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Eros - Bar AU Chapter 1, part 1

Disclaimer: This piece is a Mystic Messenger AU. It is heavily inspired by the American sitcom Cheers, a show centered around a Boston bar called Cheers and it’s regulars. Even though I have tried to keep as much of canon personalities with all the Mystic Messenger characters just remember that it is an AU and a few things may be different than in game or your headcanons. This has been fun to plan and I hope you find a bit of joy reading it!

PG13+ for swearin’ and boozin’.

Ch.1/2 | Ch. 2/2

Eros.

If you’ve never wandered to the outskirts of the downtown nightlife you’d think the name represented an establishment of finesse; a fancy restaurant, a classy gentleman’s club, a ritzy cocktail lounge.

But throw open the doors to the aging building during the late midday and you’d find yourself staring at a lavish open bar. You’d get a warm greeting from a handsome bartender and there’d be an air of familiarity amongst all the patrons.

You’d never know that you’d love it until you stepped into it and everyone welcomed you back, happily shouting your name.

Names.

That’s right...

There’s always a good story behind a name.

A hum of a cheerful tune echoed throughout the empty space. It was 3:15 p.m. and Zen busied himself wiping down the bar top. Sure they did work to clean up every night before locking the doors but for some reason the silver-haired man would always pass over the surfaces as soon as he walked in the next day. He double-checked the beer mugs to make sure the handles were turned at just the right angle where his hands could grab them quickly. Napkins? Check. Pretzels? Check. Receipt with the number from a gorgeous woman that had spent the entire night prior staring at him? He smiled at the legible digits and stuffed the piece into his back pocket. Check.

There was nothing more important to him in his current life than this bar but a date with a pretty lady on the weekend wasn’t far down on his list. He made a mental note to add her to the small bucket that kept the rest of the numbers he received every night in his office. It would be a shame if he were to not give this one a fair chance like the others.

His thoughts were interrupted by the chime of the bell above the door as another man stepped into the establishment. Was it already half-past three? Zen looked towards the wall clock and let out a dramatic gasp of surprise, “Red, you’re early in being late! What’s the occasion?” He pulled at two shot glasses to fill them up with whiskey, “Keep this up and you may get a promotion!”

The other male laughed a bit as he took off his jacket to sling along the coat rack near the entrance, “Seeing as I changed my schedule to come in at 3:30 p.m. instead of 3:00 p.m. I would like to point out that I am delightfully early for my shift.”

Red. His real name was Saeyoung Choi. He had bright shaggy red hair and eyes, protected by a pair of glasses, so golden they shone brightly like the sun rising in the morning but those same cheerful orbs held a bit of mischief that did well for him on the job. His usual attire? A yellow and red checkered button down and light wash jeans.

Zen slid one of the glasses down the bartop to meet Red’s hand as he passed by. It was tradition for them to share a shot before they officially opened the doors to the public so once they toasted each other they downed the liquor in seconds. “Where’s your brother? Don’t tell me he had to call off,” the man behind the counter furrowed a brow as he retrieved both glasses to wash them. “It may be the middle of the week but I still don’t like it if we both have to act as waiters as well.”

“Cool your pecs, boss. He’s just parking the car. I guess the eatery across the street is having some sort of shindig and the streets are loaded with vehicles. He’ll be here in a few seconds.” Red reached over the bar to grab at an apron to start tying it around his waist. They didn’t have a uniform of any kind but Zen was oddly particular about everyone having an apron. The man made his rounds of the space to turn on lights and make sure tables were set the way Zen liked it. “Hey, you remember about that person Duckie has coming in for an interview, yeah? What was her name?” His voice carried behind him as he had made his way to the back area where the pool tables and jukebox found their home.

Zen took a slight breath in as he had almost forgot about the interview. Could he be blamed? He was told about it the night before while he was chatting up with a busty blond at the bar, “Of course I remember! Her application is in my office. She was applying for...errr…”

“Waitstaff, boss. She’s applying to be a waitress.”

“Right! See? I remember! And you know how I feel about names around here, Red.” He shouted out towards the back hall.

“Yeah, you forget them easily so they have to leave it written down on a napkin, preferably with their number attached.” A cheeky grin was spread across Red’s face as he came back towards the bar, “Just make sure you act professional. Hopefully she’s not a looker so you won’t turn that charm on.”

Zen turned to protest but was distracted as the bell chimed once more, a man that looked identical to Red walking through the door, “This is utter bullshit. I had to park a block away in some weird parking lot. When are you going to buy that lot next door so we can have proper parking for this place, Zen? I hate having to always find a different place to leave the car.”

Zen chuckled slightly as he began to count the change in the register, “Not any time soon, Cannon, since I have to hire someone to help you. What would you prefer? Parking or a night off?”

Cannon. Saeyoung’s twin brother Saeran. He had the same bright hair but wore mint-colored contacts instead to make sure he wasn’t confused for the other sibling. His attitude was much less friendly as well, but was a hard worker. The normal attire for the guy consisted of a red V-neck t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans.

