"Back here again, are we Ms. Uehara?" the blue-haired bartender said as a familiar face entered the small, alleyway bar.
"You don't have to be so formal, y'know…" the pink-haired woman sighed as she took a seat on the stool next to the counter.
The bartender chuckled to herself before smiling. "Just a force of habit that comes with the job. Would you prefer to be called Ayumu?"
"Whatever. Just get me my usual, will you?" Ayumu said in a barely audible whisper as she rested her head on the counter.
Karin gave the pink-haired woman a concerned look before she obliged with her order. Grabbing the necessary items, the bartender placed four ice cubes and poured 4 ounces of Suntory Hibiki whiskey into an 8 ounce glass. Finishing it off with 1 tablespoon of syrup, the glass made its way into the hands of the sulking pink-haired woman.
"Thanks..." Ayumu whispered before chugging half the glass down.
Karin once again stared silently as the pink-haired woman continued to drink away the glass. Having done this job for a number of years now, the blue-haired bartender was used to patroning customers who came in to wash away their sorrows with alcohol. What made Ayumu such a curious case to Karin was given how young, healthy, and innocent she looked.
Normally with this job, the customers mainly consisted of either working-age adults returning from their desk jobs or the depressed hikikomori types who used alcohol to cope with their own existence.
Ms. Uehara didn't fit either category based on her appearance, both in terms of her looks and her style of clothing. Donning a white blouse, a teal skirt, black stockings, white pumps, and a long, light pink coat to complete her outfit, she looked like any other kid attending university.
It's not as if Karin had much to complain about though. She ditched the thought of attending a four year uni, not to commit herself to being a magazine model, which would've been easy for a woman of Karin's build and psychische, but to seek the career she's always wanted ever since playing a certain cyberpunk visual novel during a lonely, rainy December night: mixologist.
A fancier term for a bartender, it only took more than a year of time and dedication for the then blue-haired high school graduate to attain her alcohol seller license. Now at the age of 23, and with the help of one of her fellow classmates, Ms. Karin Asaka serves as the main bartender at an alleyway bar in the shadows of Shinjuku, the epicenter of Tokyo's red lights district.
Despite doing this job for nearly five years though, encountering a variety of bitter and hopeless people who caused Karin to slowly lose her sense of empathy towards others, the blue-haired bartender still felt sorry seeing Ms. Uehara enter the doors of the secluded bar.
It was now the fourth time in the last week that Karin had served the pink-haired woman a round of drinks, and it seriously concerned her. Typically, she never remembered the names of the patrons besides a handful of regulars. And even then, most of them were just old classmates from school who were still in disbelief Karin gave up a lucrative career in modeling to instead serve drinks to a bunch of loners and outcasts.
It was only the aggressive sound of the pink-haired woman slamming her glass against the counter that Karin snapped out of her thoughts.
The bartender straightened her back and rubbed her eyes. "O-oh, my apologies, Ms. Uehara. Did you need something?"
"I've been asking for another round for the l-last few minutes, now!" the pink-haired woman blurted out in a somewhat coherent sentence.
"Already? You sure you want another one that quickly?"
Karin typically didn't question the order requests of the patrons, and she had no intention to refuse Ms. Uehara's request for another round, not yet at least. Still, she could clearly tell Ayumu was barely sober, and giving another round of something as strong as whiskey wasn't the wisest choice.
"I'm still p-plenty dry, and I have money!" Ayumu tried declaring boldly to the bartender. "Just give me my damn drink already!"
Karin rubbed her temple and sighed. "Give me a second to get your drink, Ms. Uehara."
"Finally, damn…" Ayumu muttered under her breath.
While preparing the second glass of whiskey, Karin could tell this night with Ayumu was different from their previous interactions. Before, the pair barely exchanged any words with one another besides drink orders and a simple introduction of their names. Not even the mundane small talk of office politics or the midlife crises that Karin had to deal with on a daily basis occurred once when handling Ayumu.
Not until now, at least that's what it seemed to the blue-haired bartender. For whatever reason, Karin felt tonight would be the breaking point of this strange young woman who looked and acted too nice to be drowning herself in liquor at a shady Shinjuku bar.
