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It was another long night at the bar. Full of famous people and nepo baby teens that are way too young to drink alcohol. Money is money either way, and working at such a high-end bar as a bartender makes good cash for Shiho. After serving a bunch of girls their drinks, Shiho scanned the place. A band in the corner, blasting loud music as the people mingle around.
This bar is a gold mine of rich people, full of connections ranging from big name companies to celebrities. She has seen it all, and frankly, she doesn’t care. Maybe a few musicians or popstars would pass by, earning a little gasp from Shiho or catch her starstruck, but that's about it.
She glanced at her phone to check the time. 2am. Her shift ends at 5. Shiho heaved a heavy sigh, as much as she hated night shifts, it was what earned her the most. She needed that money— though not for anything essential. Not rent, not food… but a new bass. Despite not pursuing her bassist aspirations anymore, she still enjoys playing it very much.
While she was spacing out, she didn't realise a few more customers had sat down at her bar. “Excuse me…?” a girl’s voice called. Soft and kind, something she rarely heard given all these snobby teenagers.
Shiho snapped out of it, immediately returning to her work persona, flashing a smile and repeating her rehearsed line, “Hey, what can I get you?”
She was met with a familiar face. An old friend that she had yet to catch up with after graduating high school, with her squad that she debuted her music career with. “Shiho? I didn't know you worked here!” Kohane chirped.
“Ehh, Shiho? What a coincidence~” An hummed, just as surprised.
Shiho flashed a genuine smile, and replied back, “Kohane, An. Glad to see you guys again… I see you guys have become quite successful.” Her eyes shift to Akito and Toya that were next to them, greeting them as well.
She scanned all of their fancy outfits, probably coming back from a concert or tour. “Any particular drinks tonight?”
“Do you have any non-alcoholic drinks?” Kohane asked.
Shiho hummed in thought, before suggesting a few drinks that came to mind. “There’s iced tea, if you’d like. But it's at the bar on the other floor.”
“I’ll follow you upstairs, Kohane! I think I saw someone I know up there anyway.” An hummed, grabbing her hand. Shiho nods at them as they wave goodbye for now, then turning to the two guys. Despite being less close to the two, they still had their fair share of memories and conversations.
“Any drinks for you two?” Shiho hummed, her hand on a bunch of bottles at the side, ready to whip up a drink.
Toya scanned the bar, humming to himself as he was making up his mind. “I don't have any preference per se, but I don’t really want a hangover tomorrow.”
Akito nodded, mumbling “agreed”.
“Well I could serve you guys a cup or two of our weaker drinks, I’ll make sure that you boys don't go overboard.” Shiho smiled, her hands already moving. Not long after, Shiho served up a cup of gin with a slice of lime for the blue hair, and a cosmopolitan for the ginger.
“Made yours a little sweeter with some fruit juice,” Shiho said as she slid Akito his drink. He smiled and let out an amused huff. He was a little surprised that Shiho remembered his sweet tooth, though, what kind of bartender would she be if she didn't?
“Thanks” the two mumbled before bringing the glasses to their mouths, taking a sip.
The taste of their respective fruits that Shiho had used to garnish their drinks hit their tastebuds, earning a quiet satisfied sigh from the two. “Mm, it’s nice…” Akito complimented, Toya nodding along.
Shiho smirked, another satisfied customer. “It's nothing. So what brings you guys here? Post tour celebration?”
“Indeed, we wanted to—” Toya was answering Shiho before somebody came up to him. Probably someone familiar, for how energetic and informal they were acting. They grabbed onto Toya's hand, cheering, “Toya? Woahh, it's a surprise to see you here! Akito is here too!”
For a second, Shiho thought she was seeing things. This girl… she looked oddly familiar… her fluffy pink hair tied up in a ponytail, with her sparkling pink eyes… weirdly high pitched voice… is that her old classmate…?!
“Hi Shiho!! I always see you in this bar, but I never get any alcohol, but you always look so cool!!” she chirped.
Wait, is that… Emu?! She looks so mature…
Shiho nodded to her, a little surprised and still confused. What was she doing here? I guess she is technically a nepo baby in a sense…
Emu happily dragged Toya away to her own group, which seemed to be Kamishiro and Nene. Both Akito and Shiho chuckled in amusement. “Toya still keeps contact with them?” Shiho hummed.
“I guess so. He still talks with Tsukasa and Nene.”
“Tsukasa… he's still as loud as ever.” Shiho joked, earning a small giggle.
Seeing the bar almost empty, Shiho leaned in front of Akito and started to chat with him. “So how's Vivid BAD SQUAD doing? Haven't seen you guys in a long time.”
