Woohyun was happily drinking his cocktail while watching the place get crowded. It seemed people were coming in waves. They arrived too early and that was why they found so few customers. What was really interesting was the big amount of women. Many women were coming in and most of them were eyeing a dark red door next to the stage.

He got completely taken aback when he noticed a girl inspecting him from head to toe. She seemed content with how he looked and walked over. He gulped. He shifted and looked for help. Unfortunately, he was alone.

"Hello" He blinked. He was looking at her like a deer caught in the headlight. "I'm not going to bite you, customer" He chuckled nervously.

"No, no. I'm sure you wouldn't" The girl smirked. She was a beautiful woman that much was obvious. She had something that was making him feel insecure. The fact was, he was too aware of how she looked. Wearing a short burlesque dress that showed half of her body wasn't helpful.

"I never said I wouldn't. But the contract is very strict" Woohyun's eyes widened. She laughed and patted his arm. He moved when she touched his arm. It felt like she had some superpowers that would immediately inflect something into the people she touched.

"I am getting married this week" He found it vital to point that out. She only blinked and nodded.

"Congratulations. This is your bachelor’s party, I presume?" He nodded. She was acting very normal and he was getting a little disappointed. "I'm not going to nudge you towards the dark side when you seem so excited to become someone's husband" He looked into her eyes and got surprised. She was amused but there was nothing evil in those natural brown eyes.

"Thank you. I mean you are beautiful and all but I love my fiancée" The smile that graced her pink lips was genuine.

"She is a lucky woman. Most men who enter this place are looking for a little bit of spice in their lives" Woohyun glanced at the men behind her. They were eyeing the waitress with hungry eyes. "So, is she worth the commitment?" She grabbed his glass and took a sip.

"She is amazing. Oh, by the way, my name is-" She put a finger over his lips and silenced him.

"In Chaussure Rouge it's better to keep the anonymity. That way, no one gets hurt nor gets the chance to hurt someone else" That was a confusing line but he believed her.

"What should I call you, then?" She rubbed her chin, action that seemed amusing to Woohyun.

"A. Call me A" Woohyun chuckled. That was the best she came up with. "I'll call you B" He laughed.

"A and B. Very creative" She chuckled and shrugged. "Do you like working here, A?"

"I do. At first, I had the same opinion as you. I found it very suspicious and I wasn't keen on coming here. But appearances are deceiving" Woohyun's eyes moved on the wood door unconsciously. She glanced at him before she grabbed his hand. He panicked. "Relax. I'm not going to do anything to you" He nodded and got up.

Suddenly, his head weighted a million pounds. His vision was a little dizzy and he realized he drank more than he intentioned. It wasn't his fault. It seemed his glass would always fill up mysteriously.

"Where are we going?" She pushed him through the famous wood door. He almost fell on his face if it wasn't for her quick reflexes.

"Since you are the bachelor, I'm going to show you some magic" Without thinking, the words flew out of his mouth.

"I didn't take any condoms" She stared at him blankly before she started to laugh loudly. She helped him balance on his feet and nudged him towards a certain door.

Against what he believed, the room was simple. The light was and he only saw paintings on the wall. Nothing more and nothing else.

"Those are mine" He walked closer and narrowed his eyes in concentration.  

"You painted them?" She nodded and sat on the bed. She patted the seat next to her and he took it silently. "That's amazing. You're good" She placed one leg over the other and leaned towards him. Out of reflex, he leaned back.

"You are so stiff" He scoffed.

"You took me to a room and you're showing me your paintings. What do you want me to believe?" She shrugged innocently.

"True” She pointed at the biggest painting in the room. It had a man and a woman, on the tip of a tree, holding only one hand while leaning far away from each other. “I wanted to show you The Lovers”

“The Lovers?” She nodded. “I guess it has a deep meaning, doesn’t it?”