Passing the second round of alcohol to the pink-haired woman, Karin leaned across the counter as she watched Ayumu quickly consume the contents of the glass.
"So tell me, Ms. Uehara, what brings you here again? Pretty rough week I take it?"
Ayumu didn't respond, instead continuing to drink her glass of whiskey, which mainly only consisted of ice cubes now.
"Listen." Karin exclaimed as she rested her head on her arm on the counter. "I understand if you don't want to talk about why you're here, but if there's anything hurting you from within that's leading you to this bar for the last few nights, it's better if you get those feelings out now before this habit becomes a problem."
Still, there was no response from Ayumu, as she began sucking on one of the ice cubes within the glass.
Karin sighed. "Or if you don't want to talk, that's okay too. Just, please don't let all this drinking you're doing become a habit, okay? Only two drinks and you're already flushed red in the face. I know someone with a low tolerance for alcohol when I see it."
"Ho-how can that be…?" Ayumu finally spoke up as she let the ice cube in her mouth drop back into the glass.
Karin looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"What makes yo-you think you know what someone with lo-low alcohol tolerance looks like? I h-have a v-very high toler-tolerance!" Ayumu blurted out in a stutter as she gripped the table to prevent herself from falling down.
"You sure don't look like it. You're clearly drunk, Ms. Uehara."
Ayumu suddenly stood up. "I'm no-not drunk! I'm a v-very strong girl, yo-you know tha-that?"
Before Karin could reply, Ayumu's legs gave in and she collapsed onto her knees on the floor. Karin immediately got up from behind the counter to approach the pink-haired woman who was desperately trying to get back on her feet with no luck.
"C'mon, let's get you up. See that table? I'm gonna lead you there, okay?"
The blue-haired barista put the drunk young woman's arm around her shoulder as she slowly walked to an adjacent table. Softly placing her on the chair, Karin put one hand on Ayumu's forehead while softly holding Ayumu's with her other.
"P-please don't. I'm per-perfectly fine. Ju-just… very… tire…"
"Shhh, don't speak, alright? Just relax here while I get you some water, sweetie." Karin whispered, stroking Ayumu's cheek before walking back to the counter to grab a glass of water.
"Yo, Karin-sama! You're needed in the office." an energetic voice rang out from across the bar.
She really hated that name. "Right now? Can't you see I'm busy dealing with a patron here?"
"No biggie, we'll take care of it. Just get into the office before the boss is finally frustrated!"
Karin sighed and shaked her head as she crossed her arms outside the door of the small office in the back of the bar. With a small cough, the blue-haired bartender quietly opened the door to the office to find her boss fast asleep on her desk.
So much for the boss finally being frustrated.
"Yo, wake up, will ya?" Karin whispered as she gently nudged the sleeping woman's shoulder.
A couple more times of this, and eventually the blown-haired beauty slowly opened her eyes, yawned quietly, and stretched her arms out.
"Oh, good evening to you, Karin-chan. Did you just arrive here for work?" the easygoing young woman smiled while adjusting her hair.
"Kanata, I've been here at work for nearly two hours. Why are you sleeping at this time? Don't you rest throughout the day?"
"Oh, is it already past opening hours? My apologies, Karin-chan." Kanata lazily got up from her seat to give her employee a hug. "I must've fallen asleep from doing all this paperwork. Who would've known running a bar in Shinjuku would be so complicated!"
Karin blushed at the close contact as her boss snuggled her head against her breasts. "Perhaps you should've thought it through more before making such a risky financial decision?"
"Oh, but I did, Karin-chan. And where we're at right now, we're very far away from having any money issues with this place." the boss smiled while softly playing with Karin's hands.
"You having fun with this by the way? I mean, being all touchy like this? You know how insecure I can feel with these sorts of things..."
Kanata put her arms on her hips as she gave her employee a pouty face. "Are you still worried about how people may think of you because of your looks, Karin-chan? Because I'll have you know you have nothing to be ashamed of!"
The boss proceeded to quickly jump behind the blue-haired bartender before grabbing her shoulders and positioning her in front of a mirror that leaned against one of the walls in the room.
