Hate To Love You | JinKook ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Two

Namjoon stood on the curb and watched the taxi disappear down the road with yet another drunk customer in the backseat. The night air was cold, but he'd been working the bar for almost two hours and had been sweaty all the while, so the little air he got, he appreciated.

Outside the club, people poured in and out. It was the only club for the next few miles, so it was pretty popular in the area. Namjoon had worked in the club for close to four years, and lately he'd realized just how much people relied on the place.

The club wasn't just a spot to dance, drink and have casual hook ups. A lot of his customers came for various other reasons. Many of them were there because they had so much bearing down on their shoulders, weighing on their happiness. Just a few moments ago, Joshua, a real estate agent had just been telling how his husband of ten years had cheated on him with his rival at work.

Hyung Sik, one of the bartenders who had been serving drinks that night with Namjoon, had told Joshua to weigh his pros and cons in the marriage. If the cons outweighed the pros, then maybe this was a sign to leave and seek his happiness elsewhere. But if the pros outweighed the con, then there was probably a chance of making it work, through therapy or counseling.

Soo Hee, who owned a flower shop a few blocks down, had bills choking her, and just a week ago her boyfriend sold her electrical appliances and took off with the money. Business was slow. Her rent was due. Her family had cut her off because she'd chosen to be a florist and not a doctor like they wanted.

She owed someone money and they were knocking down her door to pay back or they would arrest her. She'd come into the club and taken a sit at the far end of the bar with huge dark circles around her eyes.

Namjoon had been observing her for a few days now, and that evening he went to her and asked what the problem was. It was then that she opened up, crying with her fingers buried into her long hair, her head bowed as she shook her head nonstop. 'My life is over,' she'd said. 'I'm done!'

He'd felt pity for her. Seeing her cry broke Namjoon's heart. She was a good woman. A beautiful petite woman with the sweetest smile. Every morning, she walked past the club just as Namjoon would be locking up, she would have a soft smile on her face as she greeted him and waved.

But every night, rather than head home after the close of business, she would come into the club and sit at the side, watching people dance, sipping on a glass of beer and then by midnight, she would stand up, pay for her drink and leave.

That day after telling Namjoon her problem, he knew he couldn't leave her just like that. He wasn't wealthy but he knew how far a little assistance could go especially when one had none at all.

So, he offered her some money. He didn't want her paying him back. It was not a loan. He wanted her to use it to pay for her rent, for a couple of months while she figured out what to do next.