Chasing Sunset

Dusk Til Dawn 🌄

But when the night finally gave way for the day, it shed light on everything—even those they'd rather keep hidden in the dark.

~~~

For the first time in a long time, Boss was awake during the day. He couldn't sleep, not after he saw Noeul in the flesh.

He used to envision that moment over and over again, each time, changing how he would react because he simply wasn't sure. Would he be happy, angry or just plain cold? It had been five years after all; would the feelings still be there?

But as he discovered the night before, all he felt when he saw him was...yearning.

After lying awake for hours, Boss decided to stop forcing himself to sleep and just fix himself a cup of coffee. He went downstairs and into the contemporary kitchen and for once, he pulled the curtains open—allowing sunlight to stream into the room.

As the warmth engulfed him, only one person came to mind—Noeul, present Noeul and no longer the old Noeul. He looked so different and yet, just the same. He still had that angelic face despite the fact he tried to hide it behind fierce looking makeup and he was petite as ever, even more so than a woman.

Suddenly, it occurred to Boss that there was a chance Noeul had seen him first. Could that have been the reason why he left in such a hurry? Were the feelings of longing not mutual? Was Noeul...still running away from him?

And that thought alone made him bitter as the coffee he was drinking.

~~~

The following evening, Nat found Boss in the security office where he was replaying the footage from the night before. By then, Boss had gone through an hour and a half of footage from different parts of the club and still going.

"Bro, what exactly are you looking for? Was anything stolen?" Nat asked, already feeling dizzy just from glancing at the screen. He couldn't fathom how Boss could possibly watch that for hours.

"No, nothing." Boss replied flatly much to the other's confusion. 

"Then, why are you-"

But Boss suddenly became alert and he was staring at a specific footage with wide eyes. Nat followed his gaze and saw that it was at the entrance of the establishment. At first, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary but then, a certain blonde caught his eye.

"Huh? That guy looks familiar." He thought aloud. Then his eyes widened exponentially and he blurted out, "Wait, isn't that-" Nat slapped a hand over his mouth and glanced at Boss anxiously but from the look on Boss' face, he already knew.

He watched Noeul enter the club at around 1 am...but he wasn't by himself. He seemed to have come with a large group but one guy in particular had his arm around Noeul's shoulders as they entered.

Nat could see Boss clenching his jaw and the mouse looked like it would get crushed under his hand but he continued to watch. The group took a seat at the VIP lounge where Boss normally hung around but he was on bartender duties that night.

They were served drinks and for sometime, Noeul and his "friend" just chatted casually but after a few drinks, the boy began cozying up to Noeul; placing a hand on his leg and whispering into his ear and eventually...kissing him on the lips.

At this point, Boss couldn't watch anymore and he slammed the laptop shut, automatically killing the feed on the screen. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles were turning white and before Nat could utter words of comfort (if there were even any), Boss stood up and marched out of the security room, closing the door with a loud bang.