"There's something different about Jin," Hoseok stated.

Namjoon dropped a shot glass into the soap water filled sink with the rest of his dirty equipments from the previous night's job. "Different?" He asked, grabbing a sponge and getting to work.

It was barely 7am. The club had closed a few hours ago, the place completely emptied out, but Namjoon still let a song play on the stereo. Although, he had reduced it to almost the lowest level, and he wasn't in the mood for the thumping sound of HipHop so early in the day, so he let Jon Bellion play through.

"Yeah," Hoseok said. He grabbed each glass or shaker that Namjoon had washed to dry it with a clean towel and then place on the counter.

"Good different or what?"

"He's definitely smiling more. He has a bounce in his steps. He's always on his phone when he comes over and stays up late on the balcony talking to someone."

"So, he's happy," he stated. "Pass me that tray next to you, would you?"

Hoseok reached for a tray that had been placed against the tiled wall on the other side of the bar shelf, and handed it to Namjoon. "Yeah. He does look happy. But his behavior points to something and I'm not sure that I like it."

"Points to, what?"

"He's seeing someone."

Namjoon let out a yawn, bringing the back of his hand to cover his mouth. "And he's not allowed to?"

"It's not that. It's that he used to have casual relationships and meaningless sex, and I don't know if that's what this. What if it's a casual pounce and bounce?" He asked, causing Namjoon to chuckle. "I'm serious."

Shrugging, Namjoon said. "What if it's not a causal pounce and bounce? What if he wants to... keep pouncing on this person?"

Hoseok groaned uneasily.

"Relax." Namjoon laughed. "You're reading way too much into this like you always do."

"It comes with the job."

"Well, Jin isn't your case or one of your offenders, alright? He's a good kid with a good heart who, like you said, might be dating someone and seems very happy about it. Just last week, he had a breakthrough since his brother's death and actually let us wish him a happy birthday as opposed to last year which you said he didn't want to even hear the word 'birthday'."

Hoseok let out a sigh. He dumped the towel against the counter and turned around to lean against it, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It actually looks like things are going well for him. Rather than overanalyze this, just be happy for him."

"But how are we sure that this person is good for him?"

"First, we could never be sure. Secondly, you need to give Jin the benefit of the doubt and trust that he's mature and smart enough to make the right choice. Thirdly, Jin has been on his best behavior, going to school like normal, not getting into fights, studying when he's meant to, which means this person isn't trying to divert his focus from what is important which concludes that this person isn't a bad influence on him, so you have nothing to worry about."

Hoseok licked his lips, frowning. "You make a good point."

"Several good points actually."

"But I still want to know who this person is. Why hasn't he introduced this person to us?" Hoseok asked. Namjoon pursed his lips in guilt. "He hasn't even mentioned this person-"

"When he's ready, he'll do that. For now, don't pressure him into doing anything uncomfortable."

"I'm just saying," Hoseok rolled his shoulders, going back to drying the equipments.

"I'm just saying, too. Let him be," Namjoon said. "I have to leave in an hour. I have a meeting with my account officer about taking a loan."

"Right. You met with your boss concerning keeping the club open, what did he say?"

Namjoon thought back dreadfully to his meeting with Wonsik, the owner of Ploosh—the club the managed—a week ago. "That he would do anything to take away the burden of running a club off his shoulders. I mean, he hates this place because he has no idea what it feels like to start a business or manage one."

"What do you mean? This is his business, isn't it?" Hoseok asked.

"An inheritance from his Uncle," Namjoon explained. Park Wonsik had been willed Ploosh by his uncle before he died. It had been the man's only legacy and his nephew with zero management knowledge had shifted power to someone else, who had employed Namjoon to manage the place.

Now, the middle man had backed out stealing more than half the money in the club's account. No one knew where he was. Park Wonsik had freaked out and made the decision a few weeks ago to shut down the place once and for all. Namjoon had been trying to get him to meet but Wonsik had postponed their meeting until Namjoon had showed up unannounced at his doorstep.

"It's worse that no one can find that bastard, Yoon Ji, who stole the money," He said bitterly, rinsing off his hands with clean water before wiping them on his pants. "Now, I have two months to either raise 250,000 dollars to buy this place from him or he's going to sell off the equipments here and rent out this place as an office space or something like that. And I can't let that happen."

