mia ❀

As the moon kept your eyes on her, your thoughts wandered where your mind frequented. He had been absent for what felt like forever and while you’d exchanged small reminders of support, it’d taken a toll on you. You knew he needed time to process this and regain a sense of reality in the eye of the grief, but not having your best friend by your side felt like carrying extra weight. 

The boys did their best to take care of him and would text you here and there with promises that he was still there. The thought of him following his friend weighed heavy on your mind and refused to let your heart out of its iron grip. You’d seen enough over the years to know what losing someone did to people. It was cruel, unforgiving. Selfishly, you wished he’d return to you. 

As the moon bled into pools of pale yellow against dark indigo, dampness trailed newfound roads down your face, falling and falling until it hit your hands before continuing its way back into the earth. It felt too reminiscent of the harsh reality burning bright in your mind. In some twisted way, it made sense. 

The sound of footsteps joined crickets and rusty swingsets, echoing through the low hum of traffic and city life. It all felt out of touch. You’d come here nearly every day since he got the news those weeks ago. You’d been here when you got the news yesterday. Two souls had left and yet, here you sat. It felt hard to move. 

He sat down beside you, engulfed in his favourite denim jacket, the one you often stole to keep him with you. You’d returned it to the dorms sometime in the past weeks, figuring he would need it more than you, as much as you missed his scent embracing you. The small puff of transparent white air mingled with yours as he exhaled as shakily as you felt. 

Without looking away from the moon and the single star keeping her company, you let your head fall slowly onto his shoulder, leaning carefully into him before inhaling sharply. God, you’d missed him. 

He wordlessly pressed his lips to the top of your head before letting his cheek rest there. As his hand found yours, warm palm meeting cold, you found your lip wobbling, breath catching in your throat. 

“I’m sorry, jagiya..”

You guessed he heard from Seungcheol, maybe. Maybe he just felt sorry. Maybe the world just called for such words. It didn’t much matter. You’d talk later; right now, the feeling of his breath carefully making your loose, stubborn hair strands dance lightly, his body against yours, was enough. 

You squeezed his hand one, two, three times. The gentle drag of his thumb over your skin let you know. 

Sometimes passing time together as the night embraced you was enough.  

reblogs and feedback are very much appreciated.

AN: we had to put our oldest dog down today, and I'm tired deep within my bones. I logged back on Instagram after a day off, Seungkwan's post met me, and it felt fitting to write something for our heavy hearts. I don't know if anyone's gonna read this, but in case there are other heavy hearts looking for a place to just sit: stay a while under the night sky with us?

©lixie-phoria, 2023

Cast,

Mila 24, adventurous drunk. Favorite nightfood includes gyros and tandoori baguettes.

Chan 25, borderline sloppy drunk. Favorite nightfood includes fried chicken and an obnoxious amount of orange soda.

Changbin 23, dancing and giddy drunk. Favorite nightfood includes sweet potato fries and chilli mayo.

Jisung 22, gotta peel him off the walls typa dunk. Favorite nightfood includes pizza with questionable toppings.

Lights were flashing, the intense beat of the music shaking the floor under the feet of the people on the dance floor. The venue was packed full of people wanting to enjoy the event of the night; a DJ from out of town. Raving and hyping each other up, going absolutely crazy on the floor was something Mila had gotten used to by now, as the DJ was at the club once a month, and she happened to work there.

On her side of the bar, the energy was a bit different. Just like the drunken crowd, her heartbeat was high and sweat was beading around her hairline, but unlike the partiers, she was rushing and stressing enough for her entire head of hair to turn grey.

“Six tequila shots and a beer!” "Absolutely not, I’m cutting you off."

“Jack and coke!” "Did I say it was your turn to order?"

“Can you make me a custom drink?” "I would love to say yes if there weren’t a hundred and fifty other people in line right now. NEXT!"

Holding three glasses in one hand, she made the vodka-redbulls that had been ordered within twelve seconds, all while taking the next order. Grabbing two bottles by their neck, she filled shot glasses upon shot glasses, handing them out to the patrons.

On the other side of the club, a three member group entered, looking around at the scene ahead of them. Chan, Jisung and Changbin had heard about tonight's event and decided to stop by to check out the energy. The club they found themselves at wasn’t usually their go-to as it was a bit of a distance from the city center, but going once in a while didn’t mind them. Without as much as talking between themselves, they beelined for the bar, as that was what they always did when they entered a club. Drink first, dancing and other shenanigans second. Chan lead the way, despite him most likely not getting anything at the bar. He usually opted for a soft drink or just some water as he didn’t love the taste of alcohol.

Not after long, they were the next in line, keeping their attention on the barkeep so they would be ready to order when they were next. What they didn’t expect however, was for the bartender to be as skilled and efficient as she was. She was around their age, maybe closer to Chan than Jisung, but not far off; and they could all admit she was beautiful. Her dark hair was tied up, a few flyaways and baby hairs sticking to the back of her neck, and her skin had a slight shine, both probably due to sweat. The three boys were all in awe as she held six bottles of beer in her arms, uncapping them at the speed of light with her bar-blade and placing them in the iced bucket on the bar. The guest in front of them took the bucket and left, leaving them to order next.

