Yoochun sat at the bar, swirling his straw in a rum and coke. Another day, another dame. For some reason, he wasn’t really in the mood. He’d asked a number of friends to come out with him, but everyone else seemed busy that night. Yoochun sank deeper into the seat as he wallowed in his self-pity. He just felt stuck. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t really put his finger on what was really bothering him. For one reason or another, he wasn’t moving forward. He hadn’t even written a good song in days. Perhaps it was time for a vacation. He downed the rest of his drink and motioned for another as he listened to the man at the piano belt out his angst to a mysterious Jenny who once broke his heart.

“I think you need to wait a minute before I give you another drink. Order some food.”

Yoochun halfheartedly turned toward the voice that had just admonished him about his drinking habits. He was about to give it a piece of his drunken mind when he noticed the voice belonged to a woman.

“I’ll give you the nachos for free if you stop gawking. Its not attractive.”

Yoochun suddenly became aware of himself as he closed his mouth and observed the woman while she called for nachos and prepared other people’s orders. She was definitely attractive, though in a way that made her seem a bit out of place in the dingy bar. Her skin was pale, but not sallow. She had bright eyes and a sweet smile with long, black hair. She looked thin (almost too thin) in her dark jeans and t-shirt. She wore little makeup, and didn’t look like she fussed much with jewelry or accessories in general. She walked around with a knowing smirk that made you wonder what it was about life she found so amusing, and would she ever let you in on her inside joke. She reminded him of Changmin in that way, her thoughts so masked behind that smirk that he immediately felt drawn to her, he didn’t want her to be a mystery to him anymore. As she set the nachos down in front of him, Yoochun took a chance to observe her face more closely. She looked young, her face lacked experience. She definitely didn’t look the type to work here.

“Are you new?”

“Not really, I just don’t usually get the last call shift. I tend to try and avoid rowdy drunkards as often as I can.”

“Oh.”

She gave him a curt nod before turning away to other customers. Yoochun desperately wanted to talk to her, but he wasn’t quite sure what to say. Instead, he turned back to the melancholy piano player, still singing to Jenny. He wondered aloud to the people around him what this Jenny could possibly have done to break a man so thoroughly. A couple of guys slightly murmured in response, but no one really answered his question. Drunk as Yoochun was, he decided to take his vendetta to another level.

“I mean really, how could he be so in love with her after she stomped all over his heart? Shouldn’t he know she’s bad news? Why is he whining about it all the time? It’s not like she’ll hear him and come back.”

The murmur grew into a few giggles and grunts as Yoochun sat a little straighter to rant some more.

“This Jenny chick must have some kind of magic to get him all hung up this way.”

“Obviously, you’ve never been in love.”

Yoochun directed his attention back to counter to digest his mysterious bartender’s words. The smirk that just moments ago had drawn him in started to fuel his intoxicated indignation on behalf of the singer as he spoke.

“What are you talking about? I’ve been in serious relationships before.”

“I didn’t say you hadn’t. I just said you’ve never been in love, and I’m right.”

“You can’t know you’re right. You don’t know me. You don’t even know my name.”

“Are you not the great Yoochun, seducer of all things female?”

Yoochun cursed under his breath, refusing to give up. Out of character as it was, he was feeling particularly confrontational in this moment.

“Just because you think you know about my dating practices, doesn’t mean you can make such blanket assumptions.”

“Again, I wasn’t assuming based on your reputation. I was just letting you know I’m aware. No one who’s ever been in love, at least in a romantic sense would ever speak the way you just did, though.”

Yoochun sat back and sighed. He was at a loss for words. It didn’t help that she was right. Yoochun had never really been in love. He didn’t know what it was like to have a significant other be everything. He stared at his lap for a while before the bartender’s face softened and she leaned against the bar toward him.

“Look, I didn’t mean for it to be insulting. Love is a waste of time. It turns people into messes like that. You’re better off the way you are. You’ll never get hurt by heartless people like, in this case, Jenny.”

Yoochun looked up at her curiously. How could someone so innocently beautiful have such a jaded outlook on life?

“What are you talking about? Surely a life without love is meaningless. Besides, you don’t know the situation. Love is complicated, but worth it. I’m sure he’d agree. Maybe Jenny had her reasons for leaving.”

“Or maybe she is just a selfish .”

“Maybe, but I’m sure he’s glad he found out, either way.”

“Maybe.”

Yoochun looked toward the unnamed male singer, who was still oblivious to this entire conversation. No matter how bad things were now, he didn’t regret knowing Jenny, of that Yoochun was sure. He could see it in his eyes. Why didn’t she understand?

“Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all’?”

“Bull in my opinion. Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘love is just a game’?”

‘Bull in my opinion.”

Yoochun and the bartender both laughed and a comfortable silence filled the space between them for a moment. He was about to call it a night when he remembered he had never asked for her name.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I ever caught your name.”

“Oh right. It’s Jenny.”