As a gentle rain drizzled down from a clouded sky, Jung Yunho sat quietly among the softening glow of his desk lamp. Studying the latest reports on their upcoming product launch from the marketing division sitting on his desk.

Everything looked good; the numbers were good, the product idea was sound, and yet there was just something about it that bothered him. He couldn’t put his finger on what exactly, but the feeling of wariness lingered still. Frustrated, he dropped the folder onto his desk and leaned back in his brown leather chair, and sighed deeply. Reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose under his gold-rimmed prescription Ray-Ban reading glasses, he closed his eyes and tried to assimilate all the information he had been studying for well over two hours.

The subtle ring of his office phone quietly rang out through the stillness and silence of his spacious office, pulling him out of his internal musings softly. Dropping his hand from his face, he reached out and plucked up the receiver.

“Jung Yunho,” he answered.

“Yun…” replied a male voice on the other end of the line. “It’s me.”

“Oh, hey Min,” he replied. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to call you and remind you about that singles mixer tonight,” replied Changmin. “You’re still going to go, aren’t you?”

“I know I said I would…” replied Yunho. “But, I’m not so sure if I can. The Monroe project is set to launch tomorrow and I still have a lot of reading to do.”

“Ugh…” sighed Changmin into the phone. “That’s just an excuse and you know it. You’ve been combing over the details of that project for weeks and nothing’s changed. Stop being such a stick in the mud about it and go out and have some fun.”

“You never know, Yun…” he added, a slight tinge of mischievousness lacing his voice. “You might just meet the person of your dreams there.”

“Not likely.” scoffed Yunho. “Events like those are nothing but a meat market for aspiring social climbers looking to sink their teeth into their next unsuspecting heir.”

“How would you know?” countered Changmin amusedly. “You’ve never been to one.”

“I don’t need to go to one to know exactly what they’re like.” chuckled Yunho derisively. “It’s just like those irritating social luncheons and errant afternoon societal affairs that I’m always being invited to. You go, you end up finding someone that piques your interest, only to find out later that the only reason they even came up to you in the first place...was because you’re the heir of some multi-million dollar conglomerate.”

“Damn gold-diggers…” he muttered under his breath.

“You’re talking about the way high-society rolls, Yun…” Changmin defended lovingly. “This one’s different. It’s being held in a quaint little bar downtown. There isn’t an affluent guest list. It’s just regular people going out to socialize with other singles. There’s no pressure, no reason to feel obligated to even chat if you don’t want to. Hell, you don’t even have to use your real name.”

“Not use my real name?” questioned Yunho curiously. “Really?”

“Yeah,” replied Changmin. “You could totally dress down and go incognito if you wanted. Most of the clientele for mixer probably won’t even know who you really are unless you tell them.”

“So it’s just regular people?” questioned Yunho for clarification.

“Yes, Yun! Sheesh.” exasperated Changmin. “You think I would send you into some societal social function mind-field or something? Come on, you know me better than that.”

“So what is this mixer about, really?” questioned Yunho. “What do I have to do?”

“It’s super simple, Yunho,” he answered. “You just show up and hang out. You’re not required to sign in or anything and you just socialize. The only real requirement to get into the mixer is that it has a two-drink minimum. But, that’s nothing.”

“What about the bar?” questioned Yunho with a smirk.

“It’s a quaint little place, seats maybe about a hundred and fifty people at the most,” answered Changmin. “Very eclectic, old-world pub-style feel but modern, with courteous staff and a comfortable ambiance. It’s a pretty nice place.”

“So, I take it, you’ve been there before?” questioned Yunho with a sly smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Yeah…a couple of times,” admitted Changmin. “I like it. Oh, and incidentally, the Wolf Moon has some of the best, old-world scotch I’ve ever had.”

“Ok,” sighed Yunho.

“So, you’ll go?” prompted Changmin curiously.

“Yeah…” relented Yunho softly.

“Great…the mixer starts at nine,” he replied. “If you leave now, you can head home and change before heading over there. I’ll text you the address.”

“Alright…” nodded Yunho. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”

“You better…” laughed Changmin. “I want to hear all the juicy details later.”

The ride from the office to home went by slowly as Yunho sat in the backseat of his luxury sedan and contemplated Changmin’s words. He would have been lying if he were to say that he wasn’t a bit curious about the event. Being surrounded by the social elite all of his life, he had rarely had the opportunity to experience life as a normal, average, person; and the idea that he could go out in public without having to adhere to all those stifling and suffocating elitist norms appealed to him. But for Yunho, the act of actually attending the mixer wasn’t the cause of his hesitation.