“What can I get you boys?” She asked. She didn’t smile, but she wasn’t by any means mean mugging them. She was tired from the hectic workload, and that much they could respect.

“Two vodka-redbulls please.” Jisung ordered for him and Changbin, tapping his card on the terminal when the bartender let him know it was ready for him. In record time, she had grabbed to glasses, filled them with the correct amount of alcohol, iced them, and topped them with the energy-drink of choice. Changbin grabbed the glasses as she handed them over, and they left the bar as soon as they could, not wanting to be in the way of the next patron. What the two boys didn’t expect, was for the next patron to be Chan.

“Trouble you for a GT?” He ordered, the girl in the bar nodding as she made the drink while putting his order into her machine to let him pay. Jisung raised an eyebrow and looked over to Changbin who seemed to be equally confused. Chan then stepped over to them with his drink in hand, and together they found a table.

“So you drinking tonight?” Changbin stated the obvious, waiting for Chan to explain himself. It wasn’t that he wasn’t allowed, but he usually gave the boys a heads up if he was gonna end up drinking. Chan returned a sheepish smile and took a sip of his drink, grimacing as he did so. “Not gonna lie to you boys, the bartender got me all turned around. I guess I just wanted to talk to her.” He admitted, then adding on that his drink of choice wasn’t the greatest. If you don’t like the taste of alcohol, you don’t usually order a gin and tonic.

The two other just chuckled at him, cheers-ed, and then got to partying.

After a solid ninety-minute rush, the bar finally quieted down a little bit. There were now few enough guests that Mila no longer had to rush at a million miles per hour, and rather could actually enjoy her work. So when a couple of girls ordered pornstar martinis, she decided to have a bit of fun with it. Instead of just grabbing the bottle and pouring the vodka into her shaker, she flipped the bottle and caught it with her bottom shaker tin, letting the right amount of alcohol pour out before she grabbed it and put it back in her speedrail. Flair had always been something she loved, both because it was fun and cool, and also because you could get insane tips from it. She continued on like this until the drinks had been strained and presented with a shot of champagne on the side.

“Wow,” it came from the next person in line when the two girls left with their drinks. Mila looked at him and recognised him as the gin and tonic guy. “Impressive.” She thanked him with a smile, then asked what she could get him. “Anything that means you can throw more bottles. Also two more vodka-redbulls for my friends, please.” He grinned, to which she returned the grimace. She entered the drinks in her system so he could pay, and then started the drink. A lynchburg lemonade was an easy flair, so Mila got to work. All while Chan stood there amazed at her actions, asking her a few questions about how long she had been doing this, etc.

“These are for you. Enjoy!” She smiled at him as she placed the three drinks in front of him. He gave her a quick thanks and a dimpled smile. Mila had to admit it was pretty cute, and internally wished he would come back to her section of the bar. It was a nightclub after all, so she was by no means the only bartender there, so it wouldn’t surprise her if they went to one of her coworkers and she never saw him again.

Her worries didn’t last for long though, as he was soon back, ordering more drinks. The brunette boy had only been served two drinks as far as she was concerned, and he didn’t seem drunk by far, but he did have a slight flush to his pale cheeks. More drinks were ordered, more drinks were made, and he was on his merry way. About ten or eleven visits from the guy, and two hours later, Mila could tell he had had enough to drink. He was slurring his words and it seemed his eyes wouldn’t fully open. It must have gotten to him all at once, cause it wasn’t that long ago he was standing in front of her cracking jokes and being all charming, making playful comments about taking her out for dinner.

“Two long island ice teas please.” He managed to get out trying to tap his card on the terminal before he was even done talking. Milas eyebrows pulled together in a concerned expression, tilting her head slightly. ”I’m sorry, sweetheart. How about a glass of water instead?” She offered, trying to defer him away from ordering more alcohol. He squinted at her, looking like he was thinking about the world's most existential question before he gave her a short nod. While she grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with ice and water, he started to sway gently back and forth, having to hold onto the bar to stop. She gave him the water and asked him to stay at the bar while he drank it. He did as he was asked and stayed put while he sipped the cold drink. Without leaving her position, Mila managed to wave over one of the runners on the floor, asking her to go grab the two guys she pointed at. Mila remembered them as this guys friends, so thought maybe they could be of assistance.

The two boys were soon over at the bar with their buddy, smiling at the bartender. ”You came with him, right?” She asked, to which they confirmed her suspicions. ”Yeah, why? Did he do something?” The shorter one of the two asked, Mila quickly shaking her head no, making sure that they knew their friend hadn’t caused any trouble. Yet, at least.

