Chapter Text
The club pulsed with music and countless bodies molded together. Taehyung could feel the bass in his chest as he stood behind the bar mixing drinks. It wasn’t a particularly difficult job but that’s not to say Taehyung enjoyed it much. The drinks were fairly simple to memorise and the tips were good but he just used the job as an excuse to leave his apartment. Without it he would probably be holed up all day on his laptop taking clients.
Taehyung thought it would be a good way to practice some social skills. He didn’t really need the extra cash - the jobs from his clients earning him plenty - but it was fascinating to watch the clubbers.
He had worked at Stigma for eight months and he quite liked the atmosphere it provided. The club had a large dance floor with seats scattered around it and the bar - where he was stationed - was a massive thing in the corner. A main attraction though was the VIP section. Taehyung had been there a few times and even he was impressed. There was a staircase leading to a loft type room that overlooked the dance floor. Instead of walls sealing off the section for privacy it had one way mirrors. Taehyung found it slightly creepy that people could look over the club unbeknownst to its inhabitants but otherwise thought it was a cool design choice. The VIP section had its own bar and seating for its special patrons.
Tonight was a pretty busy night for Stigma which Taehyung was not very happy about. There was a wall surrounding the bar made of drunk people demanding their drinks. He was moving as fast as he could but he might as well been the only one working with how little the crowd was thinning.
He usually used this time to think about his projects for his clients. Normally multitasking wouldn’t be an issue but this was particularly hectic. He was very much missing his computer right now. He had recently been commissioned to do a background check on some random CEO. Taehyung was honestly affronted at the simple job. He’s done much more heinous things than a background check - at this point he could do it with his eyes closed.
He was well-known on the dark web, by his moniker V, for being able to find out anything. Need some top secret information? He was your guy. But a fucking background check? Insulting - especially this far into his career. He really only took the job because he took pity on the client and he thought it could be interesting if he made a game of it. Sometimes if the job was particularly easy Taehyung would challenge himself by restricting his own resources.
“Two vodka cokes!” the guy in front of him spat successfully pulling Taehyung from his thoughts. He gave the guy a smile and served the woman next to him. The guy didn’t look impressed but Taehyung didn’t give a fuck. He still had three hours left of his shift and if he was going to make sure that guy wouldn’t get a single fucking drink.
***
It was midnight by the time Taehyung made it out of Stigma. The party still raged on in the club but he was more than happy to leave. He leaned against the wall outside the club as he pulled out a cigarette and lighter. This was his ritual every Friday after his shift - he had a cigarette to reward himself after a long night.
He took a long drag after he lit it and he let his head fall back against the brick wall. He stared up at the sky while the bouncer was checking IDs of people only now getting into the club. He couldn’t see many stars since they were in the middle of the city but there were a couple of faint, white speckles.
Taehyung always loved stars ever since he was a kid. He learnt all the constellations when he was five living in rural Daegu where he could actually see them. He never forgot any of the constellations and he was a little sad to not see any tonight.
He sighed and he took another drag looking out to the street in front of him. Cars were still driving by this late and he admired them. He didn’t have a love for cars specifically but he always loved driving. It was a shame he didn’t have his own car instead he was forced to work and make use of public transport.
At that moment a familiar car pulled up in front of the club - a black Mercedes. Taehyung wasn’t surprised seeing that it always pulled up at this time every week. Three men stepped out. From the back seat - Kim Namjoon. From the passenger seat - Min Yoongi. And from the driver’s - Jeon Jeongguk.
What Taehyung knew about these three was more than he believed they would like. What the general public believed was that Jeongguk was the owner of Stigma and the other two worked for him. This was all factual but Taehyung knew it was all a front for their more sinister dealings. It was slightly reckless of Taehyung to work at Stigma knowing what he knew but he liked to keep himself on his toes.
A man came running out of Stigma and towards the car. Jeongguk threw his keys to the man for him to move the car. The three men started walking to enter the club and like clockwork Jeongguk casually glanced over at Taehyung. Except it wasn’t casual. Taehyung had picked up on the pattern pretty quickly - every time he had his cigarette after a Friday night shift, Jeongguk, Yoongi, and Namjoon would arrive, and then Jeongguk would look over to Taehyung.
He wasn’t sure what the look meant but it was almost concerning considering who Jeongguk was. There was nothing menacing in the gaze so Taehyung wasn’t truly concerned. Jeongguk knew Taehyung worked at the club - Taehyung had worked at the bar in the VIP section Jeongguk frequents - so Jeongguk was somewhat aware of Taehyung. He would prefer if Jeongguk had no clue who he was but he could live with disinterested acknowledgement.
The three men finally entered the club while Taehyung stayed outside to finish his cigarette. Once he was finished, he threw it onto the ground and crushed it with his foot. He pushed off the wall and made his way to the train station to head back to his apartment.
He was sitting at his computer twenty minutes later working on the background check. He finished quickly and went to bed with the resolute decision to not wake up before 12 the next day.