“Not bad. The tour was fun for sure, and I'm sure we can take over the world at this rate.” He exaggerated.
Shiho gave him a look that told him she didn't fully believe him, but played long anyway. “I'm excited to see that. Let me know when’s your next performance, maybe I'll drop by to see what's up.”
Honestly? He wouldn't mind that one bit. Akito knew that Shiho was just as much a music head as he was, so she would probably give some valuable feedback after. “Alright alright, enough about me. How about you? Are you still glued to your bass?” Akito hummed, taking another sip of his drink.
“Well, of course. I like to perform gigs every now and then, and I'm still practising in my free time. How could I let go of my passion so easily?” Shiho hummed, a small smile forming on her face as she thought about her one and only.
“I also produce some of my own music. Albeit, they’re not the best, but they’ve garnered a few views and likes.” Shiho mentioned, not wanting to outright tell him “please listen to my music and compliment me!”
Akito knows a thing or two about music, so receiving his input and praise… it'll feel like getting feedback from a professional. Well, he kinda is one…
Akito hummed in acknowledgement. “Where’d you upload them?”
As Shiho was about to pull out her phone to show him herself, someone called her over to take an order. “It's my name on youtube.” Shiho said hurriedly before heading to attend to the customer.
Akito pulled out his own phone, searching her name up. Shiho.. Hino…ah, there it is. He clicked into the channel to scroll through the videos. There was one uploaded a few months ago, probably a new song, and the rest were covers. All of them had a good amount of views, considering they were just covers.
He clicked into the most recent one— an original composition. He watched the first few seconds with a low volume, though, his mind was somewhere else. Shiho looks so relaxed while performing as always, and he always thought her nonchalance was to be admired. The small smile slowly crept onto her face as she sang and played her heart out. One could see that this was always her passion.
It was almost cute.
He paused the video, making a mental note to listen to it properly later. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from it… Akito looked up from his phone to look around the bar while waiting for Shiho’s return, but his eyes ended up on her anyway. She was chatting it up with the customer, probably a regular for her to talk so comfortably. She multitasked, pouring and shaking up a cocktail for them while doing the flashy moves all bartenders do. She seemed so professional, so skilled… was she always this cool?
Akito brushed it off. Probably just the alcohol hitting him, right?
After a few minutes, Shiho comes back. “Sorry, that was an old friend. Want another glass?” Shiho said, pointing to his empty glass. Akito hummed in thought, “give me your favourite.”
Shiho raised an eyebrow, “hm, I usually just drink beer so…” Shiho looked for a beer glass to pour the drink in. She served him up a glass of beer, the foam perfectly up to the top. Akito took a sip, looking satisfied after that. “Old but classic. You like it?” Shiho hummed, wiping the bar down.
“Of course, it's not like I've never had beer.”
“Akito! We’re back.” An hummed, Kohane followed behind her. Akito tried to hide his annoyance at them for interrupting their conversation.
An spotted Akito’s drink and decided to order one herself. Shiho quickly poured another glass, her fluid movements making it seem so easy.
“Arent you a lightweight? You should hold back on the drinking” he lectured her, as if his face wasn’t already flushed red from the alcohol. Shiho was always amused at their sibling-like bickering, and it was even more entertaining to see Kohane to separate the two. “Hey, it’s the last glass for the both of you. We’ll call it a night.” she said, separating the two. Her voice had grown more mature, and more importantly, sounded more tired of the two’s antics.
“I’m guessing you want to close up their tab?” Shiho asked Kohane. She nodded, already pulling out her credit card. Shiho hummed as she worked behind the register.
When Shiho returned back to Akito, his glass was almost empty. “Have you taken a liking to our beer?”
Akito smiled, the kind where you can tell he’s not in the right state of mind. A charmingly goofy smile that warmed her heart just slightly. “Yea, maybe I'll come again some time.”
Shiho rested her hand on top of his and smiled back, “please do, it’ll make me some good money..” She was still a bartender at heart, and a greedy one at that.
Toya and Kohane eventually helped the two out of the bar for the night, just in time for Shiho to close her shift for the night. Akito and Shiho left the bar satisfied that night, with a number written on the palm of their hands. Maybe this sparked something for the two to remember forever.
“Hey, Shiho could totally tell that you were into her the entire time” An teased from the back of the car. Akito kicked her, his face flushed not just from alcohol. “Shut up, you wouldn’t know.”
An poked fun at Akito’s flirting methods throughout the entire car ride while Akito was slowly giving her bruises on her leg after each tease. It was gonna be a long day tomorrow for all four of them…