“No, but to be frank, he is probably going to be escorted out by security soon considering the level of intoxicated he is. So I was just going to suggest you maybe got him safely home?” She tried to come across as caring and as kindly as she could. She actually did care, but she also knew that drunk people have a tendency to take things the wrong way if you’re not crystal clear. The two boys then switched their attention from Mila to their friend, analysing his state. It didn’t take long for them to also see that he was much too drunk.

“Oh shit, yeah. You’re totally right. Thank you so much for letting us know, and have a great rest of your evening!” One of them told her and wrapped his arm over the drunk boys shoulder, leading him out of the club.

Once Jisung and Changbin had finally managed to get the very drunk Chan out of the venue and out into the cold air, Jisung let go of his grip around Chans shoulders. Chan stumbled a bit, almost falling onto the pavement, but caught himself last minute. “Why did we leave? I wanted more drinking of the alcohol!” He drunkenly whined, dragging out most of the words as he slurred. The two less intoxicated boys chuckled at their friend as they all started walking.

“They were closing. We had to leave.” Jisung replied, lying his ass off, just so Chan would stop pouting. This worked like a charm as Chan instantly understood and returned back to his overly happy and excited, drunk self. “Come now, let’s go get some nightfood from that deli we walked by earlier.”

Then they were on their way. The air was cool against their heated skin, warm from both the alcohol in their systems and from dancing for hours upon end. It was mid summer, so even though it was just around three thirty when they had gotten their nightfood and sat down in the empty parking lot outside the deli, the sun was slowly rising in the east.

That same sunrise held Mila company as she exited the bar after closing, making sure all the gates were locked before she walked away. It was a decent walk from her workplace to where she had parked her car, so she had plenty of time to watch the sky explode into a million different shades of orange, pink and red. After the fifteen minute walk, she got in her car and drove home with her windows down, enjoying the cool late night - early morning air. It had been an exhausting shift considering they had been two bartenders short, but she had made it out alive, and that was really all she asked. Tired feet dragged her from her car to her front door, but instead of inserting her keys into said door and letting herself in, she turned to face the sun and leaned against the door. A short minute of bright sunlight on her face was all she needed to feel rejuvenated from a shift like that.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆

It had been three weeks since the boys had been clubbing, having to drag Chan out of the club before he made a fool of himself. Correction, more of a fool of himself. The morning after their outing, Chan had woken up on Changbins couch not only with a raging hangover, but also with the most embarrassing memories from the night prior. He didn’t remember all the details, but he did remember hitting violently on the bartender. He had no idea if he was actually being smooth about it or if he was acting like creep of the century, only increasing his embarrassment.

Even though the better half of a month had passed, Jisung and Changbin was still bullying the ever-loving daylights out of him for that particular night, especially since it was because of a girl. ”I really hope casanova over here doesn’t pull the same moves on some poor girl tonight.” Changbin chuckled as they were all sitting in Chan’s car, pulling into the destined neighbourhood.

They were on their way to a friends party, their first time out since the incident. Chan snorted at the comment, reminding his friend that he was driving anyway, so even if he wanted to - he wouldn’t be able to drink. “And honestly? Thank fuck for that.” Jisung added at last, unbuckling his seatbelt when they pulled up to the right house. They were a couple of hours late, so the party was already raging. The setting sun was illuminating the backyard of the host house in a stunning few shades of light, really setting the vibe as people were dancing on the glass-flooring that had been installed over the pool so they had more real estate to move around on, and also less of a drowning risk with this many drunks.

“I know we usually hit bar first when we get places, but I’m going to find Minho and say hi.” Jisung said, almost splitting away from the two others, but they soon agreed it was a good idea and joined him. It didn’t take long for them to find the party-host and greet him.

“Minho!” Changbin exclaimed and hugged his friend, Jisung and Chan following suit.

“Glad you guys could make it! Haven’t seen you in forever!” He spoke a bit loud to make sure they heard him over the music. They chatted for a few minutes, catching up before a few girls wanted Minho's attention. “Looks like I have to dip. But get your asses into the backyard and Mila will hook you up with some drinks!” He said before disappearing into the crowd. The boys did as they were told and made their way back outside. The sun had set by now, the yard being lit up with fairy-lights and torches. Jisung was the first back outside, followed by Changbin then Chan, as they all wouldn’t fit through the door at once. However, while Chan was still making his way outside, he heard Jisung absolutely lose his mind laughing, Changbin soon doing the same.

“What the fuck is wrong with you guys?” Chan gave them a look as if they were crazy, laughing at nothing. Neither of them were able to keep their composure long enough to explain their actions, but Changbin managed to point in the general direction of their amusement. Chan scanned the area of where his buddy had gestured, his heart soon dropping to the pit of his stomach. Over by the far end of the covered pool stood a makeshift bar, with a professional bartender behind it. “Are you kidding me?” Chan sighed as he looked at the girl he had so humiliatingly hit on a few weeks back.

Jisung and Changbin took a few minutes, but they finally sobered up enough to pat Chan on the back and make their way over to the bar. They greeted her, not really expecting her to remember them as she probably met thousands of customers every single weekend. But so wrong can you be.

