August 02, 1974

5:00 PM

Manhattan

The View

 

 

                Shortly after moving to NYC, the city where dreams supposedly come true, Taemin lost his job and ended up bartending at some discotheque named The View. So much for his exciting life as a famous journalist in The Big Apple.

                “So you bartended in Minnesota, right? So you can hold your own tonight? The main bartender, Minho -or Flame-, can’t be here tonight. His wife is having a baby. Oh, and the barbacks name is Jongin, but he likes to be called Kai. By the way, before you, Kai was always the fill in for Minho so if it gets too crowded just ask him for help. We’re all Team A. We usually work from open to Midnight. Team B will come in around Twelve Thirty and work til close, sometimes we switch it up. You’ll be relieved when you see Team B’s bartender, Kyuhyun.” The owner of the club asked.

                “Thank you Jinki,” Taemin mumbled.

                “Please call me, Onew.”

                “Does everybody here have stage names?”

Ji- Onew laughed and explained that some of them use fake names to maintain a professional status. “The Dj’s name is Kibum but everyone calls him Key- he’s actually quite popular. And the bouncer, Jonghyun, goes by Dino. Even some of the regulars have caught on and picked them up. That over there is Bambam.” He points to a skinny lad with vibrant hair and smokey makeup. “Her in the corner over there is Irene.” He then points over to a beautiful girl with bright red lips. “And finally, that pretty girl at the bar is Lola.”

Taemin looked to the last person Onew pointed to. He sees a tiny woman wearing a short, tight-fitting outfit that seems flashy enough to be ripped off of a Dancing With the Stars contestant. The bralette and the bottom piece were both a faded yellow with some of the tassels and sequins missing- letting Taemin know that the dress had been very old. The front was that of a two-piece leotard, but the back had a flared-out skirt adorned with many soft looking feathers. She wore giant tacky accessories and delicate little yellow feathers in her hair.

Noticing the almost invisible, but not quite, crow’s feet, Taemin turned to Jinki. “She seems a little out of place.”

Onew smiled, “Lola’s real name is Park Jimin. She was a dancer during the golden days here when it used to be the Copacabana. I know she looks like she doesn’t want to be disturbed but she’s actually the sweetest women on earth, just a little sad. She orders the same thing every night, so she’s pretty easy. Believe me, by the end of next week she’ll become your best friend.”

Taemin simply nodded, in awe of this all this information. Wait- “The Copaca-what?”

“That’s right you’re from the west.” He sighed, “The Copacabana was the night club that used to be in this building. It closed in 48 after the incident and was abandoned for 23 years. I’m honestly surprised they didn’t tear the building down in that time. Luckily for me, it was still standing by 74 when I opened this place. Anyway, go ahead and get to work, the customers are wondering where Minho is.”

 

Working at the bar wasn’t so bad. Kai had helped a lot and covered the customers that were getting impatient. He was also nice to have around when the customers got too handsy. Taemin was never really the best when it came to flirting or turning anybody down; it’s not his fault, he seems to just freeze up. Luckily Kai was there when one drunk customer grabbed his wrist, telling him that it was a nice change of pace seeing a pretty bartender. He immediately snapped at the brute before calling Jonghyun over to the scene, making the customer back off.

“Thank you, Kai. That actually, kind of scared me.”

“Don’t worry about him, he’s wired. But, be careful, with a face like that you’re gonna want to watch out for that.” Kai motioned him to move out of the way so that he could reach for the broom. His biceps did not go unnoticed.

“I didn’t have to in Minnesota.”

While looking down to sweep, he simply mumbled, “Well you’re in the city now, Kid,” before looking back up to smirk at him and quickly looking back down again. Taemin turned so that he could hide his smile when he noticed he was being watched by a pair of big, brown, almost fond, eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry miss. Did you want something to drink?” He kept his smile full thanks to this new-found energy Kai had fueled him with.

“Oh please call me Jimin. And you can just tell that brat over there I want my usual. After that, the bar isn’t crowded anymore, why don’t we chat?”

He nodded and turned to tell the younger bar back, but Kai had already brought the women a Bloody Bull. “I’m no brat, I’m Twenty-six. Anyway, this is Taemin. Onew says he’s a journalist.”

“Looks to me like he’s a bartender.” She countered.

“Actually, I had a job with a small magazine company but I was let go. Now I’m working here, and doing some freelance, but I’m also looking for another company job.”

Jimin pouted, “I understand. Is writing your passion?”

He shrugged, “Um, it’s more like I do it because I’m good at it. I don’t think I’ve found my passion yet, honestly.”

He didn’t know why, but it seemed like she was waiting for Kai to continue his work before she leaned in and whispered. “Have you thought of dancing?”

Taemin gave a nervous laugh, “Me? I don’t think I could handle the attention dancers get.”

She nods, but Taemin can tell she’s thinking more.

 

The night ended with an exhausted Taemin crawling into bed with thoughts of a handsome bar back and questions about the mystery that is that women with the yellow feathers in her hair.