You let out a small yawn as you opened the doors to Le Noir. The smell of pricey liquor and cigar smoke welcomed you as you set your fur coat on the counter. You greeted some familiar customers with a sweet, wine red lipped smile before giving some cheek kisses to each of them. “Well aren’t you late, Bearcat? Finally found yourself a man to keep you up late at night?” You couldn’t help but let out a boisterous chuckle at the accusation.

“Oh hush, Tatianna. You know I haven’t brought a man to bed with me for ages.” You scoffed offering her a light for her cigarette. Tatianna was a close family friend of your mother from back in the day. The queen of sass and the madame of the Ruby Lounge. She would go from Whitney to Diana Ross on any given day. Her strong, stocky build, and wide shoulders that contrasted the prettily beat face she had. She was practically a second mother to you. By day, however, she was simply Nathaniel. A hard-working, equally sassy, choreography for local performance groups.

“Well then what about that man over there? Your girls seem to be weak in the knees with him around.” Tatianna let out a whistle as she swiveled in her barstool in the direction of your girls. You raised an eyebrow, confused at what she was insinuating, when you noticed four of your girls hundled around one end of the bar peering at a certain young man sitting alone with his lighter. You playfully rolled your eyes at their silliness and crept up behind them, teasingly tickling their sides to grab their attention.

“Now what are you girls doing? Aren’t there customers you should be attending to?” You chuckled as all four young girls stared at you like deers in the headlights.

“W-we are! We..um…we were…” Karin, the oldest of the four, began to blubber as she attempted to conjure up an excuse for the staring escapade.

“Oh don’t be to hard on them, Bearcat. With that fine hunk of man just sitting over there like that, if only I were ten years younger.” Tatianna let out a wolf whistle as she rested her chin in her hand, staring at the fine specimen of a man.

“W-we tried to take his order I swear, but he seemed kind of intimidating and we didn’t know which one of us should take it so…” The youngest Sara spoke up in order to explain the ‘difficult’ situation they were in.

“All right then since you girls are so ‘intimidated’ by this man, how about I take of it okay? I’ll butter him so that he’ll be less scary when you take his order,” You chuckled as you saw their shoulders slump since they were now losing their chance to speak to the man. “Now go take care of the other customers. Just because I’m a little late doesn’t mean you girls can slack off.” You playfully chided them. The girls nodded, still dismayed at their lost chance and quickly went their separate ways to their respective jobs. You let out a small snort before you turned your attention to the man that was distracting your girls.

Yongguk was sitting alone at one of the club booths. The same old lighter in hand. He was playing with the lid, opening and closing it. A few of the women patrons came by his booth, leaning their lean figure across the booths frame, wishing to chitchat with the man and perhaps gain a little more. He would simply reply their attempts with a stern, brief glance or simply ignore them all together. You could understand why the girls had affections towards him. He had this strong, serious dangerous expression that was somewhat intimidating yet at the same time enticing. At the same time, you could sense a softer side in him, something that was warm, caring, comforting. Perhaps that’s what attracted the girls since they had grown up in an environment that lacked all those qualities. He would take care for them, you supposed. Once you had enough of your conjectures, you decided it was time to do your job as well and greet the guest.

“Well what brings you to my lovely establishment, Mr. Bang?” A coy smile graced your lips as you seated yourself next to the quiet, serious man. He side eyed you, closing the lighter he had in his hand and clenching it tightly within his grasp. Despite the harsh glare you were under, your smile didn’t falter a bit. You enjoyed a little hard ball now and then. “I’ve seen gummy bears with scaring glares than that.” You chuckled, tapping his nose playfully. Yongguk’s eyes grew wide and instinctively moved back from your touch, his brain processing the events that had occurred. You couldn’t help but release a light laugh at the sight, causing the man’s bewildered expression to return to his original stiff, unfeeling demeanor.

“I enjoy the music here…” His voice was low and gruff, but at the same time deep and rich, like the husky flavors of aged Cabernet Sauvignon. He leaned back against the velvet seats, arms crossed as he enjoyed the soothing sound of jazz that filled the room.

“You don’t seem like a jazz type of man.” You placed your elbow on your knee, chin resting in your hand so that you could get a better look at Yongguk. You wanted to get a read on him, watch how he would react to your words. That’s how you would win the game.

“I listened to it often when I was younger…” He replied, his eyes slightly softening at the memories of his youth. “It always brought me a sense of comfort…” His fingers gently tracing the engraved design of two wings on his silver lighter. He must have caught you staring because the moment the two of you made eye contact he immediately returned to his intimidating facade.

