eyes to meet his.

"You doin' alright?"

Jojo furrows her brow together as she looks at him, for she recognizes his face, but cannot pinpoint where she might have seen him before. He smiles kindly at her stare, and she realizes that she does not care. She realizes that what she really wants is for him to be Namjoon, for that smile to come from his lips and his lips only, that she wishes he would be able to look at her, notice her, just once.

"He said I was pretty." Sunoh blinks in surprise, confused at first as to who she is talking about, but then he remembers the last time she was here, and the conversation that occurred between her and Namjoon. He swallows a bit guiltily, knowing that it was probably a conversation he shouldn't have heard, but his compassion towards her outweighs that guilt. "But he wasn't talking about me."

Sunoh can't help but feel a sharp pain in his heart as she forlornly plays with the outer rim of her glass, her eyes brimming with familiar tears and the devastation of a broken heart. He doesn't know what to say, or if he even needs to say anything, but he knows it would not be right to leave her alone, and nor would he want to. She looks up at him once more, pouting almost as though she needed something desperately from him, something neither of them is aware of or understands at the moment.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

Sunoh blinks in surprise at the question, and almost wants to laugh, but he does not. Instead, he leans forward, playfully meets her eyes, and smiles softly.

"Yes."

It's not a lie, though he is aware of what a jerk he would seem if he had denied her. He actually finds her quite attractive. She has nice eyes and pretty hair, her lips full and pursed in a lovely heart-shaped affair. She would seem attractive to anyone, he assumes, or maybe it's because she is exactly his type and her personality only attests to that current fact.

Jojo, however, is not as convinced.

Finding the answer too quickly stated and biased to her current condition, she deftly labels it as a farce and denies there to be any truth to the words he has so carelessly expressed. "You have to say that."

"Why?"

Jojo scoffs and raises her hands, dramatically throwing air quotes in the air with her sarcasm.

"'Customer service.'"

Sunoh smirks, before pulling away and taking one of the many empty glasses that adorn his lovely bar and polishing it. Jojo pulls back, confused at the strange reaction but too drunk to understand what it may mean or even bother to ask about it.

"Unless you're giving me a tip, what would be the point of lying?" Sunoh asks, promptly raising an eyebrow at the quick glare Jojo sends his way, her lips pursed in a prompt pout and her furrowed brow deepening at what she considers to be an unexpected and unwarranted response. Too bothered to respond to him herself, she turns back to her unfinished drink and quickly slugs it, as though that would slight him enough to wipe that smug look off his face.

It doesn't exactly work, for Sunoh isn't likely to change his impish behavior for anyone, but it does change the topic quite smoothly.

"Another?"

At his proposal, Jojo shakes her head, tentatively touching her forehead and wincing.

"Everything looks like it's swimming so I think I've had enough."

When she begins to take out her wallet to pay off her bill, however, Sunoh holds out a hand, shaking his head at her perplexed expression.

"No need. It's on me."

Jojo rolls her eyes, before taking out her debit card anyways and pushing it across the table quite decisively.

"Thank you, but I don't like owing anyone."

"Then it seems we're at a standstill because I love having people in my debt," Sunoh responds, pushing the debit card back with an innocent smile. Jojo narrows her eyes at the statement, clearly not in the mood for any jokes. Normally Sunoh would not be phased by this clear display of dislike and borderline hatred, but something in her icy stare crumbles his confidence and he steps back chuckling nervously.

"Tough crowd." Jojo scoffs, and before she can fix him with another chilling stare, Sunoh interjects carefully inspecting her with his eyes. "How about...you pay me another way?"

Jojo is bewildered for a moment, but once she notices where he is staring, she gasps and flinches away, guarding her private areas. It's clear she's prepared to slap Sunoh silly, but the moment he lets out a laugh, Jojo is too stunned to even move.

"Not that, I mean, you could give me your number," Sunoh explains.

She blinks in surprise, and he gives her that genuine, kind smile once more, his eyes filled to the brim with compassion and understanding.

"That way it'll be even."

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