It was midnight. Niel wiped the glass clean and place it in front of him. Silently the lavender haired boy turned around and took out an expensive brandy off the racks and pours it inside the glass as his lips mumbles…

“three… two… one!”

A dashing lad walked inside the lavish bar, untying his tight necktie and swung his branded jacket across the table. Smirking with annoyance niel picked up the jacket and hung it on a chair beside the dashing lad.

“ aigoo mr bang… another rough day?”

“erm and its your birthday too, what a shame. Where are all those y ladies you usually take home”

“don’t try your luck Ahn. I might just snap that tall nose off your face”

“haha sorry hyung. You know me, im just joking…. Kinda”

Niel smiled but his heart was heavy. How can it not? Ahn Daniel had loved minsoo ever since he started working there but his presence was nothing more than thin air. Known but never noticed. Still the boy had guts to look at minsoo right into the elder’s eyes. Apparently he was the only person who was capable of handling the scary loaded heir who had a temper as short as his pinky finger.

“here….”

Swiftly the dashing lad threw a piece of coupon across the bar table. The man had no such manners and each gesture was filled with emotionless annoyance. Bang minsoo was annoyed of his own existence and only niel knew of his scars, so with no hesitation the young bartender picked up the coupon.

“seriously minsoo, at least call someone. I don’t know, your mom or anything”

“you’ve been celebrating your birthday here for six damned years already”

CAP snickered the moment he realized that a younger bartender was giving him life advices. He looked straight into niel’s bright hazel eyes and with such cold smile, he casually told the boy why spending his birthday in a pub was ten times better than home.

“call who? A mother who’s busy dating young boys or the father who spends his precious time at the bank counting his fortune even when his own mother is bedridden and dying”

“I have no one ahn. Unlike you, hmmph I think the only reason they need my name inside the family register is so that I can work my out and make more money”

“and …. Aren’t you family? You and the maids knows me better than my own parents”

“so who do you think I should call?”

Those words were said with so much casualty it made niel’s heart shrink and crumple from heartaches. Minsoo words were cruel but it was fact, a harsh reality that made the lad as cold as the chilling ice inside his cup. Niel had no words, he knew that nothing could console bang from his scars and pains so silently the younger lad exhaled and carved a faint smile.

“you’re right….. of course this pub is the best place to celebrate your birthday”

“drink as much as you want, its on the house. Thanks to this annual vvvvvvip birthday coupon”

Minsoo was a cold young man but somehow niel’s childish joke always managed to make the lad giggle with excitement. Somehow niel’s presence made him feel as if he mattered, even if he was just another customer who provided the lavender haired bartender with extra tips. But he never let it show, his affection to niel was considered a weakness, a vulnerable flaw.

So silently the young man gulped down the liquor like it was plain water and forced his conscious mind to sleep. After half of the bottle gone, the young man stood up and tried walking home when he fell to the ground face first. Indeed it was a rough day. Tears slowly trailed down his nose bridge as he immediately wiped it away.

Then a warm hand held minsoo’s buffed arm and lifted the boy off the ground.

“aisssh I can’t believe this. How can you let yourself be this drunk?!”

All minsoo could see was niel’s purple hair and milky fair skin. Then the young man’s sight completely turned black. He didn’t mind it, the dark made him feel rather peaceful. He wanted to stay.

*smack

Minsoo eyelids snapped open as he shouted in pain. His lap was burning with pain from a slap so hard it shook the boy’s body. It was a bright day, the sun was shining over his face and made his eyes squint from the intense light. His hangover certainly didn’t help with blinding light.

“aa..aishhh close those damn windows”

He didn’t even bother looking around, he was in a strange place. Certainly not his huge mansion like apartment instead it was a rather small house with sunlight flooding in. then with just a few more steps he made his way to the living room where niel was silently setting up the dining table.

“aiuhhhh… our prince is finally awake huh. But im rather impressed, for a rich brat you woke up quite early”

Minsoo smiled as he sat on the couch and the tv. Indeed it wasn’t his first time being niel’s tiny home but it has been a while.

“like my materialistic father always taught me…”

“early birds gets the gold”

“gold? Puhahaha are you sure you’re dad a PHD holder?”

Laughing along minsoo stood up and walked towards the dining table. Looking at the feast niel had made for him that morning when the sight of a particular dish made his heart damper with pain. Still he faked a decent smile and sat down.