“It’s like a story right?” You closed your eyes for a brief moment as a familiar song played, soaking in the sweet sound of the saxophone and trumpet that rang through your ears. “It’s not simply music, it’s like a story told in another language.” You hummed along with the tune that was playing. Fond memories of your childhood self playfully twirling around and dancing with some of the elderly gents at the club, while your mother harmonious laughter would fill your ears. It took some convincing and whining, but your mother would eventually join your shenanigans and dance along.

Yongguk didn’t say a word. Instead he watched your form as you quietly swayed your head to the music, a pretty little hum escaping your lips. His eyes softened a bit at the sight. You, however, were oblivious to the rare image as your mind took you down memory lane. As the song entered its closing lines the sweet memories of childhood began to fade to more recent memories. Memories that you wished were thrown away, but no matter how much you wished for them to disappear, they were always buried away in your heart. The what if’s. The what could have beens. Once the song came to a close, you slowly opened your eyes, a slight glint sadness flickered. “But all stories must come to an end, right?” You tried to bury the emotions you felt as you smiled at Yongguk. To your surprise, you could see a spark of empathy and emotion in his eyes something you didn’t expect from a man that could probably punch someone out without hesitation. “Oh! It seems like I’ve dampered the mood,” You chuckled as you leaned back into the velvet booth, calling over one of the girls to take the drink orders. “So what will your poison be?” The girl scurried over, a slight blush on her face as she approached Yongguk.

“Whiskey on the rocks.” He replied, the empathy and emotion you saw had dissipated. You let out a small scoff. This man was a tough cookie, alright.

“And bring me a glass of Pinot Grigio, dear,” You flashed the girl a sweet smile as she quickly nodded her head in acknowledgement. You let out a giggle as the sweet little thing glanced back, checking on Yongguk, before preparing the drinks. “You are quite the ladies man, Mr. Bang. My girls seem very fond of you. And so do many of the lady patrons here.”

He scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. “No thanks.”

“Not enough time? Or haven’t found the right girl?” You teased. The man’s eyebrows furrowed as he let out a sigh. You made a mental note that Yongguk did not like speaking about relationships, or rather speaking much at all.  

“Neither. Relationships burn up too quickly, there’s no point to them.” He began to fiddle with the lid of his lighter once more. The young bartender shortly returned with your drinks, placing Yongguk’s whiskey on the rocks in front of him, while handing you your wine glass. A slight pink blush still remained on her cheeks.

“Such harsh words. I hope you won’t hurt my girls with them,” You sipped on your wine, watching as he sipped his own poison. “They have sensitive hearts you know,” You couldn’t help but let a sincere smile break through your business facade as you watched your girls giggle and laugh amongst each other. “Abandoned, sold off, seen as a commodity. Things that sweet young angels like them should never experience.”

“I won’t,” You paused mid-sip, trying to decipher what he had just said. You had expected a sharp glare or perhaps an annoyed scoff, not a heartfelt reply. “They don’t need to experience anymore hardships…” You could see a small gummy smile appear on his face as he watched your girls joke around with one another.

“You have a more tender heart than I thought,” You chuckled, causing the man to glare. “To think, I thought you were a grizzly bear, but it seems you’re more of a gummy bear.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes as he took another sip of his whiskey.

“And for a woman surrounded by gangsters all day, you seem to have the most sensitive heart of them all.” He raised an eyebrow, a snarky smirk on his lips.

“And he can sass me! This calls for a celebration!” You lifted your glass in the air, chuckling as you downed some more of the sweet wine. Yongguk let out a low chuckle at your ridiculous actions. You enjoyed the sound very much. It reminded you of the low, sultry sound of the cello that often accompanied the songs that played throughout your club. “How about a fine cigar to celebrate?” You joked, placing your wine glass on the table.

“I don’t smoke.” He took one more sip of the liquor before placing the glass down. You raised an eyebrow, even more intrigued by the lighter he held so dear.

“So the lighter is simply for show?” A devious grin spreading on your lips as you leaned closer to him to get a better look at the lighter. Silver plated and engraved with wings and the words ‘Carpe Diem.’ The little lighter shined brightly under the fluorescent lights of the club.

“It used for other purposes…” His cut his words short, watching you warily. Himchan had warned him about your perceptive intuition and your shrewd intellect. Something that was to be admired, but feared.

“Ah~” You tapped your lips. You decided to test your luck and leaned in closer to the Yongguk, your lips merely a few centimeters from his ear. “Such as getting rid of evidence? Very effective, Mr. Bang.” He quickly turned and faced you. Only a small space of air separating the two of you.

