The Bartender [JiKook]

XXIV

"You really can't get out of it? I mean it's Halloween!" Jimin whines, pouting so cutely I just want to eat him up.

A long, tired sigh comes out of my mouth as I stroke Jimin's soft hair.

"Which is exactly why I need to be at the restaurant tonight, Jimin. The entire city's going to be out, we've got so many reservations, it's packed and I need to be there to make sure everything goes smoothly for the Halloween themed night. Then I need to stay after we close since I have more work to do. You know how much of a perfectionist I am. I'll try to make it to the bar after that but I don't think it'll be before midnight." I calmly explain.

To say I'm pissed would be an understatement.
I was truly looking forward to spending Halloween with Jimin and our friends at the bar, especially since the horror party they throw that night is said to be incredible. Instead, I'm stuck watching over the restaurant because the guy I put on the job is "sick" and I can't leave the waiters unsupervised.

According to the overly exaggerated coughing I heard from him over the phone while he told me he couldn't make it, I bet the man's just deemed partying on a Halloween night to be more important. Now Jimin's laying on top of me on our bed, cuter than ever, begging me to come with him and I can't.
I should fire the guy, really.

Jimin pouts again, but this time he nods understandingly. He lifts his head up to look somewhere and I follow his gaze to glance at the clock hanging on the wall of our room. It's almost 6 pm, which means we both need to get our asses up and go our separate ways.

"Promise you'll come as soon as you're done?" Jimin asks in a sweet voice as he sits up on my lap.

"I promise, baby." I smile and pull him into a kiss, gently trailing my fingers on his spine.

He pulls away, climbs off my lap and out of the bed, then sadly looks at me while I sit up.

"I need to go get ready. And you too." He says in a tone that makes me want to hug the shit out of him.

I nod, and he disappears into the bathroom.

•••••••

"Mr Jeon? Aren't you supposed to be out tonight?"

I'll never understand why Mark insists on addressing me formally when he's four years my senior. I lean on the counter, sighing as I look at him in his fitted all-black suit. Usually, the waiters are dressed in black and white, but for Halloween I thought it would be good to go all black with some sort of special makeup. And I have to admit that they all look great.

"Please just call me Jungkook. And yeah, I was supposed to but Jinyoung bailed. He's sick, apparently."

"Jinyoung? Sick?" Mark chuckles, quite amused. "The guy's got health of steel, I've never even seen him with a flu."

"So it's true that you're pretty close to him, huh? He didn't recommend you to work here for no reason." I smile at him, noticing the way he flinches and gulps, a little flustered. "Hey, don't worry, you're the best waiter here anyways so I don't care if you got a little help from a connection to get the job."

Mark smiles at the compliment and mutters a quiet "thank you, boss" before he bows respectfully and turns away to go back to work. But he only takes a few steps before he suddenly stops and comes back with a determined look on his face. He stands in front of me proudly and seems to hesitate a bit before speaking out.

"What did you have planned for tonight?" He blurts out, surprising me a bit.

"Well, I was supposed to accompany Jimin to a Halloween party at the bar he works in."