𝐄𝐘𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘

95 | alligator eyes

I nod. "Yes,"

"Oh, that's nice." The bartender mutters to himself, as he takes a beer bottle from a fridge. He serves the couple their drinks and takes a beer opener to pop the cap open for the man a few seats away. "Have you been to Korea recently? Seoul?" He asks, returning to me.

That's an oddly...specific question. "Um, yes." I say simply. Okay, this guy—I look at his name tag, Eric is making me uncomfortable.

"Interesting," he murmurs and looks down at his hands. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

I awkwardly nod once again. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do." I look at Eric carefully and notice the gentleness of his features. The way he carries himself around holds a certain feminine touch, it's barely there but it's noticeable. He's asking me all sorts of questions, but it doesn't seem as if he's hitting on me. It's as if he's trying to confirm something on his mind.

"So, how was Seoul?" He continues making conversation. I'm not sure if he understands that he's making his customer uncomfortable, but I play along. "Going home must be nice eh?"

"It sure was something," I say.

"You see, my boyfriend is Korean. Well, we're having a long distance relationship because he has to study there and all." He tells me and I nod along as if I actually cared. "And they aren't as open minded about the LGBT community as they are here."

"That is true." I agree and he nods.

"I heard that Koreans celebrate being single and that they eat these black noodles and they're actually really tasty—"

"It's called 'Black Day' in Korea and it's considered an unofficial holiday." I explain to him. "Basically, on April 14th if you're single you wear black and you celebrate being single by eating jajangmeyong."

"That's so cool," Eric sighs. "By the way, your English accent is very good. Were you born here?"

As it turns out, this bartender is just sociable and outgoing. "No, I wasn't, but I did move to here from a young age."

Almost ten minutes pass and Eric is asking me questions about the Korean culture, as I wait for Elena to arrive. I'm currently sitting in the bar in Amantes, savoring the bittersweet taste that comes from my whiskey on the rocks when a pat on my shoulder startles me.

"Hey," Elena says with a contagious giggle. "Someone's jumpy." She places her bag on the counter, then takes off her coat and puts it on the barstool next to her before she plops down next to me. Her cheeks flush as soon due to the room' warm temperature and that smile just makes me melt. Her liquid brown eyes meet Eric's and her smile widens. "Hi Eric," she says to him softly. "Remember me?"

"I fucking knew it," he says and takes a beer from the fridge. "He's your boyfriend."

I stare at them dumbfounded. What is going on?

"Yes, he is." She grins. "Eric this is Jungkook, Jungkook Eric."

"You two know each other?" I pipe.

"Yeah, we had a fun talk while you were in Seoul." Elena tells me.

"Oh, it was fun alright." Eric mutters. "Don't let her get drunk alone at a bar again." He adds looking at me and laughs throatily.

"Why, what happened?"

"You know how I get when I'm drunk Kook." Elena says with a smirk.

"What should I get you?" The bartender asks her.

"Oh, you know the usual." She replies.

"I wouldn't know, because the last time I saw you was the first time I met you." Eric throws and she laughs.