The Journey Begins

January 5, 2015 - Night

It was a cold dark night at Seoul, South Korea. Our protagonist, Moon Seo-joon was rubbing both of his arms shivering from the sheer cold. With only a light jacket on, he cursed himself for not chooing a thicker jacket. He walked inside a familiar bar that he was accustomed to as the warmth inside the place greeted him warmly. He felt relieved as he approached the bartender cleaning the glass he had in his hand

" What can I get you?" The bartender asked noticing someone sitting in front of him but didn't get a chance to look at his face

" It's been a long time Seung-yoon hyung" Seung-yon, the bartender, looked up at Seo-joon and a smiled formed on his face. He placed the glass and cloth on the table as he greeted him with a handshake

" You should've told me you were back from enlistment. I could've fetched you, you know" Seung-yoon said making a drink for him while staying in the conversation

" I wouldn't want to bother you plus I wanted to surprise you. You're the first one I visited after finishing" Seo-joon said grabbing the drink he made for him as he felt refreshed and hot from the hit of alcohol

" I could make it better" Seo-joon commented making Seung-yoon scoff

" Yah I was the one who taught you in the first place when you wanted to work here" Seung-yoon informed as Seo-joon finished the glass

" Yeah you taught an underage kid how to mix drinks" Seo-joon said and Seung-yoon quickly covered his mouth

" Yah don't say that or else I'll be out of business" Seung-yoon said looking at both sides if anyone heard them talking as Seo-joon chuckled

" You should've seen your face" Seo-joon teased laughing at his actions

" Yah I'm older than you you know" Seung-yoon protested pulling out the I'm older card

" Yah yah old man. You're older by 2 years" Seo-joon said finishing his drink as he exclaims in delight at the drink

" So coming in for work?" Seung-yoon said making himself 2 more drinks for himself and Seo-joon

" Not today. I'd rather relax for the day. I'll be back tomorrow night" Seo-joon said taking the drink as Seung-yoon nodded. He turned around to see not much customers were around seeing as it was a weekday but the overall atmosphere and vibe the bar had was peaceful along with the slow jazz music playing in the background

" Waiter another!" One of the customers yelled as Seo-joon's eyes were fixated on him. He saw his table was filled with at least 5 soju bottles and thought he was drinking too much

" Hyung don't you think he's drinking too much?" Seung-yoon followed where Seo-joon pointed as it was familiar customer for him already

" Ahh Dae-young? He's a regular here after you enlisted. He's not usually a heavy drinker but yesterday he's been drinking too much to the point where I bring him home when I close" Seung-yoon said as he was called by another customer to make a drink. Dae-young chugged his 6th bottle of the night and requested more making Seo-joon stop one of the waiters saying he was going to give it

" Had a rough day?" Seo-joon asked him placing his 7th bottle of soju as Dae-young chugged it to about half

" Just leave me alone" Seo-joon didn't pay heed as he sat across from him taking the available chair as Dae-young was looking at a polaroid picture of him and someone that looks to be like his girlfriend

" Your girlfriend?" Seo-joon asked

" Was my girlfriend. She left me for someone more rich. I should've known she was after my money tsk" Dae-young clicked his tongue finishing the whole bottle as he requested for another. Seo-joon grabbed the bottle once the waiter placed it on the table making Dae-young glare at him

" Give it to me" Dae-young tried to swipe the bottle from Seo-joon but he evaded his hand smiling at Dae-young

" Give it back when I'm asking nicely" Dae-young tried to grab it again but as always Seo-joon evades his hand and Dae-young was getting furious every second

" Why are you getting hung up on some girl. Surely there are other girls for you right?" Dae-young didn't want to hear him out as he stood up and was now trying to overpower Seo-joon by grabbing his waist but he was more stronger than him as Seo-joon got out from his grasp and made Dae-young kneel in front of him

" Tell me why are you getting drunk over someone who left you?"

" Because I truly loved her!" Dae-young yelled out, all the tears he's been holding in came bursting in waves making Seo-joon smile. He looked up to Seung-yoon who mouthed what are you doing as he looked over to the other customers who were looking their way but he didn't mind as he let Dae-young cry to his hearts content

" Just let it all out my friend" Seo-joon rubbed his back as he continued to wail out. He partially drank the soju bottle as he went to the mini stage near the corner of the bar as he sets up the microphone and speaker on his own

" Goodevening everyone how are you all doing?" All the people inside looked at Seo-joon who was speaking through the microphone. Seung-yoon looked at him sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose

" Should we stop him boss?" One of the employees asked Seung-yoon as he shook his head

" Let him be, I'll deal with him later" The other employees went back to their work as Seo-joon was speaking to the other customers

" So anyone here who loves Western music?" A few hands were raised making Seo-joon smile searching for a specific artist and his music

" This song is dedicated to my friend over there who's having a hard time but aren't we all having hard time?" Some agreed with him while others were neutral about it. As he plugged in his phone for the music acompaniment, he started tapping his foot to the beat of Happy by Pharrel Williams

He got the crowd to join him as he sang the chorus part gesturing everyone to calp their hands. Everyone was enjoying the performance Seo-joon was putting out as some started to dance along with him. Despite not knowing the lyrics well for other customers, the beat and rhythm of the song made their bodies sway. He approached Dae-young who was sniffling wiping away the excess tears and joined in on the dancing

After the song ended, everyone cheered as Seo-joon high fived with the customers along the way back to Seung-yoon who was clapping impressed by his performance

" You know you could be an idol with that voice of yours. I'm surrpised no one has tried to scout you" Seung-yoon said sliding a glass of water to hima s he chugged it down

" That's because I rarely sing in public. All my other friends in school are already idols and I know how hard it was for them to balance training and their studies" Dae-young approached Seung-yoon paying for his drinks as him and Seo-joon locked eyes

" You're smiling now" Seo-joon commented making them chuckle as Dae-young unexpectedly hugged him catching Seo-joon off-guard

" Thank you" Dae-young said before receiving his change and headed out of the bar

" Look at you helping others out" Seo-joon chuckled with Seung-yoon's comment

" What can I say, I'm a likeable guy" Seung-yoon threw the cloth he was using to clean the glasses at Seo-joon's face covering his ego as they started bickering with each other. Unbeknownst to Seo-joon, his performance at the bar today would mark the first step on a journey he didn't expect he would be walking on