Changes and Chances

Chapter 2

Ryujin walked in the club an hour before her shift. After repeatedly trying to go back to sleep, she somehow managed to use up the rest of the afternoon just tossing and turning in bed - failing to get a certain cat-eyed girl out of her head.

Surprisingly, Sana was also already in.

"Why, who do we have here? Is your clock broken or something?" the older woman teased.

Ryujin did not bother hiding her sigh and sat in front of the already half-drunk singer.

"I couldn't sleep."

Sana waited but it seemed like the waitress had no intention of explaining why.

"I would offer you a beer but the boss is already here and I wouldn't want to get in trouble. And you're not fond of drinking anyway."

Ryujin carelessly took the bottle from Sana's side of the table and drank the remaining contents of it.

Sana's eyes grew a little wide but a small smirk was also playing on her face.

"Well, let me know if you're ready to talk it out, Kid. The boss's younger sister is here and dang I wish I could've spent the opportunity saying hi instead of ogling when they walked in. So I'm gonna try my luck until my set."

Sana stood up and loitered around the office at the back.

Ryujin slumped back in her seat and closed her eyes out of frustration. She isn't one to air out her problems towards other people but she also isn't someone who cares a lot about connections, or relationships. At least until someone pointed out how gloomy she looked all the time.

The truth is - she's softer and more hopeless romantic than she seems. She might look tough and careless but inside her is an urge to find someone to share all her love with. And no one in the world seemed to have seen that side of her except for her family and a couple of friends.

When she left the house earlier, she had high hopes that Yeji might have finally messaged her back. But there wasn't anything from her despite being seen online 27 mins ago.

She felt disappointed by the lack of response but she felt even more upset that she couldn't get that tiny interaction out of her system.

"It's not like I've heard her voice or saw her in person. It's a freaking chat, for god's sake", she mustered to herself.

"Maybe I should unmatch her. It's no use, anyway."

Simultaneously, her phone rang when she sat up.

"Hello?", she answered cautiously. It was a call from an unsaved number.

"Is this Ryujin?" There was a loud noise in the background of the person who called.

"Uhm... Yes. Who is this?"

"It's Chaeryeong, from dance class."

"Oh. Hey. What's up?"

Ryujin wanted to ask where the other girl got her number but decided instead to wait for what she had to say.

"Sorry to call in suddenly. But do you still work at that bar near 8th street? We need a venue to rent for the night."

The rest of the conversation went on with Ryujin asking additional details from Chaeryeong before raising it to her boss. Something about a surprise party that's supposed to happen on the other side of town, but the initial venue canceled at the last minute.