"Take a look for yourself~" the laid-back boss pointed at the mirror before popping jazz hands, showing off Karin in her bartending outfit which consisted of a red tie, white shirt, and a black vest, pants, and heels. "You look so beautiful just the way you are! Just be more confident~"
"Mouu…" Karin sighed as she straightened her somewhat-crooked tie. "Thanks for all that you've done for me up to this point, Kanata."
The sleepy boss clapped her hands together before flashing a cute smile. "I'm glad to have you around here, Karin-chan. Who knows where this place would be if I didn't have a hardworking and cute bartender like you~"
"You have two other employees who work here you know…"
Kanata looked a little perplexed before closing her eyes and giggling. "You're right, they've done their fair share in making this place run smoothly too."
Before Kanata sat back down at her desk, she once again snuggled her head against Karin's breasts while giving her a hug.
"But you were always my favorite~"
Karin briefly thought about escaping her boss's warm embrace so she could return to her shift, but after letting the moment set in for a second, she decided to return the gesture by putting her arms around the shorter woman and patting her head.
"I'm glad to have a friend like you as my boss, Kanata." the blue-haired bartender whispered in the sleepy woman's ear.
Before the moment could go on for longer, which arguably both women would've wanted, there was a quick knock at the office door before it immediately swung open and nearly punctured the wall with the doorknob. The sudden barge startled the blown-haired woman who hid behind the taller bartender, with the latter slowly glaring at who slammed the door open.
"Glad to see you two are getting along well." a blonde-haired woman wearing the same outfit as Karin said in a cheery tone.
"Did you need something, Ai?" Karin asked in a monotone voice with her arms in her pockets.
"Oh no, I simply came here to check up on you a- of course I need something, Karin-sama!" Ai exclaimed in a half sarcastic, half joyful manner. "That one girl you were serving earlier woke up a few minutes ago, and she's asking for you."
Kanata jumped out from behind Karin before softly patting her on the back. "Sounds like someone needs you right now, Karin-chan~"
Karin rubbed her cheeks and internally licked her lips before sighing. "I'll be sure to handle it the best I can. She's definitely gonna have a lot to get off her chest."
"What makes you say that?" the boss sat down back at her desk.
"This is the fourth time I've seen her enter our bar this week, and each time she enters, she gets progressively worse in her mood and drinking. First night it was just one beer, and now she's drinking two glasses of whiskey."
"Yeah I saw. She doesn't seem to be in the right place at all…" Ai had her arms crossed as she nodded in agreement.
"I know we typically shouldn't get attached to the patrons but, she looks so young and innocent. She really shouldn't be going to a place like this, this late, while clearly not being well in the head."
"You're so beautiful in that way too, Karin-chan~" Kanata spoke while resting her head on her desk.
Karin looked at her boss with an awkward face. "Ehhhh?"
"You care so much about other people, even if you don't want to admit it~" Kanata whispered before drifting off to sleep again.
Karin cringed while Ai giggled at the antics between the two, before approaching her coworker and placing an arm on her shoulder.
"She's right, you know. Even if you act cold at times, you deep down care about people. Why else would you work here for so long if you didn't concern yourself with the plights of others." Ai looked up to Karin in the eyes before giving her a wink. "Being a bartender isn't just about mixing drinks, but changing lives."
Karin paused for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. "You played that video game too, huh? Well, I guess you are right. Sure, a lot of the people who enter this bar are either assholes or too deep in their troubles to save. But shit, us bartenders are really the only ones they have left if not their family or friends."
The blonde bartender gave the taller woman a big grin and thumbs up. "That's the spirit, Karin-sama. Now get out there and do your job!"
Karin nearly walked outside the door before stopping herself to ask one more question of her coworker.
"Wait a second, what about you? You've got a job to do too y'know."
Ai looked slightly taken aback. "I'm just doing what you did yourself up until now."
Karin looked confused.
"Do you really not know?" Ai's face gave off an expression of either condescension or surprise, but it was difficult to tell which.
The blue-haired bartender shook her head.
Ai slightly sighed before laughing. "I'm entitled to go on mandatory breaks too, y'know. Man, if there's anyone here who actually needs sleep, it's definitely you, Karin-sama."
Karin rubbed her eyes. "I know… I seriously don't get paid enough for this job."
