cloud 9 | kuroken

1

life is hard and a bitch.

just when you think you have your shit together, more problems flood into your life and you're back to square one.

kuroo had many dreams when growing up as a kid.

to become a millionaire or a pro volleyball player or to travel the world or become an idol.

but opening a pub in tokyo's busiest street at the age of 22 was not one of them. not even close.

yet here he is. standing in front of his pride and joy.

well, second pride and joy.

his first a little more moody, shy, and loves blueberry muffins.

located at the heart of tokyo, is a small, two-story pub ran by 6 friends. you walk in, and there's the smell of sweet soju and soft tofu stew. the dim lights give off a saturday night vibes where all you want to do is drink some good beer and have a good conversation with friends. you see the workers dancing around, trying not to bump into anything. without a dress code for the employees, they're sometimes hard to catch with their casual clothes.

if you're lucky that day while eating or drinking there, you might see a cute, three-year-old boy run in the pub with a rather tall man running right after him. although no one under 18 is allowed in, that toddler is the only exception.

the workers are young and full of life. you won't see anyone over the age of 30 working there. if you're a new customer, try having a little chat with the owner of the pub. he'll tell you all the fun times when the pub was first opening. you'll also find out that all of the workers there have a little story of their own, if lucky.

welcome to cloud 9.

—

"bokuto! two bottles of soju for table 4!" kuroo shouts.

"alright!"

it was a busy day for cloud 9 since it was a saturday night. bokuto, oikawa, and nana danced around the pub, trying their best to not bump into any customers as they carry hot food.

kuroo smiled at the couple that was leaving. "come again!"

rin sat down, wiping the sweat off his face, and let out a breath. "i'm tired." he says, drinking his water.

"we're almost closing, don't worry."

"non importa, kai. i wanna go home and take a shower."

"suck it up, you big baby."

"so mean to me,"

iwaizumi grabbed rin's wrist and pulled him up from the chair. as the last few customers left, kuroo decided to get a soda from the fridge and chugged it down. he stared at his — now empty — pub. the fairy lights gave off this dim glow. it gave kuroo a feeling that he couldn't really explain.

"well," kuroo set down his name tag, "i need to go pick up the problem child."

"i thought lev was looking after him today?" oikawa asks, wiping down the counter.

kuroo shook his head. "he's with an old friend of mine."

"old friend?" nana echoed. "someone we don't know?"

"yeah, he was a friend back in middle school but had to move to the states. he came back almost two years ago."

kuroo waved goodbye to his friends, telling them to close up the pub. they would usually be closing at 2 a.m but he needs to take a small break. kuroo took out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket and lit up the toxic stick, placing it in his mouth.