It had been weeks since that fateful night. The night he could barely remember, yet yearned to never forget. What little information he and Changmin had gathered the following morning, after his foray into drunken indiscretion, offered some hope. Yet as a few days passed, and then so many more, the possibility of catching a glimpse of his newest vexation once more grew exponentially smaller.

 

Yunho had taken his friend’s advice and had ventured back to the Wolf Moon the very next night. Only to find there was no sign of the man he longed to see again. Spending hours there, the evening much quieter and less crowded than the night before, he waited and watched. Hoping, practically praying, that Jae would show his face for only a moment and offer some clarity but there was nothing.

 

Only one face was familiar among the staff. And as much as Yunho wanted to question Bruce further, he knew that any inquiry he’d propose would be shut down –just as Changmin had been earlier that day. Under the guise of protecting Jae’s privacy. So he chose to grab the same stool at the end of the bar; the one he had first used the night of the mixer and decided not to bother the broad-shoulder bouncer with any unnecessary questions. Offering the man only a simple raise of his glass and nodded when Bruce eventually noticed him.

 

“Becoming a regular, I see, Mr. Jung?” Bruce questioned half an hour later, as he sided up to the bar to check on the casually dressed, blonde woman working behind the counter. “How do you feel?”

 

Surprised by the friendly candor offered by Bruce, it took Yunho a moment to answer.

 

“Better than I was this morning,” he replied with a slightly derisive smile.

 

“In that, I have no doubt.” Bruce chuckled lightly. “You did have quite the night last night.”

 

“So I suspected, given the aftermath. I do hope I didn’t cause any problems last night.”

 

“Ah, not at all. Like I told Mr. Shim, you were a model customer,” the bouncer dismissed politely. “You and Jae... the two of you kept to yourselves. Like you were in your own little world, all night. Didn’t even see much of a glimpse of either of you until closing time and didn’t even need to worry.”

 

“Though,” he added thoughtfully, a little smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I’m pretty sure the owner is going to have a coronary when they find out how much their little experiment cost them.”

 

“Experiment?” Yunho countered as a sinking feeling suddenly tugged from somewhere deep within. “What do you mean?”

 

“Oh? Ah, yes,” Bruce answered, with a hint of confusion before blinking and realizing his mistaken words. “My apologies, that must have sounded so suspicious.”

 

“Well, yes,” Yunho nodded.

 

“I only meant, in reference to, the VIP status and the benefits you were comped because of it.” the bouncer clarified. “Nearly twenty-two hundred dollars worth of food and booze is nothing to sneeze at, after all.”

 

“We’ve never had a VIP list before, let alone someone on that list,” he added. “It’s why everyone was a little surprised last night, confused because of it.”

 

“The owner is quite a stickler for not showing favoritism.” he continued. “Not with staff and definitely not with customers. The policy is that everyone is both welcome and equal. No one gets special treatment, no one.”

 

“So why me?” countered Yunho.

 

“To hell if I know,” sighed Bruce. “But who are we to argue? The boss says: Treat him well. See to it that he has a great night. And we comply. As is our place.”

 

“I see...” Yunho sighed, feeling somewhat dejected and confused as to the vagueness of it all.

 

“Bruce?” he questioned a moment later.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Who is the Wolf Moon’s owner? Could it be that we know each other, and that’s why they put me on the VIP list?”

 

“It’s possible.” the man nodded. “But for who they are, if you wish for me to name them that is, I’m afraid I cannot give you that answer.”

 

Yunho did not miss the fact that Bruce had been deliberately ignoring any signifiers of gender within his answers. Adding to the mysteriousness of the Wolf Moon’s elusive owner.

 

“For privacy reasons, I take it?” Yunho questioned, recovering quickly from the realization.

 

“Quite right,” Bruce nodded. “The owner doesn’t approve of anyone speaking out of turn, or gossiping about others, so we are all held to a higher standard of privacy protection here. Violating the privacy of anyone; the staff, the customers, the owner; their proclivities or dealings; or compromising the protocols dictated, in any way, is grounds for immediate termination and prosecution.”