“Hi boys, let me guess. Two vodka-redbulls for you guys, and should I just give you the bottle and a straw?” Mila chuckled as they had all fully approached the bar. She would never have said that if there were other people around, but right now it was only the three boys within earshot, so she took the opportunity to mock them a bit. Two of the boys broke out laughing, while the last one closed his eyes and smiled as a red tint appeared on his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I had to. I’m Mila by the way.” She chuckled as she prepared the two vodka-redbulls that had been confirmed ordered.

“Nah, it’s fine. I absolutely had that coming. I’m Chan, that’s Jisung and Changbin.” Chan replied once he finally looked back up, mustering up the courage to look Mila in the eye. She let them know it was lovely to meet them and gave them their drinks. As it was an open bar, there was no need for them to pay for anything.

“So what can I get you?” Mila asked, adding pressure to the ‘you’, making it a conversation between only her and Chan. Jisung and Changbin took this as their cue to step back. Chan definitely noticed them backing away, but decided to not pay them any mind in case it made it awkward between him and the bartender.

“I’m driving, so I’ll just have a glass of water or something.” He admitted, honestly relieved that he wasn’t drinking.

“You know, just because you aren’t drinking doesn’t mean that I can’t make you a drink. If you’d like I can make you something alcohol-free.” Mila said and reached for her Boston-shaker. Chan accepted her offer, and soon she was at work. Grabbing different syrups and juices, she free-poured them into her tin with some ice and shook it up. After straining it into a glass over some fresh ice and topping it off with some liquid Chan honestly had no idea what was, she presented the yellow to red gradient drink.

Chan gladly grabbed the drink and took a sip. He then admitted to her that he was absolutely blown away at how good it was. She gave him a smile and a thank you while rinsing her shaker and placing it back on her station.

“I’ll go find the guys I came with, but I’ll probably see you later?” Chan said, slowly backing up while talking to her, the grass soft under his feet as he walked. She nodded and gave him yet a smile, then turned to the group of people that walked up to her, ready for drinks.

The night blew past in a blur as the guys danced around, talked to friends, and in general just had a blast. Before they knew it, the music had died down and people had started leaving. By now Jisung and Changbin was - not drunk, but very, very tipsy.

“Ready to go home, boys?” Chan asked as Jisung chugged the last of his drink. Much to anyone's surprise, the two of them nodded yes, instantly getting ready to leave. Changbin excused himself as he ran to use the restroom before they left, Jisung taking the opportunity to return his glass to the bar for easier cleanup. Chan walked with him, having an empty glass himself.

“Heeey Mila!” Jisung greeted when they arrived, the bartender packing away her kit and tools, most likely having brought everything with her. Chan didn’t exactly see Minho owning this extensive of a bar kit, completed with spill mats and fancy pour spouts matching the rest of the kit.

“Heeey Jisung!” She laughed as she matched his borderline drunk energy. She happily took the empty cups from them and placed them in a massive tray she had behind the bar, filled with dirty cups and glasses. “You guys on your way home?” She asked, continuing to wipe down her equipment and sorting it away into her bag.

“Yeah, ending the night on a high is probably a good idea.” Chan said and chuckled, sort of hinting that he knew what happens if you don’t. Mila fully understood what he meant and chuckled with him. “You need a ride home?” He offered, suddenly realising that Minho lives in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, and it had gotten so late that public transport no longer ran.

“That’s so kind of you! Thank you, but I drove here, so I’m good.” She smiled so big her eyes almost disappeared, really showing Chan how grateful she was that he asked. He couldn’t help but notice how pretty her smile was, her nose wrinkling slightly, the ghost of a dimple showing on her left cheek.

“Of course. Get home safe though.” Chan smiled back, starting to step away from the bar once he saw Changbin return from the restrooms. “See you around.” He finally added before turning away and dragging Jisung with him towards the car, meeting Changbin on the halfway there.

The three boys soon climbed into the car and off they went. The silence was a nice contrast to the loud music that had been blasting into their heads for the past few hours, especially since they now could talk at a normal volume and still be heard by whoever they were talking to.

“I’d call this evening a success, if I’m being honest with you.” Changbin spoke from the middle seat in the back as Jisung had called shotgun. The two boys had to agree, but they also agreed it was missing one thing.

“Where are we stopping for nightfood?”

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆

“Four beers, four fireball shots, four tequila shots. Chop chop.” The man in the bar demanded more than anything. Customers like these always gave Mila the ick, making her not want to serve them. But since she couldn’t refuse him service without a valid reason, she decided to just match his energy and be kind of an impatient dick.

“$87.29. Chop chop.” She replied in the same bored and unimpressed tone he had used, catching the man off guard. Mila then grabbed a servers tray and prepped all of his drinks, placing them on the tray. She handed him the tray without as much as a word, and instantly turned to the next costumer.