“It’s about relationships. I don’t believe in soul mates. My parents divorced when I was young and I’ve been living with my mom. She had numerous boyfriends but none was The One” The night was definitely passing by differently than how he imagined. “I had a boyfriend once. I gave up a lot for him and even painted him this, but I couldn’t break through his walls. It hurt and it just showed how disappointing it is when you have big expectations”

“Depends on how high are your expectations” She chuckled. He was a very simple person, wasn’t he?

“I just want you to see reality. You can live for your whole life with someone and you can never fully understand and know them” He frowned. She was referring to his soon to be wife and she was pointing out only the bad points of commitment.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You have to love first before you can say anything. I’m sure you’ll think differently when you’ll feel it on your skin” She raised an eyebrow. He got up and arranged his shirt. “It’s not about what you want or need. Commitment is all about your partner” She tilted her head to the side and leaned on her right hand.

“Those are big words for someone who’s still so young” He narrowed his eyes at her. She didn’t know anything and yet she was lecturing him on life and relationships.

 

For the last hour, Hoya has been talking to the dancer he laid his eyes on. Surprisingly, she was a chatty one. They started to talk about dancing and music and from two awkward strangers they became best friends. Sungyeol watched that in between glasses of alcohol.

“You should take a break” He glanced at the barista with cloudy eyes.

“I’m not drunk yet. I have high tolerance” She chuckled.

“I bet you do. But I’m also sure that your wallet is not as thick as your alcohol tolerance” He stopped instantly, which made her laugh. Someone came over and asked for a drink. Her full attention was on the customer and Sungyeol could silently stare at her. She was handy and would easily mix alcohol into a nice and cooling beverage. 

“How long have you been working in here for?” She gave the drink to the thirsty customer and turned to hi with wide black eyes.

“From the beginning, I guess” Sungyeol leaned towards her and swayed his glass. She was an intriguing woman, from his point of view. Actually, everything at that place was not exactly what it looked.

“And how many men bought you a drink?” She chuckled and grabbed hand through her hair.

“Are you trying to smooth talk me into buying me a drink?” Sungyeol blinked innocently. “There’s a policy in this bar. I am not supposed to drink anything from it”

“Why?” She sighed and bit her lower lip. She was thinking of a way to explain the rule and not sound suspicious. At the same time, Sungyeol’s eyes were blocked on her lips. He gulped and hardly moved his eyes on hers.

“Chaussure Rouge is not like any other bar. We do dress ina  certain way and have certain shows but this business is not about what we want. It’s about what we want the customer to want”

“Like manipulation?” She didn’t have an answer to that. He chuckled and put his glass down before he pushed it towards her. “You’re not very good at this, are you?” she sighed in disappointment.

“That’s why I’m staying behind the bar” His smile was getting wider by the minute. She was really fun. She was making his night more tolerable than he expected.

 

Myungsoo went closer to the stage instead of going to the bathroom. From his new found place, he could see both what was going on stage and what was going behind it.

His eyes landed not on a girl but on a beautiful guitar. It was an acoustic pitch black brand. It was beautiful and he could hear a voice telling him to sneak in and strum it a little.

Well, he did try to but someone got in between his desire and him.

The girl who stopped him was short and wasn’t dressed in any sparkly dress. She was wearing a dress but it wasn’t that short and definitely not that tight. She looked like a plain spot amongst the other girls.

“You should turn around and walk to your seat, mister. You’re not allowed to enter backstage” Myungsoo knew how to work his way, though. He smirked and grabbed a hand through his hair. He was handsome and he knew it. He only had to make her see how awesome he was.

“Are you sure you can’t let me take a peak?” He leaned in and stared into her eyes. She blinked before he copied his expression and rose on her toes.

“No” She whispered in his face. Myungsoo was perplexed. “Now please, turn to you seat and enjoy the show” She smiled sarcastically and turned to walk backstage. He was still in a state of surprise and unconsciously grabbed her hand.

