#hcvthn

the jigoku bar has always been an interesting place to come and visit. skye remembers journeying here with olivia who, surprisingly, enjoyed the atmosphere of drunken slurring and shouting and people falling asleep in their own alcohol and complimentary bar snacks-- once they'd experienced a brawl. she'll never forget olivia's explanation of why, the answer having come of her own volition and entirely unprompted. apparently, getting buzzed at the bar allowed her to be one with the crowd without ever saying a word to the other patrons. companionship with little effort, in other words.

skye, of course, realizes now that those had been the words of a lonely woman much too focused on work to try reaching out for friendship. regardless, it's food for thought even if she can't entirely share the same sympathy. she's not lonely, not like olivia had been at least, but the bar is sentimental nonetheless and so she comes here to embrace it like an old friend. she processes the smells as the same before, both things not altogether pleasant like sweaty drunken businessman taking a load off after a hard work day and the closest thing to appeasing her olfactory sensors like the smell of the beer sitting in front of her. the lights are dim but colorful, not flickering like the nightclub. it's on the quieter side too, though only as much as the inebriated patrons allow. at least it isn't a game night. the taste, chemically-wise at least, of the beer is familiar and she always makes sure to sit at the divot of a spot where olivia had once marked with her keys when she'd had a few too many gin and tonics.

it's all comforting, in a way, but it's a double edged sword in that it makes her nostalgic for days long past. she doesn't wish for things to go back, she just misses important things.

right now, however, skye wishes she could get drunk. it's an impossibility, of course, but she still wishes it. as such, she can only drink the beer in front of her and analyze it, telling her that it "tastes" cheap as it moves down into the small chamber of her stomach. if she wanted she could smell as if she's marinated in the alcohol but won't have any of the side effects. it's equally strange and fascinating and a tiny bit depressing.

a sigh escapes her, shoulders hunching at the thought, and she decides she's quite done with her trip down memory lane. "thank you," she mumbles to the bartender, sliding the exact amount of bills she owes to him before pushing herself up from her barstool. she walks away from the bar without another word, her destination the door of the bar.

she's barely halfway there when someone rams into her, liquid soaking through the front of her blouse, drawing a gasp from her. if she were human she imagines she'd be stumbling, but as it is she keeps her balance and merely acts the part of it knocking her off course. taking a step back, her eyes trace a face with sharp jaw, the male's lips set in a thin line, and glazed eyes framed by large lenses. "could you please watch where you're going?" she asks, a scoff underlying her tone because of her plummeted mood, any effort to keep it neutral failing miserably.

Ezi can’t say he likes his job, not even jokingly. He doesn’t, he hates being around humans and he knows very well that drunk humans are the worst of them. He stopped counting how many fights he’d had to interrupt every week, as well as how many times he’d get hit on on one single night shift --- no words can describe how disgusted Ezi feels every time they do that. But he can’t complain, he needs the money to pay the rent for the apartment he shares with Leon. It isn’t expensive, but the more money they have, the better.

But he works hard in the bar as if that job is the job of his dreams, doing his best to blend in with humans and not denounce his artificial nature --- not that his very well improved skills help him, he’s one of the best bartenders at Jigoku. He’s lucky the owners of the location are pro-android, and probably wouldn’t mind it that he is defiant. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t end up bumping into some anti-android supporters at the bar --- those ones are even more extreme with their opinions when they’re alcoholized.

He does his best to avoid the customers that are already drunk and runs to the ones that have just arrived at the bar, still sobers, always with a friendly and big smile on his lips. 

And his smile is always wider when he sees a customer that’s already familiar to him, like Hyungsik. He’s fast to walk towards the counter where the other man is sitting at before another bartender does, and his eyes almost disappear into small crescents when he smiles and speaks to the human --- it’s all an act, you see.