02 - The bar

It was a nice spacious bar with a calm, soothing atmosphere inside. The minimalist furniture was in black and gray, and some cold colors to emphasize it. The light was set up so that the field of vision was restricted to the nearby tables, and due to the strange fog everything else sort of faded to black beyond that area. It seemed like cigarette smoke, but the scent was vaguely sweet like cotton candy. It could've been a mix of both as some people did have a lit cigarette in their hands.

Nonetheless, the mood was perfect to just forget the outside world and relax within the circle of friends at the table. Or alone with your thoughts, your call. The volume of the slow jazz music was just right to hear the conversation at the table, but reducing other people talk to a faint murmur.

For the first time since a while Jun felt somewhat relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere. He was having a good time despite a slightly withdrawn attitude. He just let everyone else do the talking, his replies being short and to the point when they turned to him. At the beginning at least. He got more open the more he drank. Since they all came by bus, nobody had to hold back their liquor. The time went by on conversations like complaints about the workload, judging the taste of the colorful drinks, taking selfies, mentioning hobbies and little gossips. The usual.

At some point after a couple of people got up to hit the bathroom, Jun's gaze wandered around the nearby tables. Everyone else had a good time in a circle of their friends having civil conversations while drinking. He scanned the area slowly until he stopped at the table to his far right. A few tall men in formal attires, in their thirties perhaps, were having a smoke while chatting casually, and the bottles of alcohol they had looked expensive. It seemed like a meeting between businessmen, a bit odd to hold in a bar like this, then again Jun had no idea how well known it was in the higher circles. One of the men was particularly interesting, despite being no different than the other. There was just something about him that Jun couldn't explain. Granted, judging by the look he was his favorite type, but there was something else. If he had to describe them by colors as an example, the others were dull, dark shades of red and blue, but that one's aura was white. It was interesting, but also somewhat spine-chilling. Why? He couldn't tell.

He wasn't even sure why he thought that or why was he breaking out in cold sweat. Something like a primal fear lodged in the back of his head was warning him about that particular man, even though he had no reason to feel that way. After all, he didn't know any of the people at that table.

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Jun raised his head, then looked at the man sleeping beside him. Now he realized it was the guy from the bar, the one whose aura he described as white. He looked a bit different in the sunlight, with messy hair and no suit on... and not threatening at all. To be fair, sleeping leisurely like that put himself at danger.

At a second glance around the place looked too personal to be a hotel room, so they most likely ended up in the man's apartment.

But how? Jun looked away and brushed his chin, taking his memory for another spin.

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