Shin Hye arrived at her apartment a little past 5:00 in the morning. The bar closed at 4:00 A.M., and the wait staff had to help the janitors to clean up. They have to make sure that before they leave, all the tables are clean and the chairs are properly arranged. The rest will be handled by the cleaning staff.

She headed towards her bed and laid flat on her back. She was really tired, but she was happy that she already had her own apartment and that she was working in one of the most famous music bars in Seoul.

Everything was okay except for the fact that her female co-workers were aloof towards her. It’s probably because she was new, she thought. She believed that they would eventually like her.

Then she thought of what Geun Suk said -- Kyuhyun has a girlfriend. She had mixed emotions, and she didn’t know why, but she chose to be positive about it. Knowing that he was in a relationship, she knew her limitations and it would be easier for her to continue their budding friendship.

Shin Hye heaved a sigh of relief, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Kyuhyun was awakened by the sound of his phone’s alarm. He reached for his phone, turned it off and tossed it back onto the bedside table.  He then pulled his blanket over his face and went back to sleep.

He was not able to fall asleep until 3:00 in the morning. He was a little bothered by what his hyung had told Shin Hye – that he has a girlfriend. He knew that there’s nothing wrong about it since it was true. It’s just that he felt uncomfortable about it, and wasn’t sure why, probably because he didn’t know how it was told and what her reaction was, he thought. He even laughed at himself for thinking what could her reaction be, because she might not actually care. Then he finally convinced himself that it was better that way. With him being in a relationship and with her knowing about it, it’s clear to him that they can only be friends and he will not develop feelings for her as what Geun Suk is accusing him of, since he knew that she won’t let it happen.

Shin Hye was busy fixing herself up when her phone beeped.

She woke up at exactly 4:00 in the afternoon, so she hurried downstairs to buy some food. After eating, she took a bath and get dressed.

She reached for her phone and checked the time. She figured that it’s still early, so she decided to read the message. It was from an unknown number.

Kyuhyun: Hi, Kyuhyun here. Got your number from Geun Suk hyung. I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying your job so far. I guess you’re getting ready to go to work now. Keep safe. Fighting!

Shin Hye smiled while reading his message until she realized that she forgot to call or send him a message as she woke up late. She even forgot to save his number, because she was really busy at work that she didn’t have the chance to take her last break.

Kyuhyun was at his music room when he heard his phone vibrated on the table. He immediately picked it up. It was a text message from Shin Hye.

Shin Hye: Annyeong, Kyuhyun-ssi. Thank you for wishing me luck yesterday. It worked. J I was actually planning to send you a message today but I woke up late. Anyway, I’m about to leave now. Thanks again for everything.

A smile etched on his face while he put his phone back on the table. He decided to text her back later as he knew that she’ll be busy soon and he didn’t want to disturb her.

From that day, they have been exchanging messages from time to time.

It’s been more than two weeks since Shin Hye started working at Sukira. As the days passed, she became more and more accustomed to her working environment. Her female co-workers were still aloof towards her, while the male ones were mostly kind and supportive of her. Also, she was slowly becoming one of the most favorite wait staff at the bar.

Shin Hye was about to take her first break when she noticed a small group of people gathered near the stage. Geun Suk, four bar singers and their handler were having a serious conversation. They looked troubled and worried. She didn’t pay too much attention on it and just walked past by them.

After her 15-minute break, she went out of the servers’ room. As she made her way back to the main room, she saw that the same group of people were still there. She was a little curious, so she tried to ask one of the waiters.

“Shindong-ssi, Shindong-ssi,” she called softly. Shindong turned to look at her, he was carrying a tray of bottles. “Uhm, Manager Jang and... and those people over there looked troubled. I wonder what could be the problem,” she said trying to gather information.

“Ahhh, I heard that one of our singers resigned on short notice, and she was supposed to perform tonight, so, that’s a big problem on Manager Jang’s part,” Shindong answered while placing the tray on the bar counter.

“Ah, jinja? Then two of them should perform thrice tonight,” she said while looking at the four bar singers near the stage. “It’s Thursday, so I guess it will be fine.”

“I don’t think so. Each singer could only perform twice. Three times is too much, unless people requested for it.”

“How about an open mic?”

They have open mic nights every Monday and Wednesday.

“We just had an open mic yesterday, so I guess it wouldn’t be an option,” he paused. He smiled at her. “Aigoo, that’s no longer our problem, and besides, it already happened in the past, so I think they’ll be able to resolve it.”

“Ah, jinja? What did they do then?”

“They looked for a replacement. Anyway, let’s go back to work now. Ms. Choi might see us.”

“Arasso.”

“Yah, Shin Hye-yah!” Someone called out to her.

Hearing her name, Shin Hye turned around to see who was calling her. It was one of her female co-workers, Jeon Soo Jin.

“Neh?”
 

“Ms. Choi wants to see you in the servers’ room.”

“O-Okay, I’ll go there now.” She was nervous. She didn’t know why Ms. Choi suddenly wanted to talk to her. She might have seen her and Shindong talking a while ago, she thought. It was a very brief conversati