Chapter Text
HUNTR/X.
A popular, always packed and bustling nightclub in the further side of the city. It was new, seemingly built overnight, and it boomed from the moment it opened.
Kang Mira took a risk on it. Dreaming up this new business and making it real, and everyone laughed in her fucking face for it. All big dreams came with big risks, right?
Well, who the fuck was laughing now.
As it eased into dusk, Mira set up the bar, ensuring that she had every liquor stocked and available, the ice was piled high, every glass was on display and ready to use, and everything was spotless. Her eyes scanned the shelves, noting anything that was below half.
She hurried around in a precise path, looking at anything, searching around, for even a chair out of place. As soon as she finished, the lights go out, and change to the pink, purple, and blue lights HUNTR/X became known for.
“You seem different, Mira!”
One of Mira’s loyal employees (and recently became a manager), Lee Zoey, said that without any worry or even anything negative in her tone. It was a pretty formal boss-employee relationship in the beginning, as it should be. Zoey was a great employee. Everyone there only had compliments and praises for her. Over time, it was clear that Zoey was easing her way in towards Mira, becoming a little more friendly than usual and inviting her outside of the club. It didn't work at first, of course, because why on Earth would Mira find friends within her employees?
But, whatever it was about Zoey, in time, Mira allowed her to get closer anyway. They spoke more informally and casually and, before Mira knew it, they had friend lunches and dinners and hung out when there was time to.
Something about Zoey’s bubbly personality and bouncy space buns on her head just made Mira… less guarded.
“I dunno what you mean.”
“I dunno either!” Zoey replied as she wiped down a table. “But I know you well enough that I can sense that you’re not your usual self.”
Mira chuckled to herself.
“It’s normal for me to be tired, so I dunno what it is.”
Zoey hummed from her table, about two distant tables away from where Mira stood.
Then she sped over, with squinting and scrutinizing eyes, giving Mira’s form a once over. She hummed, louder and louder and she leaned in. Mira just stared back.
She then squinted back.
“Have you been seeing that doctor again? The one that stared the fuck out of me.”
Zoey laughed, relaxing her face. “Maybe I learned from last time! Your shoulders are tense. You seem more…” Her hands made vague gestures, waving around rapidly.
Mira’s face was static, though a smile did threaten. Zoey still gestured, now squeezing her fists and acting like she was tying a knot, even miming the resistance when a knot got too tight. Her last gesture was as if she was tearing paper, or a book, apart, pretending to put effort in ripping.
“Other than tired, I couldn’t tell you.”
“Maybe you’re due for another tattoo! That relaxes you!”
Mira had to chuckle, “I need to find other ways to relieve stress, Zoey.”
“Piercing?”
“Cool as shit, but I’m serious. Other things.”
(Well, a lip piercing had always called to her…)
“I’m serious too! A tense Mira is a Mira no one can handle! Except, me, obviously. I deciphered the code.”
Mira sighed, sweeping her dark pink hair back, then adjusted her golden circular glasses.
“Damn right you did.”
Zoey giggled, then returned to her task at hand.
Mira went to the cash register at the bar, checking there was enough money for change.
Now that Zoey mentioned it, her shoulders felt a little stiff…
She huffed, shaking her head, as if it’ll help in waking her up. As soon as she closes the place, clean it up, she’ll need to sleep it off.
That was all she needed, surely.
As always, HUNTR/X was bustling and busy. Mira filed the tension away, focusing behind the bar as she did every night. Her mind was scrambling a bit, focusing on making drinks and keeping an eye on every glass and cup for anything suspicious.
It always got unbearably hot inside. Mira and everyone else, opted for shorts and either t-shirts or tank tops. Mira found, for whatever reason she couldn’t think of (sarcasm), having her tattoo sleeve of dragons and flowers out got more tips.
As if her self-confidence wasn’t unbearably high already. (And anything for her employees to get extra money on top of their pay.)
She hoped it was going to be like any other night. Making drinks, listening to the DJ, watching the crowds, maybe flirting a little with some customers…
Then, a man and a woman came up to the bar. She could never hear what anyone ever said; it was hard enough to hear when they ordered.
Even under the lights, Mira could tell the woman’s hair was a vibrant purple, a long dragon braid that ended at her lower back.
As she sat down, Mira got a look at her. (She had no customers to tend to right now, she justified in her head.) A black mock neck dress (and it was a two-piece dress, revealing her midriff, but that was an unimportant detail for Mira), with a black blazer over it.
It didn't look like an argument, but it looked like he was trying to get her to relax. The man squeezed her shoulders and arms, as if to relieve any tension. She didn’t look uncomfortable with the action.
After a bit of back and forth, the man left her alone and she turned towards the wall of liquor and spirits behind Mira.
Mira gulped, approaching her. Coincidentally, the music lowered just a smidge.
“Hey beautiful,” Mira always referred to women as that, but, for the first time, she felt her heart jump as the woman met her eyes. “Any drink tonight?”
“Oh, uh, whatever is on tap. Doesn’t matter which one.”
Clearly, the man she came with (friend, boyfriend, husband, whatever) made her come here. She wasn't happy.
Mira opted for the best tasting beer she had from her line of drafts (and she wasn’t going to make her pay for that expensive price tag).
“Here you go.”
“Thank you,” she replied with a smile.
With finally some downtime, Mira took her time to wash and dry some cups and glasses. She kept an eye on everything around her, specifically women's glasses and especially when anyone approached them.
For the most part, as long as Mira was at the bar, the women sitting there were left alone. Even in the different lights, everyone felt her eyes on them.
Mira, against her own will, kept drifting towards the woman, who was distracted with her beer and her phone brightness burning into her face. Even when she walked away, tending to other customers who wanted refills and her employees who needed to pick up another platter of bottles, her eyes would float back to her.
