THIS BELONGS TO @JONGHYUNLISTERINE ON AO3
Working on a crossroads planet means Jungkook sees quite a motley crew of customers pass through his bar.
Ceres is so tiny that it's barely a planet at all. Jungkook had arrived here as a child when his mother's ship crash-landed in the dust, and they've been here ever since. Most of the travelers he meets wonder how he could possibly survive on such a dump of a planet, where nothing special ever happens and the town consists of a general store, three bars, an inn, and a temple. But he thinks Ceres is the best place to be - they're well outside of the Empire's jurisdiction, but they have absolutely nothing of value that might appeal to the lawless types. They're safe and unbothered here, but more importantly, they're free. Jungkook can live his life exactly the way he wants to.
And aside from the freedom, living on Ceres offers the unique opportunity of meeting every possible type of individual in the galaxy. Jungkook's run into smugglers and pirates and Empire officers, a man who'd had a set of tentacles attached to his belly, a girl with a giant leopard for a pet. Once, they'd even had a school trip pass through; they'd underestimated how much fuel they needed and ended up stopping on Ceres.
He gets a job in one of the bars when he's a teenager because it's the only place to really get a job, and his mother's good friends with the owner, a former pirate. She dies when he's 19, leaving the bar under his name, the only thing he's ever owned. He's spruced the place up a bit since then, putting his own touch on things, and he's quite proud of the outcome. The other two bars in town don't hold a candle to his, and the amount of customers he gets proves that. The other two are perpetually jealous.
He's seen a lot of people pass through his little hometown, and quite a few of them have attracted his attention, but he's never met anyone quite like the guy who walks into his bar one slow weekday evening.
Jungkook's wiping the counter when the door swings open, bringing in a gust of wind that peppers dust all over the floor. Jungkook wrinkles his nose. Hoseok, a guy who puts in hours at the bar when Jungkook needs extra help, had mentioned that the town was abuzz over the arrival of a new ship that morning, most likely pirates, though they weren't sure.
Jungkook thinks the guy who walks in definitely looks like a pirate. He's wearing loose black pants with too many straps and pockets and a heavy pair of boots that thunk against the flimsy wooden floor of Jungkook's bar. His jacket is dark and shiny, and he's wearing a number of weapons - lasers and guns and possibly even a knife. His dark blond hair is held back from his face with a red bandana, and two long silver earrings dangle from his lobes. There are tattoos on his knuckles and snaking up from the collar of his jacket.
Jungkook licks his lips without meaning to. The possible space pirate only gives him a cursory glance before he leans his elbow against the bar.
"Whiskey," he says. "Neat."
He looks uninterested, face slack, but Jungkook sees the way his gaze flickers around the bar. He doesn't miss the way he remains standing, either, despite there being six empty stools to choose from.
"Coming right up," Jungkook says, flipping a glass onto the counter and pouring the whiskey into it. He slides over the glass, and the pirate passes over his chip so Jungkook can start a tab for him.
The pirate takes a sip of his whiskey, lips surprisingly soft and pink for someone who looks otherwise deadly.
"Aren't you gonna sit down?" Jungkook leans forward, head tilted, a little flirtier than strictly necessary. But, well, a sitting customer is a lot more likely to keep buying drinks than one who looks like he's minutes from walking out. Jungkook has to run his business, after all.