“Whatever.” Cannon mumbled as he too grabbed an apron to strap to himself, “Whoever is coming in, just hire her. She can’t be dumb enough to not be able to take orders. And if she is, it’s not my problem. I’m still taking a few nights off.” He stuffed a notepad along with a few pens into a pocket as he began to prep a few bowls for snacks, “Let her know to just stay out of my way since I don’t want to deal with her.”

Red walked around and pat his brother on the back, “Now now, you have to play nice! You’ll be training her, after all.”

“Like hell I will!”

“Boys boys, let’s not get ahead of ourselves now. I still want to interview her and if she’s not going to be a good employee then I’ll have to keep looking.” Zen closed the cash register, satisfied with the count, and looked towards the two, “I’m a pretty good judge of character so I’ll know within the first minute of meeting her if she will fit in with everyone around here!”

“You mean, within the first minute of meeting her you’ll know if you’ll fit into her?” Cannon growled out which sent Red into a fit of giggles. The twins never missed out on an opportunity to give Zen grief which the man didn’t quite know if he enjoyed or loathed. “Can I catch a break around here?” Their boss sighed as he made his way from behind the bar to walk to his office, “Just try to respect me around the potential new waitress, would yah?”

Both brothers waved him off and continued to perform their daily chores. The time passed pretty quickly as they bustled around and in no time Red had moved to switch the sign on the window from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’. They rarely had people come in as soon as the wall clock twittered at 4:00 p.m. but today the red-headed bartender hadn’t even made it back to the bar before the door was swung open. He turned on his heels as he heard the bell and when he saw the face unfamiliar he gave a wide smile, “Welcome to Eros! What can we drown you with?”

The woman at the entrance gulped a bit at the abrupt welcome but gave Red a nervous smile, “Oh, hello. I’m not here to drink-”

“Then what are you here for? If you didn’t notice, lady, you’re in a bar.” Cannon leaned against the bartop and stared at her, “The pizza joint is across the street and we don’t hold any book club meetings here.” His brother closed his eyes for a moment even though his smile stayed steady, “Could you grab the celery from the cold storage, bro?”

The male rolled his eyes and pushed himself off to make his way towards the back as Red once again locked eyes with the girl, “I’m sorry about that, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. You were saying?”

She nodded as her attention was drawn back to the seemingly polite person who addressed her initially, “Yes...uhm...I have an interview in thirty minutes with...Zen?” She pulled a piece of paper out that had a name written along with a time and an address, “Sorry if I’m early. You know what they say: Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!”

A smirk crossed his face as he took a good look at her, “Aye. I guess we are all an unacceptable lot around here, then!” He beckoned her in, “I’ll let Zen know you are here. Please, have a seat! Let me get you a drink, on the house. You deserve it for being ‘on time’.”

“Just water would be fine, if it’s no trouble.” She took a seat on one of the stools. Placing her bag on the surface in front of her she started to look around the establishment. From the outside of the building she was afraid that the inside would look just as run down. It was a pleasant surprise how well kept it had been when she entered. “Good to know you’d be a cheap date.” He placed a glass of water in front of her as he smiled.

“Excuse me?” Her fingers clutched at her bag a bit defensively at his comment, “What do you mean by that?” Red frowned slightly as he busied his hands with wiping a few glasses in front of him, “Water is free, you know. I was just making a joke...sorry if that offended yah.” Her cheeks blushed slightly, laughing nervously while mentally kicking herself for letting the comment fly over her head that way. “Right. No need for apologies, I’m just a bit nervous about the interview.”

He snapped his fingers and he walked away towards the other side of the bar, “Oh yeah! Which reminds me.” Climbing up on the edge he shouted towards the door in the back, “Hey boss! Your interview is here!” Red shot a thumbs up at the girl, the door to the office swinging open as Zen finally emerged with papers in his hand.

Her eyes widened a bit as she finally laid eyes on the tall man. He was just as attractive as everyone said he was; sharp facial features, eyes kind even though they were a bright red, his physique obviously well kept...but what her gaze fell on were his clavicles. His light-blue dress shirt had a few buttons opened exposing the top of his chest. Zen claimed he had to do it since it got so hot as he ran around but everyone knew he did it for the attention he received. A sly grin crossed his face as he noticed the girl’s slight gawk in his direction.

The shirt works everytime.

“Hey! Welcome to Eros! Thanks for taking some time to meet with me! I’m Zen, the owner of this place,” He walked into the bar area and leaned on the counter in front of her as he held his hand out for a shake, eyes sparkling, “Nice to meet you!”

She cleared her throat as he approached, giving him a big smile before meeting his hand to shake firmly, “No, thank you for giving me this chance mister...Zen?” He shook his head in major disapproval at the title she had placed on him, “Please, just Zen. I’m not the type to deal with those formalities. Nice handshake, by the way.” His eyes never left hers but he had noticed she didn’t drop his hand throughout the entire exchange. Pulling her arm back she laughed a bit nervously, “Oh, thank you. I’ve always been told to have a confident handshake when meeting others.”

