Chasing Sunset

Waiting For Summer ⛅️

The nights became longer and stretched out into years. And without the sun in the sky, he was all but a shadow.

~~~

And just like that, five years flew by and the once muscular (from manual labor) but lean young man has now become brawnier and more manly with his shirt buttons barely keeping his shirt from bursting open due to his buff chest.

His hair was longer and tied up on the back of his head, revealing his undercut and his clothes were finely pressed and expensive looking. He gave off an air of authority as he strode across his own establishment, making sure operations were running smoothly.

"Any glitch tonight?" Boss asked his friend and branch manager, Nat.

"Nope." Nat yelled over the loud music. "Just some drunks who tried to make a scene but they were dealt with, no worries."

At this, Boss nodded and leaned over the railing of the balcony overlooking the dance floor. He now ran a high end bar at the heart of Bangkok, a highly profitable business and yet his parents weren't so enthusiastic about it but they supported him nonetheless.

After all, Boss kept his promise and was now solely supporting his entire family and putting his sister through school. But the downside was that he now spent all of his days in darkness—sleeping during the day and working at night.

It was as if summer had ended for him five years ago and the sun hadn't risen ever since.

"You know, you don't have to come in every single night." Nat told him with a chuckle. "You're the only boss I know that acts like a regular employee."

Boss smirked at his friend's remark, acknowledging his workaholic ways. But Boss had a special reason why he never missed a business day. He knocked back the contents of his drink in one go and trained his intense gaze back to the floor. In the crowd of rich and intoxicated young men and women dancing to their hearts content under dim red and blue lights, Boss' eyes seemed to be searching for someone in particular.

"Still hoping he'll pop up soon?" Nat intentionally didn't look at Boss as he asked and the latter didn't reply but they both knew silence meant yes.

It was roughly four years ago. For the first time ever since Noeul dropped off from the face of the earth, Nat and Golf had convinced Boss to go to karaoke—let out those pent up feelings.

But before they could even start, Boss caught a glimpse of a familiar face in one of the karaoke rooms and as though losing all control, he marched right in and grabbed the bastard by the collar.

"What the-" The boy's expression went from agitated to amused. "Oh, look who we have here—Noeul's boy toy."

Boss' grip on his collar tightened. By then, his friends were behind him, trying to get him to calm down all while being utterly confused about the whole situation. "Boss, c'mon, man. You'll get in trouble."

And just months before that, Boss would have been the first to step away and avoid problems. But in that moment, he didn't care. He only cared about one thing, "Where's Noeul? What did you do to him?"

At this, the stoned male let out a laugh and questioned, "Me? Why're you asking me? Weren't you his latest plaything? You should know better than I do where the fuck he is."

But Boss was in no mood to play and instead of using words, he pulled him by the collar only to slam him back against the wall—a warning that if Boss didn't hear a proper reply soon, he could do so much worse.

The boy grunted in pain but at the same time, he laughed pleasurably at Boss' misery. "You don't know him at all, do you? Fine, I'll help you out since I feel sorry for you. I don't know exactly where Noeul is per se but I know he's back in our circle."