I Wished for Non-Face-to-Face Lectures

A day with an unusually high number of troublesome customers.

In the disheveled bar, only the sighs of employees and the owner could be heard.

“…Thank you all for your hard work today, go get some rest.”

“Are you really going to clean up alone? It will take quite a while…”

“I just want to take it easy and rest while cleaning up. Everyone, go home now. You all usually care so much about going home on time, why are you being like this today?”

When the employees, including myself, hesitated at the playful dismissal, the owner pushed us out of the bar.

“Ah, right. You don’t need to come to work tomorrow night. We’ve been working hard, so let’s take a day off, understood?”

He even declared a one-day closure as he locked the door of the establishment.

After being kicked out of the store, silence fell in front of the shop.

The newest junior approached me with an anxious face.

“…Jaehyuk hyung.”

“What.”

“Will our boss be okay? This is the first time I’ve seen him like this since I came to the bar.”

“He’ll be fine. Do you think the boss is someone who would break down over something like this?”

“I know that, but… aren’t you worried? Among us, you’ve worked here the longest.”

How could I not be worried?

I slowly shook my head at his words.

Recently, as more alien species started visiting the bar, incidents have increased significantly.

While there were customers with good manners, like the always relaxed fox beastman, the pixie who was always chased by Nero, or the arachne who just drank and left.

There was also an increase in troublesome customers, like the dwarf who made a fuss looking for beer in a cocktail bar, or the elf who scolded the staff, saying they couldn’t eat processed food at all.

Honestly, it would be strange not to have a hard time.

People who work at bars aren’t extreme masochists, so they wouldn’t enjoy mental suffering, right?

“…I wonder what decision he’ll make.”

“What? About what?”

“To be blunt, most of the recent difficulties at the bar are because of alien species, right? I think he might decide not to accept alien species customers anymore.”

“…Wouldn’t that cause social controversy? People might make a fuss about alien species discrimination, wouldn’t the store go out of business?”

“The boss doesn’t care about that. He said he got rich from cryptocurrency, and he started running the bar because he was bored just sitting at home.”

“Ah, then there’s no chance of going out of business.”

The junior let out a sigh of relief.

I found it amusing how he muttered about possibly working here forever since the pay was good, so I lightly gave him a knock on the head.

Thunk!

“Ow! Why did you hit me suddenly!”

“I hit you once to bring you to your senses! The boss isn’t crazy enough to keep employing a lazy guy like you forever, unlike Juyeon over there.”

“At least I’d work longer than you who’s always grumbling… Ack ack…! Hyung! So-sorry…! Stop the violence!!!”

“‘Stop the violence’? What nonsense. Someone might think I’m actually killing someone.”

After putting him in a headlock and then releasing him, I advised everyone gathered in front of the store to disperse.

“If we keep lingering in front of the store, the boss will complain it’s distracting, right? I’m leaving first? See you all the day after tomorrow.”

Waving goodbye, I slowly began walking toward my apartment.

My mind and body were weary from dealing with troublesome customers all day.

I exhaled the fatigue I had experienced throughout the day as I watched the sun slowly revealing itself in the distance.

“Ah, so exhausting.”

Should I have a drink with Jiwoo when I get to the apartment and then go to sleep?

No, wouldn’t he have gone to bed by now?

Checking the time on my phone, it was 6:50 AM, a little later than my usual return time.

When I got back, I expected to see him happily sleeping in his cozy reclining bed.

“If he’s sleeping, I’ll just have a drink tomorrow night, it’s not urgent.”

Humming a tune to forget the hard day, I continued walking, and arrived at the apartment sooner than expected.

Opening the door, I was greeted warmly by a vampire eating popcorn and reading a novel.

“You’re a bit late today? Did something happen?”

“Just had a lot of cleaning up to do, so I left work late. What about you? Why aren’t you in bed yet?”

“Ah, I found an incredibly interesting new novel after a long time. I was reading it so intently… yaaawn…”

Looking at him yawning with a haggard face, it seemed difficult to have a drink right away, so I carefully asked as he crawled toward the bed.

“Hey, are you free tonight?”

“Tonight? Time is something I have in abundance at night… why?”

“Just thought we could have a drink. The boss told me to take a day off, and I don’t have anything particular to do.”

“…Something happened to you today, right?”

“Nothing happened.”

Though I spoke seriously, Jiwoo grinned mischievously as if he had already figured it out.

However, unable to overcome the fatigue washing over him, he soon stopped his teasing and waved his hand lightly.

“Alright, I’ll keep my schedule clear. I have something to tell you too. Then… see you in the evening.”

“Sure.”

Bang-

The door closed weakly.

After staring at the closed door for a long time, I shook my head vigorously, feeling the hazy sensation fade.

“…I’ve been like this often lately. Why do I keep acting this way?”

