“I’m still not taking your money,” Baekhyun tried shoving the check into her hand once more.

“I’ll take it back if you unban me from your bar,” she grinned

The owner shook his head defeatedly. Out of habit, Baekhyun smudged the coffee droplets off her face. Being the perfectionist that he was as a previous bartender, any sort of stain or water droplet irritates him greatly. Euna automatically flinched, slightly taken back by his action. 

“Sorry, habit…” he gave her an apologetic smile, a rare sight that she had yet to witness until now. 

She never knew how something as simple as a smile could make her so speechless. It was ridiculous, she told herself. But she’d do anything to see that sight again.

“And I never banned you,” he chuckled.

Stop that. Her heart began to play a game of tug-a-war. Euna quickly shook off her thoughts before his addictive smile could haunt her even more. 

“See you soon then,” she waved, swiping the check out of his hand in one go. 

Though skeptical at first, he would eventually learn to not take her words with a grain of salt. By peak hour during the night, the heiress kept her promise to see him soon. The owner dropped by the bar brieftly to pick up his belongings, but seeing her there caught him by surprise. 

“Heard it was your day off, but it must be fate now that you’re here,” she .

Mark kept his ears wide open to eavesdrop their conversation. Baekhyun found himself slowly easing into her playful nature by nodding along, similarly to how he used to treat his customers when he bartended. It was much easier than trying to argue back with her each time.

“Do I get any special treatment for bringing you more customers,” she motioned her head towards the two friends that came along.

Feeling somewhat in a better mood today, Baekhyun walked behind the bar counter and reached his hand inside the fridge for a can of soda. He slid the sugary drink over to her as a peace offer. 

“On the house,” he simply said before taking off.

And so the young heiress kept her promise of coming back each time. So much that Baekhyun began to remember her schedule. During a good week, she would come by on the weekends with a different group of people each time. Whereas if she came in on a weekday by herself, it meant that she had a rough day at work. Evident by her drunken work rants to his employee. At one point, Mark started to document her work drama just to pick up the conversation the next time they see each other. For a whole month straight, Baekhyun practically memorized her routine. 

Another long week rolled by, but something didn’t feel right. It was already Sunday and his regular should have showed up at least once during the week. Without even realizing, the heiress had him conditioned to anticipate her arrival each coming week. So much that every time the door cracked open, his head automatically look up to check. 

“Hey boss!” Mark greeted him by the entrance. 

“You don’t look happy to see me,” the employee frowned, showcasing his puppy eyes attack in the process.

“I told you to take a day off. It’s going to be a slow night,” Baekhyun looked around the empty bar. It was definitely even slower without her and her random group of friends. To be quite honest, his business had gone up a bit this past month, thanks to her. 

“Sorry, a habit,” Mark sheepishly admitted.

“Must be slow without our rich regular here,” he added, “…but she’s probably having a blast at her fancy party right now!”

Fancy party?

“She got a whole red carpet for her birthday party!” the employee exclaimed. Being the overly excited person that he was, Mark switched on the television to enlighten his boss.

 <