It was the last Saturday of the month, which meant the DJ was back from out of town, hosting his monthly event. It was easily the busiest night of the month for the nightclub, but for some reason this particular Saturday was calmer than usual. There were still a couple of hundred people in the venue, but not nearly as many drunkards as there usually was. Mila didn’t mind one bit, it most likely meaning she wouldn’t be absolutely shattered by the end of it, especially since she had to walk home after work. Her car was in the shop, and her ride had bailed about fifteen minutes after she got to work, making it a lot harder for her to find someone who could get her home.

“A woowoo coming right up!” She smiled at her customer, punching it in on her till, letting the woman pay. The drink ordered was three ingredients, so it didn’t take long before it was served and left with.

Mila had so graciously been given the far station of the bar for the night, meaning she got the least amount of guests ordering from her. So while she had some downtime, she wiped down her bar, restocked whatever was needed and filled the water station that was nearing empty.

“Are you busy or can I order two vodka-redbulls and a bottle with a straw?” An oddly familiar voice asked while Mila had her back turned to the guest. She whipped around and was soon face to face with Jisung and Changbin. She laughed at Jisungs joke, and then properly greeted them.

“Hi boys, good to see you!” She smiled. Had there not been a full bar between them, she probably would have taken the opportunity to give them a hug. Though she had only met them a couple of times, they had gotten surprisingly comfortable with each other. Considering most of what they had done together had been joke around, it made sense with the friendship they had sparked.

“Looking lovely as always, Mila. Hectic tonight?” Changbin greeted back, taking the chance to look around at the club. Yes, it was a fairly large crowd on the dance-floor, but Jisung and Changbin had mentioned to each other when they entered that it wasn’t near as many people as it had been last time they were there.

“Not too bad. We do have a few tables reserved though, and those parties haven’t arrived yet as far as I’m concerned. Might pick up a bit later. But what happened here? I’m pretty sure there’s usually three of you. Lost him?” She joked, grabbing a damp rag from the bar behind her and started wiping down the glasses that had gotten marks from where the water had dried on them after they got out of the dishwasher.

“Chan is meeting us here, actually. He was running late on some work things he had going. We’ll send him over once he gets here though, he probably wants one of those drinks you made him as Minho’s. He hasn’t stopped gushing about them all week.” Jisung explained, lovingly-mocking his best friend. “And two vodka-redbulls when you get the chance?” He quickly added, pulling his card out of his back pocket.

“That’s nice to hear. And you put that card away, these are on the house.” Mila quickly made the drinks and handed each drink to each guy, not bothering to put it in on her machine.

“I know we just met, but is it too early to say I love you?” Jisung asked as he realised he didn’t have to pay and put his card back in his pocket. Mila chuckled, then blew him a kiss and winked at him in a playful manner. Jisung went to ‘grab her kiss’ out of the air, but Changbin did the same thing. It ended up with them fighting over who got to keep her kiss, looking like two kids in the sandbox arguing over who gets to play with the dinosaur toy. Mila couldn’t help but laugh as she hoisted herself up so she could lean over the bar and give Changbin a kiss on the cheek.

“There, now you don’t have to fight anymore. You both got a kiss!” She grinned, Changbin looking at her and jokingly started to fan his face and pretend like he was freaking out. They kept up the jokes for a few more seconds before they laughed it off, letting Mila know they would be back at some point. She waved them goodbye and turned back around to continue slicing limes, as she had been doing when they boys came over.

It wasn’t long after that Chan came waltzing through the door, looking around for his friends. He soon spotted them at a table and made his way over, greeting them both with a variation of a handshake. They hit off a quick conversation before Changbin let Chan know that their favorite bartender was over on the far end of the bar. Chan gave a quick nod and let them know that he would be back in a second. They boys however had a strong suspicion that wouldn’t be the case, and made their way to the dance-floor as Chan left them.

Station four of the bar was empty when he finally made his way over, instantly spotting the bartender focusing on something behind the bar that was out of his line of sight. “Hey!” He had to almost yell to make sure she heard him over the music, but it worked as she perked her head up and her eyes met his. ”Hi!”

Neither of them said anything else, which in literally any other situation would be so awkward that Mila would find an excuse to leave, but for some reason she didn’t mind it with him. Even though it didn’t last too much longer, it was weirdly nice. ”Would it be too much trouble if I asked for that thing you made me last time? The alcohol free drink, I mean?” Chan was the first to break the silence between them. Well, as silent as it could be with the speakers blasting some Spanish song Mila had heard a million times by now. She quickly shook her head no, and got to work.

While she was mixing and shaking, Chan found it odd that she hadn’t put in his order, letting him pay while she made his drink like she usually did. She always chose the most efficient route according to what Chan had learned about her during their short friendship. Mila soon saw his slightly furrowed brows and came to the rescue with an explanation. “It would be kind of a dick move of me to charge you for a drink, when I just gave your boys vodka-redbulls on the house.”

“You’re too kind.” Chan smiled and took the drink she had now placed in front of him. It was the same yellow to red gradient as last time, but the nightclub lights made the colours more vibrant, this time reminding him more of a sunset than anything else. Chans original plan had been to thank her and then leave to find his friends, but conversation between him and Mila happened so naturally that he found himself leaning on the bar, talking shit for way too long.