"Maybe I'll talk to boss in her sleep to give us all a pay raise."
"That's not happening~" the sleepy woman who was somehow the boss of this bar answered in her sleep in a lazy voice.
"And there's our answer." Ai stated matter of factly.
"I'm starting to think the boss isn't being too honest when she says this place has no financial issues." Karin said in a monotone voice before both her and Ai began to softly giggle.
"Be sure to give that girl all the attention and comfort she needs. She seems like she has a chance of making it out of this place a better person, unlike most of our patrons." Ai pointed at Karin. "All it takes is the right person to listen to make a difference in one's life, after all."
"I really wish you would go back to making puns and hitting on patrons instead of masquerading as a pseudo-philosopher." Karin chuckled before walking out of the office.
"Be careful what you wish for, Karin-sama." the blonde-haired bartender shouted excitedly from inside the office down the hall. "Ai think you'll regret it!"
"You gonna give me a drink or not?!" an ash brown-haired girl with purple highlights shouted at a nervous, brown-haired woman donning pigtails.
"M-Ma'am, as I've said before, you're not of age to drink alcohol..."
"Why the hell not!? Back in my homeland of China, I could drink as much as I pleased. I'm an adult, y'know? Do you think I'm a kid? Check my passport, my student ID, my residence card! You could even call my girlfriend, she'll vouch for me!"
The girl with bubble-like hair who looked fresh out of high school proceeded to angrily scavenge through her purse as she slammed her passport, residence card, and student ID onto the counter. All three forms of identification listed her name as Keke Tang, born July 17th, 2006, making her a few months older than 18 on this late November night. While Keke stood proud with her arms crossed with this supposedly-vindicating proof of her legality, the twin-tailed bartender behind the counter could only nervously laugh as she tried to process how to handle this rowdy teenage gremlin.
"You're a student at Tokyo College of Music, Ms. Tang?"
Keke was a bit surprised by the sudden question. "Yes? What does that have to do with drinking?"
"And from the information you just told me," the pig-tailed bartender held up the maroon-colored passport "and this passport from China, you must be a foriegn student, correct?"
"Yes..? Again, what does that have to do wi-"
"Pursuant to the laws of the Government of Japan, no persons below the age of 20 can possess or consume any alcoholic beverage, with the exception of religious ceremonies."
"Wh-what?" Keke looked at the bartender, mouth ajar.
"In other words, Keke-san, I cannot, even if I wanted to, serve you alcohol unless I were to risk losing my job and or face legal punishment." the twin-tailed bartender said with both passion and pride.
"Still doing things completely from the manual, aren't we, Haruka?"
Both the bartender and the genki foreign student turned around to see a blue-haired woman in a suit, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed next to the hallway, giggling and smirking at the whole situation.
"K-Karin-senpai!?" Haruka yelped in surprise. "How long have you been standing there!?"
Karin walked towards the counter until she was directly beside the bubble-haired girl, eyeing her down from head to toe, and giving her a smile.
"You're quite a cutie, Ms. Tang." the blue-haired bartender said in a soft voice as she placed a hand on top of her head. She giggled. "Wow, your hair really does feel like bubblegum too."
Keke reacted surprisingly well to the gesture, much to the shock of Haruka, as she began positioning her head in a way that allowed Karin to pet the hard-to-reach areas of her hair.
"Thank you very much, hot lady-sama! You have no idea how much it takes me to get it just perfect in the morning!"
"Mmm, it sure seems like it's worth all the effort. Hair like this really suits a cutie like you, after all." Karin chuckled as she resisted the temptation to grab a handful of her hair, just to see if it was really made of bubblegum, obviously.
"Karin-senpai, are you uhh… done messing around with the customer's ha-"
"Haruka, darling, be a dear and get Ms. Tang whatever drink she wants, on the house too~" The blue-haired bartender told her coworker without breaking eye contact with the bubbly-haired girl.
"B-but, what about the law!? There's protocols in place! What will Onee-chan think!? I don't wanna go to jail, Karin-senpai!" the pig-tailed bartender exclaimed, nearly on the verge of tears.
Karin took a small break from petting the bubblegum hair to face her younger, more naive coworker.
