Shan Ro was positive he was behind on something but he wasn't entirely sure what. He didn't keep a schedule, mostly because he had never had to. His brother had been making to-do lists since practically the moment he could write, and Shan had fully taken advantage of this. He had never regretted his inability to function without Wen telling him how, but for the first time, it occurred to him how inconvenient it was.
He hadn't shown up to his office in days, truthfully because without his little brother getting on his case about it, he really had no reason to go. He wandered his way over to the large building 25 minutes after the agreed-upon time, lazily making his way to the top floor where Wen was already waiting.
He stopped by the small bar outside the door to make two drinks, willfully ignoring the irritated glare he could feel on his back.
"Little brother!" He exclaimed happily, once he finally strode into his office, "It's been a while!" He handed Wen a drink and took the other to his desk where he sat leaning against the wood. "About time you told me what's been keeping you. How are you, anyway?"
"I've been fine," Wen said, ignoring his brother's other question, "busy."
"Really?" Shan asked, twirling his drink in one hand, "I assumed you took a vacation. So unlike you, I was almost proud."
"No," Wen glowered, "I don't take vacations. That's you."
"Maybe you should try," Shan hummed, "it would do wonders for your stress."
"We have business to discuss," Wen said, already regretting his decision to see his brother.
"Do we?" Shan leaned forward, "I hadn't heard from you in so long, I assumed you were abandoning the family business."
"We both know if that was an option you would have done it years ago," Wen said sharply.
"Fine, fine," Shan sipped a bit of his drink before turning his attention back to his brother, "what business am I supposed to be doing now? Did you print out a schedule for me or should I check my email?"
"No schedule," Wen said, leaning back to hide the tension he could feel gnawing at his chest, "one of my men has gone missing and I want you to look into it. Nothing else to do, I'll handle all of your other tasks."
Shan's eyebrows rose, "Really? No meetings? No boring negotiations? You just want me to look for one of your lackeys?"
"Yes."
"Interesting. Why don't you just hire someone new? If you haven't found him in this long, he's either sold you out or his body's in a ditch somewhere."
The sound of glass shattered through the room, and Shan's eyes widened as he watched liquid drip from Wen's glass-covered hands.
Shan had been patronizing and teasing his younger brother since he was born, but nothing had ever bothered him. Today, however, one offhand comment had sent shards of glass around the room.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shan said quickly, standing to grab a rag from under the bar and tossing it to Wen, "I wasn't serious. I just think it's weird, that's all."
"I didn't ask your opinion," Wen responded, schooling his expression back to neutral.
"You never do!"
Wen wiped the wet glass and blood from his hands, ignoring the sting. He set the broken pieces of glass on the desk, before asking, "Will you do it or not?"
"I don't really have a choice do I?" Shan asked, without any real bite.
Wen only stared back, unimpressed.
"Fine, fine," Shan put his hands up defensively, "who am I looking for?"
Wen reached beside himself, producing a manila folder. He tossed it to Shan.
It took Shan 30 seconds of flipping through the file to figure out that whoever this missing man was, he was not simply one of Wen's men.
The missing man, Day, had no arrest record. No record of anything, really. His only family connection listed was a deceased pet turtle. Wen had included 20 pages of single-spaced typed facts, none of which were remotely helpful.
"Can't eat spicy food?" Shan read from the second page, "Cries during horror movies?"
Wen nodded his head solemnly.
"Do you have any info that might actually help me find him?" Shan asked, skimming over page 5's 'will pet wild raccoons if you don't stop him'.
Wen narrowed his eyes, "anything could be relevant. Were you expecting to find a map with his exact location and directions? Perhaps a handout with the best lunch spots on the way?"
"I mean, that would have been nice."
"This is all I have. It's more than you've ever given me to work with. Find him."
Shan threw up his hands with a chuckle, "Aw, so serious all the time! Fine, fine, I'll reach out to some friends, maybe someone knows something."
"Keep me updated," Wen gave a brief nod and stood to leave.
"Yeah, yeah," Shan mumbled, suddenly noticing the red that rimmed his brother's eyes. As he watched Wen stand to leave, he softly added, "Whoever this is, I'll find him. I will."
Something about the gentleness in his brother's voice made a lump form in Wen's throat. Before he could stop himself he asked with a shaking voice, "Promise?"
Shan squared his jaw. For the first time in years, he was reminded that Wen was younger than him. He was the same boy who used to curl up in his bed during thunderstorms, face wet with tears that Shan would wipe away.
He looked his younger brother in the eyes, and said as forcefully as he could, "I promise."