Chapter 6

'Keeping a close eye' on Day, Wen realized, felt a lot like taking a toddler to work and expecting them to sit quietly. Day didn't have an issue with the quiet part, it was the sitting part he struggled with. If Wen wasn't directly giving him attention he was likely to disappear without a sound. Wen often wouldn't notice he was gone until he heard one of his men shout "Who the hell is that guy?" or "Hey! You aren't supposed to be in here!"

As the end of the day neared, Wen had completed all his work. As usual, he kept working. There was always something he could be doing, and the alternative of going home to sit in silence was hardly as appealing. 

Day seemed to feel otherwise, as he had been bothering Wen for the past 15 minutes, slumping over the back of his chair and whining about being bored.

"I'm very busy," Wen grumbled, "I have a lot of work to do, and I have to keep an eye on you."

"Well, keep an eye on me somewhere else," Day pulled himself up and reached out to grab Wen's sleeve, "I saw a park on our way over here, let's go there. That's a great place to keep an eye on me."

Wen shook Day off his arm, "What would we even do at a park?"

Day stared back at him with wide eyes. "It's…it's a park. We'll go there and do…park things."

Wen wasn't completely convinced Day knew what he was talking about, but he was starting at him intently and clearly had no intention of being less annoying until he got what he wanted.

"Fine."

Day visibly perked up as Wen stood to grab his coat. He trailed after him happily as Wen strode outside, waving off the driver who immediately approached. He had never walked to the park before, but surely it couldn't take too long. It seemed close, probably less than three minutes. 

The sun only just beginning to lower, it was still bright enough to bother Wen. He walked quickly, already annoyed at the way Day leisurely strolled behind. The man was easily distracted by just about everything, and Wen wasn't convinced they would ever make it anywhere.

Forty-five minutes later he was starting to lose patience.

Eventually the noise of the shops and street vendors began to die down. The buildings turned into trees, and finally Wen noticed a trail branching off to his right. It wound down through a throng of trees to a small pond surrounded by wooden picnic tables.

It was nice, and exactly the kind of place Wen would never think of frequenting himself. 

The sun had begun to set and a golden light spilled between the trees. The change of scenery had cleared Wen's mind. This would be a perfect opportunity to let Day think his guard was down, and then catch him in whatever trick he was trying to pull. Wen still didn't understand what this man wanted, but he was going to find out.

Before he could decide on an opening question, Day grabbed his sleeve and eagerly pointed in front of him.

"That's a duck!" 

Wen glanced where Day was pointed, to a rather large duck sitting underneath a nearby tree, fluffing it's feathers and waddling about.

Wen squinted his eyes, searching for the hidden meaning underneath the man's cunning words. "I know what a duck is."

"Do you like it?" Day asked, eyes wide.

"Do I like…ducks?"

"That duck," Day amended. 

"I…don't know," Wen stammered, taken aback by Day's questioning. This conversation was already not going where he expected.

"You should think about it," Day replied, as if it was the most pressing issue.

Day moved on quickly, darting ahead to the pond where he bent down to stick both hands in the water. 

Wen did think about it. He came to the conclusion that he didn't really like that duck. It waddled angrily and bit Day when he got too close. Wen didn't like that duck at all, but he did like the way Day looked at the duck. With big eyes, like he had never seen anything so fascinating. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but it was the same way Day often looked at him.

Soon, a chill ran through the air as the sun disappeared. Wen found himself surprised at his reluctance to leave, but finally it was too dark and he started to get nervous. He was increasingly aware he was here without guards—he hadn't expected to be gone this long.

On the walk back they stopped at one of the dozens of food stalls lining the streets. As Day shoved grilled meat in his mouth, Wen carefully avoided eye contact and said, "I'm not sure about that duck."

He had spent the entire walk back trying to figure out what to say. Day had asked him to report on his feelings towards the duck, and it was proving more difficult than he would have imagined. 

"I like ducks, I think, just maybe not that one," Wen said in hurry, ignoring Day's inital confused look.

"Ooooohh," Day leaned towards him, "that makes sense!" 

Wen didn't think it did, but he wasn't about to argue. 

"We can go back, and find a duck you do like!" Day proposed, looking expectantly at Wen.

"Yes," Wen said, after a moment of consideration, "that does seem like a reasonable course of action."