
At I don’t think it’s literal, I think the alcoholic values him as his “friend” and that is what is pushing him to go (in a “positive” way) vs later on it’s still the bartender but he’s being brought back against his will (through addiction)

the mc is an alcoholic who was a regular at the bartender man’s bar, he ended up in some sort of heavy depression where he barely left the house, (the scene at shows the bartender coming and possibly taking him from his home) and the bartender came and escorted him to his bar, allowing the mc’s addiction to alcohol to build heavily.