A solid thirty minutes must’ve passed before Mila was suddenly attacked in a wave of customers. Chan knew his place and went to leave her to do her job, when he was stopped. A hand had wrapped itself around his wrist, his eyes instantly shooting to the place of contact, then trailing up the arm until he made eye contact with the owner. Mila was leaned halfway over the bar to reach him, stopping him from leaving. ”Uhm, before you go. That offer of the ride home, is that still on the table?” She looked like she was embarrassed for asking, but it only made Chan smile. He used his free hand to grab hers and lift it off his wrist.

“Of course it is.” He grinned and lifted her hand to his face and quickly kissed her knuckles before he finally left.

From then on Mila found herself looking at the clock on her till every few minutes, wishing time would go by faster. Events like these usually flew by, but now that she was actually excited for her shift to be over, time slowed down. But even with the slowest minutes known to man, three a.m. finally rolled around, meaning they were closing.

Security ushered everyone out while the bar staff was cleaning the bar. A lot had to be done after the doors to the bar closed, but Mila and her coworkers had gotten a good routine down. Before she could fully go into cleaning mode though, she realised she forgot to let security that three of the partiers were with her. She was reminded of this when she heard two of the security guards talk over the system they had through the earpiece she had yet to take out.

“There are three losers here refusing to leave. I need backup.”

“Bar," she started, letting security know who was talking. "Are these three idiots three weirdly buff guys in their early to mid twenties claiming they’re waiting for Mila?” She pressed down on a button that was attached to the wire that went out of the earpiece and into the battery box she had in her back pocket. The security the bar had on events like these were not the same they had on regular nights, so she didn’t expect them to know who the hell Mila was.

“Correct.” The masculine voice replied to her through the coms.

“Those three losers belong to me, so if you could be an angel and let them back in that would be lovely.” She spoke, following it up with an apology for inconveniencing the guards. Not long after, three guys made their way into the now brightly lit bar, runners and barbacks flying around with trays and buckets, gathering all the dirty glasses off the tables, getting them ready to clean.

“Sit wherever, I’ll try to hurry!” Mila said to the guys and then disappeared to help clean. The boys did as they were told and sat down in a booth that seemed to be mostly cleaned. They were all amazed to see the speed and efficiency of the workers rushing around. They were all working hard and thoroughly, all while talking between each other about the events of the evening, if anything of interest had happened, or just joking around. At one point two bartenders were sprinting after each other, one of them trying to spray the other with the disinfectant they had in hand. All this, and still the venue was sparkling clean after forty-five minutes.

Mila was soon stood next to the booth where the boys found themselves, her bag over her shoulder, her uniform now replaced with some comfortable looking sweats. “So sorry you guys had to wait, but I’m ready to go now!” She apologised as the three of them scooted out of the couches and stood by her.

“Nonsense, you guys used way less time than we thought you would!” Jisung waved his hand to let her know what she was sating was nothing factual. The two other agreed as they all started to head towards the exit. Mila was luckily not shift manager for the night, so she didn’t have to worry about locking up.

Mila motioned for the boys to lead the way as she had no idea where they had parked the car. Chan turned left as they stepped into the street and the lot followed. The four of them easily fell into comfortable conversation that consisted mostly of joking around and Changbin refusing that he was drunk, even though he had failed Chans test of spelling the word ‘bumble-bee’.

Time really flies by when you’re having fun, because before she knew it, Mila found herself in the backseat of Chan’s car wishing to herself that she didn’t have to go home. Her prayers were luckily answered in the form of Jisung asking the question, “Where we going for nightfood?”

“We should let the newcomer choose!” Changbin replied from Mila’s left, Jisung having called shotgun before either of them. Mila didn’t have to give it any thought before she started giving directions to the location of her nightfood of choice. Once the boys realised where they were headed, they all started cheering and getting hyped up, loving her pick.

“You officially pass every friendship test we could ever have given you.” Changbin said as they all climbed out of the car. He and Jisung had sobered up a bit by now, but not a lot. Making their way into the shop they didn’t hesitate to go up to the register and order inhumane amounts of food. Orders upon orders of fries and burgers, as well as way too many drinks. The amount of food ended up being so massive that the workers placed it in a cardboard box to give to them so they could easily bring it with them. They thanked the workers and left, walking back to the car.

Mila, who was carrying the box, asked for someone to get the backdoor of Chans car so she could sit down. She sat herself so she was sideways in the seat, her feet hanging out of the car. The guys acted on guy-instinct and sat down on the ground next to Mila, the car door remaining open. She then placed the box on the ground, in the middle of the circle they had created. They all attacked the food without mercy, grabbing burgers, fries and drinks, sauces and dips left, right and centre.

“This is easily the best meal I’ve ever had.” Chan spoke, his mouth full of burger, causing his words to come out a bit muffled. The lot groaned and hummed in agreement, their mouth equally full of greasy food. “Hear, hear!”

