I’ve done a lot of research over the past few days concerning an Argent’s ability to freely move between the Argent region and the Brass region.

Apparently, an Argent citizen who is directly uninvolved with the Government is only allowed to visit the Brass region if that Argent has an accompanying Exon with an official letter from the Government stating that the Argent’s passage is approved.

It turns out that having something I don’t even want can be an advantage.

However, I have no idea how to attain an official letter from the Government.

“The Brass region?” He echoes my words. He looks completely lost.

“Yes, the Brass region,” I repeat, slowly enunciating my words in case his brain didn’t process my meaning the first time. Wait. Exons don’t have brains; they have motherboards. That’s probably why. 

“Why would I take you there?” He asks. He looks utterly befuddled. I sigh and rub my temples.

“Didn’t I just explain it to you? If you take me there, I can tell you what it’s like to be human.”

“But telling me what it’s like to be human, and telling me how to be a human, are two entirely different things.”

My heart momentarily stops beating. “Are you implying that you want to know how to become human?” He opens his mouth to reply, but I scoff. “That’s ridiculous. You’re crazy. Look, just take me to the Brass region, all right?”

“But I can’t,” he protests. “The Institute tells me that I can’t take an Argent to the Brass region – “

“ – unless you have a letter from the Government, I know. I know that.” I shake my head at this. “And I don’t know how to get a hold of one of those, considering that the letter needs to be approved by all the council members. And my mom is one of them. And on top of that, all visitations to the Brass region are logged.

“But I don’t recall reading anything about Exons going to the Brass region by themselves. For a job, for an errand … you could do that.”

“But then you … won’t be coming?”

“You’re getting me in,” I explain to him. “I don’t know how. Don’t ask me that. But you’re an Exon. I’m sure you can think of something. Look at it this way. Hara, as a human, left the Argent region. She passed the gates. By herself. How the heck did she do that?” Luhan looks like he’s about to reply, but I stop him with a raise of my hand. “The Brass region shouldn’t be harder to enter than the Institute. And if the Institute has told you so much information already, then surely … they’ve told you enough for you to know how to get me in.”

“But … that’s against the rules,” he loyally reminds me. “And you’re grounded. Unless … is your mom okay with it?”

“That’s funny,” I comment and don’t say anymore about my mother’s approval of my actions (which is certainly not present). “If she were okay with it, I wouldn’t be asking you about this right now. Listen; you’ve got three days, Exon. Don’t bother me with questions. You’re going to find a way to get a letter from the Government, and you’re going to get me into the Brass region. All right?” I look at him evenly. “This is your job now. So hurry up and do what you’re made to do.”

It’s like I’ve flipped on a switch inside his head. He immediately turns around and heads downstairs, taking the plate with him. I consider ordering him to leave the scones behind, but I decide against it and return to my room.

I have things to do. I need to prepare a plan in case the Exon fails to fulfill my expectations. If he doesn’t succeed in getting me inside the Brass region, then I will get in there myself, by means that are certainly illegal. And if I have to, I’m going to ask Hara for advice.

But obviously that’s a last resort.

For the next three days, life continues normally. My mother comes home at exactly six in the evening, and we eat dinner. The Exon does not eat with us. He does not need to. Afterwards, she works on papers or goes to bed early. In the morning, she leaves for work at seven.

I stay in my room and only come downstairs for meals. There are too many things to gloss over, too many ideas to test, and too many theories to challenge. The three-day bracket I gave the Exon ends, and the only thing I’ve achieved in that time is a lack of sleep and a confirmation of bad plans.

I think I really might have to contact Hara. With my name at stake, I’m depending on the Exon to deliver. He had better return to me with the letter.

It’s an hour before my mother comes home, so I leave my room and look for the Exon. I find him sitting down in the living room with some sort of small square in his hands. It contains nine panels of colors on each side, and he is spinning different parts of it to match one color with another.

“What is that?” I ask him. My voice startles him, and he drops the puzzle.

“It’s a Rubik’s Cube,” he says as he bends down to pick it up from the floor. “They don’t make them anymore, but your mother found one for me.”

“Well, isn’t that nice of her,” I reply sarcastically. I watch him as he continues to spin the cube. “Can you listen to me for a bit?”

“Of course,” he says, setting the Rubik’s Cube on the table beside him. He stands up and walks over to me. “What would you like me to hear?”

I resist the impulse to roll my eyes and reply, “I want to know if you’ve managed to find a way to get me into the Brass region. My mom is coming home in less than an hour, and if we’re going to do this, you need to tell me now, so that we can carry out the plan later tonight. Do you know how to get in, or not?”

“Yes,” he replies simply. “It’s right here,” he says, pulling out a folded letter from his pocket. I see the Government’s seal stamped onto the front of the letter: a gray hexagon with two black lines that run across it diagonally.

“How the heck did you get this?” I stare in wonder.

“I talked to Sehun.”

“Who’s that?” I ask.

“It’s Hara’s Exon.”

I don’t know what catches me off-guard more: the fact that Hara ordered an Exon, or the fact that it’s Hara who got him. Indirectly, I still received help from that girl. I need to forget my pride if I’m going to carry out this plan.

“Alright … alright. I’m not going to ask how her Exon got it. Because that’s like asking her how she left the Argent region, and she’d never tell me.” I cluck my tongue. “She seems to like you, Exon.”

“Really?” He asks, looking eager.

“You’re not supposed to be happy about that,” I snort. “And this is it? This isn’t fake? What about the logging of names?”

“She said that all I need to do is show this to the officials at the gate,” Luhan tells me. “But she said we could only stay for an hour, maybe two. Are you … are you happy?”

I turn around. “I’ll meet you at the door at midnight.” With that, I walk up the stairs and leave him in the living room. I’m not going to grant him the satisfaction of giving him good feedback.

When my mother comes home from work, we eat dinner. She tells me that she still has a lot of work to do (and also tells me that I’m still grounded) before she shuts herself in her room in order to focus on her work. I patiently but nervously wait for her to fall asleep. When she finally exits her room to bid me goodnig