The Bitch & The Bastard | Jaehyun

𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑡. 𝐼

Jaehyun and Haeyoung were sitting at the bar counter in the middle of one of the busiest pubs he had ever seen. It was a humble establishment, the kind you would find in a small town, with dim overhead lights and lamps hanging low from the ceiling. There were a few chairs except the ones at the counter and fewer tables scattered around the busy floor with patrons mostly standing between the aisles with their drinks in hand. Behind them, on a small stage, a live band was playing a soothing melody, people swaying to the tune.

But in this perfect warmth and coziness of  the bar, Jaehyun felt stuffy, almost suffocating on air like it was burning his insides with every breath– Haeyoung had been talking to a man for the past ten minutes and that man had been shamelessly flirting with her.

'How do you know so many people here?' he asked after the man left.

Ever since they had walked inside, there had been a barrage of people who either waved at her, greeted her, talked to her, and in that man's case, flirted with her.

'I came here often last year,' she replied.

He was just about to remark when they were interrupted yet again, this time by the bartender who had showed up with their drinks. Jaehyun settled for an audible groan this time, making sure she heard it as the bartender chatted her up.

'Boyfriend?' He gestured towards Jaehyun, who instantly lit up.

'Worse,' she grumbled. 'Boss.'

'Ugh!'

'I know, right?'

Jaehyun sat there, mouth agape. There was only so much he could take and so he decided to do the only thing he could in such a situation– bite back his tongue and scowl.

Not that she would have admitted it, but Haeyoung was secretly relishing this. His sighs, his groans, the overt disdain every time a guy spoke to her. And perhaps, a part of her was laughing a little too hard at the other guys' jokes tonight, just to draw out another sigh from Jaehyun.

But he had been awfully quiet in the last minute. His low grumbles and occasional whines, all gone. Did she overdo it?

From the corner of her eye, she glanced at him. The bartender was still talking to her, telling her about the event at the bar tonight. But her attention was now on Jaehyun, who was sitting completely still but a girl was practically throwing herself on him, all over in his space.

'What the fuck are you doing?' she blurted out without thinking, stunned at her own words. But as she whipped her head round what truly shocked her was that the girl in question was just a waitress, who was leaning over the counter to place a fresh set of napkins on the counter and nowhere near Jaehyun.

'Oh, I am sorry, Miss,' the waitress fumbled, scuttling away under Haeyoung's frown.

Fuck, she cursed under breath, knowing that she had been caught.

Behind her, the bartender slowly walked away leaving her alone with Jaehyun, whose baffled eyes gleamed as a smirk settled on his lips.

Swirling the ice in his drink, Jaehyun took a sip, the smug grin only growing wider.

'So...' He turned to her.

But Haeyoung had her chin high and pride set, refusing to even acknowledge that she'd just had a random outburst, and over him.

'Hm?' She looked about innocently.

'You thought the girl–'

'What girl?' She shrugged, then rethinking whether she was being too rigid. She breathed in slowly, trying to act more nonchalant instead of ignorant.