Hongjoong arrived at Yunho's home with his brows furrowed. Just earlier he had greeted a tumbleweed on the street only to be laughed at by a passing Jaebeom because 'that's not Mingi you idiot' and he kept pondering the state of Yunho's mind on his way here.

Maybe the guy was just a bit confused? His head might have stopped working correctly after the tragic loss of his lover. Or maybe the herbs he was collecting had a strange effect on him. He did not necessarily have the mindset of a criminal but his behaviour was suspicious for sure.

So Hongjoong knocked on his door carefully, taking his head down and grimacing when the hot sun hit his sweaty neck. Thankfully he did not have to wait for long, the door in front of him swinging open quite soon.

Yunho was still tall and now during the daytime, Hongjoong could also see his features more clearly. The man's face looked oddly sunken in and sad, a little lost actually and his broad shoulders were hunched as if he was carrying the whole world on his shoulders.

How long had Mingi been gone? The actual one.

"Hi, Yunho. We've met before, do you remember?", Hongjoong gently began a conversation, uncertainly nibbling on his lip.

Yunho gave an exhausted sigh.

"Of course I do, Sheriff Kim. It's a bad day to visit me but what can I help you with?" He stepped aside, letting Hongjoong in his home and he took a moment to look around carefully.

He did not see any big knives or suspicious masks and hats. Just a multitude of herbs and odd potions standing without any sense of order on furniture that had even less sense of order. It seemed fairly harmless.

Yunho sat down on his small round desk, motioning Hongjoong to go sit opposite of him. The man had already prepared some drinks, a clean mug standing in front of Hongjoong.

"I'm sorry, did anything happen? I did not see you during the raid, if you had problems you could have come searching for me anytime." He took a sip of his... tea? and let it's spicy taste spread on his tongue.

"No, I-" Yunho looked immensely tired.

"It's the day I cursed Mingi... And he did not come to console me."

Hongjoong felt an odd kind of pity well up in his chest while he looked around, indeed finding the room devoid of any tumbleweeds. Awkwardly he fiddled with his thumbs, not knowing what to say.

"It's been three years... Three long years that I failed at turning him back."

Hongjoong did still not believe the theory of Mingi actually turning into some weed even when seeing all the unsettling potions here. However, he was also quite sure that however this Mingi person was like, he would not survive out in the desert without any help for three years.

However, there were people out there. The bandits for example.

If Yunho did play a game, he did not necessarily have to lie. He could get all of his information on the bandits from Mingi, just not the tumbleweed one. But the bandit one.

Maybe, just maybe Yunho was indeed not part of their crimes but just a desperate lover.

"Did you consider... he just left?" Hongjoong leveled his voice, trying to make it seem like a harmless guess and no firm belief.

Yunho buried his face in his big hands, his dark curls coming to fall in front of his dirt-caked fingers.

"No, no, he wouldn't have. He wouldn't have left me here just like that. He had nowhere to go, it can't be. Mingi is Mingi and I made the mistake of cursing him and even now he still loves me, keeps coming back to me." His voice cracked and Hongjoong felt bad again, self-consciously rubbing his fingers against his pants.

The thought of Yunho loving a tumbleweed was nearly even more disturbing than Wooyoung not only riding a rodeo bull but also San at the same time. Images Hoongjoong did not need in his head.

"Have you tried... following him? Maybe he's rolling to where the answer to your questions is." He felt completely stupid talking about this topic but he needed to in order to get into Yunho's head.

And as it looked, Yunho could never be a criminal. Hongjoong must have been wrong in his guess.

"I did. I followed him for weeks through the outback. But no sign of anything. Just loneliness." Yunho shuddered pitifully, his form hunching probably even more.

"I can't make any promises but I will look into it. Maybe I can find some more information during my research and help you with that... curse." Hongjoong reprimanded himself for going so soft on the tall man, giving empty promises.

However, Yunho's head snapped up immediately, his bright eyes suddenly glinting and filled with life.

"You are?!"

Hongjoong yelped when suddenly his hands were grasped, held tightly in between those big paws of Yunho.

"You are a good man! Such a good man, Kim Hongjoong! May your ancestors be blessed! I for sure wish you no more interferences from Youjin during your search!"

Hongjoong just nodded with big eyes, not quite listening.

However, when the last sentence registered in his brain he slowly blinked, watching Yunho freeze and do the same.

"Who?"

"Uhhh."

For a long moment they just stared at each other, waiting for the other to move.

"The- uh- the bandit. We did not wish to talk to Seonghwa about 'that bandit who killed Mary' all the time so we... gave him a name? Haha it does not matter!" Yunho broke out in a sweat, his smile wavering. Suspicious, Hongjoong narrowed his eyes.

Not them giving a bandit a name was the strange thing. It made sense actually, making the problem more solid.

But how was Yunho so sure that he was the same man who had been annoying Hongjoong at night? He told nobody after all.

At Hongjoong's prolonged silence Yunho scrambled to speak again.

"I mean! Like for your duties! If he keeps murdering people, who knows how much more work you have with that! I wish you some calm in the village so you have time to search for a cure, that's what I wanted to say! Excuse my silliness, it's just a terrible day for me."

