A warning: to the leader, the pariah, the victim, the messiah; this is war.

“He obviously doesn’t trust me,” Traveller said, as if discussing the weather. Hyukjae looked at his shoes.

“Well, no. But can you really expect him to? You appear out of nowhere, know about The Resistance and know he is leading it. You say you want in. Doesn’t that seem just a bit suspicious?”

Traveller tilted her head. “I know it’s suspicious. What I really want to know is why you begged him to let me into your ranks?”

Hyukjae gave her a shrug of his shoulders.  “You saved my life. And if you were on the Queen’s side, why would you kill those Imposers? I owed you, and I always pay my debts.”

Traveller gave a small nod. “You can trust me,” she began, “because this Resistance is the right thing.”  Traveller’s eyes were wide and she leaned forward as she spoke, as if to get across to Hyukjae how sincere she was. Hyukjae frowned, his brow furrowing.

“What do you mean by the right thing?” he questioned.

Traveller sat back in her seat. She blew out through . For a moment Hyukjae thought she looked very tired, and older than her years. The spark in her eyes seemed to fade, her skin grew pale and she seemed to slump slightly. Then, she brought her hand to , coughed and suddenly was back to her usual self.

Hyukjae was about to question her, but he figured it was probably his imagination playing tricks on him.

"Are you okay?" Hyukjae asked, slightly concerned.

Traveller nodded her head, back to her normal self.

There was silence for a moment, a moment that dragged out as if pulling it was pulling a weight behind it.

"Can you explain now?" Hyukjae asked.

Traveller looked at him. She always tilted her head when she looked at him. Her dark eyes studied his face carefully, as if trying to read his mind. "Hyukjae-ssi, do you live in Outer Seoul West or Outer Seoul East?"

Hyukjae didn't know where this was going. "West."

"Ah. The better off side. I presume you've visited the East?"

"Of course."

"Conditions are bad in the West, but they're terrible in the East."

Hyukjae glared at her. "You don't need to describe the East for me," he spat. "I've been there many times."

"And you've seen how throughout Outer Seoul thousands die from a plague? Thousands die out here while a single person dies in there? When was the last time the taxes rose?"

"Last week."

"And when was the time before that?"

"Two weeks ago."

Traveller looked Hyukjae in the eye. "If She - the Queen, keeps the Outer like this, you'll all eventually die. If there's a drought or a famine thousands in the Outer will die. If there's a plague they will live by on fancy medicines while out here hundreds of thousands will die. In times of trouble, people need education, proper living conditions, healthcare and resources. All of that's cooped up in Outer Seoul. Fighting Her is the right thing to do because it will help the citizens of Outer Seoul get those resources. And helping someone is always the right thing to do."

Traveller looked pleased with herself after her little speech.

Hyukjae glared and shook his head before pointing at a scar on his forehead. It was perfectly round, about a centimetre in diameter. His arms and face were pocked with these scars, identical but just a bit smaller. 

"Frobish. Do you know what Frobish is, Traveller?"

Traveller shook her head.

"Frobish is a disease. Jungsoo says it's like a para...a para..."

"A parasite?"

"Yeah. It's like a pa...one of those, but it's not. Germs spread around and they infect you. They get inside of you and bond together. They feed on your insides and one by one your body parts stop working. They leave these little scars where they are forming. A week after having Frobish, you can't think or walk as quick as you used to. A fortnight in, you can do nothing but lie in pain waiting for the end. Extremely contay...contay..."

"Contagious?"

"Extremely, uh, that. Breathing out infects your whole shack with the germs. If your mate sticks his head in to say hi, he's infected. If the two of you go out in the street, you've practically killed all your neighbours. And here's the best part; there was a cure. A real simple-like one. Nobody in the Inner died. Not a single one. They didn't give us none."

Traveller didn't say a word. Hyukjae knew she could sense the bad ending approaching.

"My mother. My father. My sister Sunkyu. My youngest brother Taemin. My best friend Junsu. My grandmother. All of my cousins and aunts and uncles and neighbours. Dead. Because of Frobish."

Traveller averted her eyes.

"My brother had it. Donghae. Younger than me, older than Taemin. His legs were beginning to stop working. Me, I had it in the early stages. Everyone else was dead, when the Imposers came knocking. They wore weird helmets - Jungsoo said they were gas masks or something. They tested our breath and said we were infected. They told us to go to a street in the East, we'd get medicine there. I was real hopeful, I practically dragged Donghae there. The streets were deserted, those infected were dead, those alive hiding from the germs. On the way, we met a man, it was Jungsoo but we didn't know him at the time. He too wore a gas mask and he asked were we infected. When we nodded he immediately opened this briefcase he had and took out two needles. Without wasting any time he injected us with this vaccine. Donghae passed out, so did I a few minutes later. When I woke the sun was down and the air smelled of burned meat. I was lying in a strange bed in a strange house. Soon after, Jungsoo came in."

Hyukjae's hands curled into fists.

"He told me that to prevent the Frobish from spreading the Imposers tested everyone. Anyone who had even a trace of Frobish was sent into a section of Outer Seoul East. When everyone was there, they burned it."

Traveller's eyes widened.

"Everyone infected - thousands and thousands - was burned alive. They then used special machines to clean the air. Jungsoo had three syringes of vaccine stolen from an Inner Seoul doctor and gave it to the first three invalids he met; Donghae, Junhong and I. We've been by his side ever since. If it weren't for him we would have been burned to death."

