Hongbin burst into the kitchen with furrowed brows. "Have you seen N?" He asked of the chef who was staring at him like he was a madman. 

"Uh, no," Ken replied. "Is he running away again?"

The other merely grunted and walked back out. Once in the bar again, Hongbin eyed that telltale pile of blank paperwork on the counter that was long overdue. He cursed their torpid boss under his breath (he didn't want to suffer another drop in pay) and resumed his search for the tanned man.

Ravi flinched so hard that his urine got onto his pants. He glanced over his shoulder to see Hongbin who just slammed open the washroom door, resulting in the startling loud noise.

"Did you see N?" The brunet asked, ignoring the fact that Ravi was trying to relieve himself.

"N-Nope," the janitor replied, attempting to shake the rest of his pee out. "No one but me in here."

Hongbin let out a frustrated cry and left the room. 

Ravi waited a few seconds to speak again. "... I just saved your . Give me a raise."

One of the stalls opened to reveal a very nervous N. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I'm not safe yet."

"Here's an idea," Ravi zipped up his pants and faced him. "How about you get off your and actually do the work that Hongbin tells you to?"

"I can't, I'm— I can't read."

"Are you serious? Last week you pulled us in after work to read us some stupid fan fiction you wrote! Something about us being in an alternate dimension where we're in a South Korean boy band, some like that." He let out a snarky laugh. "And even if we were, I would not be a rapper, but the visual."

N glared at him. "Look, being the top dog in this building is not easy, okay?! It's hard being me! You wouldn't know because you're a janitor working at minimum wage!"

"The correct term is maintenance engineer," Ravi shot back. "Anybody could be you! All you do is lie around all day! Look at you now, dodging work as if it were bullets."

The boss scoffed and promptly stomped outside. "EVERYBODY!" He called out, even to the indifferent customers. "I PROPOSE THAT ALL THE EMPLOYEES IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT SWITCH PLACES!"

"What the are you on." Leo retorted from stage, the mic making his voice echo. 

"YOU! SWITCH WITH HIM! AND YOU TWO! SWITCH!" He pointed at them randomly and quickly, making the staff gape at him in confusion. "WE SHALL UNDERGO THIS SWITCH FOR ONE DAY, STARTING TOMORROW. THEN SOME OF YOU WILL SHUT UP ABOUT HOW HARD YOUR JOB IS!"

"But before that," N was brutally tackled to the floor and handcuffed. Hongbin sat on him and placed a pen between his teeth. "You're going to do your job and fill those damn papers out." The brunet then shifted his glare to Ravi, who was standing by the washroom door. "... And I'm going to be the boss tomorrow, so watch your back for lying, Wonshik."

Ravi suddenly felt the need to pee again. "Oh ."

--

The next night, Ken screamed a record of 100 decibels.

Hongbin glanced up from his clipboard with an unimpressed face. He strode over to the blond, who was cowering away from a table. “What are you doing?”

“I-I-I CAN’T! GET IT AWAY FROM ME! IT’S HIDEOUS!!!” He cried, pointing dramatically at the table’s underside.

Hongbin looked under and pulled out a piece of pink gum. He flinched when Ken screamed again, practically crawling away. “Dude, it’s just gum. You cleaned the washrooms like ten minutes ago, there was no screaming then.”

“TOILETS ARE CLEANER THAN YOUR MOUTH!” He retorted, smacking the gum away and desperately spraying Hongbin’s hand with disinfectant. “AND THAT PIECE OF PINK EVIL WAS IN SOMEONE’S MOUTH! IT’S COMPLETELY HORRENDOUS AND DISGUSTING!”

The brunet sighed and discreetly wiped his hand on his pants. “Maybe putting you on janitor duty wasn’t the best idea.”

“HELL NO IT WASN’T!”

“But you’ve been teasing me a bit too much for the past month, so it up. For the next six hours, I’m allowed to handle payroll.” He added, mischievously walking away.

The temporary boss returned to the bar, where their rookie was busy squinting at a cocktail glass. "Hongbin-hyung, I made this drink but it looks weird."

"That's because you put a whole lemon in it instead of a slice." 

"Oh."

Hongbin sighed and continued to write on his clipboard. He was then approached by a pouty Ravi. "Yes, Wonshik?"

"I'm... I'm so tired," the other groaned, pathetically holding up a plate. "I don't get how Hyuk can stand around and wait on people all day. Busboying is hard ."

The temp patted him on the head. "You need a bit of exercise, Wonshik. I've started to notice that your stomach has been jutting out lately."

Ravi immediately straightened up and coughed nervously. "Wh-what are you talking about, my abs are ripped."

"Anyway, how is Taek-hyung doing in the kitchen—" Hongbin shifted his gaze to the plate in Ravi's hand and grimaced. "... What is that."

On the white dish was a deformed omelette with a horrifyingly adorable cat face drawn in ketchup and parsley. 

"He's been doing this to all the orders," Ravi murmured. "He used fries to write a gross thank you letter to a customer and ice cream to make snowmen."

"... I guess as long as it tastes good..."

Ravi went on his way to (begrudgingly) deliver the order while N came up to Hongbin with a knowing grin. The tanned man wasn’t wearing the usual uniform, but a casual t-shirt and jeans. “So, Hongbinnie. Being the boss isn’t as easy as it seems, right?”

“Actually,” Hongbin showed him the clipboard, which had all sorts of business plans on it. “I found five investors that are willing to provide us the funds for our bathroom expansion and addition of a party room. I’ve also partnered us up with the alcohol store down the block, so now they’re automatically sending us stock rather than us having to call them. I’m having the carpet cleaned and I’ve placed an advertisement for our pub in the city newspaper, plus I opened up a Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube account. Leo-hyung’s Christmas video went viral and more people know about 24 Hours than in the last two years. Also, Newsen wants to do a feature on us.”