"Haruka, sweetie, as you'll soon learn in this business, there are just some rules that have to be bent. In the case of this one," Karin once again placed a hand on Keke's head, a bit too forcefully for the latters comfort "she's the least of our concerns in this part of town. Now be a dear and get Ms. Tang her drink, please."
"But…"
Haruka wanted to object, terrified of the legal reprecussions that could occur for serving someone under 20 alcohol. When looking at the reassuring and confident look of her senior though, the twin-tailed woman felt a bit more at ease. Karin has been in this business longer than she has after all, so she has to know what she's doing. Plus, even if she were to refuse to serve Keke, it's not unlikely the bubblegum-haired girl would resort to an alternative method to get a buzz, and she didn't want anything bad to happen to an erratic, but admittedly funny girl like Ms. Tang.
The twin-tailed bartender took a deep breath and sighed. "What can I get you, Ms. Tang?"
Karin smiled as she resolved a situation that could've easily gotten out of hand, but her shift was far from over for the night. She still had to see what Ms. Uehara wanted from her, as well as figure out what's been driving the pink-haired woman to the bar the past week.
"I'll let you take it from here then, Haruka. If things get too hectic for you to handle, just call Ai from her break."
"Huh? Where do you plan on going then?" Haruka spoke up as she grabbed a bottle of Bruichladdich X4 Quadrupled Whiskey Keke was pointing at.
"Oh, I don't plan on going anywhere. I'm just planning on having a more, laidback conversation with that one." Karin pointed at the pink-haired woman sitting in the far corner of the bar, smoking what appeared to be a cherry-flavored juul.
"Ahh, her." Haruka muttered under her breath glancing at Ayumu as she poured a glass of the 92% alcohol whiskey into a glass.
Karin noticed the bottle Keke had picked out, and was nearly beginning to have second thoughts on letting her drink. Damn, girls from China really don't mess around, huh? Before walking towards the direction of the pink-haired woman, the senior bartender gave the bubble-haired girl a soft pat on the back and pinched her cheek.
"Don't go too overboard on this stuff, darling. You're probably much cuter when sober." Karin gave Keke a wink and a smile before leaving her and Haruka alone.
With 'It's Been A Long, Long Time' by Harry James and Helen Forrest playing through the cozy jukebox in the bar, Karin approached the table Ayumu was sitting down at. The pink-haired woman was staring at a vintage ad poster of Asahi from the 1950s that hung on the wall. The bartender gave a soft knock on the table, getting Ayumu's attention.
Karin gave the woman a gentle smile. "May I take a seat here, Ms. Uehara?"
Ayumu softly nodded, only to revert her eyes to the poster as she took another puff of her vape.
Karin took a seat opposite of the pink-haired woman, resting her head on her hand as she gazed on at Ayumu.
A few minutes passed as the jukebox now began playing 'A Foggy Day' by Caroll Gibbons. Karin wanted to talk with Ayumu, but she wasn't going to be the one to initiate. When it comes to interacting with patrons, the blue-haired bartender almost always waits for them to be the one to begin the dialogue. Or not. There are, after all, plenty of people who come and go within the bar without uttering a single sentence besides their order. Not everyone who enters needs something to vent about, so it's better not to assume so as a bartender and just leave them be.
In the case of people like Ayumu though, who clearly have a lot going on in their heads, leaving them alone is not an option for Karin. As much as she doesn't like the idea of interjecting herself in the problems with others, there would still be a small amount of guilt the bartender would feel if she didn't do anything.
Before Karin could contemplate whether she should break the silence between the two of them, Ayumu brushed her hair with her hand before loudly sighing, setting aside her vape pen, and softly pointing at the vintage ad.
"The woman in that poster looks pretty happy, doesn't she?"
"Hmm? Yeah, I suppose so. Asahi is a pretty good beer after all. Although, I'm sure she'd be happier with a Sapporo in her hand instead."
"You like Sapporos?"
"Better than Asahi at least."
"I think they're pretty disgusting."
Karin chuckled. "As is most alcohol. Yet, here we both are, sitting here, surrounded by it."
Ayumu sat silently as she glanced between Karin and shelves of alcohol behind the counter in the distance. Not wanting to lose her attention, Karin was quick to speak up and seek out the information she's wanted to know for a while.