“Why don’t we make a deal?” She stopped and listened to what he had to say. “This place is all about the show and what you place on display, right?” She nodded. “What if I sing something on the stage?”

“And?” She was slowly growing really amused and annoyed with him.

“If I swoon the ladies, you let me in. If not, I will pay for all the damage” She bit her and lip and thought about it.

“Deal. But there is one little detail that you missed” He tilted his head in confusion. “You need to ask the boss to get on stage and you need a costume” Myungsoo smirked cockily.

“I can arrange that”

 

“Hyung, I need you to help me” Sunggyu was drinking at their table. When we went back, after another discussion with Sora, he found it empty. He could only blame himself for getting the boys to a place where nothing was even real. Well, except the boss. She was acting pretty much the same as outside the bar. It was hard to change such a strong and stubborn personality, he imagined.

“With what? I’m not getting you through the back door” Myungsoo blinked and had to remember what Sunggyu was talking about. Right. The back door that seemed so entrancing and inviting.

“That’s not it. I want to perform a song on the stage” Sunggyu almost spilled the drink over him and Myungsoo.

“Why would you do that?” The younger man his lips and shook his head.

“Not important right now. Just arrange it with the boss” Sunggyu raised an eyebrow an clicked his tongue. He placed the glass on the table and pointed to the side. There was a young woman who seemed to be around the same age as them. She was dressed fancy and a little eccentric but in a way that you wouldn’t notice her straight away.

“She’s the boss. You go and ask her that and she will cut your head off” Myungsoo narrowed his eyes at the woman. She looked inoffensive.

“She doesn’t seem dangerous” Sunggyu scoffed.

“She’s the Devil undercover” Myungsoo chuckled and patted his hyung.

“Weird. She resembles someone I know” His tone was indicating that he was referring to him. Sunggyu rolled his eyes and shooed his friend away. 

 

Myungsoo got inside the close range but she had people she was talking to. He coughed and waited by the side. He saw the woman from before staring at him. She was standing in front of the back door and she was mocking him. He glared at her before he sneaked through the people in order to get to her.

“Excuse me” Sora glanced over her shoulder and saw the new face. Thankfully, it wasn’t Sunggyu again. Her eyes unconsciously searched for the annoying man. He was at his table, doing nothing. She could see his red head in the crowd. She could see him without even trying much. He had that effect on her.

“What can I help you with?” She was smoother and calculated. He was surprised by the aura she was emitting. “Would you like to enter the back door, maybe?” He was surprised. She actually guessed straight away. Sora chuckled and told the others to leave the two alone. People scattered immediately and the show continued.

“I want to. But I don’t have the money” She stared at him bemusedly. “But I have an idea that might benefit both of us”

“Surprise me” She lit a cigarette and waited for his offer. 

“I want to get on stage and sing something. I want to show someone that I can sweep the ladies off their feet without doing much” Sora watched the young man and tried to suppress the laughter. It was impossible, though. She chuckled and almost got into a fit before she calmed down. “Does that sound so funny?” He was slightly offended.

“Yes. But since you have this pretty face, I’m sure you can achieve that easily” Myungsoo stared at her with a glint of malice. Why were the women in Chaussure Rouge labeling him as only a pretty face? He was more and he could do more. “Is that supposed to impress someone specifically?” He shook his head.

“Just, do we have a deal?” Sora inspected him before she noticed her employee standing aside, with a smirk on her face.

“Deal” Myungsoo’s eyes brightened and he left right away. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. “You have him wrapped around your finger already” Another woman chuckled darkly.

“Didn’t you teach us to be like that? Make them want what we want. No one leaves without a sin committed, no matter how small or big it is” That response was by book. Sora opened her eyes and looked at the table a few feet from Sunggyu’s.

“Someone tell that to that boy, as well” She left to go backstage. Sungjong was the manipulator instead of the puppet. Moreover, he didn’t seem to realize just how good he was at it.