Zen mused to himself as he finally broke the eye-contact to look down to her resume, “That’s good advice. So tell me a bit about yourself. More importantly, why should I hire you?”

The woman let in a deep breath. She had been mentally preparing herself for a few days now and had plenty to say but sitting in front of this man who she found so beautiful caused her mind to go blank. “Well. I’m currently a student at SKY University. I’m working on my Masters in Sociology,” Her words came out in such a flustered jumble that Zen looked up from the paper to concentrate on what she was saying. Even so she continued on, voice gaining confidence and becoming more bubbly as she ran through her speech, “I want to work as a social worker! I love being around people and I’m very empathetic. I have some work experience, as you can see,” She leaned forward and pointed towards the middle of her resume, “I helped at my uncle’s bookstore while I was in my first years of University. He always said I had a natural talent for customer service! I can get along with almost anyone and I’m really good at calming down customers that are upset!”

Zen had placed his elbows on the bartop, his right arm bending upwards to prop his chin as his body leaned to the side. A soft smile was settled on his lips as she rattled on about herself in such an animated manner. This woman, he thought, is so charming. He found himself lost in her words and eventually stopped paying attention to what she was actually saying. He was brought back from his daze when she suddenly placed both hands down on the counter to give him a look of determination, “You should hire me because I will be the hardest working employee you’ll meet. I will do whatever it takes to learn the skills I need and I will learn them quickly. I will not disappoint, that I promise you.” She was breathing a bit heavier since she had fallen into a passionate speech towards the end.

She’s bright, like a little ray of sunshine.

“Sunny.” he cooed out.

The girl sat back in her chair with a look of confusion on her face, “W-what?”

“Sunny!” He exclaimed louder so that the twins could hear him. Red gave a few claps and ran over to the girl, “Hey! Congrats! You can call me Red! I’m the other bartender other than the big boss here.” She looked between the two still trying to figure out what they were going on about, “I don’t...understand…”

“Zen gave you a name, means you’re hired,” Cannon came around the side and got close to her ear, “So don’t fuck this up. I want a weekend off.”

Red shooed his brother off and pat Sunny on the back, “That’s Cannon. He’s the other waiter here so you’ll be working with him a lot. He’ll warm up to you eventually!” She nodded slowly and looked to Zen, “So...I have the job?”

He laughed a bit and crumpled up her resume, “Yeah! I like you and I think having you around will be great for the place! Welcome to the family, Sunny!” She put on a big smile and held her hand out once more, “You won’t regret hiring me! But, my name is-”

“Sunny. Your name is Sunny. First rule I have in this place is you go by the name I give you. Call it a quirk of mine.” Zen looked up as he heard the jingle of the bell above the door, welcoming the customers in with a bright smile. She looked behind her and watched as the two people made themselves comfortable at one of the tables, Cannon lazily making his way over to tend to them. “But why would you use a name that isn’t real?”

He directed his attention back to her, chuckling a bit, “It is a real name! It’s the name that I, Owner Zen, have given you! You should be honored!” She opened her mouth to protest some more but was interrupted by Cannon barking out an order, “Two scotch rocks, boss.” Zen nodded and pulled two glasses from below the bar with one hand, grabbing a bottle of liquor with the other, “So when can you start, babe?”

She pursed her lips at the question, moreso at the term of endearment, “Whenever you’d like to train me, of course. I’ve never worked in a bar and don’t know a lot about alcohol so I’m sure you’d like to spend some time going over basics.”

“Are you free tonight? The weekdays are normally not too busy so I can spend some one-on-one time with you. Sound good?” He flashed a smile at her, “You said you pick things up quickly and I’d like you to be good for the weekend.”

Sunny nodded and stood up to straighten out her shirt, “I’d love to start! And what do I call you, since everyone has nicknames?” Zen placed the two drinks on a tray, beckoning to Cannon, “You can call me Zen, or these guys call me boss. I don’t mind you calling me sweetie or babe either, your choice.” He shot her a wink as he threw a hand towel over his shoulder. She smirked at the act, leaning over the counter to get closer to him, “What’s your real name?”

“That I will not tell you. The only person in this bar that knows everyone’s real names is me. Red knows a few, since he handles the tabs alongside me. Don’t bother asking, it’s considered impolite around here.” He pointed a finger at the twin as he approached to pick up the drink order, “Even Cannon doesn’t know my real name!”

“I don’t care if I know your real name as long as I get my paycheck,” the waiter spit out his words with apathy, “Throw a bowl of pretzels on here, boss. Stop flirting with the new girl.”

Zen did as he was asked but kept his eyes on Sunny, reaching behind himself to grab an apron and threw it at her, “Let’s get started, then! I’ll give you the grand tour.”

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#mystic messenger #Eros Bar AU #mystic messenger fic #mm #mystic messenger AU

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