[CONTENTID1]Elysia[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Two[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

“I need a job,” Jakyung told the man sitting behind the desk. He blinked at her, once, twice, three times. A wry laugh escaped his throat as he tapped the cigarette against the side of the ashtray.

“A doll like you, working in a place like this,” he rasped. “Wouldn’t mommy and daddy be proud of that?” He shook his head and picked up the paper Jakyung had placed in front of him.

“What my mother and father don’t know won’t hurt them,” she deadpanned. They had sent her here to finish up her schooling, but they never were clear about what she was to do in her free time. The man arched an eyebrow at her. “I’m a quick study, and I have a bit of experience behind the bar.”

“You? No kidding.” He scanned the basic CV he held in his hands and sighed. “Look kid, you’re only what? 20? That’s barely legal. You’ve got quite the rap sheet for someone so young, but do you really think that this is the place for a girl like you?”

“And what kind of girl would that be?” Jakyung shot back. She didn’t have time for this. If this man wasn’t going to give her a job, she’d just have to look someplace else. “If you’re going to give me a lecture, save it; that’s what school’s for.” She stood and headed for the door. Before she could twist the doorknob, however, he called out to her.

“Jakyung, was it? Fine. I’ll give you a chance,” he sighed. “You’re feisty, I’ll give you that. You’ve got a week. Make it through the week and I’ll hire you on permanently.” The corner of Jakyung’s lips twitched up into a smirk.

“When do I start?”

+++++++

The twelve men waltzed into the club like they owned the place. On a technicality they did, but that was of little consequence. For a Friday night at 9PM, the club was already packed. Bodies moving in time with the music, drinks being passed out at the bar in quick succession; things were just how they liked them.

The group headed towards their usual booth, off to the right of the dance floor, but in clear view of all the action. Within only a few minutes, girls started to stop by, some familiar, some new. It didn’t matter to them – it never did. They were here on business, like usual.

“You would think that if they wanted this alliance, they would at least show up to the meeting on time,” Suho murmured into his drink. Luhan shrugged.

“It’s their loss, not ours.” He scanned their surroundings, trying to find someone to bring them more drinks. Finally, he spotted a girl headed towards the bar, balancing trays of empty glasses on either hand. He nudged Xiumin who looked up from his conversation with Kyungsoo.

“Looks like Yungmin decided to hire someone new finally,” he said. Kyungsoo glanced at the girl and furrowed his brows.

“She looks familiar, doesn’t she?” He asked, trying to peer around the trays to see her face. He grabbed the arm of the nearest club goer and shoved a $50 into his hand. “Tell that bartender to come over here.” The man scurried off and found the requested woman, who barely glanced over her shoulder, but nodded her understanding.

Jakyung was in her element. While she wasn’t happy to have been forced to come to Seoul, she was at least a little pleased that she could find an outlet for the free time she had when not in classes. She had worked in bars before back in Anyang; not legally of course, but it gave her the chops she needed to handle all sorts of rowdy folk. She had a couple hundred cocktails memorized, and despite being underage, she could hold her liquor with the best of them.

Since Yungmin had told her three hours before, that she was on a weeklong probation, she got right to work. Of course the club wasn’t busy at 5 in the afternoon, but by the time 9 rolled around, it was packed, and she was kept on her toes. The money didn’t hurt either. She had already racked up about two hundred dollars in tips, and that wasn’t counting the pay check Yungmin had promised her at the end of the probation period.

“Hey lady.” She felt a tap on her shoulder, and suddenly the face of a man who had clearly had his fair share of booze was shoved into her line of sight. She raised an eyebrow at him and he continued. “A guy at that fancy table in the back wants you to go over there. He gave me $50 bucks just to get you, so it must be important.”

Jakyung rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway. Of course, in a place like this, there would be people throwing their money around like it was nothing. Hell, she’d be doing the same thing if it wasn’t playing into the hands of the people she wasn’t too happy with right now. She set one of the trays down on the bar and tucked the other under her arm, before weaving through the crowd to the table that had requested her. As she drew closer, her breath hitched in her chest, and she let out a groan.

“Well, well, well,” Kris said. He grinned at the look on her face. “If it isn’t Park Jakyung. Fancy meeting you here.” At hearing her name, the rest of the table’s conversations stopped and the remaining 11 faces fixed her with looks ranging from surprise to curiosity.

“You work here?” Chen asked stupidly. Jakyung glanced at him before removing the notepad from the back pocket of her shorts and taking the pen from behind her ear.

“You gonna order or what?” She asked. They stared at her for a moment, and she stared right back.

“You know, I almost thought you were mute,” Xiumin said. “I’ve got four classes with you, and you didn’t say a peep all day.”

“I didn’t have anything to say,” she responded, a bored look on her face. She scanned the table and the various states of the drinks present. “Four whiskey sours, a Jameson on the rocks, two vodka cranberries, three yorsch’s and, what’s that? Three Jaeger and coke. Is that all?”

“Well, I’ll be damned. The little girl knows what she’s talking about,” Luhan scoffed, downing the rest of his Jameson. “How’d you end up in a place like this?” Jakyung ignored him and gathered the empty glasses onto the tray.

“He asked you a question,” Baekhyun said, grabbing her wrist as she went to reach for his glass. She fixed him with a cold glare and then turned her gaze to Luhan.

“That’s really none of your business,” she told him, and twisted her arm out of Baekhyun’s hand. He seemed a bit surprised, leaving her a chance to gather the rest of t