lonely nights ¡! baekyeon | to be continued soon

02 : "I can make any girl sleep with me."

02

Taeyeon buttons her waistcoat, shutting her locker close before turning around to pick up her tie from the bench, making a bow out of it. She quickly checks her attire in the mirror and prepares herself mentally to go out to work. 

But just as she's about to leave the changing room's, her phone rings in her pocket, and she takes it out, stepping back inside and closing the door so that nobody would see her.

The caller is Yerim, her younger sister, and when Taeyeon answers the call, she already knows why she is calling.

"Taeyeon, aren't you coming?" Yerim asks through the line.

"I'm on the night shift for today. I can't come." Taeyeon answers, knowing that -from the silence that follows- her sister isn't happy to hear that at the very least. "But I sent you a gift, you will find it in your room. Happy birthday little sister." She adds, hoping to get a reaction from Yerim.

Taeyeon knows she should be there, she should be present at her sister's sixteenth birthday party, by her side, alongside her friends and family.

But she can't, she isn't part of that family anymore. She has stopped being a member when she stepped out of that house, to draw her own path, to lead her own life.

"I see." Yerim utters, her voice painted with disappointment, and Taeyeon feels a lump forming in her throat, hardly resisting the urge she had to cry. "Thanks for the birthday wishes anyways, I guess I need to go."

"Take care of yourself." Taeyeon succeeds to formulate through the tears that started to form in her eyes. 

"You too." Her younger sister replies and hangs up seconds later.

Taeyeon stays in the changing room for a longer time, silencing her tears and blocking all the overwhelming emotions. Once she recollects her thoughts, she goes out, walking through the hotel's halls until she reaches the bar, where she settles behind the counter.

One of her co-bartenders; Soojung, whose shift is about to end, approaches her, leaning next to her ear, pointing at a young man, sitting on one of the stools, drinking as she says "He ordered a Rusty Nail. If he wants another one, you know what to do."

Taeyeon nods, stepping towards a woman in a black dress who gestures to her. After taking her order, she comes back with a Martini that she hands to her before going back to her usual standing spot.

It is Wednesday, and as Taeyeon got used to, the bar is always empty on this particular day, even if it's situated in a high end hotel. And as time passes on, with no one ordering something (or no one new coming in), she finds herself getting bored, and she eventually starts staring into the tilted-down head of the man that Soojung mentioned earlier, getting lost in her own thoughts.

Until,

"Bartender," He tilts back his head, his drunk gaze on her as he lifts his empty glass in her direction."Another one."

She nods and turns around, taking out another cup and filling it with what he was drinking. But only when she approaches him and has a better look at his face that she recognizes him.

She slides the cup towards him as she tries to remember his first name. Yet she fails, only recalling his last name; Byun. Finally giving up, she leans her elbows on the counter, watching him down the drink.

Taeyeon doesn't know much about him. She has heard his name multiple times, but never got to meet him in person, until yesterday, when she witnessed him dumping Sana. He was known around the campus for being handsome, rich and a playboy who goes around breaking girls' hearts.