ᴀɴɢᴇʟ ☑

14. A cruel controller

Jungkook 

The partygoers never stopped for anyone. The thunder from above only added an effect to their EDM and heavy bass. I got hit on by three different groups of girls who were definitely teenagers with their push-up bras and goth make-up. They were not fooling anyone, but no one stopped them here, ever. 

Business owners only had limited time of the days for almost half a year when rain was torrential. It rained in the other half of the year, too, but it was more on a pleasant and romantic scale if one could call it that. As the third group approached me, I put on a smile while polishing the glass. "What can I get you beautiful ladies?" My pay came with the commission on tips. The more drinks I sold, the better money I took home at the end of the day. Smiling and flirting went long way. Not that the bunch like them bought the most expensive drinks, but they bought a lot. If luck was in favor on a good day like today, I'd also get a princess walking in to squander her father's easy money on a group to impress them or to buy their loyalty. 

"Beers for all of us," one of the prettiest-looking girls answered confidently, her fake nails protruding as she put the back of her palm under her chin while supporting her elbows at the bar counter, leaning closer to my face.

Yup. Cheap beer. All the time. Didn't even have to guess. The big money I made was from men in sheep's clothing, the most dud and boring-looking fellas who sat in the dark corners, eyeing the waitresses with filth in their mentalities. They didn't drink to get wasted, they drank expensive shit to feel true luxury.

I sighed, turning around to get the beer out of the cooler. I didn't care about the money, less or more, but today my mood was fluctuating because Jimin hadn't saved my number in his phone yet. Neither did he text me once. He should've at least asked me what time to pick me up. I kept looking at the door time and time again to see a denim shirt, but all I got were wannabe adults and crooked dwellers.

"Here you go, beautiful," I crooned out of my character and it made her giggle. 

She held my wrist. The wires in my head turn so quickly that I breathed deeply, controlling my urge to backhand her. "What's your name?" She asked, clearly drunk.

I pointed her close with my index finger and leaned near her ear. "Out of your league," I whispered. "If I were you, I'd leave me alone."

The color faded from her lips and face. She jumped away, her body still out of balance as her friends grabbed her, and when the crowd cleared, I found Jimin standing there, his hands folded against his chest as he watched me with something in his eyes that I couldn't comprehend.

I threw the cloth at the counter and pointed at one of the other bartenders to take my place before putting a hand on top of the counter's hard surface and jumping on the other side. "Hey," my grin was euphoric. "I thought you forgot about me."

"Will it matter if I had?" He mumbled in a sarcastic tone. 

I speculated, my brows pinching but my smile not leaving my fucking lips. Kyla's head poked in, looking at us with a girlish grin. "What?" I frowned at her. 

"Nothing," she was clearly amused, shaking her head once slowly.

"What do you want to drink?" I asked Jimin, my frown wavering between my gaze on the two people. 

"Hannesy?" Jimin looked at Kyla.

"Yeah, yeah. Hannesy is fine."

I resisted the childish urge to roll my eyes while ushering them toward the best seat that I'd reserved since noon.

From the table, the stage was in clear view. Pole dancers entertained the crowd at this time while strippers took the night shift. Jimin looked startled as he watched the two girls making love to a metal rod. "I didn't know it was a strip club."

"Only at night," I sat beside him, putting my hand over his thigh. His knee-jerk reaction was to gasp and look at it. "They are harmless dancers, Jimin. Though, they do let you touch them if you tip them well." I laughed, taking my hand away.

Kyla looked particularly tranced by one of the girls, so she couldn't pay attention to us. That was until Jimin asked for it. "Kyla," he spoke. "Do you want to switch places with me?"

I glared at her, and she shook her head, her eyes briefly meeting mine and then averting to enjoy the show. If I knew better, I would say she liked the dancer more than her dance. I placed the order while Jimin sat silently, looking around, puffing his cheeks, and pouting sometimes. I treasured discovering this nervousness in him because of me.

Before our drinks arrived, a manager came up to me with the same girl I shooed away earlier.

Not in front of Jimin.

"Jungkook, this lady here says that you hit on her. Do you know that customers are our top priority? You can't misbehave in the workplace."

Jimin's face was turning worried as I glanced at him and stood up, wanting to actually punch the bitch. "I am sorry, it's my first day, sir. It'll never happen again. I am so sorry, miss." I apologized and when the girl's ego inflated enough at my show of misery, she decided to be merciful and left me alone. 

I sat down again. "Where were we?" 

If 'I am going to throw up' had a face, it would look just like Jimin right then. He was downright disgusted. "I've got 99 problems, but she ain't one of them," my left hand pointed in the direction she left. "I didn't hit on her." I stated clearly. 

"Yeah, I saw that." He jibed. 

Was Jimin jealous? Oh my fucking god! He was!

"The bunch like them?" I turned my frame to him, my face somber when I said, "I don't like younger women. I stumble with a lot like them all the time. They are the ones who haven't seen real men. They hit on all of the bartenders here, so we have a system in place. If the customer is new and creates trouble, we always say that it's our first day on the job and that manager isn't even a real manager. The staff put him here for giving the people a false sense of authority."

He looked a little convinced but still didn't say anything. 

The drinks arrived. I served him first, obviously. And he handed his drink to Kyla, obviously.

Such an annoying gentleman. I couldn't care less for people, men and women alike. I gave him a look that said seriously? and he also gave me a look that also said seriously? You are being petty about this? Grow up. 

A few minutes into the drinking, he was opening up his shirt's top button. I smiled to myself, knowing how alcohol acted like a devil of temptation, playing harmony in front of mice and compelling them to jump to their deaths from the mountains. I've seen it happen. I've almost been a victim and survived, and that was why I never touched the damned thing. 

Jimin, however, used it as a coping mechanism. As I was beginning to understand this angel, I was becoming surer than ever that his kindness was a weakness more than his strength. Kyla was by the stage, talking to the girl her eyes were stuck at. So, I was right. She was interested in her. 

Anna was fucking blushing. It was hilarious, the kind of entertainment one couldn't get even after paying money. She was unbearable to many customers, but it seemed like she was loving what she was hearing in her ear. At least two out of four of us would get laid tonight.

Good for them.

While my focus wavered for a bit, Jimin's did too. He was staring at the leather room. "Do you wanna see what happens there?" I asked, my eyes twinkling for a reason.

"Don't tell me that's for a BDSM setting." He asked me.

I laughed at how he looked at that moment, all too kittenish and cute. My head fell back as I clapped my hands together. "Aww," I drawled, pouting in a manner of teasing. "Pure and kind Angel does know about sex clubs."

"I am not a child, Jungkook. I am older than you."

"Doesn't mean I pegged you as a sex club frequenter." I still conceded, roping him in successfully. 

"You didn't answer my question." He was protesting. 

All I wanted was to take him home and show him my own kind of setting.