The silence once again came over them, leaving them to enjoy their food in peace and quiet as they were the only people in the parking lot. It made sense considering it was nearing four thirty in the morning, and the sun was starting to rise. The sky breaking into colours would never stop being amazing, no matter how many times Mila saw it happen.

The sun continued to rise while they ate, and continued still when they had announced themselves finished.

“Are you working next Friday?” Jisung suddenly asked, directing the question to Mila. She had to give it a quick thought, but ultimately shook her head no. “We’re having a party! You should come!”

Mila nodded quickly, grabbing a napkin to wipe her mouth. She then pulled out her phone while she continued to talk. “I can send you my rates and my menus if you’d like.” Her tapping away on her phone was quickly interrupted when Chan corrected her.

“No, no, no. Not to work, you should come to party! Be a person!” He spoke, letting her know she had misunderstood. Mila clicked her phone shut, no longer needing the work-files she was looking for. She asked them if they were sure, to which they all agreed. “We would love to have you there!” A smile grew on her face as she nodded yet again, happy to have been mistaken.

Conversation then floated on, topics changing every few moments all while the sun still rose to wake the world.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Message to: Chan :)

I’m on a street with a weird amount of brightly coloured houses.. Does that sound right? Read 00:09

Message from: Chan :)

Yup! End of the street, Bin is standing outside talking on the phone right now, you should be able to spot him any second

Message to: Chan :)

Splendid, see you in a few x Read 00:12

Chan reacted to your message with a heart.

Mila continued walking down the street, keeping her eyes peeled as she did so. Soon she spotted the buff baby walking slowly back and forth, red solo cup in one hand, phone pressed against his ear in the other. She picked up her pace slightly, hurrying over to her friend and sending him a wave as soon as he noticed her. The call seemed to be of importance, so he kept talking while he gave her a hug and a nod, signalling he would be right in. Mila instinctively returned the hug and nodded as a reply, making her way inside the house.

Music blared through the entire house, Mila feeling the vibrations of the bass in her bones as soon as she stepped over the threshold. She had strategically arrived a bit late so she wouldn’t be stuck in the awkward early phase of the party, so a solid crowd had already formed. There were people everywhere; kitchen, living room, hallways, bathrooms, and Mila was almost certain she had seen a group of people make their way upstairs.

Pushing her way through the sweaty bodies, she finally got to the kitchen where the island was covered in whatever you would need to make a drink. A few people stood there, concocting their poison of choice, Mila internally wincing at their methods, but didn’t want to say anything. After taking a shot with a random guy, she mixed herself a drink and maneuvered herself back into the living room. It was first then she realised the crowd in there were all facing something, a DJ booth with none other than Jisung and Chan behind it. From the looks of it, they were mixing as they played, impressing Mila enough to push to the front. She knew the song they were mixing, so she instantly sang along. The music was proper loud, so she didn’t worry that anyone could hear her tone-deafness.

It honestly felt like a concert with the way they were jumping up and down behind the booth, hyping up the crowd that seemed to match their energy. Mila found herself dancing along, first alone but suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and shook her playfully. She whipped around when given the chance and was face to face with Changbin who was now dancing with her. “Shouldn’t you be up there?” Mila leaned in to Changbin’s ear so he could easily hear her, assuming he was part of the entertainment.

“Shouldn’t you?” He rebutted, making the bartender squeeze her face together in a confused grimace. Before she could as much as catch her breath, Changbin had grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the side of the booth, entering both himself and Mila. Chan and Jisung’s faces lit up once they saw the two and moved over a tad bit to make room for them to jam out with them.

It was first now that Mila could see how many people were actually there, but she didn’t seem to care. As a bartender, she was used to drunk people looking at her, so she didn’t mind being up there, front and centre.

Their set didn’t last forever, so when they finally needed a break, they played some pre-mixed tracks and scurried to the kitchen to get something to drink.

“Where in the fuck did that come from?!” Mila exclaimed once she was making them all sorts of different drinks, even though they told her she didn’t need to.

“Come to think of it, I guess we’ve never told you what we do for a living.” Jisung chuckled as he sipped the drink she had just given him.

The four of them had gotten to know each other a solid amount considering how long they had been sitting in the empty parking lot, eating fries and talking - but it didn’t dawn on Mila until now that they had only talked about stuff that didn’t mean anything in the real world. She had no idea what they did for work, how old they were (though she had guessed them all to be around her own age), or in general what their deal was. What she did know though was Changbin’s deepest fears, why Chan was so attached to music and how to comfort Jisung when he was upset.

“You do this for a living?!” Mila exclaimed yet again, stopping whatever she was doing with her hands to fully punctuate how shocked she was. The three of them laughed and nodded.

“We’re producers!”

It was when Mila then asked what else she was missing that the conversation really took off. They had all ended up grabbing stools to sit by the kitchen island, filling her in on quite literally every single detail of their lives, making sure she was catching everything. Minutes of talking quickly ticked into hours, and the only reason they were pulled out of their own little world was when one of their friends came over and asked when they were going to be playing again.

