It was another one of those busy Saturday nights at Heaven. The partying had just started. The volume of the dance tracks was pumped up; bodies and hips of hot and not so hot males varying from teenage years to matured daddies were being or swayed; arms were thrown up in the air to the strong thumping beat under the multi-coloured laser and LED lights as foam and bubbles emitted from time to time.  

As usual the boys at Heaven were working hard with a smile to meet the customers’ needs. Jongin was working behind the bar counter on this night. Over the past few months, he has gained more experience on his job at mixing and preparing drinks. He could do his work faster now and with more accuracy without always having to refer to the manual for the popular drinks.

He had been working hard at the bar to practise his skills and with Kyungsoo’s encouragement, he had been thinking on picking up some new tricks – like adding a performance when doing the drink mixes.

He had also been working hard at practising his smile in front of the mirror.

He let out a smile as he thought of Kyungsoo and the older boy’s kind encouraging words.

“Kai, you’re really improving each day.”

“You’re faster now.”

“You don’t mix up your orders now.”

“You’ve done a good job getting the amounts correct without looking at the manual.”

“Your smile is so beautiful and natural.”

“You’ve done a good job. I’m so proud of you.”

And he would hug and squish Kyungsoo out of gratitude and happiness.

“Here’s your beer,” he said to a customer with a bright smile. “That would be XXX Won, please.”

“You’re really cute and have a nice smile,” the customer complemented Jongin as he handed a few bills over Jongin.

“Thank you. Here’s your change. Enjoy the party.”

“Chanyeol-hyung, can you bring this jug over to Table 8 please? They have already paid for the drink.”

And this was how the evening went – smoothly and ordinary as any weekend evening at Heaven can be. And while Jongin has been equipped with the knowledge to deal with difficult customers, he was not quite prepared to deal with an unexpected customer that evening.

Jongin was just about to finish preparing a drink for another when he saw a familiar figure – a ghost of his past – appear in front of him just at the bar counter.

“Tae…Tae…Tae…Mi…Min…” Jongin stammered as he dropped the glass he was holding, causing the glass to shatter and the drink to spill on the floor. 

“Jong…Jong…In…” Taemin stuttered. “What…what…are you doing here?”

Jongin was in a shock that he did not notice the customer he was serving calling out to him or any of the other customers calling out for his attention as he gazed intently and silently at his ex-boyfriend as the latter did the same.

Sehun who was just next to Jongin quickly took control of the situation. A concerned Joon-myun who was just nearby and witnessed the entire situation came over to do a check.

“Jongin, why are you here? What are you doing here?” Taemin spoke first, having regained control of his composure.

“I…work…and…and…live…here,” Jongin replied haltingly as he felt his heart beat accelerate and heart pounding hard on his chest so much so that it was ready to burst out any moment from his body. “What are you doing here?”

Like an instant response to Jongin’s question, a tall handsome boy with large orbs approached the bar counter and wrapped his right arm round Taemin’s slender waist causing Jongin to stare blankly at the two boys.

“Hey babe, what’s taking you so long with the drinks? I was getting worried that some guy might try to hit on you or take advantage of you,” the tall boy rattled off. He then planted a kiss on Taemin’s cheek.

This caused Taemin to stiffen as he forced a smile. Jongin could only continue to look blankly at Taemin and the taller boy as his brain worked hard to register the situation.

“Minho-hyung, I ran into a friend. Let me introduce the both of you,” Taemin said awkwardly as he pointed to Jongin. “Hyung, this is Jongin, he’s a friend and ex-schoolmate. We were from the dance club. And Jongin, this guy next to me is Minho. He’s my boyfriend. We’re here to celebrate a friend’s birthday.”

The words “he’s my boyfriend” coming from Taemin nearly caused Jongin to feel a gripping pain in his chest. It was as though his heart had shattered. Jongin felt that he was suffocating.

Minho extended his hand out to Jongin, “Annyeong haseyo Jongin-ssi. Wait, his nametag here says that he’s Kai. Did you get the right person, babe?”

“Of course! I’ll never forget him,” Taemin retorted. Just as the words left his mouth, he immediately felt guilty as he remembered the past he shared with Jongin and how he had broken up with Jongin.

“But he doesn’t seem to be responding,” Minho pointed.

“You’ve got the right person,” a voice said. It was Joon-myun. He had a good guess of what was going on and decided to step in from the sidelines with a nasty thought in mind. “He is Jongin all right. Just then he goes by Kai around here.”

“Come on, Kai honey,” Joon-myun mockingly teased as he held Jongin’s hand and smiled at him. “Have you forgotten your manners? You should at least greet your friend’s friend.”

“Annyeong haseyo Minho-ssi. Jeoneun, Jongin-imnida. Or you can call me Kai,” Jongin replied rather carelessly.

“You two are a cute couple. Oops. Pardon me, are both of you are a couple? I hope I didn’t make a mistake,” Joon-myun said.

“No you didn’t make a mistake. Taemin and I are a couple,” Minho said proudly. He was beaming when he said those words.

“That’s great. Kai and I are dating ourselves,” Joon-myun said as he used his arm to wrap round Jongin’s waist. Jongin tried to push Joon-myun and was about to open his mouth to protest but Joon-myun only gave Jongin a threatening smile while tightening his grip on Jongin and grabbing Jongin’s body nearer to himself.

