Seokjin was an ordinary person with an ordinary job. He came from a not-so-rich but not-so-poor family either, just so so. Obtaining a full scholarship, the guy who also went by the nickname ‘Jin’ graduated from Hanyang University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology with flying colors five years ago. He worked as a career counselor just a year after until something happened to the family that propelled him to make more money. Part-time jobs were his only choice, as he thought keeping the current one would be the wisest decision. So since then, he has done many jobs such as tutoring, food delivering, being a driver, and working as a freelancer. 

Jin was twenty-five when he took three jobs simultaneously, one of them being a driver by calling. In South Korea, it was widespread to call for freelance drivers late at night after drinking, so from his secondhand Hyundai car, Seokjin made an income. Being an Asian, his mom made a huge deal out of his decision as it may bring harm dealing with drunkards and the quieter town after the dawn.

By the time it was twenty to eleven in the evening, Jin had parked his car not so far from one of the hottest districts where many clubs were. Even without rolling down the window, he could make out the beats and bass of the music… Or maybe it was just his tum complaining. Stepping out of the car, he walked off to the nearest convenience store for a cup of ramen. 

“That’d be 2500 won, please.”

After thanking the young cashier who didn’t even bother sparing a glance at the customer, he sat on a bench outside provided by the store with a ramen cup filled with hot water and a cup of instant coffee to shoo away the possible sleepiness. His belly couldn’t withstand the overwhelming need for edibles that, even before the noodles were all cooked, he had already dug in. He was just this close to finishing his treat until a ringtone came to disturb him. It was today’s first customer. Slurping the rest of the steamy noodles, he quickly cleaned up the table and rushed back to the car along with the sentimental coffee that he should have thrown away.

He arrived at Sanura, a high-class club in the center of Gangnam. The place shouted fancy as Seokjin timidly entered. Even the securities who checked his ID seemed to be on another level. Music blasted through the massive speakers, echoing around the walls ceaselessly. Dynamic electronic sound was earshot, accompanied by murmurs of highly wealthy people and loud thuds of beer placed quite harshly on the table by the looks of it. Waitresses were seen wandering around with drinks that he found unfamiliar, ready to be given out. A variety of alcohol was served, from light champagne, foreign cocktails that only Sanura yields to hard liquors that cost hundreds of bucks.

Seokjin felt small, so small that he wished he had known where he was going so he could reject the call. That wasn’t the case, as his rational mind still chose money over embarrassment. He strived to find the caller. Usually, there were hints to distinguish them from anyone else. One, find the drunkest. Two, go straight to the bar because that’s the most likely place to order drinks continuously, resulting in the first clue. Third, the sleeping ones. Lucky for him, he spotted a figure sleeping on the bar table alone.

“Excuse me? Are you Miss Jung Eunji?”

The nudged lady looked up to the source, opening only her right eye. Her head was still spinning after her third shot of soju, thus, unable to perceive what he said. “I’m sorry?” She slurred.

Clearing his throat, he reattempted. “Are you the one who called for a driver, Miss Jung Eunji?”

She frowned, forming a v between eyebrows. “Sorry, come again?”

Getting impatient, he asked again, this time much louder. “Are you Jung Eunji?” Tsk. If not for the money, I wouldn’t even go near this job in the first place. It was already past midnight, and this girl had wasted so much of his time when usually he would have already moved on to the second customer. Thinking it’d be useless to retry, he dialed the number that called him an hour ago. As expected, the song Memories by Maroon 5 was heard from her phone, so without further ado, Seokjin assisted the wasted lady to the car. 

The ride was quiet; the road wasn’t as packed as when Jin first arrived at Sanura. The girl sitting in the passenger seat seemed to be in a deep slumber, letting out subtle snores. Just before, some incoherent mumbles were produced that the driver thought she was cursing at him. I swear she's a hassle. He stared straight ahead and let out a long breath, thinking which area he should visit for the next potential customer. 

Tonight must be cloudless as glittering stars blinked above the metropolitan, forming beautiful shapes and creatures when connected, accompanied by the beaming moonlight ever so majestically. The grey car swiftly passed under the street lights flickering simultaneously. Tonight was pretty chilly, as the dashboard displayed 14 degrees celsius, considering the arrival of spring. 

It only took approximately half an hour from the club to her place that he thought so highly of, judging by the grand exterior as the building towered over the 1.78 m tall man, who just hopped out of the car and approached the opposite door. After some taps on the shoulder, the female raised her head, blinking the drowsiness away. “Where am I?”

“Your apartment, ma’am.” Seokjin pulled the door wider so she could step out of the car more easily. She wiped the drool on the sides of her face and searched for her bag. Just when she felt ready to get out, she looked to the right, facing the man. 

“Oh, look at you!” She exclaimed, seeming tipsy. “Aren’t you a fine one?”

Tilting his head, he frowned.

“Tsk,” she clucked. “Although not as fine as Kris… You’re okay.”

He scoffed in disbelief, Excuse me? I am handsome. One of the finest young men in the world! Try against me, I dare you. “Ahjumma,” he grunted. “I only asked your body to move, not your mouth.”

Now it was her turn to scowl. “Who are you addressing ahjumma?” She scratched her itchy nose then pointed right at his face. “And fyi, the mouth is a part of the body.”

“I see you’re sober enough to talk back. 25000 won, please,” ignored him.

Muttering incoherent words while glaring at the man, her hands rummaged inside her purse for the bill. In the midst of all that, his phone rang, showing numbers he hadn’t seen before. Must be the next client, he thought. He quickly distanced himself from the car to answer. And he was right; someone requested his service at a bar near his current location, just a few kilometers away. After sealing the deal, he turned his body only to find the now overly familiar figure standing so close with her head low. “Uh, about that….” She gulped, feeling guilty despite being half-conscious. “I might have used all my money at the club.” She finished with a shy gesture of mimicking a gun with both hands and occasionally bumping the index fingers together while looking at him with puppy eyes.

If you think you’re cute like that, I’m going to cut you some slack…

Pft, no.

He groaned purposefully loud so that she could hear it. He was confident, very, very specific, that this particular human being would be on his blacklist of clients. Previously, he had encountered some nasty, aggravating people before, yet none had successfully dropped his mood down as effortlessly as her. But again, he was one impatient man. Sighing, he waved his hands up in the air defeatedly. “You know what? Just go.”

“No, no.” She shook her head vigorously, “I can just run to my unit and get the money back here in five.”

“It’s fine, you can go.” 

“No! I can’t do that, please I can just sprint—”

“Seriously,” he snapped. The poor girl jumped back, seemingly taken aback by the unexpected reply, which he kind of regretted doing—sort of. Unable to resist the tension, he coughed. “It’s fine. Besides, someone’s waiting for me already. I can’t take long.” 

Regaining her senses back, she bowed to him as he rushed to the driver seat in which she followed behind, looking thankful yet guilty at the same time; perhaps she had sobered up entirely. Without sparing any glance at Eunji, who stood close to his door clenching her bag strap, Seokjin sped up, exiting the apartment complex out to the main street.

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The dusk fell, beaming a gradation of orange upon the sky as if Claude Monet had never ceased this entirety. The vibrant colors illuminating above pleased those who seized under them, considering that the last time they grasped the view was last summer. Winter lasted longer this year, spurring people to grab pestilent coats everywhere they went. Thankful now that Seoul had passed the frigid wind and was left with just an occasional chill breeze. The streets—as usually—were flooded with people wandering around: middle-aged men and women in fancy long coats entering cafes and restaurants after working hours, bubbly young teens queueing the line for tteokbokki by the street, and youths i