 

“Sounds terribly strict...” Yunho stated with a suspicious air lacing his tone. “For just a simple, neighborhood bar.”

 

“I suppose,” Bruce nodded. “But not as strict as some places I’ve worked. Japan was especially stringent, had to second guess every word out of your mouth most days.”

 

“Man... I could tell you stories that would make your skin crawl.”

 

“But do I want to know?” he countered, trying to lighten the mood.

 

“No. No, you don’t.” chuckled Bruce. “Trust me. It wasn’t pretty.”

 

“Then, I’ll pass.” Yunho nodded, taking another swallow of drink.

 

Bruce offered a nod in return before focusing his attention on the female bartender behind the counter. As they conversed about this and that, related to the day's operations, Yunho mulled over what he had learned from Bruce.

 

The fact that the bouncer’s story had not changed from the retelling given to Changmin had surprised him. He had been suspecting that Bruce had given a sanitized account of his behavior to lessen any embarrassment born from his actions. But, it seemed, that such an assumption had been faulty. The man was adamant that there had been no impropriety, no misbehavior of any kind, yet Yunho was still not so certain.

 

Though he could not remember everything that happened that night, he was certain that he had crossed the line with Jaejoong. But, by how much and how far, was yet to be determined.

 

The fact that Jaejoong had spent nearly two hours in his apartment after they left the bar bothered him. Not so much because he had been there but because, for the life of him, he could not be sure whether the two of them had slept together. Let alone be sure if it had been consensual or even safe. The consequences of the former: are scandal and legality. The consequence of the latter being downright dangerous. And both were an uncertainty that could spell misfortune for any chance of pursuing the man that had captured his attention so fully, should either be detrimentally true.

 

And, so, Yunho’s days passed in a repeatable fashion. Work by day, his evenings spent at the Wolf Moon, and always on the lookout. After a few nights, nearly a week, it dawned on him that someone else he’d been expecting to be at the bar had not shown his face either. Su, his cousin Junsu as Jaejoong had clarified, had not been to work since before the night of the Midnight Moon Festival. Yunho couldn’t help but wonder why. From the impression he had gotten from Junsu, at the mixer, he seemed like the type that worked almost every night. But there had been no sign of him at all –which he found odd.

 

So much so that, on one particular evening, Yunho struck up a random conversation with an older gentleman at the bar. He had seen the man every day since his vigil had started, sitting on the same barstool and sipping the same bland beer, and figured that he was a regular. He talked with the old man for nearly an hour; the elder, far more receptive to casual conversation than he’d expected; only to learn nothing of significance. The only thing that the old man had said that seemed like it carried a kernel of truth was his complaint that none of the staff; those lazy louts; seemed to work regularly. Vaguely confirming what Bruce had told Changmin about Jaejoong’s mysterious contractual freedoms.

 

“Well?”

 

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, anymore,” Yunho answered as he looked from the paperwork in his hand and over his desk, at Changmin, as the man tiredly sprawled out on the sofa in the middle of his office and loosened his tie.

 

“It’s been weeks and no sign.”

 

“The staff is tight-lipped and the patrons are clueless,” he added with a sigh. “He hasn’t come into work, and neither has his cousin.”

 

“Then it is likely that they both may have moved on,” noted Changmin as he leveled a look in Yunho’s direction. “The service industry is rather unstable, after all. Employees change, opportunities make their presence known unexpectedly, and whims often shift. Perhaps someone made a better offer?”

 

“You’re not helping, Min,” Yunho argued, sounding frustrated.

 

“I could be,” Changmin countered in an amused tone. “But you won't let me.”

 

“I’ve already said no!”

 

“And yet, here you are doing exactly what I predicted. Failing miserably and complaining that you can’t find him. All while trying to maintain what dignity you have left, not realizing that it disappeared the moment you went back to the bar looking for him.”