"And what I'm most curious about, Ms. Uehara, is why you've shown up at this place so many times this week."
Karin softly placed her hand on Ayumu's, reassuring the pink-haired girl she could let her feelings out. That she was safe here. That she had someone to talk to.
"Tell me what's on your mind, Ayumu."
"'I Didn't Know About You'."
"P-pardon me?" Karin looked confused.
"The song that's playing right now." Ayumu pointed at the jukebox. "It's a song composed by Duke Ellington in 1944. THe version playing right now was sung by Jo Stafford."
"Oh… You listen to a lot of this type of music?"
"Only in passing… It's my best friend who's obsessed with that kind of stuff."
"Your bes-"
"She plays piano, among other things. She found her interest in it back during our second year of high school. I was happy she found something to love like that, especially after she followed my lead for so long."
Karin decided she would let Ayumu do the talking from this point on. It seemed like she had a lot on her mind to get off that didn't require the bartender's commentary.
"She's great at it. Too great…" Ayumu softly laughed with a hint of sadness. "As selfish as it is, I wish she kept following my lead instead of, well, the person she found going down her own path."
While still not saying a word, Karin pat Ayumu's hand to reassure the woman she was still listening; that she could continue talking.
"She eventually found a girl when she became a professional musician. A pretty and talented girl… A real perfect two-shoed bitch…"
Ayumu looked as if she was on the verge of tearing up, but she pressed on.
"Yu-chan began spending more time with her and less with me. After being by my side for so long, she began dedicating her attention to that person. I typically have to beg Yu-chan to interact with me these days, given how busy she is, at least when she's not with Setsuna-chan."
Karin wanted to keep listening, but with all the information she just took in, she had to ask a few questions.
"Your friend's name is Yu, and this girl she's spending her time with is named Setsuna? By any chance are you refer-"
"To Yu Takasaki and Setsuna Yuki, the music duo? Yes, I am. And I'm the pathetic woman who's their miserable third wheel."
Before continuing any further, Ayumu looked at Karin's surprised and then contemplative reaction.
"Judging by the fact you know who they both are, then you must be able to understand why I've been here so many times this week."
"...I believe I do now, yes."
"Tell me, Karin. Have you ever felt the pain of having someone you love, trust, and rely on so much choosing another as their partner in life?"
"Well, I never really got close enough with anyone precisely because I don't want something like that to happen to me. That must mean the rumors about them are true then?"
Ayumu glanced at the vintage poster she was staring at earlier before reverting her attention back to the bartender.
"Yes, they are getting engaged. How it got out to the press, well, the media can be quite ruthless for information like that. But being a close confidant of them both, I was told personally."
"By Yu?"
Silence.
"Oh. I see… I'm sorry it had to be like that."
Ayumu sighed. "Setsuna-chan wanted assurances that I'd be okay with it. As much as I wanted to say no, I don't have any right to do so. Plus, at least for Setsuna-chan's sake, they deserve to be happy."
"But not for Yu's?"
The pink-haired girl was silent again. Was Karin expecting a straightforward answer from her? Not really, but she wanted to keep Ayumu talking, even if it meant getting into uncomfortable territory.
"Why not for Yu's sake too? You've been close friends for who knows how long-"
"Kindergarten."
"Right. Close friends since then, yet when she finds someone she loves who's not you, which she's in her right to, you sulk over it with booze? Over jealousy? Not wanting Yu to be happy?"
"Who are you to talk to me li-"
"If you're one to act like this over your friend, then it's no wonder they've distanced themselves from you, you know that? I've never been in your shoes like this, that's true. But I have dealt with my fair share of clingy teenagers who get jealous and complain when things don't go their way, and you're no different from them, Ayumu."
"Well maybe you're right!" Ayumu stood up with tears in her eyes. "Maybe I'm just a clingy, pathetic bitch of a friend who gets jealous of my best friend, the one person who ever gave a damn about me, tossing me aside for some picture perfect idol who could do no wrong! And so what!? Don't I have every right to be depressed about that!? To be jealous and clingy and bitchy!? Don't I have the right to get drunk without being lectured by some slut in a suit!?"
