How the hell did things go so wrong?  Bora mindlessly scrolled through her text messages with Minji over the last month and sighed after she took a seat at the bar.  Even though it was a Friday night, it wasn’t all that late yet so it was somewhat empty for now.  That would likely change within an hour or two, though by then she’d likely not even notice if alcohol had anything to say about it.  

This was one of her favorite places to go as it was one of those multilevel establishments with a large bar on the ground levels and a dance club on the upper ones.  Basically you could move between each floor depending on the experience you wanted.  Bora was currently on the base level, which had a dive bar feel and a stage for live band performances.  

A familiar voice broke the brunette from her thoughts, “Ah, I’d begun to think you weren’t coming back.”  The bartender smirked at Bora as she leaned against the counter, giving the woman her full attention.   

Bora couldn’t help but at least offer a small smile to the short-haired woman, “You know I could never stay away from you Dami.”  This was their thing.  To flirt shamelessly when they happened across each other here.  It was all in good fun right?  And it had never gone anywhere before.  Plus she didn’t even know her real name, just her stage name as a DJ.  “Are you working down here tonight then?  I’m surprised.”

“I could say the same.  You’re usually the queen of the dance floor,” the younger woman answered with a chuckle as she nodded in response to her question, already getting a couple shot glasses ready, “But you my lady, look like you could use a drink.”  

The older sighed, “You have no idea,” as she put her phone away before noticing the two glasses.  “Do I look that terrible?”

“On the contrary, I just figured a beauty such as yourself should never drink alone,” Dami said, gently sliding one in front of Bora and picking up the other one for herself, “This one is on me.”  

Damn, she was smoother than Bora remembered.  But maybe it was because she wasn’t as drunk yet as she usually was during their previous interactions.  The shorter woman did have a tendency to get overly flirtatious when she drank, so she couldn’t really talk.  “Guess that means I’ll buy the next round,” she said with a smirk and lifted the glass, lightly clanking it against the other one.  Each brought their respective drink to their lips and in one swift motion tilted their heads back to down the fiery liquid.  Bora relished that burning sensation, as it slid down and a warm feeling settled in her stomach.  

It was a start.

Even so, it was difficult to pull her mind away from the whole ordeal involving Minji and Siyeon.  .  And another drink down the hatch as she mulled over the situation.  

This wasn’t quite what she’d thought the night would turn into, drinking with a bartender.  Was that sad in a way?  Bora decided not to think much of it especially considering Dami wasn’t bad company and not to mention easy on the eyes.  After the third round she started to relax a bit finally.

“So,” Dami started, making certain to raise her voice enough to be heard as business started to pick up, “What’s got you so down tonight?”

Bora had been idly playing with the shot glass when the other woman stepped away to tend to other customers.  It wasn’t a big deal, she’d planned on sitting there drinking alone anyway.  “Ah...it’s stupid really,” she shrugged to play it off as no big thing.  

The short-haired woman raised a brow at the comment, “Try me.”  

Certainly she could brush it off or make up something trivial, but Bora had actually felt that tad bit of relief earlier when she’d admitted to Siyeon of all people that she was in love with her best friend.  So what could it hurt to tell a stranger?  “Oh you know...the, ‘in love with your best friend’ trope, but the timing is never right,” she said before continuing with a bit of embarrassment in her voice as she covered her face with her hand, “Who am I kidding...I’m just a damn coward.  She’d never feel the same way.”  

“Why would you say that?  I get that...you don’t want to up the friendship.  But it’s not cowardly.  Plus, what makes you think she doesn’t feel the same way?  Is she straight?”

“Ha, definitely not straight.  Just, we’ve been best friends and roommates for years now.  And she’s never even once given me any indication that she thinks of me as anything more than a friend.  Once...she even said I was basically her sister,” Bora raised her voice even more at the last part as she threw her hand up in the air in frustration.  

Dami shook her head as she eyed Bora up and down, “Well damn, sounds like she’s either blind or oblivious.”  

The gesture hadn’t gone unnoticed, “Both apparently,” as she smiled at being checked out so openly.  

“Well you could always try and spell it out for her?”  A decent suggestion from Dami but obviously that wouldn’t work.  

“Can’t,” Bora said shaking her head, “I was so busy with work this last month that I didn’t realize she got a new girlfriend.”  

“Ouch.”

“Yeah.”

“Serious?”

Another sigh left Bora’s lips as she replied, “Looks like it.”  

“Well, another drink on me then,” Dami offered.  The brunette wasn’t going to refuse at this point.  She hadn’t had enough yet, and she just wanted to forget about everything for a little while.  

A few more drinks later and the shorter woman was still firmly stationed at the bar, drowning her sorrow.  She was definitely drunk but not to the point of losing all sense.  At least she’d switched to beer now, nursing the bottle slowly compared to the shots she’d shared with the short-haired woman before.  

Bora had just shrugged off someone bold enough to approach despite her ‘ off’ vibe tonight when she finally finished her drink, placing it on the counter.  As if like magic, Dami appeared, picking up the empty bottle as she chuckled, “Another one strikes out huh?”  

“Guess so,” Bora didn’t even bother to shrug, her tone rather defeated.  

“Not ready to move on.  I get it,” the bartender mused before adding, “But you definitely capture the room even when you aren’t dancing.”

The compliment didn’t really do much to lift her spirits, “Ha, yeah sure.  Especially with me sulking over here.”  

“I bet you already know how many have eyes on you.  If you get it right, this one is on me,” the short-haired woman challenged, holding up a new bottle of beer with a smirk on her face. 

It was an interesting tactic...and it worked, “Alright, I’m game.  It’s five.”

“You sure?” Dami tapped her chin questioningly to ensure it was her final answer.  

“Definitely.  Two guys on the other end of the bar trying to figure out if either of them has a shot.  The one guy I turned down already. One girl by the stage, and another in the third booth.”  She seemed quite confident in her answer but the look on Dami’s face said otherwise.  “Is that not right?”  There was this almost smug look as if she knew something the brunette didn’t.

The younger woman shook her head as she slid the drink across the counter to her, “Six.”  

Bora’s brows furrowed in confusion.  How had she missed one?  In truth she’d always thought she was quite observant when it came to these types of things and not near as oblivious as some.  Maybe she was much more drunk than she thought.  “Six?”  

“Yep, but don’t worry.  This one is still one me,” she said with a wink and a knowing smile moving the conversation forward, “You should come by another night you’re free.  I think you’d enjoy what I’ve been working on.”  

The brunette was still piecing it together as she took another swig of beer, “Hmm...maybe next weekend?”  It wasn’t likely she’d feel up to coming out tomorrow night not to mention she’d promis