 

“You’re getting desperate, Yunho. And you know it!” Changmin scoffed.

 

“Desperate or not, it doesn’t matter. I won't stoop so low as to send someone to track him down.” Yunho replied bluntly. “I can’t be that type of person. Not now, not ever.”

 

“Then you will be stuck pining for a guy you barely know until you either get over him or you find someone new,” argued Changmin brazenly, dropping all pretense. “And we both know, with your track record, that the latter is a longshot.”

 

“Why are you being such an ?”

 

“Because,” sighed Changmin, finally getting to the heart of his irritation. “I’m tired, Yunho. I’m tired of watching you; every day; work yourself to death, and ignore everything around you. Sacrificing what you truly want, what you truly need, for the sake of... Hell, I don’t even know anymore.”

 

“You’ve cut yourself off from everyone who cares about you, who could care about you and wallow in your own self-misery. And act like everything is perfectly fine. That being alone is, somehow, your lot in life. That this is all there is for you, and nothing more. And that bull, Yunnie.”

 

“You’ve finally found someone that you like, someone that makes you happy...” the man accused bluntly. “Someone that makes your heart race... But you’re too much of a coward to do what needs to be done to find him.”

 

“And what happens when you do? Let’s say I let you use your contacts to track Jaejoong down. Let’s you say you find him. What excuse...what justification could I give to him that would exonerate me of the fact that I had to use such a dirty trick to locate him, huh? Do you honestly think Jaejoong would want anything to do with me if he ever found out I hired a damn private investigator to find him!”

 

“He doesn’t need to know,” Changmin answered passively.

 

“So, you would have me lie? Is that it?” scoffed Yunho angrily. “I can’t believe you!”

 

“I can’t believe you!” countered Changmin, defensively, as he abruptly got up from the sofa and glared at Yunho. “I’m only trying to help, and you jump down my throat on...what? Moral grounds? May I remind you that your nose isn’t as clean in this as you want to insist?”

 

“What would Jaejoong think if he found out that you had been stalking his place of work for the last three weeks looking for him? Huh?”

 

“You think he would believe for a second that you had good intentions?”

 

“I don’t care how attracted he is to you, there is no way he would find that behavior normal,” Changmin concluded. “Hell, even I think it's highly suspect and I’m the more wickedly inclined one here.”

 

“If you would have let me step in from the start... Then at least it would seem like you were being more honest. That you were trying to find him because you liked him and not because you had bad intentions.”

 

“Cause you better believe that at least one, if not all, of the Wolf Moon’s staff, has spoken to him. At least once, since you started hanging out there on the regular. I do not doubt that he’s already well aware you’re looking for him.”

 

“Even if you didn’t say it out loud to a single soul,” he added with finality. “All they would have had to do is put two and two together and get stalker!”

 

“Min!” Yunho barked as he slammed his fist on his desk and jumped up.

 

“What? You know I’m right. No self-respecting person would see this any other way without a mountain-sized pile of context.”

 

“Context, might I remind you, that Jaejoong does not have at this point.”

 

“Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was actively avoiding you right now.”

 

“Then, what the hell do you suggest I do? Hmm?” Yunho countered, his frustration highly evident. “What options are there, really?”

 

“You let me do what I do best,” Changmin deadpanned flatly. “Let me dig into the bar, its owner, and its employees, and I guarantee you I will find him.”

 

There was no way to deny that Changmin’s expertise in the field of law had always been exemplary. But his uncanny ability to acquire even the most obscure fact in any circumstance was unparalleled. His litigation skills were legendary, but his investigative prowess was the stuff of nightmares for anyone that found themselves the subject of his inquiry. If there was anyone in this world that could find Jaejoong, it would be him. But unleashing Changmin was like letting a vicious wolf loose in a confined space: there would always be casualties.

 

“Even if you do, it won't mean that he will want to have anything to do with me. You said so, yourself.”

 

“Just let me handle it.”

 

“After all,” he suddenly added with a mischievous smirk. “You know how persuasive I can be.”