Could it be because I’m tired from dealing with the increasing number of troublesome customers recently?

Yes, that must be the reason.

There’s no other reason I would feel fatigue along with this haziness.

“…A good day’s rest should fix it. The boss will come up with a solution by tomorrow.”

Whatever the reason, it should be a problem resolved soon.

Surrendering to the overwhelming drowsiness.

I sprawled out on the bed.

“…What’s this smell?”

Early evening.

Forced to get up by a tangy yet sweet smell that stung my nose.

Didn’t he say we’d have a drink tonight? Is he already making snacks?

Rubbing my eyes and leaving the room, I saw Jaehyuk diligently mashing something in a ladle.

Though he must have sensed my presence, he only glanced at me briefly while continuing his task.

“You’re up quite early? You should’ve slept a bit more.”

“The smell was quite strong. By the way, what are you making? What’s with the lime and lemon?”

“Ah, I thought I’d make you a cocktail. I realized I’ve made them for everyone except you.”

“I asked what you’re making.”

“You must have heard of it before, it’s called a mojito.”

After briefly answering, he put the mashed ingredients in a glass, then added carbonated water and liquor.

The tangy smell subsided a bit.

Looking at the appetizing appearance of the cocktail, I accepted the glass he handed me and sat down at the table.

“How come you’re making a cocktail for me? When I asked you to make one last time, you kept squawking that you absolutely wouldn’t.”

“Just felt like making one today. Maybe it’s an occupational habit.”

“Ooh… Hey, this is actually pretty tasty. It’s refreshing and wakes me right up.”

“With lemon and lime in it, how could it not be refreshing?”

He grumbled but still smiled slightly.

Having emptied half the glass instantly, I playfully addressed him.

“So, what brings our Mr. Grumbler to seek me out?”

“As always, it’s because of troublesome customers.”

“You’ve been quite quiet recently? What on earth happened last night?”

“…Five troublesome bastards came in one night, when usually we get maybe one. All of them alien species, damn it.”

“…That sounds exhausting just hearing about it. Hey, just from that, I can understand why you wanted to have a drink.”

As I looked at him with a sympathetic gaze, he seemed to have properly started up and began ranting in earnest.

“No, it was really fucking awful! The damn dwarf came to a cocktail bar and asked for beer! The crazy elf bitch threw a fit saying we fed her processed food! I mean, couldn’t they have mentioned these things beforehand? How are we supposed to know if they don’t tell us! It’s not like they’re regular customers! And there’s no species more disgusting than an incubus. Why the hell would that bastard tell me, a man, that he’d give me the best night of my life? Seriously!”

“Would you have accepted if it was a succubus?”

“MILF is always OK, loli is always OUT.”

“You’re so consistent.”

I looked at him with contemptuous eyes, but he lightly ignored this and sighed deeply enough to sink the ground.

“Anyway, that’s not the important part. It’s just been hard lately. As alien species customers have increased tremendously, troublemakers have also increased tremendously.”

“Alien species are hard to handle. Each species has special abilities, so they’re extremely dangerous too.”

“They’re so damn dangerous, really. Even today, if the pixie customer hadn’t cast an illusion, I would have been hurt because of the dwarf customer.”

Jaehyuk shook his head vigorously as if he didn’t even want to recall it.

As I was comforting him, I completely emptied the glass containing the mojito.

“Phew…”

Downing it all at once, a tangy yet sweet flavor quickly spread in my mouth.

Feeling somewhat better, I slowly opened my mouth and spoke.

“Actually, the reason I stayed up until morning was because I had something to tell you.”

“What did you want to say?”

“I’m thinking of learning to be a bartender. Honestly, there aren’t many other jobs I can do.”

“…”

After pondering for a moment while sipping his mojito, he nodded as if he understood.

“Now that I hear it, that’s true. You really can’t do most regular jobs, huh?”

“Well, there are options like internet broadcasting or creative fields, but you know. I have no gift of gab and no craftsmanship. So…”

Swinging the now empty glass, I continued in a serious voice.

“Could I observe the bar where you work? I’d like to learn the job if possible. Who knows? I might be an incredible help to your bar.”

Maybe I could help with those troublesome customers you mentioned. Right?

As I added with a smug expression, he made a look of disdain and took something out from the drawer beside the table.

Then, he extended that object straight toward me.

“Hu, hugyaaaaaaak?!”

A feeling like all the nerves in my body standing on end.

At the savage warning sent by my instincts, I screamed and fell to the floor, and seeing this, he burst into laughter and started teasing me.

“Come on, a pathetic person who gets subdued by this one thing, what are you going to fend off?”

…No, you crazy bastard.

Silver chopsticks are cheating.

Logically, what kind of lunatic would carry around something like that, claiming it’s for self-defense?