“Oh shit, our fifteen minute break turned into sixty-five. We’ll be right there, Hyunjin.” Chan replied after checking his phone for the time. They then excused themselves to go finish their set, but Mila only ushered them away, letting them know she would be watching them from the back.

Not long after they disappeared, the vibe of the music changed completely, signalling that they were back. Mila grabbed her drink and moved to the living room, only to see that it was completely packed. She looked around for a place to watch from, and her eyes finally landed on the staircase. She pushed and forced herself through the crowd until she was at the bottom step, then she climbed a few of them to sit down. From her spot she could perfectly see all three of them, as well as most of the crowd.

She sat there for a while, moving her body to the music as much as she could while still being seated. However, she found herself stopping when she looked back at the performers and made eye contact with one of them. Chan had his eyes buried deep within her, in a manner that surprisingly made Mila shiver. It seemed like he noticed, cause he gave her a smile and a wink. A smile erupted on her lips at his actions, his eyes shifting away from her at last. He was however smiling as he looked down at his mixing board, twisting knobs and pushing buttons.

The warm feeling Mila suddenly felt was too much for her to stop smiling, even when her cheeks started hurting. She leaned her head against the railing she was sitting against, her eyes still fixated on the three guys. One more than the others.

Her attention was torn away from them when her phone started blowing up in her pocket, forcing her to check it in case of an emergency. Luckily it was just the group-chat she had with her colleagues, the lot talking about something that just happened at the club. Something about an old man busting hella moves.

Just as she went to put the phone back in her pocket, she noticed someone was standing at her feet. Looking up she was met to face none other than the flirty producer himself. “Chan? Why are you all the way over here?” She quickly questioned, looking back over to the booth where Jisung and Changbin was now stood alone. The two guys seemed to be enjoying themselves a ridiculous amount, so she suspected they didn’t mind that Chan had detoured ever so slightly.

“You don’t seem like you’re having fun, so I’m kidnapping you.” Chan replied with the biggest smile on his face, only confusing Mila more.

“Are you kidding me? You guys are so talented!” She rebutted, but Chan didn’t seem to be having any of it.

“You can think we are the world's most talented dj’s as much as you want, that doesn’t mean you’re having fun. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.” He said and reached out his hand for Mila to grab. She tilted her head ever so slightly and gave him a smile. She then shook her head with a happy sigh and grabbed his hand, letting him pull her through the crowd and out the front door.

Time had passed faster than either of them had thought, cause the pitch black outside they had expected was nowhere to be found, instead it looked like it was about be dawn, causing Chan to check the time. “How is it almost three thirty in the morning already?”

“No idea, but what I do know is that I am hungry as hell.” Mila replied and started walking in the general direction of the closest shop. After a few meters, she turned around , walking backwards now. “You coming?” She asked as Chan was still stood on the porch. Mila stretched out her arms while still moving backwards, waiting for him to do anything. This seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was stuck in, sprinting towards Mila, who by now had made it a decent distance. He came running right at her, bending down slightly as he came up to her so he could pick her up and throw her over his shoulder, continuing to run down the road. Mila was screaming and laughing at his actions, playfully hitting her hands on his back, squealing for him to let her down.

He didn’t make it far before he finally placed her back on the ground, laughing hysterically as he did so, Mila doubled over laughing as well. “Let’s go, dweeb.”

The walk wasn’t long until they found a shop that held open. Mila got a chicken baguette they had in the display window, while Chan went for fried chicken. They also ordered the largest serving of orange soda that they could, agreeing that they could share. After receiving their food, they stepped back outside, looking around for a place to sit. With no benches or curbs in sight, Mila decided to get creative.

“I have an idea.” She announced, walking to the back of the building they had just been in. At the back stood a massive container and a few boxes. She then handed her food to Chan for him to hold, then arranged the boxes so she could climb them to get to the top of the container. She then stretched her arms out so she could take the food from Chan, placing it on top of the roof she had now reached. “Come, come.”

Chan copied her actions, and soon they were sat on top of the roof, legs dangling off the edge. As the shop was placed on top of the same massive hill as the house they had just been at, they had a stunning view of the whole, entire city. It was captivating to say the least, especially when the clock ticked on enough for the sun to peak its glowing head over the horizon, illuminating the city as well as Mila and Chan’s faces.

“I’m glad you kidnapped me. This is incredible.” Mila admitted before taking a sip of their shared drink. Chan looked over at her with a smile on his face, bravely placing his hand on her thigh and giving it a squeeze as he did so. Her reaction consisted of turning her head to face him, straw still between her lips. Their smiling eyes held contact for what they would describe as an eternity, when in reality it was only a few seconds. Without any more words being exchanged, Mila removed the straw from her mouth, then held it up to Chan, offering him a sip which he gladly took while she still held the cup, and he held her thigh.

They soon chuckled between themselves, scooted a bit closer to each other, and watched the sun fully rise.