Joon-myun noticed Taemin squirming and getting uneasy. Joon-myun turned his attention to Taemin. “Shouldn’t you wish us well since you’re my honey’s friend?”

“We should do so. Right, babe?” Minho asked

“Of course,” Taemin squeaked awkwardly. “Both of you look good together. Minho-hyung and I wish both of you all the best in your relationship. We’re happy for the both of you.”

Joon-myun flashed a victorious smile at the 2min couple and Jongin as he asked the 2min couple. “So can I get you guys anything to drink?”

Meanwhile Jongin took the chance to breakaway from Joon-myun’s grip as he turned around and quickly escaped to the kitchen.

Sehun who just witnessed the entire exchange felt really disappointed with Joon-myun. He never expected that the older brother he respects and loves would do something despicable and hurtful out of revenge to upset a friend.

Just then Kyungsoo returned to the bar counter. Sehun pulled Kyungsoo aside and whispered into Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo nodded and he headed to the kitchen as well.

Kyungsoo tiptoed as he cautiously approached a solitary figure that was slightly hunched over and head hung low.

He then wrapped his arms round the other’s waist and nuzzled his head of the other’s back. He could hear the other’s sobs and was taken quite aback by that.

Jongin wasn’t a cry baby. The only time Kyungsoo remembered Jongin shedding tears was during the columbarium visit when Jongin was worried that Kyungsoo would do something foolish.

“Kai…” Kyungsoo called out gently. “Are you okay?”

However Kyungsoo knew that it was pretty much a useless question. How could anyone be okay seeing his/her ex or someone he/she once loved with another person? And given the hurtful circumstances of the breakup, the pain is even more devastating. So Kyungsoo knew that Jongin was all torn up inside. He could only hug Jongin as a form of comfort and consolation.

Just then Jongin croaked, “How could he do such a thing? Hyung, can you tell me, how could he just move on like this? How could be face me as though nothing had ever happened or existed?”

“Kai, I don’t know. Maybe some people just move on more easily than the rest.”

“It hurts, hyung, it hurts!”

“Do you still love him?”

“A little, I guess,” Jongin responded in between sobs.

“Oh.” Kyungsoo could feel his heart sink a little when he heard those words. He had to admit that he was a little dismayed by Jongin’s answer.

“It hurts to know that I mean nothing to him. It hurts to know that you’ve given all you could to a person to only be treated like this.”

“Just cry all your hurt out. It’ll be better this way,” Kyungsoo comforted.

This caused Jongin to sob louder as he recollected the happy times he shared with Taemin – the dance practices they shared when they were on the same team and how they used to encourage and hug each other during those days; how they used to go for an early morning jog; or simple things like lying on each other’s laps and just doing nothing.

It took Jongin a while to calm down. Kyungsoo let go of his grip on Jongin and gently turned the boy around to face him. He used his hands to tenderly wipe the tears off Jongin’s face and eyes and then ruffled Jongin’s hair.

“I know it hurts, but you’ll get over it because you’re strong and brave. You encouraged and kept me going during my darkest days. I’m sure you’ll pull though,” Kyungsoo encouraged.

“Hyung, your hands, they’re really warm and comforting I don’t know why I didn’t realise it until today,” Jongin whimpered.

Kyungsoo felt his face developing a flush as he heard Jongin’s compliment as he tried to brush it off. “Kai, he’s not worth you getting upset over. I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone else who’ll treasure you more than he did. You’ll find someone who’ll stand by you through your mistakes and all that, and not someone who treats you like nothing.”

“I’ll treasure you more than he did,” Kyungsoo muttered which went unheard by Jongin.

“You want to go upstairs and have an early night? I can cover your duties for you. You’re probably not in any state to carry on working…” Kyungsoo asked.

“I’m fine hyung. Thanks for cherishing me so much. Let me just go upstairs to wash my face a little. I’ll be fine. I don’t wish to trouble you. You still need to wake up early to prepare brunch…”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind sleeping late and waking up early…”

“I’m really fine. I’m contented to know that someone cares so much for me,” Jongin reassured Kyungsoo with a smile. “Come on, let’s get back to work.”

Jongin led Kyungsoo by the hand as they left the kitchen. Kyungsoo returned to the bar while Jongin headed upstairs for a few moments.

When Jongin returned to the bar later, Chanyeol came up to Jongin with a note in his hand and handed it over to Jongin.

“Someone by the name of Taemin asked me to pass this to you. Apparently he’s a friend of yours. He even knows your name.”

Jongin nodded his head. “Thank you hyung.”

Chanyeol then carried on with his work.

Jongin opened the folded note and stole a glance at the contents. He took a quick breath, crushed the paper, and stuffed it into his pants pocket.

“Jongin, it was great to see you again. I’m returning to XX tomorrow. Let’s meet at three in the afternoon at XX to catch up a bit. See you there. My number is still the same if you need to contact me. Taemin.”

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For KaiSoo shippers, I've heard you! I hope you would enjoy that little KaiSoo moments in this chapter.

And yup, Taemin reappeared with his present boyfriend. Do you think Jongin would want Taemin back? Would he agree to meet Taemin? Would he try to get Taemin back?  Did you like the scene when Kai met Taemin again?

And Joon-myun, what do you think of him in this chapter? A jerk?

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