He gave Hongjoong his best smile that Hongjoong just nodded silently at, filing that information away for later. Stiffly, he removed his hands from Yunho's grasp, standing.

"Of course. I do not wish to bother you on such a bad time anymore. Stay safe, Yunho. I shall inform you if I can find anything." He carefully stayed calm, not wanting to trigger another reaction from the man and got a mumbled goodbye before leaving.

Outside he blinked surprisedly.

He could test Yunho's credibility quite easy now. Whenever that bandit came to annoy him again, Hongjoong would just ask him for his name. If it happened to be Youjin Yunho would be behind bars faster than Mingi could roll to his rescue.

He made some quick notes, going to collect Wooyoung and Seonghwa then.

He had told the other men he wanted to speak to Yunho alone (solely because he could trust nobody) and Wooyoung had been busy with the preparations for their investor to arrive either way. So Seonghwa's job was basically just sitting in a corner and looking pretty but he was also damn good at that.

However, when Hongjoong returned to the office there was only Seonghwa idly swinging to and fro on his chair, no Wooyoung to be seen.

The man's face lit up when Hongjoong came in, the chair immediately settling on the ground.

"You're back.", he greeted him slowly, his face immediately settling in an expression of hunger. Hongjoong smirked at him, pulling the door shut and stepping over to the desk. He dropped his hat there unceremoniously, his fingers coming up to deftly pull at the bandana around his neck that kept heating him up.

"Where did Wooyoung go?"

"Over to Yeosang's to reserve a room for Mister Bang. He might take his time, I saw him making out with Yeosang through the windows earlier." At Hongjoong's scandalized glance at his face Seonghwa just licked his lips, motioning him to come closer.

"I thought he was dating somebody else.", he grumbled in surprise, however heeding the wish and stepping in between Seonghwa's opened legs. The other man's hands settled on his waist easily, pulling him in while he nosed at Hongjoong's neck.

"Oh, you haven't heard? Yeosang is his husband. But San is the man his heart belongs to." He said it so nonchalantly, chuckling at the way Hongjoong gasped. The sheriff leaned his head back, giving Seonghwa more access when the man started lapping at his sweaty neck, his hot tongue a curse and a blessing at the same time.

"That's a quite... Wooyoung thing to do.", he breathed with a disbelieving laugh, his fingers gripping Seonghwa's shoulders more tight when the man gently bit at his jugular, leaving marks for sure.

"Hmm. Did you find all the clues you were looking for? Want you to take me against that window for all of them to see."

Hongjoong's breath hitched a second time, his right hand flying up and into Seonghwa's hair to wrench his head back. Hotly his blood throbbed in his veins when he met the lidded eyes of the other, taking in his oh so pretty face.

"You look like a starved man. Did nobody take care of you these days?" He tightened his grip with his growl, watching Seonghwa's lashes flutter. He noticed the other man's fingers sneakily dipping underneath his shirt, resting on hot skin.

"Maybe that bandit would have done me good had you not interfered." His brow lifted in a quite obvious challenge, making Hongjoong just step closer boldly, knocking Seonghwa's good leg aside to open his legs more for himself. Seonghwa complied easily, a whine getting stuck in his throat when Hongjoong tipped Seonghwa's head back even further to loom above him.

"Even that bandit? You must be desperate, sugar."

A sly smirk graced Seonghwa's lips and Hongjoong just moved to dip down, to kiss him breathless and remove that cocky expression from his face, when outside a yell was heard.

"Wooyoung!"

That sounded like Yeosang.

Hongjoong did not hesitate, ripping away from Seonghwa immediately to run outside, his gun already in his hand. He opened the door to a cloud of dust, pressing his hand against his lips to hold in his painful cough. With teary eyes he looked around, hearing the thumping of hooves on the ground and a singular neigh to his left.

When he did finally find the source of the commotion he started running, seeing a man with a black uniform seated on a just as black horse. And in his lap, basically thrown over the saddle and struggling with his hands bound behind his back was Wooyoung.

Hongjoong ran as fast as he could, fleetingly aware of Seonghwa right at his side but just when he lifted his gun to fire, the masked man turned his head towards them, pulling his horse around.

Hongjoong's loud curse was screamed into the desert when the man took off, taking Wooyoung right with him. Yeosang was there too together with some confused folks, jogging weakly after them but stopping at the outskirts of town.

They had lost him.

Hongjoong was resolute in turning around, immediately stomping back to his office.

"Get me a horse. I will get him back.", he ordered darkly to some boy who came up to his side and he panickedly ran off again.

Inside of his office Hongjoong grabbed his rifle and his hat, hastily taking the bag with food that was always prepared for this occasion.

When he turned to go, Seonghwa just arrived in the door, breathing heavily and leaning on his good leg.

"Hongjoo-"

Hongjoong silenced him with a kiss, boldly pushing him backwards as to not get stopped by his frame in the door. Seonghwa stumbled, nearly biting his tongue at the bruising force Hongjoong kissed him with. When they were out on the street Hongjoong pulled back again, Seonghwa hiding his blushing face behind a delicate hand.

"I'll be back."

With that he took off.