“haha that is how much my precious family loved money….”

“ Ahn… wh..what is this?”

“it’s…. seaweed soup of course. It’s a day late but still, you should have some.”

“I think the reason why you’re so miserable even with all that money is because you never had this on your birthday right. Eat well Bang-ssi and be a decent man for heaven’s sake”

The young man scoffed and puts up his huge fist warning niel’s of the damage he could do if the boy had continued commenting sarcastically on his personal life. Then with tears fighting their way out and emotions drowning the lad’s sanity he sniffed his pains away like a real man and ate the seaweed soup well.

Niel who was touched just as much looked dearly at the lonely bachelor and smiled warmly as he wishes the lad happy birthday. Then surprisingly a drop of tear fell from minsoo’s  eyes and melted into the soup. It was a tear the young lad could not contain and niel saw it clearly.

So slowly the younger lad wiped minsoo’s tainted cheeks with his trembling thumb. Bang who hated skinship somehow obeyed the younger’s hand and silently he kept on eating. It tasted pretty normal, but still it was the warmest meal bang minsoo had ever eaten.

“thanks…. Niel’ah. Hmmph first birthday meal ever since I turned 17”

“it’s good…. But I think I should leave”

Minsoo feels weak and he no longer wanted to show niel’s his vulnerability so the yang man stood up and picked up his jacket and rushed outside.  But he felt wrong leaving with such manner, he never wanted niel too close neither does he wanted the boy gone.

So he turned around planning on bowing to the boy when he felt Niel’s warm velvety lips pressed hard against his flushed red pout. He was caught unguarded so minsoo were helpless. His strong muscular limbs had failed him completely as he silently gave in to the younger lad.

Seconds after niel finally broke away and with so much hope within the lad’s eyes, he looked at bang minsoo. Minsoo who was dumbfounded couldn’t even breathe properly as he leaned on the door, exhaling loudly. As if he had made a grave mistake the elder’s head nodded straight down to the floor.

And ahn understood completely….

“mianhae… I guess I lost it for a moment….”

“its..”

“ No! it’s not fine. I love you hyung, ever since six years ago all I saw is you.”

“ whenever you come to the bar and cried alone, I would turn back and cry with you …. But I know that you would never accept me. Not now … not then”

“so I would wipe my tear and pour you another glass….”

Bang minsoo’s heart shrunk the moment niel spoke. Who would have known that the young bartender would cherish him that much, that he would waste his precious tear on this lifeless rich heir. Who had nothing but countless digits in his bank account only to be wasted on liquor. Silence was the only answer minsoo could give to ahn as he stared down to the floor.

“ i…im leaving, Bang”

“ I took an offer to study at Paris, they said I can be a pro barista and have my own coffee bar there”

“so maybe.. this is the last time I would see you”

“ thanks… for the generous tips and all….”

“the memories. We never really had any outside the bar but still. Liking you made my part time job feels like a reward. So..”

“ goodbye….”

With a gentle grip on minsoo’s hand, niel smiled painfully as his tears cascaded down his white pale cheeks the young lavender haired boy had said his farewell. Ending a relationship hidden deep within the drops of liquor poured each time minsoo had drank to drown his own sorrow.

Two years passed quietly.

Niel was no longer at the bar, so was minsoo. Apparently after three good months the young man realized that the reason he had went to the bar so often was not because of the drinks, the alcohol to dampen his pains but rather to see a particular smile that would greet him each time he sat down. A smile gentle enough to cure his sorrows and helped the young man survive another rough day.

However, minsoo still kept the coupon. It was a gift niel had gave him, a piece of memory that would be his charm and help him live a better life. With niel gone, minsoo worked harder than ever not only on making money but instead on his life rather completely. He met good friends and even had a few serious relationships but still he was yearning for something else.

So like a free bird he bought a ticket to france and started an adventure…..

“ bonjou’r…. I wonder does this coupon valid here, young man?”

“ ye… haha”

“im sorry, it’s not but im sure I can make you another one…”

“If you’d pay me some good money, Mr bang.”

Minsoo smiled brightly as he threw the coupon across the counter. He might be a changed man but still manners were never his best traits.

“don’t try your luck ahn. I spent good money to get here…”