Ayumu instantly regretted that last sentence, as Karin stood up to pull the pink-haired woman from behind the table, causing a commotion that the other patrons witnessed. With Karin raising a hand in the air, Ayumu winced and closed her eyes as she anticipated a slap or even a punch to the face, only to get…
A tight hug.
Opening her eyes, which were still red and watery with tears, Ayumu felt the warm embrace of the bartender patting her back and petting her hair. This only caused her to cry even more into the side of Karin's shoulder, which only made the bartender comfort her even more,
"Now, now Ayumu. You're too cute to be using words like that. Let's not add more to the list of things you'll eventually feel sorry for, alright?"
"I'm sorry… I just…"
"I know, Ayumu. You're hurting a lot right now, so you're bound to say things you don't mean. For right now, just let it all out. You've been holding in these feelings for longer than you should."
Ayumu continued to cry, tightening her grasp around Karin's waist. It felt like years the last time she ever hugged anyone like this, if at all.
"W-why… why are you doing all this for me? You barely even know me so…"
"I might've been fibbing when I said I never knew how it felt to have a friend I care about choosing someone else over me. But even then, my reasoning is far simpler than that. It's because it's the right thing to do, Ayumu. And I honestly hate seeing people be depressed in general."
Ayumu didn't reply, but her tears did begin to trickle down slower than before. A few minutes passed, and the pink-haired woman eventually loosened her grasp on the bartender, who promptly did the same.
"Feel better, Ayumu?"
"Not really but, thanks anyway…"
"It'll still hurt for some time, but confronting your pain, no matter how painful it is, is a far better option than letting it build up inside you, which… Well, I've seen what that does to people, and I don't want that to happen to someone as young as you, Ayumu."
"Am I a bad friend for feeling like this? For hurting like this?"
"No. But neither is Yu for loving Setsuna. That's the painful thing about love: a lot of people end up hurt, and it's nobody's fault."
"Yeah…"
"That being said, I'm a little concerned that she didn't tell you this yourself…"
"Huh?"
"You alluded earlier, if I'm not mistaken, that it was Setsuna who told you they were getting engaged, no?"
Ayumu, like many times tonight, was silent.
"I don't know your relationship with either woman that well besides from the limited information you told me tonight, but if you feel bothered that it wasn't Yu who told you, then that's something you have to confront with her and determine whether your friendship with her can… well, I'm sure you wouldn't want me to finish that sentence, would you?"
"...If I was able to cut her out of my life, I would've done so months ago. But I just can't. Not with how much she and Setsuna are present everywhere I go…"
"That's dif-"
"And deep down, I'm just holding out hope we're both able to go back to the days when we were closest, which…"
"Which is a dangerous mindset to have, because you and I both know those days are never coming back."
"...I know."
Both the pink-haired woman and the bartender stood in a brief silence. Karin could distantly hear someone rambling drunk Mandarin while Ayumu stared her puffy eyes towards the vintage poster again.
"That doesn't mean you can't try making new memories with her though." Karin broke the silence as she put her hands in her pockets.
But Ayumu didn't respond, instead choosing to keep her gaze at the poster.
The bartender wanted to reassure her everything would be okay, but she had lied enough times for one night. Feeling she's done everything she could, she got in front of Ayumu, forcing the woman to notice her, only to give her another hug.
"Whatever happens between you and her is unknown, but keep this mind: be happy with the time you spent with Yu, because you're never getting that time back. If you do need someone to talk to, you know where to find me. I can't promise much, but I will listen to you, no matter what."
Ayumu didn't return the favor, but she did attempt to rest her chin on Karin's shoulder for a few moments before escaping the hug, grabbing her purse from the table, and walking towards the exit.
Just before leaving the building, she gestured her hand for Karin to follow her. Obliging, the bartender walked up to where Ayumu was standing, seeing what the pink-haired woman wanted.
Before Karin could speak up, Ayumu grabbed her hand and placed 5,000 yen in her palm, rubbing the bartender's fingers with her thumb.
"Thanks for tonight, Karin." Ayumu glanced at the floor before raising her head up to the bartender. "I'm sorry for the things I said, particularly about you. You're… well, quite fitting for a bartender."
Karin could only softly chuckle as she put the notes in her pocket. "I hope I was of some help, at least."
