You let out a small sigh as you punched in the horrid numbers on your calculator. Your deep, yellow red lips formed a tight line. Though you loved keeping your family’s club alive as well as providing for your girls, there were some sore parts in this paradise. Budgeting. It was a tedious and mundane task, but it had to be done. You were never short on money, the men of the club made sure of it, rather it was the task of distributing the money that often caused small headaches to surge through your mind. It wasn’t until the sound of an exasperated sigh and the rumbling of bar stools that your attention was drawn from the world of numbers and financing. 

“Vodka, straight.” Ralphie slumped over the bar counter, a look of despair and exhaustion covered his unshaven face.

“It’s on me.” Max came up beside Ralphie, taking the stool next to him. 

You gestured to one of the girls working the bar to prepare the drink before flashing the two men a smile. “What happened to Ralphie? Samantha kicked him out of the house again?” You chuckled resting your chin in your hand as you examined the kicked puppy that invaded your bar counter.

“Nah, he’s gotten used to that,” Max chuckled, lighting his cigarette. The small little stick softly glowed as small of puffs of nicotine filled the air. “He just lost it big is all. He should’ve just quit while he had some dignity left.” He mockingly patted the back of his comrade, who returned his ‘kind’ gesture with a sneer.

“I didn’t think he would be that good!” Ralphie growled, attempting to justify his mortifying lost. “He looked like a scrub! Who would have thought I would have lost that much money!?” He let out a groan before face planting into the bar counter.

“How much money did he lose?” You raised an eyebrow, curious as to the amount of money that could cause Ralphie this much despair.

“$2000.” Max snickered before grabbing the glass of vodka for Ralphie and placing it before the man.

“Samantha is going to murder him,” You chuckled, gently patting Ralphie’s head in sympathy. “So what did he lose to this time? Horse races? Poker?” 

“Darts,” Max sighed, a cloud of nicotine exiting his mouth. “That kid, from BAP. Youngjae? He wiped Ralphie here clean.” 

“I thought I could beat him! I did a few times!” Ralphie’s head shot up, attempting to defend his loses. “Then he got real good at the end and then….AGH!” Ralphie scratched his head vigorously, not wanting to recall his utter defeat. 

“That’s called a con, idiot,” Max sighed, shaking his head in dismay. “The boy even gave you a chance to back out, but you and your competitive fell right for the bait.”

“Why am I your friend again?” Ralphie glared at Max who had this cocky smirk on his face. 

“Cause I buy you booze. Now hush up and drink.” Max shoved the glass of vodka towards Ralphie, who chugged the diamond clear liquid.

“Conned you at darts? So that’s the grumbling I’ve been hearing around the club,” A small chuckle escaped your lips. “I could have saved you the trouble, Ralphie. He’s been wiping out most of the patrons at the club clean.”

“Why don’t you give it a try, Bearcat?” Max chuckled, a playful grin plastered on his clean shaven face. 

“Are you telling me to lose all my money in a game of darts, Maxie?” You raised a curious brow.

“Don’t act all innocent, Bearcat. I heard you were pretty good at the game back in the day.” He chuckled as he mimicked the motion of throwing a dart.

“That was years ago. And most of the time the boys let me win.” A soft laughter escaped your lips. Memories of your 16 year old self playing rounds of darts with some of the old kingpins of the town began to play in your mind. Your playful and naive whoops and cheers, not knowing that the sweet ol boys let you win. Your mother, holing away your winnings for your future education. A small melancholy scoff escaped your lips at the thought. Look what good that did.

“Take a gamble, Bearcat. Plus if you win it’s extra bucks to put in your…” Max peered over the counter. “..budget.” He grinned.

“Fine,” You rolled your eyes before placing your balancing notebook aside. “But if I lose you’re taking responsibility.” You playfully glared at Max who flashed you a sly smirk.

“Bearcat, I’ll take responsibility for you anyday.” The sound of his suave, smooth laughter filled your ears as you gave him a devilish wink.

Youngjae let out a sigh of content as he counted his earnings. $5500. Not bad for only a few rounds of darts. A cocky smirk appeared on his face as he went through the bills. It was time to wrap up for the night. The boys planned to have a celebration party after their successful heist. And he was ready to get hammered with booze and women.

“Win big?” Your soft, silky voice caused Youngjae to jump, the image similar to how a chicklet would puff up when surprised. 

The shock lasted for only a moment as his confident, cocky, gentlemanly facade settled in. “Heh, no, it’s just the usual.” He smirked at you as he placed the bills in the coat pocket. 

“I meant with the Chinese,” Youngjae froze at your words, staring intently at you. He heard from the elderly members as well as the maknae that you were a force to be wreckin with. An intelligent, manipulative temptress. Not like the bimbos the boys were used to playing with. It was if the boys were going from a game of goldfish to Texas Hold Em. “Word around town is that you boys won it big. The prize being an entire shipment of high-quality artillery.” You mimicked the motions of firing a gun, a playful smile plastered on your lips. 

“That information is on a need to know basis.” He smiled at you as he leaned back against the counter, a confident smirk still placed on his lips.