Namjoon thought back to Soo Hee with the runaway boyfriend, who'd stolen her money and left her in debts. He remembered Joshua who'd come to Namjoon with his problem, and how Hyung Sik had helped him out.

Then what about Hyung Sik who was fresh out of University, who needed the salary he received to kick start this new phase in his life. And the other staffs, Mary who made the best fries and grilled chicken for the hungry customers or Bong, the DJ, who kept every one dancing and on their feet.

There were so many people relying on the existence of Ploosh, including Namjoon, who'd made a home out of the place. He couldn't just let the doors be shut against the faces of all these people.

"We did try to find Yoon Ji, but he'd already disappeared for weeks before you brought the case to us so there really wasn't much we could do," Hoseok said, sadly. "So, you want to take a loan of 250k from the bank? That's a lot of money."

"What else am I supposed to do? That's my only option. I won't let him shut it down. I've worked way too hard to just have it all thrown away."

Hoseok was quiet for a while. Silently drying off the last of Namjoon's work utensils, the soft beat of Fashion by Jon Bellion playing around them. It was a bright, peaceful morning, but Namjoon didn't feel exactly bright or peaceful.

"Have you tried looking for investors?"

"No." He'd not even thought about it. Although, he had tried reaching out to family and friends for a loan but they barely had enough for their daily lives or upkeep to lend to him. "I haven't. Where would I find them, even if I wanted?"

"Where else? Here."

"Here?"

Hoseok spun to face him. "You have different caliber of people coming here. You have rich customers who happily patronize this place and I'm sure one or two of those people have a little money stashed somewhere that they could invest into keeping their favorite club open. All you have to do is convince them to invest."

"Hmm." Hoseok was right. He hadn't thought about it that way. He had a lot of wealthy and affluent regular customers who were fond of the club. Many of them would be displeased if the club shut down. Maybe he had another way besides taking a loan or having to hand over the keys to Wonsik.

"Is that something that you could consider?"

"Fuck, yes." He grinned wide, warmth of excitement pooling his stomach. "You are a genius, Hoseok."

"Yeah," Hoseok said, flatly. He exhaled heavily, looking around. "Well, this has been eventful. I should head home now."

Namjoon watched him with a smile on as he grabbed his phone from the counter pocketing it, then he walked over to the other side of the bar where he'd dropped his jacket. He picked it up and slipped it on, over his fitted shirt.

"My backpack," Hoseok said, pointing to his black backpack behind Namjoon.

"Do you have a shift tonight?" Namjoon asked.

"I'm off until tomorrow night," Hoseok answered, still gesturing to his backpack which Namjoon still hadn't grabbed.

"That means, you're free tonight." Hoseok's nodded was hesitant. "So, I can take you out?"

"Take me out?" Hoseok asked, cluelessly.

"Yeah."

"Like on a date?" Hoseok asked again.

"Like that."

"Don't you have to work?"

"It's ladies night. Meaning ladies own the bar from 6pm tonight to 6am tomorrow morning. So, they can do whatever they want with the place with zero interference from men," Namjoon explained, gesturing between him and Hoseok.

"Why do you have something like that?"

Namjoon shrugged. "Just because. I want a night where women can feel comfortable and safe in a club. A night where they don't have to be afraid of getting groped by immature bastards. Where everything that happens here is controlled by them. They can choose to enjoy the company of men or not. Simple."

"And you started this."

"I did."

Hoseok stayed quiet for a long minute, his gaze as unreadable as ever, his jaws tightened like usual. He was always frowning but in a way, that just added to how attractive he was.

"7pm," Hoseok finally said. "I don't have a car, so you'll have to pick me up."

"Of course."

"My backpack," Hoseok said once again.

This time, Namjoon grabbed the bag on the counter behind him and handed it over to Hoseok. "Yours, Sir."

"Thanks," he said, slipping his left arm through one strap of the backpack to balance it on his shoulder before heading out of the bar area. "Later."

"See you later, Officer," Namjoon said with a satisfied grin as he watched Hoseok make his way out of the club.

When the door shut behind Hoseok, Namjoon let out a huff, clasping his hands together. He had to make a call to his account officer to put a hold on their meeting. In the mean time, he had some customers slash potential investors to call.