He may have had a very privileged life up until now, but that life was far more dangerous than anyone would expect especially to his own bruised ego. When it came to business, there was no one more confident than him. But, when it came to personal relationships and love, he was more akin to a struggling teenager on the cusp of adulthood rather than that of a successful and well-known CEO in his late twenties.

And, he knew it. Deep down, he still desired to have someone in his life, to find a love that would last a lifetime, but after all he had been through since his father died five years ago and left him the company, he had become unable to take people at face value; always looking for an ulterior motive, some hidden agenda, or waiting for the other shoe to drop. He hated that he felt that way, but what could he do? Experiences make the man, they say, and he had had enough bad experiences to last a lifetime.

An hour later, Yunho was showered, shaven, styled, and dressed in his favorite pair of dark denim jeans, a white collared button-up shirt, and his most comfortable black blazer, as he looked over himself in the full-length floor mirror standing in the corner of his dressing room. Looking himself up and down, he took in his features one at a time scrutinizing every little detail. He had decided to take Changmin’s advice and dress down for the mixer, opting for casual wear over formal business wear, and going with a more average look and even though he believed he had done a good job trying to look more normal, he still was a little unsure of himself.

Shaking away his self-deprecating thoughts, he turned away from the mirror, grabbed his wallet and keys from the nightstand by the door, and headed out. Deciding to take a cab, rather than drive one of the flashy cars that would automatically make him stick out like a sore thumb or have his driver take him in the company car, he ventured out to the sidewalk outside his apartment building and hailed the first taxi that came by.

After relaying the address to the Wolf Moon Bar to the driver, Yunho slumped back into the seat and wondered what interesting events the night would bring. Would he meet anyone that would catch his eye? Maybe even someone he could see himself seeing? Or would it end up like all the others, with him depressed and feeling even more unloved and lonely?

He didn’t know and that unknown somehow filled him with a sense of both dread and anticipation. He may have been burned badly in the past by those he thought were the ones, but he had never lost that sliver of hope for the future that his heart desperately clung to through it all. He still had faith that the fates would be on his side one day, that he would find his own true love among the millions of restless souls of the world, and though he often fell into bouts of self-doubt and secluded himself from the world, he was not done yet. Tonight he would try, not just because his dearest friend asked him to but because he really wanted to.

When the cab finally stopped outside his destination, Yunho peered through the tempered safety glass of its passenger side door and took in the unassuming building that held the Wolf Moon Bar. Laying inside a small fenced-off area in front of the building sat a few sets of abandoned tables and chairs covered by large white umbrellas glistening from the remnants of the day’s earlier rain showers and adorned with softly glowing tea light candles flickering from small crystal goblets.

“That’ll be $36.50.” piped up the cab driver.

“Oh…yes…” stammered Yunho before grabbing his wallet from his pocket and pulling out a fifty. “Here…”

“You can keep the change,” Yunho added as he replaced his wallet in his pocket and reached for the door handle.

“Thanks!” said the older driver with a smile. “Have a good night Sir.”

Ignoring the cab driver's attempt to wish him well, Yunho climbs out of the cab and shut the door. Turning around to take in more of his surroundings he shifted his eyes towards the front door and spotted a beautiful older woman, dressed in a black pencil skirt and pink blouse, holding a clipboard in her hand and talking to another man dressed casually. Taking a deep breath, trying to quiet the butterflies in his stomach, he made his way to where the woman was standing just as the other man disappeared behind the glass door.

“Can I help you?” she questioned. “Are you here for the singles mixer?”

“Yes…” nodded Yunho hesitantly.

Recognizing his nervousness and apprehension immediately the woman flashed a most reassuring smile and nodded.

“Very good,” she replied. “Well, you’re free to go in when you like. You are also free to move around as you see fit, speak to whoever catches your eye, or if you are more inclined to be a wallflower you can just sit down and relax at the bar. Just remember that the event ends at eleven and that, under the guidelines of tonight’s mixer, each participant is required to fulfill the establishment’s two-drink minimum policy.”

“That’s all?” questioned Yunho.

“That’s all.” she chirped with a smile as she reached over, opened the door, and motioned Yunho to go in.

“Have a good time,” she added as Yunho took a step and made his way inside, and swiftly closed the door behind him.