Hyukjae leaned forward, his voice dropping low. "You say you're doing the right thing and that's why you've decided to fight with us. I'm fighting because I never want something like that to happen ever again. You can speak all high and mighty Traveller, but we're fighting for the same reasons so don't try to act all righteous as if you're our ing messiah!"

Traveller sighed. "I'm sorry, Hyukjae-ssi," she said quietly. Suddenly she looked older again and Hyukjae's anger was replaced by concern. 

Traveller fell forward in her chair slightly, as if overcome by fatigue. Was that a flash of grey Hyukjae saw on the roots of her hair?

Hyukjae grabbed Traveller's arm to steady her. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

Again, she was back to her normal self. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a little tired."

Hyukjae nodded. “I’ve a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“Why do you call yourself Traveller? It’s not your real name, is it?”

Traveller gave a wry smile. “Of course not. What type of name is Traveller?”

“Then why won’t you tell us your real name?” Hyukjae asked exasperatedly.  “You ask us to trust you but you won’t even share your name with us.”

“I’ve…I’ve baggage Hyukjae. Do you know what baggage is?” There was no mistaking the taunt in her tone.

“I’m not a complete imbecile, thanks.”

“I have baggage Hyukjae. I carry a burden that you’ll never even begin to imagine. Telling you my name will begin a long story which I don’t have the energy to tell. Or the time for that matter.” A worried shadow flickered in Traveller’s eyes. “I’ve travelled around. A lot. So just call me Traveller.”

“Where have you travelled?”

“Places.”

“Where?”

“Places!” Traveller was getting frustrated. Her tone clearly told Hyukjae that was the most information he was going to get, so he tried another question.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“Seoul,” she replied, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

“You don’t have the Outer Seoul look about you. Are you from Inner Seoul?”

Traveller shook her head. “I’m from neither. I’m from Seoul. Just Seoul.”

***

Donghee pulled open the door, letting the mysterious Traveller into the small house. Sungmin followed her in. Donghee pulled the door shut behind him as he entered.

The house was in Outer Seoul East. Hyukjae owned it, but he rarely slept there. He preferred to sleep with his team rather than out here. His brother Donghae lived here full time and a few nights a week Donghee and Sungmin would stay. Tonight, Hyukjae offered a room to Traveller.

“Here we are,” Donghee said. “Home sweet home.”

“I’ll put on some food,” Sungmin said. “Hopefully there’s a scrap of something in the kitchen.” He wandered off into another room.

Traveller turned to Donghee. “Thanks for the hospitality,” she said with a gentle smile.

Donghee laughed. “Oh no, madam, it’s my pleasure!” Donghee comically bowed with an over-dramatic flourish. Traveller found herself laughing.

“Who the hell is this?” came a gruff voice.

Turning around, Traveller saw a lean figure limp out of the doorway.

“Manners, Donghae!” chided Sungmin trailing behind.

“Traveller, meet Donghae. Donghae, meet Traveller.”

Traveller bowed slightly. Donghae didn’t move a muscle. His eyes were cold.

A heavy silence fell between the four people crowded in the hallway. It was Sungmin who attempted to break it. “Hey Donghae, you have any food? Traveller hasn’t eaten in a while.”

“I have some ramen, I think. Are you two staying?” Donghae made it clear he didn’t want the other men to stay.

“I guess not…” Donghee’s bright personality was dampened by the current atmosphere. “We’ll be seeing you, Traveller.”

Traveller managed a smile for the two men as they left.

‘And then there were two…’ she thought.

***

“So, you’re Hyukjae’s brother?” Traveller asked before stuffing some ramen into .

Donghae put down his chopsticks. “Lee Hyukjae’s brother. Yes, that’s who I am. That’s all I ever will be. Fearless, brave, perfect Lee Hyukjae’s brother,” Donghae said bitterly.

Traveller raised an eyebrow. “No need to be so bitter,” she commented. “From what I’ve heard, he’s very brave. I’d be proud if he was my brother.”

“Brave? Brave my ,” Donghae glared at Traveller. “Don’t talk about what you don’t know, girl. Hyukjae might do the right thing once in a while, but he’s an idiot. He never thinks about the future, only what’s happening now. He’s rash and reckless and never thinks about the greater good. He puts himself in bad situations. Me? I’m just as brave as him. I used to be stronger than him even though I was younger. And I actually have a brain in between my ears. I’m smarter than him. I can read and write. I can plan and I can strategize. But because I’m cursed with a bad leg I’ll forever be looked down upon by everyone, I’ll forever be an outcast. I’ll only ever be the great Lee Hyukjae’s brother!”

Traveller’s eyes were wide. Donghae’s bitterness and malice took her by surprise. She guessed that he had kept these feelings bottled up for quite some time.

She her lips, not knowing quite what to say. Donghae’s eyes were locked on hers, as if he was daring her to contradict him.

“When I was younger,” she began, “my parents loved me. But they had big plans for their child. Great plans. Even though I was the older, they were going to let my younger brother fulfil them. I was furious – why should I not achieve greatness because of my gender?”

Donghae was looking at her intently. It was his turn to be surprised. “What did you do?” he asked.

Traveller allowed herself a sly grin. “I messed up their plans. I went ahead with it, against their wishes. And once I started there was no going back.” Donghae began to laugh.

“But…I bit off way more than I could chew. So Donghae-ssi, don’t let that bad leg stop you. Take control of your own future; don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do. But before you do anything drastic, make sure you know what the consequences of those actions will be.”

Donghae nodded, a smile on his lips for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. “Will do.”

A/N Frobish is totes stolen from Robert Frobisher, my favourite character from Cloud Atlas (what a great book). Anyway expect an update soon! Thank you! <3