“You can tell little ol me,” You smirked, picking up one of the darts that rested on the counter before moving towards him. You lips were mere centimeters from his, the dart being the only thing between you two. You could see the small flash of fluster and shock in his eyes, but that slowly faded into one of smug, cockiness. “I promise I won’t tell.” You whispered, throwing the dart board and getting a score of 20.

“You play?” He grinned playfully at the thought of another player in his game. He picked up another dart that was resting on the counter and threw it at the board, scoring a 16. 

“A little, but I’m no good,” You twirled one of the darts in your hand. “I just kinda throw it and hope it lands.” You chuckled as you leaned on the counter, your arms resting on the countertop with your backside sticking out. Youngjae couldn’t help but follow the curve your to your dress covered bottom. He let out a cough to regain his concentration, trying to pull attention away from your body.

“Why don’t we play a little game then? A little gamble perhaps?” He came besides the dart board, pulling off the two darts.

“If I play against you then I’ll lose all my money, Golden Boy,” You chuckled as he placed a dart in your hand.

“Life is all about the thrill of the gamble. Sometimes you win and other times….you’re just out of luck” Youngjae’s eyes began to soften, a flash of something filled his eyes. Despair. Melancholy. Regret. All of those emotions seemed to swirl in his dark brown eyes. The small wave of emotions quickly faded as he returned his mind to the game at hand. “We’ll start small then, just $100,” He smirked, sipping on his glass of his scotch that sat on the counter beside the pile of darts. “I promise I’ll be nice.” He chuckled.
 
“Well then,” You removed yourself off the counter, coming up to Youngjae and playing with the black tie that wrapped around his neck before giving it a nice tug. “Please be gentle.” You smirked before getting into place to throw the dart. Youngjae let out a loud gulp, his gentleman, suave facade crumbling as his cheeks began to heat up. 

You threw the first dart and scoring a D15. Next a 5. And lastly a D2. Youngjae came beside you and examined the board, a smug as hell smirk on his face. “Cute,” He chuckled as he threw his three darts. D20. T15. 25. You let out a small sigh and reluctantly handed him a $100 bill. “Aww, don’t pout like that. It’s just Lady Luck wasn’t on your side.” Youngjae let out a small chuckle.

“Luck? This was more skill than luck.” You scoffed, crossing your arms across your chest.

“Everything is luck.” The wave of melancholy returned in his eyes. He picked up the glass of scotch once more, taking a long swig as his eyes seem to travel elsewhere. Lost somewhere in memories. Memories that he had wished never existed. “No matter how much effort or skill you build up, in the end it’s just the draw of the hand…” A small part of you empathized with his words. You understood what it felt like when life seemed to always be a cruel dealer. In one moment, you have all the cards in your hand, thinking you’re the king of the world. But then you fall for the bluff and everything ends. Everything you love swept away from you in a single game.

“But you can always change that draw….move on…” Your voice was barely above a whisper. You were more talking to yourself, convincing yourself, than speaking to him.

“If only Lady Luck was as kind as you.” A sad chuckle escape his lips as he placed the glass of scotch back on the counter.

“So I should just quit while I’m ahead?” You teasingly shrugged, not wishing to dwell on the memories that threatened to resurface. You’re little skit was quickly halted by Youngjae’s soft grip around your wrist as you attempted to leave.

“Just one more round. I’ll let you set the standards this time, kay?” He smiled at you, his chubby cheeks revealing themselves. A part of you wanted to pinch them, but knew it would upset the boy. 

“Okay, how about all or nothing?” A sly grin presented itself as Youngjae cocked an eyebrow.

“All or nothing? Are you sure about that?” Youngjae smirked. Being the gentleman he was he gave you a chance to back out, but if you insisted, then there was no way he was going to say no.

“All this talk about luck makes me want to test the waters,” You chuckled. “Oh, but this time, you go first.”

“Heh, don’t feel too bad if you lose, kay?” Youngjae chuckled as he grabbed his darts, tossing them meticulously one by one. 25. 25. D20.  Youngjae’s smug grin seemed to grow wider at the score. He flashed you a smug as hell smirk, placing a quick kiss to the top of your hand before handing you three darts. “For luck.”

You rolled your eyes playfully as you went up to bat. You took a deep breathe, allowing yourself to relax a bit before a cocky grin of your own appeared. D20. 25. 50. Youngjae’s mouth was agape at the score. His mind hadn’t began to process what had just occurred. You walked up to Youngjae, who was still frozen in confusion, and wrapped your arms around his waist. Your hand reached for the bundle of cash in his pocket as you placed a peck on his nose. “For luck.” You teased as you removed yourself from him, counting the bills at hand.

Youngjae covered his mouth, his face slightly red from your kiss. His body began to tremble as fits of laughter began to escape his lips. “You just conned a conman.” He threw his head back in laughter, his chubby cheeks revealing themselves once more, as he slapped his thigh energetically. 

“I must have Lady Luck on my side.” You nonchalantly shrugged as you began to saunter off back to your accounting books.

“You just might be Fortuna herself for conning me.” He scoffed, a smile of disbelief still glued to his face as he ran his fingers through his messily neat hair. 

“Well then, you might just want me as your lucky charm then.” You winked at the chicklet that watched you in disbelief. 

“My own Fortuna...I like the sound of that.” He chuckled, spinning one of the darts in his hand.
 

Thanks for reading! Comments, critiques and Questions are happily welcomed~