"You… you gave me some things to think over, I'll say that much."
Well, the bartender could at least sleep a little easier knowing she did her best.
"Feel free to come back sometime. Just don't overdo it on the hard stuff, kinda like that one back there." Karin pointed her thumb back towards a girl with bubblegum hair plopped over the counter.
Ayumu did let out a soft giggle but shook her head. "I don't know. I think I'm going to try my best to stay away from alcohol for a while, meaning I won't be coming here anytime in the near future."
"Mmm, that's understandable. Better for your health, anyway. Plus, a cutie like you shouldn't be wandering the streets of Shinjuku this late anyway."
Ayumu only nodded as she waved one hand for a brief second, exiting through the door.
With 'Happy Days Are Here Again' performed by the Ben Selven Orchestra playing on the jukebox, Karin walked back to the counter to sip a glass of water, only to be nudged by her younger co-worker.
"Karin-senpaiii, why did I let you talk me into letting her drink alcohol?!"
Karin gulped her water before rubbing her temple and sighing. "Don't blame me for the fact you served her a 92% alcoholic vodka. Stuff like that is only ever used for cocktails anyway."
"You're the one who said she could have anything, on the house!"
"Yeah well, I guess I underestimated how crazy these foriegn students can be about their alcohol."
"Wǒ hĕn hĕn hĕn ài wǒ de Kǎnóng le!" a clearly drunk girl shouted across the bar in Mandarin.
"What the hell is she saying?"
"Her girlfriend maybe? How am I supposed to know? It's your fault this happened, Karin-senpai!"
Karin sighed before taking a glance at her watch, only to be taken aback.
"Has it really been 3 hours since opening?"
"Indeed it has, Karin-sama!"
Karin and Haruka turned their attention to the ever-energetic Ai, looking quite refreshed from her break.
"Speaking of, Ai believe the boss is in need of your presence, Karin-sama."
Haruka looked visibly shaken while Karin looked about ready to drop dead. Taking another drink of water before rubbing her eyes, the oldest bartender walked past her two coworkers as she stretched her arms.
"I won't be too long, you two, so please hold down the fort in the meantime."
"W-we're not going to get into trouble because of you, are we?"
Karin yawned before groaning. "Please just don't serve any other young girls 92% alcohol while I'm gone, okay Haruka?"
Before she could hear any response, Karin disappeared into the dark abyss of the hallway to face whatever the all-powerful Kanata-sama had to say to her.
Whether it was a reprimand for allowing her younger sister to serve a technically illegal girl alcohol, or if she wanted something soft and squishy to hug again, as she usually did, the blue-haired bartender knew one thing:
She had a long night ahead of her.
BONUS:
Keke:
Is this Keke's girlfriend?
Kanon 3:
yeah?
Keke:
Could you please come to this address in Shinjuku.
Your gf is past out drunk on the floor and we need someone to pick her up.
Kanon 3:
what. did she really get drunk again like this tf
Keke:
Again? Does this happen often?
Kanon 3:
ill be right over. gimme like 20 mins to get there.
Keke:
alrighty. please do hurry up tho. we close in half an hour.
Kanon 3:
whatever. plz stop using Keke's phone to text me.
Keke:
damn your gf is quite cute when she's drunk like thi
Kanon 3:
excuse me?
Keke:
Oh my god Im sorry, that was my other cowor
Keke:
You're not bad looking yourself Kanon-chan.
Kanon 3:
Ima block this number until i get there myself. stop creeping in our dms ffs.
Keke:
bet you'll be more fun to flirt with in person.
*MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED*
"What the hell are you doing with that girl's phone, Ai?"
"Just flirting with 'that girl's' girlfriend. I mean, just look at her, Karin-sama!" The blonde-haired bartender showed Karin a profile pic that had a cute girl with orange hair playing guitar.
"Okay, she's attractive. She's also taken." Karin softly smacked Ai on the head.
"Heh, didn't stop me from flirting with that other couple once. Remember, the one with a red head tsundere with an even shorter black-haired tsundere."
Karin sighed before grabbing the phone out of her co worker's hands and heading back behind the counter.
Yep, she still had a long night ahead of her.