As most of her countrymen, Taeyeon ought to be asleep. It was two in the morning. The night was perfectly black. Neither buildings or traffic were bright enough to light up the sky. Yet, it was impossible to spot a star in any direction. Only the moon lay far away.  

Much like the celestial satellite that orbed around the earth, Taeyeon was alone. Nobody had been invited to join her. All by her own choice. Company might have been a smart decision, given the late hour and that she was a young woman by herself.  

However, Taeyeon sought the solitude. More sensibly, it would have been better to stay at home. But, to her surprise, it was at home that she felt as the most restless. Everything about her were full of memories that triggered a chain of flashbacks. The recurring tendency had Taeyeon seek herself away from the apartment until she felt tired and wanted to go to bed. At times, she hadn’t even gone home. Instead, she rented a hotel room and headed back in the morning. Perhaps, it was a waste of money. But, it usually gave her a peace of mind.  

Taeyeon had tried to stay at home and deal with the emotions and the pain earlier during the evening. It led to a point where she nearly had a breakdown. After having a long shower, she had decided to head out since it felt better to be amongst people. Mere strangers’ presence made her feel better.  

When she had finished dressing up in order to feel pretty and thereby somewhat more confident, she called a taxi. Although she didn’t know where to go, the driver kindly helped her figure out a good place to start her search. It ended outside a luxury hotel where the bar remained open until four in the morning. She didn’t like drinking her sorrows away. But, Taeyeon liked that alcohol could dull the sense of time. In such a way, it felt as though minutes and hours passed before her eyes.  

She was greeted by a kind concierge who opened the door for her. A bit struggling, she managed to muster up enough sincerity to return his smile and thank him before she entered the reception.  

It was quite empty. Only a handful of guests lingered about the room, which made it possible for a manager to notice her. When she had told him about her intents, he guided her in the right direction. Taeyeon thanked him as well and went on her way. Not everybody needed to know where she planned to go.  

A massive door in glass parted for her when she neared the bar. The moment she stepped inside, soft tones of a piano reached her ears. She noticed that a few tables and couches were taken. Otherwise, the area was rather empty.  

Decorations were gorgeous. Hues of dark wood and metal created a sense of industrialism while dozens of plants and candles added life. From the ceiling hung a row of chandeliers, which spread a soft glow.  

Everything felt isolated and private, which Taeyeon liked. Nobody would bother her. In case she grew bored, large windows that displayed the busy intersection outside might come to the rescue.  

Having a vacant seat in sight, Taeyeon headed towards the bar. Without much difficulty, she glided onto the chair. Although she could tell that she had drawn the attention of the bartender, the older man didn’t look up from his task of cleaning glasses with a cloth of fiber.  

“Good evening, young lady,” he greeted while lifting the glass in his hands towards the ceiling to look for any leftover dust or dirt. “What would you like to have?”  

She reciprocated the greeting before asking, “Is there a menu that I can look through?”  

“Naturally,” the man answered. “Give me a minute and I’ll return.” 

Putting the glass carefully back into a rack, and the cloth stowed into his back pocket, the man headed to the other end of the counter. After routing about underneath the cashier, he managed to produce a book in dark leather, which he brought to her.  

“Let me know if you have any questions, or when you have made your choice, miss,” he said. He then left the bar to wait tables and attend to leftover glasses and snack bowls.   

Taeyeon didn’t have a clue of what she wanted. All she pursued was a solution to her internal restlessness, for the memories to disappear. Nobody would approve of her method to use alcohol. Ultimately, however, it was her choice and her final means to reach an end.  

As her eyes travelled the rows of names and labels, her fingertips gently the letters. It didn’t help her, though, to reach a decision. Rather, her mind seemed to travel elsewhere, to other another time and place.  

“Welcome, sir. Can I get you anything?” the familiar voice of the bartender spoke.  

Frightened by the sudden sound of the older man, Taeyeon snapped her head up from the menu and found him behind the bar again. His attention was directed towards a new figure that had taken a seat in a chair by the counter.  

“I’m not picky. Anything will do,” was the response he received.  

Clearly surprised, the bartender raised his eyebrows. Taeyeon was intrigued by the stranger and couldn’t help that she tuned into the exchange between the men. He had an interesting approach.  

“Okay… could you give me a certain type of alcohol, sir? We vary a lot in price range between different kinds and even brands.”  

Supposedly giving it some thought, the guest was silent for a while. To avoid being caught prying, Taeyeon used the menu to hide her face as she was listening, apparently studying it intensely.  

Eventually, the stranger responded. “What about a red wine? Something to lift the spirit.”  

“How interesting,” the bartender said. “I take it as a challenge, sir. Hand on my heart, I will not disappoint.”  

Just as he turned about to leave, Taeyeon opened . 

“Actually…”  

Her sudden interruption drew attention from both men. Somewhat embarrassed, she laughed awkwardly and met the bartender’s wondering gaze.  

“May I have a glass of the same?” she grinned as sweetly as possible.  

Taken back by her question, it took the bartender a moment to reply.  

“Not a problem, miss. I will be back soon.” He, then, was gone.  

Due to reasons unknown, the criteria of the wine that the new guest had presented had appealed to her. She guessed that it was because she sought a similar solution to her state of emotions. Hopefully, whatever the bartender returned with would be the answer she needed.  

With a stiff smile, Taeyeon put down the menu and turned towards the stranger.  

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” she apologized. “Perhaps you noticed that I was looking through the menu. But, I couldn’t find anything interesting, though. When I heard you and the bartender talking, it simply caught my attention.”  

“Yeah… kind of rude, in fact,” he said and shrugged. “Didn’t your mother teach you not to spy?”  

Unprepared for his casual answer, Taeyeon felt her eyes widen and her eyebrows rise. Although he sounded offended, his entire posture and facial expression lacked any feelings. He seemed apathetic even.