 

“Fine!” Yunho relented, exasperated by the whole situation, as he threw up his hands in frustration and finally sat back down at his desk. “Do, whatever.”

 

“I will,” replied Changmin, as he took a seat on the sofa, leaned back, and crossed his legs with a smug look on his face. “And while I deal with it, you need to do two things: Stop stressing over finding Jaejoong and focus on company business. Have you seen the latest quarterly reports from the Thailand branch? They’re atrocious.”

 

“It's in financial freefall. Projections suggest that within three months it will be unsalvageable.”

 

“I’ve seen the findings. Do we know what caused the shift in revenue streams over the last few months? The declining customer base? The lack of market viability?”

 

“Ostensibly, one would presume, given the strength of Thailand’s economy that there would be an issue in production numbers. But we’ve seen no decline, no immediate red flags that could signal such a downward spiral, according to CFO Lee.”

 

“Up until the beginning of last quarter,” Changmin continued. “Their analytics and revenue streams were trending upward. It’s growth...up nearly twenty percent from the previous quarter and an overall net gain of fifteen percent from the year prior.”

 

“Could it be a logistics problem?” countered Yunho. “Perhaps a marketing error or demographic shifts that could account for the sudden downturn? Or perhaps a looming issue within the economy we’ve not yet been privy to?”

 

“It’s possible but unlikely. From everything thing I’ve seen, it seems like –on the ground, operation-wise –everything is still working smoothly. Logistically, there have been no issues with production or getting goods to market. Nor have there been any problems from the retail sector that could indicate the cause for the lack of growth. Let alone the backsliding.”

“You must have looked into it,” Yunho asserted carefully, knowing full well that Changmin would not miss an opportunity to invest time into such a problematic situation –with or without an official request. “Any theories?”

 

“Something seems very off,” Changmin answered. “There has been a recent string of new contract acquisitions and amendments to older deals as of late. Standard practices and protocols are seemingly being overlooked or dismissed; with governmental waivers that seem unconventional at best, illegitimate a worst; so as to facilitate dealings that are both unusual and suspicious.”

 

“I suspect that we have a managerial issue on our hands, bordering on the criminal. Shady dealings abound, and associations with questionable institutions are becoming more frequent. If it's not dealt with soon, I fear we will have to deal with much more than trade sanctions and fines. Thailand’s government is not well known for its leniency when it comes to the corruption of foreign entities, perpetrated within its own borders, after all.”

 

“So, what do suggest we do?”

 

“If you would have asked that of me a week ago, I would have said to let the Fraud Protection Team deal with it... But after this latest update, I think a more robust solution is necessary. There are so many inaccuracies in the latest batch of reports that it looks like we will have to gather a restructuring team instead.”

 

“You think someone’s cooking the books?”

 

Changmin nodded.

 

“Very well, then. Department suggestions?” countered Yunho.

 

“Legal, for one. In that regard, I will go. As for the rest: finance, logistics, marketing, auditing teams from HR and our PR firm, and a least one member of the board should go. Preferably: you, considering that you will ultimately be held responsible if we find that there have been any crimes committed on a large scale.”

 

“At best we will only be looking at a full restructuring of the Thailand branch’s staff and management. At worst we could be looking at serious legal repercussions and governmental intervention. So we need to go in prepared and be ready for anything.”

 

“Alright, I’ll let Donghae know. See to it that all the department heads are informed of the situation, so they can gather their teams and start preparing.” Yunho agreed with a nod. “And let’s shoot for the middle of next week, to head to Bangkok.”

 

“Sounds good.” agreed Changmin as he stood from the couch and straightened his tie. “In the meantime, I do a little more digging into their operations and put my people on the Wolf Moon issue.”

 

Yunho just simply nodded and turned his attention back to the report in his hand, too unwilling to discuss his personal situation any further to offer any response.

 

 

A/N: After a far-too-long hiatus, I've updated. For all of you who remember this fic and return, thank you.