An intrigued smirk appeared on his lips. “Himchan was right. You like to stick your nose in other people’s business.”

“You guys got the information from Lu Feng, right? Your welcome,” You flashed him a smile. At that point, Yongguk couldn’t help but sit back and throw his head back with laughter. Just as much as he was a tough cookie so were you. “And I think of it more as charity than nosiness.”

“Be careful where you give your ‘charity,’ or you might just get burned.” He warned as he picked up his glass of whiskey, bringing the poison to his lips as his still watched your movements.

“I like playing with fi-”

“Kyaaa!” You immediately shot up from your seat from the sound of shattering glass and high pitched screams.

“You thought you could get away from me, you b**ch,” A man dressed in overly gaudy fashion and reeked of cheap cologne grasped the wrist of one of your girls, swinging her around like a rag doll. “You think you could run off before ya paid your debt to me!” The men in the club stared down at the eyesore of a man, however, none dared to move without your approval.

“What are you doing to my girls?” You crossed your arms across your chest, an obvious glare was plastered on your face. You recognized the man from some of the streets you had found your girls. A small-fry pimp who often preyed on young runaways with no means of living. A scum among scum.

“Your girls? Sorry gorgeous, but until her sweet pays off her debt to me, she ain’t nobodies girl,” He his lips, eyeing your figure. “Unless you wanted to pay it off for her.” He towered over you, eyeing you like a piece of meat.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes in disgust. “I’m sorry, but I don’t sleep with trash.” Your rehearsed smile presented itself.

“Why you little !” He growled, throwing your girl aside, one of the club men catching her and handing her over to the other girls that were behind the bar counter. The pimp fumed, lifting his fist in the air, ready to punch your lights out. Unbeknownst to him, your hand rested on the hilt of your small revolver, waiting for the right moment to unleash an array of bullets

“Oooo, such a small vocabulary for a very…” Your eyes lowered towards his crotch, a coy smirk on your lips. “…small man.”

“Why you-!” The pimp began to swing down his fist towards you. Your revolver out and ready to deal with the problem.

Splash! Both you and the pimp froze for a moment. Sweet, copper liquor dripped off the stunned pimp, confused as to what had just occurred. A devilish smirk appeared on your lips as you sneakily returned your revolver back to your leg holster. You came beside the man who doused the pimp with alcohol, your arm resting on his shoulder as you leaned your head against his arm. The smell of whiskey was ten times more pleasant that the cologne the pimp was adorning. “So Mr. Bang, how well do you think whiskey is as an accelerant?”

“Good enough to get rid of trash like him.” Yongguk stared down at the man. Despite the ‘strong’ front the pimp attempted to portray, his legs began to obviously shake the moment Yongguk opened his lighter, the bright flicker of a flame dancing in front him.

“Y-you’ll pay for this!” The pimp stuttered a growl before sprinting out of the club as quickly as possible. You could help but let out a boisterous laughter at the cowardly sight. A few of the young men approached you once the pimp had left the club, you recognized them as members of local prominent gangs that often visited your club. Some of the higher ranking members were even your ‘uncles.’

“Bearcat, did you want us to take care of him for you?” They gave each other quick glances before looking into your eyes for approval. A soft smile spread on your face as you gently pat the leader of the men on the cheek lightly.

“Thank you, boys, but I think Mr. Bang here scared him enough. Just be sure to give him a little warning from me, okay?” You placed a chaste cheek kiss on his face. The young men understood and trotted out of the club to proceed in giving the pimp his ‘warning.’ You quickly turned around to face Yongguk, a gracious smile on your face. “Thank you.”

“You did mention that it was difficult to remove blood off the furniture,” He flashed you a cocky little gummy smile. “But who would have thought you were such a mob boss yourself.”

“I can become very vindictive when someone messes with my girls.”

“Hah…” He ran his fingers through his hair before heading towards the exit. He had enough excitement for the day. Plus he still had to run some ‘errands’ before getting back to the rest of the boys. “I’ll keep that in mind then, Ms. Bonnie.”

“Ms. Bonnie? Mr. Bang, you do know my name is Y/N, right?” A playful and intrigued smirk appeared on your lips.

“If you’re calling me Mr. Bang, then it’s only fair I call you Ms. Bonnie, right?” You saw a hint of gummy smirk flash on his face before he lazily waved goodbye, exiting your club.

“Who knew that boy could be so sly.” You scoffed, running your fingers through your hair before going to check on the well-being of your girls.

Eeek! Teddy bear Yongguk with his teddy bear sweater! Like I can't haha It suits him sooo well! 

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