Frankly, she felt dumb as hell.
She was another customer. Considering how she looked right now, she was probably never coming back.
“Psst!”
Mira felt a nudge in her side from a gentle elbow.
She turned, meeting Zoey’s face, managing to see her wide, knowing grin on her face. Mira wasn’t one to feel nervous from an expression, but Zoey was a friend, and she knew a lot.
She knew so much that it made Mira a little uneasy sometimes.
“What?”
“Even under these lights, you’re so obvious.”
“I dunno what you mean.”
“Uh, you keep looking at that super hot girl over there looking at her phone as if the brightness isn’t killing her retinas! I think it’s time for your break, boss lady.”
“A break? It hasn’t even been—”
“Break time! Oh look, there’s a free stool next to that hot girl you keep looking at, you should sit there!”
Zoey pushed her out the side, lifting the hinged part of the bar and then closing it as soon as Mira was out.
“You’re the boss! You’re not restricted to just fifteen minutes! I got it from here!”
Mira wanted to grumble, not wanting to delude herself with a woman who clearly wanted nothing to do with her surroundings.
She cursed to herself. Cursed herself for feeling vulnerable around Zoey and talking about her troubles regarding romance and all that nonsense shit. (Nonsense, she told herself, to stop thinking about it.)
She didn’t have to listen to Zoey.
Mira could feel her eyes on her. She hardly pushed her. Mira usually pushed back.
This stuff? Love shit? Mira wanted to resist it.
Mira found herself walking towards the still-empty stool. The woman had since put her brightness down, though the screen was still white against her face.
A brief glance was all Mira needed.
She was reading… e-mails?
Mira sat down next to her and the woman immediately turned off her screen.
“Oh—You were just behind the bar!”
Mira quirked a smile at her, a twitch in the corner of her lip. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You’re fine! Are you on your break?”
“Something like that.”
“I figured in a place like this, you’d want some peace and quiet for your breaks.”
They had to lean in close to hear each other. Somehow, in the midst of fun chaos, Mira could smell her perfume.
Something floral. Something a little sweet.
“Are you enjoying yourself here?”
The woman sighed, taking a drink of her beer. “It’s… not really my scene. Not anymore. If you asked me three years ago, then yeah, I love these kinds of places! My friend wanted me to loosen up, not think about work, but… That’s all I can think about still.”
A question danced in Mira’s mouth.
This was a stranger. Someone she just served one drink.
“Seems like you need fresh air too.”
“I guess I do.”
“Do you wanna get some outside? We could stand in the front next to the guards.”
The woman snorted at that. “Can I get a name first? Being pretty isn’t enough for me to accept that offer.”
Mira smirked. “Mira. Tell me yours, or I have to call you ‘beautiful’ for the rest of my life.”
The woman smiled, a little sly, a little inviting. “It’s Rumi. Ryu Rumi. Lead the way.”
Mira got up first, then offered her arm, if Rumi wanted to link onto it. She didn’t expect her to, but she didn’t want her to get lost if she felt like she could.
To her surprise, Rumi does grab her arm, right on her bicep. She does a light squeeze, likely just from grabbing or maybe she was feeling for muscle. Either way, Mira led the way, finding a path and weaving in between people. It helped that she was kind of tall.
They made their way out, a little stuffy and humid, though way better than the inside for sure.
“This feels way better,” Rumi said with a relieved sigh. “I might not go back.”
“You didn’t seem like you wanted to be here anyway.”
“It’s not the place’s fault! I can tell it’s an amazing atmosphere and that drink you gave me was great! Which, I have to pay for—”
“Nah, it’s on the house.”
Rumi blinked, scoffing but the smile on her face didn’t go away. “You do that for all the beautiful girls?”
“Only if the beautiful girl clearly doesn’t wanna be there.”
Rumi chuckled, leaning against the wall. “I’ll probably be calling a driver in a few minutes, honestly.”
“But you showed up with a friend, no?”
“I did. He’s awesome and drove me here, but he knows that I tend to leave on my own anyway!” She pulled her phone from her jacket again, “I might as well get one right now and head home.”
Mira doesn’t respond with anything. She wasn’t going to force a woman to stay just because they flirted a little bit.
And was unbearably beautiful.
And had a really nice voice, too.
“Thanks for spending time with me, Mira, even for a little bit.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Rumi was then distracted on her phone. Her thumbs tapped rapidly against the screen, finishing with a final tap, and then starting again.
“Ah—Sorry! I get a lot of e-mails that need responses and I don’t want to wait until tomorrow for them all to pile up.”
“I can’t think of a job that would make you wanna do e-mails while drinking in a club.”
Rumi laughed, evidently forced and awkward, but no reply.
“I don’t mind it.”
Mira quirked her brow, still watching Rumi type and type away.
She was slightly tempted to lean over and see what she was exactly doing. With all the typing and that final louder tap, like she was sending out a message, she didn’t think Rumi was lying.
“Uhm, what time does this place usually open? The bar?”
Mira noted that Rumi was still looking at her phone. “Nine p.m. The line is fucking crazy at that time.”
“Yeah, we waited in that line forever! I’ll try to come back next week.”
“With your friend again?”
“No,” Rumi paused her typing, setting her phone down. “I thought we should talk like this again.”
Mira crossed her arms, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. “People just exchange numbers at this point.”
“Being pretty and charming isn’t enough to get my number.”
“Mm, what a tease.”
Rumi giggled, sighing afterwards, “You better head back. My ride’s here and a whole crowd just got in for you.”
“Yeah, I better not let my friend drown.”
Mira stayed in place, watching Rumi enter a car that came up to the curb, and then drive away.
She felt a smile twitch at the corners of her mouth.
What an interesting girl.