The Bar
It was a classic night, a classic day for Tokiya. As usual, he had argued with his boyfriend, fought with him, and ended up coming to the place he frequented so often. Unaware that this particular night would change his life, he drank glass after glass, bottle after bottle, trying to wash away the stress and exhaustion of the fight.
Well, it wasn't like he could get drunk anyway. His tolerance was ridiculously high…
He placed his empty glass on the bartender's counter and, with a small gesture of his finger, signaled the bartender to take it. Then, looking at him with a slightly bitter expression, he began to speak.
“He blamed me again, Vincent-san… He said I don't care about him, that I only think about myself, and that I'm full of myself! He said all that to me—the one who's put up with him for years! Ahh, ahh… I regret not breaking up with him sooner like an idiot. I'm breaking up with that son of a bitch! He's the real shameless, rotten bastard! I'm sure he's cheating on me already. Bastard!”
The bartender, Vincent, listened to the whole story while continuing his work with a cloth and a glass in his hands, seemingly thinking here we go again and not paying much attention to it.
Meanwhile, someone who knew he had gone unnoticed was watching our white-haired boy from afar.
Who was he? What did he want?
He was someone known, apparently, though it was obvious that no one in that place knew who he was. Taking a sip from the wine in his glass, he continued watching Tokiya from a distance in silence.
After whining to the bartender for a while longer, Tokiya left that table and settled alone at the table tucked away in the most secluded corner of the bar. There, he continued drinking by himself, sniffling and complaining under his breath.
Not wanting to let such an opportunity slip away, the mysterious man approached the bartender without attracting any attention. He held out a bribe and spoke in a lightly amused tone.
“That boy from earlier caught my attention. He's exactly my type, actually… I wonder who he is. Hm…?”
He wasn't even looking at the bartender. With his back turned toward him and resting against the table, he casually extended a thick wad of cash to the side. His voice was deliberately kept neutral, careful not to reveal anything about himself.
Vincent didn't even acknowledge the money at first. Following procedure, he immediately refused it and refused to answer any questions.
But the mysterious man sighed and spoke again.
“You're the one losing the money. If you won't talk nicely, I'll have to resort to other methods…”
He opened his wallet slightly, revealing a badge. Then, straightening himself from where he had been leaning, he turned toward the bartender, made eye contact, and grinned.
“I know you're one of them. And I know this bar is a mixed establishment. You wouldn't want any trouble, would you, Vincent-san?”
Yes. Vincent had silently learned that this mysterious man was no ordinary person.
With a sigh, he decided to cooperate for the safety of his establishment, himself, and his customers.
“He's a regular here. He's here three or four days a week, usually at night. He drinks and drinks, but I've never seen him even slightly tipsy, let alone drunk. His name is Tokiya. He has a boyfriend, but their relationship isn't exactly perfect. He usually comes here to clear his head after fighting with him… He's twenty-three…”
The mysterious man silenced the bartender with a gesture of his hand, cutting him off as if to say that's enough.
His eyes were once again fixed on Tokiya.
He continued watching from the same spot, except this time, instead of leaning against the table, he sat down on a chair.
Tokiya, meanwhile, wiped his tears away with the back of his hand and stood up, heading toward the restroom.
When he returned after washing his face, he lifted his head—
And saw his supposed boyfriend entering through the bar's entrance, tangled up with a girl.
The moment he witnessed it, his eyes filled with anger and hatred.
Ordinary vampires would reveal their true forms during sudden emotional shifts or moments of intense emotion. Tokiya, however, had an impressive amount of control over himself in that regard.
Not even the slightest change appeared in him.
His honey-golden eyes, already filled with tears from the alcohol, overflowed as tears streamed down his cheeks.
Tokiya approached his boyfriend and, while keeping his strength under control, slapped him hard enough to be considered a brutal hit by human standards.
His so-called boyfriend was a vampire as well, but since the bar was a mixed establishment, he was careful about exposing his identity.
After all, if he revealed Tokiya's identity, his own would be put at risk too.
Sou, meanwhile, was left stunned by the slap, questioning internally, What is he doing here? while desperately thinking about how he could possibly get out of this situation.
But everything was obvious now.
There was nothing left to explain.
Looking shamelessly into Tokiya's hate-filled eyes, he spoke.
“I don't need a freak who can't make me happy or satisfy me. You're free now, so go enjoy yourself and leave me alone.”
Tokiya had been expecting an apology.
Or at the very least, a simple You misunderstood, darling.
Instead, those words hit harder than he expected.
Perhaps what hurt most was the realization that the relationship he had wasted three years on—the relationship in which he had given pieces of himself—was ending like this.
Meanwhile, our mysterious man watched the scene from his corner.
But the smile on his face was gone.
Had he felt sorry for Tokiya?
Maybe he had pitied him.
Tokiya, however, suddenly erased the anger and hatred from his eyes in response to that disappointment.
He walked straight toward the mysterious man, grabbed his tie, pulled him closer, and looked directly into his eyes.
“You've been watching me for hours. I don't know you, but I don't care about that anymore. I overheard a few things you said. Do you want me? Well, you got me.”
He didn't wait for an answer.
The moment the words left his mouth, Tokiya gave Sou one last icy look before grabbing the mysterious man's collar and pressing his lips against his.
If Sou could disregard all those years, then Tokiya could too.
More than that—
He had already started treating Sou as if he meant absolutely nothing to him.
And as all of this happened, our mysterious man could only stare in shock before happily returning Tokiya's kiss, looking more than satisfied.