N frowned. “... Well, if you excuse me, I’m going to go take pictures of Taekwoon in a y chef outfit.”

"Don't you think this is getting out of hand?" Hyuk asked of Ken a few minutes later. The latter glanced at him with a quizzical look and asked to elaborate. 

"I mean, if this keeps up Hongbin-hyung might take over the bar." The kid murmured, smacking ice with a spoon. "And where would that leave N-hyung?"

Ken spun himself on a bar stool. "Hongbin wouldn't do that though? That's almost like a coup d’état."

Hyuk looked unsure when the temp's voice seeped into their ears. Hongbin was across the room, speaking to an elderly man in a fancy suit. The next couple words that came out of the brunet's mouth made the two drop their jaws in shock.

"So after we get rid of him, the property falls into my possession, is that correct?"

Ken faced Hyuk in a panic. "HE'S GOING TO GET RID OF N-HYUNG!" He whispered frantically, shaking him by the shoulders. "HE'S GOING TO TAKE OVER THE BAR!"

"WHAT DOES 'GET RID OF' MEAN?!" The younger whispered back, equally distressed.

"IT COULD MEAN ANYTHING! WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!"

"We have to make him take his job back! Quick, what does he absolutely hate the most?!"

They both looked at the shelf of wine behind them.

In the kitchen, Leo gritted his teeth when he heard yet another shutter click. He picked up a butter knife and held it up threateningly at N. "Stop taking pictures of me."

The other, posed on top of the counter with a phone at his face, snapped more pics. "Ooh, y and murderous. I like."

The redhead narrowed his eyes and prodded N's cheek with the knife handle. "Shouldn't you be preparing for your performance."

N lowered his phone with a sheepish grin. "Can I tell you something?" Leo immediately looked concerned and nodded. "I... I think I have stage fright."

Leo watched him anxiously swipe at his phone before responding. "You were fine during college."

"Yeah, but college was years ago, Taek. We're older now, and I don't know if I can take the stage again." He let out a shaky breath he didn't know he was holding. "Especially the way you do."

As if it was an automatic reaction, Leo grabbed N's nape and pulled him into a kiss. "... You're going to be fine," he murmured softly against his lips. "You'll be amazing. I know it."

N still tried to fight. "B-But it's been so long and I—"

He was kissed again, leaving him completely breathless. "... I saw that video from New Year's. You were dancing . Hakyeon, even when drunk you dance perfectly. You'll be fine, trust me."

So he had no choice but to let Leo kiss him again and again, slowly taking his anxiousness away.

--

"Hongbin-hyung!" Hyuk called the brunet over to the bar counter. "Can tell me what the proof is again?"

"Well, the proof measures—"

Ken appeared out of nowhere. "Isn't the proof like a little stamp that proves whether or not alcohol is alcohol?"

Hongbin contorted his face into one of confusion. "What? No, it's—"

"Then what's the volume?" Hyuk asked, blatantly ignoring the brunet's whining. 

"The volume is the weight of the grapes!" Ken sang confidently, making Hongbin want to pull his hair out. 

"What?! Some drinks don't even have grapes—"

"Then 'neat' is just a clean drink, right?"

"No—"

"So a cocktail basically means that you cut off a chicken's tail and put it in a drink!"

"ARE YOU GUYS DUMB" Hongbin huffed angrily until he realized. "... Oh. I see what you're doing here."

Hyuk gulped. "... Y-You do?"

"You think I'm going to take over the business and are trying to make me take my job back." The brunet started chuckling. "While I'd love to be boss, bartending is my life. I'd never give it up. No, I'm just handling deals and stuff so that our place could run a bit more easily, I'm not taking over."

"But we heard you talking to that old guy about getting rid of N-hyung!" Ken protested, imitating the elderly man by crinkling his face.

"Huh? Oh, no, we weren't talking about N or 24 Hours. I wanted to buy some property across the street but there was an unconscious hobo there, so we had to get rid of him so that I could have it," Hongbin explained to their blank faces. "Besides, if I wanted to get rid of N I would've done so ages ago. Speaking of a sore, the show is about to start."

They turned their attention to the stage, where a timid N was standing. He stood there for a moment, nervously glancing between Leo, who gave him a reassuring smile, and the employees, all displaying ecstatic thumbs-up. He breathed out, walking over to the little stereo in the corner and pressed play.

As soon as he heard the music ringing in his ears, N was completely under the sound’s control. Everyone in the shop was star struck as they watched him execute perfect and solid moves. Mesmerized, it took his audience a couple seconds to realize when he was done and to cheer loudly.

N bowed quickly before stumbling off stage. His legs shook so much that he could no longer stand, but Leo was there to catch him when he fell. “You did it,” the redhead hugged him tightly, giving him affectionate pats on the head. “You did it, Hakyeon.”

The shorter clasped onto him tightly and attempted to calm his nerves. “I-I did it.” The other staff then jumped the two, shouting and laughing as they all got tangled in a giant group hug.

N cried, but they weren’t tears of happiness, nor joy.

They were only tears of sorrow and apology, but no one other than the boss himself would know until much later.

FILLER! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
hmm bittersweet ending??
In the the original cut N was the entertainer, Leo was the chef, Hyuk was the janitor, and Ken the waiter.
There wasn't any appropriate spots for HB and Ravi though, so I kept rearranging it until I had the current lineup =v=
I think you guys will really like the next chapter! Can you guess what it's about? 
Exotics are probably having a hard time right now... Be strong guys!