After picking up the kids from school, I kept my promise and brought them straight to their favorite ice cream shop.
They were both overjoyed, giggling and savoring every bite of their treats. Still, I gently reminded them not to eat too much cold or sweet food—it might give them a runny nose or worse, a sore throat.
When we got ho, I imdiately started preparing our dinner.
And just like our usual routine, after eating, I left them in the care of Tess—our kind and loving neighbor who was absolutely smitten with my kids.
She always looked after them like they were her own, allowing to head out to my second job—as a waitress at a high-end bar.
It was Monday, which ant a busy night ahead.
Mondays usually drew in a good number of custors, and I was already bracing myself for another demanding shift.
I needed to work extra hard tonight. After what happened at the restaurant earlier, my boss had slashed my paycheck in half. I had to make up for the loss sohow.
I still rembered the way that rude woman treated earlier at the restaurant. She acted like it was all my fault.
It was still fresh in my mind—how she had intentionally bumped into my hand while locking eyes with . It wasn’t an accident at all. Then afterward, she kept throwing those cruel, judgntal looks my way—as if she got so kind of satisfaction from seeing struggle.
Why would she do that? Was it just for fun? A random whim to pick on soone as lowly as ? Or was it because she simply looked down on people like —just a waitress in her eyes?
Sigh...
Maybe it’s better to just shake off those thoughts and focus on the job I had to do tonight.
I was now at the bar, freshly changed into my waitress uniform. I couldn’t help but tug at the hem of my short skirt—it seed to get even shorter with every step I took.
Sotis, it made feel exposed, and there were monts when drunk custors would leer or throw inappropriate remarks.
I’d never experienced outright harassnt. Our bar had decent bouncers who were always ready to step in and protect us if any drunk custor crossed the line.
As usual, once I’d made sure I was properly dressed and presentable, I approached our manager to report for duty.
After checking the assignnts for the night, he assigned and another waitress to VIP duty. We were tasked with serving drinks to our high-end custors.
So the two of us headed toward the VIP room to serve drinks, but before we could even step inside, Sophia—one of my coworkers—suddenly ca to a halt.
She stood frozen in place. There was a strange uneasiness in her expression, and I could imdiately tell sothing was wrong.
She looked nervous, which was completely unlike her usual composed self.
"What’s wrong, Sophie?" I asked quickly, stepping beside her.
I also noticed that she had gone slightly pale, which made worry even more.
"Oh my god, are you sick?"
"Huh... ahmm... no, no... but I have a favor to ask, please..."
"What is it? Maybe I can help."
"Ahmm... would it be okay if you go ahead and serve the custors in there by yourself?" she asked hesitantly.
I noticed her hands were trembling slightly, and she kept glancing toward the VIP door with visible tension.
"Why? What’s going on? Can’t you move? Or... is there sothing about the custors that’s bothering you?"
"No, no... it’s not like that," she said quickly, shaking her head. "It’s just... I don’t really know how to face our VIP custors. What if I ss up? What if I say sothing wrong? I don’t want to cause any trouble..." she trailed off, lowering her gaze in embarrassnt.
I could tell she was battling with nerves—probably overwheld by the pressure of serving high-profile guests. It wasn’t uncommon for new staff to feel that way, especially with VIPs known for being picky or demanding.
"H-how about this—I’ll be the one to prepare their drinks, and you can go in, take their orders, and serve them." she added.
"Uhm... s-sure?" I replied, still a little confused.
It felt like she was avoiding sothing—or soone.
I decided not to question her further. Maybe there was a personal reason she wasn’t want to share. So instead, I gave her a small smile and headed inside to take the custors’ orders.
As I stepped into the room, I was greeted by a dimly lit atmosphere. The only source of light ca from the red-toned lamps scattered around, casting a soft, moody glow.
Inside, I could already see our VIP guests. Though I couldn’t clearly make out everyone’s face due to the low lighting, I could tell they were influential people.
As I moved closer to their table, my eyes were drawn to one man in particular. He stood out instantly—not just because of his looks, but because I knew him.
He was a familiar face—the sa handso man who was a regular custor at the restaurant where I worked during the day.
Though I had entered quietly, the mont I approached, their conversation stopped. All eyes suddenly turned to .
"Uhm... uhm... Good evening, sirs. May I take your order, please?"
As they looked at , one of the n suddenly snapped back to attention.
"Hey, miss beautiful, are you the woman our Alpheus here has been talking about?" he said, tugging the man beside him closer and putting his arm around his shoulder — the sa man who was a regular custor at the restaurant where I worked.
I looked at them puzzled. Then I noticed that the man they called Alpheus seed embarrassed.
Quietly, he gave his friend an elbow and lowered his gaze shyly toward .
"Uhmm... hi, so you work here too?" Alpheus asked .
But the mont he said that, his friends burst out laughing, quietly teasing him. I even saw one of them lightly punch Alpheus in the arm, which puzzled even more.
"Hahaha, so that’s why you personally dragged us all the way to this bar — because you told us your ultimate crush works here too? Hahaha!" one of his friends teased.
Alpheus quickly punched him back and looked at sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"Hahaha... Sorry about my friends, they’re always this noisy." Alpheus said with a sheepish grin as he stepped a little closer to where I was standing.
"By the way, are you okay? Won’t it be hard for you to serve all of us by yourself? Looks like you’re alone tonight."
"Yown! Hahaha! Alpheus is making a move, boys!" one of his friends teased loudly.
"Hahaha! Looks like he’s not shy anymore!" another one added, and their laughter grew even louder.
I saw Alpheus’ face turn bright red as he glanced at in embarrassnt. Then, he shot his friends a sharp look, as if telling them to stop.
But that only made things worse—the group erupted into even louder howls and teasing, clearly enjoying watching their friend squirm.
I couldn’t help but wince. I had no idea what exactly was going on between them, but it was hard not to feel awkward in the middle of their chaotic banter.
But just as their laughter reached its peak, a cold voice sliced through the noise.
"What the hell is wrong with you guys?! Can’t you see soone’s still sleeping here?" the voice snapped from the far end of the room.
The room instantly fell into silence.
I froze in place.
That voice... It sent an unexpected chill down my spine. It was so familiar—so unmistakable—that my heart skipped a beat.
I didn’t know why, but the mont I heard it, sothing deep inside stirred.
Because that voice...
Was one I could never forget.
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