Youngjae woke up to the sound of Daehyun talking.
 
It was disorienting waking up in a different place, but Youngjae eventually remembered the events that had taken place yesterday. The air was still musty, and the cot wasn't the most comfortable place to lie on. There weren't any windows in the room and with no transceiver watch, he had no way to tell the time. The last thing Youngjae remembered was working on dismantling the robot he had picked up.  How did he end up in a cot? There was also a jacket that on top of him, and it smelled vaguely like gunpowder and bread; it took Youngjae a couple moments in his bleary haze to realize that it wasn't his.
 
Youngjae opened his eyes slightly, and found Daehyun sitting on the lone chair by the desk with his back to Youngjae, apparently talking into a communicative device––it appeared to be an Old World phone. He was using that dialect again; Youngjae wondered if he was talking to another rebel in his group.
 
"Where are you right now?" the voice on the other end asked. It was considerably harder to hear than the last time they had contact; the interference distorted his voice, made cracks in the audio, but it wasn't hard to hear the relief.
 
"The usual stop," Daehyun replied. It sounded like there was a smile on his face; Youngjae briefly imagined what that looked like. "We'll be moving again tomorrow, if not today. I'm just waiting for things to calm down."
 
There was a noise of approval. "That's good then." There was a pause before he spoke again. "So, uh, how is he?"
 
Youngjae wondered if the voice was asking about him.
 
"He's fine. He's mostly worried about Junhong. I also told him."
 
"Told him what?" The tone had shifted from pleasant to pissed. "Jung Daehyun––"
 
Daehyun placed the phone on the desk, placed his chin in his hand. "Hey, it's alright. We were going to tell him anyway. Better sooner than later. He took it pretty well, too."
 
There was a scoff of disbelief. "Really?"
 
"Well..." There was hesitation in Daehyun's voice. "Not initially, no."
 
"Himchan, we gotta go!" It was another deeper voice on the other end, from farther away. Closer this time, he said, "Talk to you later, Daehyun. If I'm not at the usual meeting place, you know what to do. Also, don't die."
 
"I—" The line was cut off, and Daehyun let out a sigh. "—won't."

Youngjae sat up, the jacket around him falling off his shoulders. At the sound, Daehyun whipped around, his shoulders visibly tense and body ready to attack, but he relaxed upon seeing Youngjae.

"Hey," Daehyun said. He turned around for a moment to pocket the device on the desk. Youngjae noticed the robot he'd been working on was still there, seemingly untouched.

"Who were they?" Youngjae asked, his head tilting to the side slightly.

Daehyun blinked, and he appeared angry for a moment before returning to his stoic expression. "How much of that conversation did you hear?"

"Just before he hung up," Youngjae lied. He didn't think Daehyun would get angry at him for hearing such an innocent conversation. Youngjae felt a pang of guilt, but refused to acknowledge it. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Youngjae asked again, "So...who were they?"

Daehyun leaned back in the chair, his long legs sprawling out in front of him. "The first one was Himchan. The second was Yongguk, the leader. Satisfied?"

Youngjae wondered what happened to the friendly Daehyun that was talking to Himchan earlier; Youngjae hated to admit it, but he wanted Daehyun to act like that around him. Youngjae found himself missing Junhong. Of all places, it just had to be here, Youngjae thought. Junhong's presence was much more enjoyable, his demeanor more laid-back and naive. Daehyun was watchful, and while that was admirable, Youngjae felt that it was a double-edged sword; he almost got killed because of it.

"What are you staring at?" Daehyun asked, his mouth turning into a small scowl.

"I-I, uh, was just wondering what time it is," Youngjae replied, cursing himself for stuttering. "I'd assume pretty early?"

Daehyun took out his phone, and checked the time. "It's 7:29."

Youngjae nodded. Jieun was probably wondering where he was, if she wasn't already. He worried how she'd be able to handle the morning rush alone. Youngjae laid back down, mumbling out a "Thanks" to Daehyun.

There was a grunt in reply.

Silence quickly filled the room, settling on the pair like an ominous disease. The only sounds Youngjae heard was his own breathing. It was still considerably cold, but he had the coat around him to keep him warm. He stared at the gray ceiling and vainly wondered when he'd be able to go home, if he was allowed to.

Youngjae's thoughts were interrupted by a growling stomach––his, to be exact.

He cringed. He hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and even then, he had half of a sandwich. He suddenly regretted not taking up Jieun's offer to take him out to lunch after his classes.

"Are you hungry?" Daehyun asked. He let out a sigh as if he was stretching, and added, "I think there're some stalls open by now."

Youngjae sat up, and looked at Daehyun with a confused expression on his face. "Stalls?"

Nodding, Daehyun took the coat off of Youngjae, and put it on, smiling slightly to himself. "Yeah. Stalls."

//

Youngjae stared at the sight before him in amazement. Small booths lined the streets, much like he'd seen in pictures of the Old World. Cloth draped over the wooden frames, acting as a roof and walls; merchandise and food sat on the countertops. Despite it being so early in the morning, there were already a number of people. They walked around, their eyes focused on the items being sold.

Youngjae never would have hoped to see something this in New Seoul.
 
"Knock yourself out," Daehyun said, grabbing Youngjae's hand then placing a small wad of money in it. "Just...yell if there's any trouble."
 
With that, Daehyun walked off into the crowd. It wasn't large enough to lose him, but that didn't stop Youngjae from feeling slightly lost. Shrugging, he pocketed the money, went off and looked at the "stalls", as Daehyun had called them. It wasn't gaudy or elegant or modern, much like the things in New Seoul; Youngjae found it oddly comforting, being away from the hustle and buzz of the city.
 
"Not to sound rude, but are you lost?"
 
Youngjae turned to find the source of the voice, and found the young man from last night behind a stall selling fruit. He still had that amused expression on his face, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed.
 
"Were you the guy by the door last night?" Youngjae asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
 
The man nodded, his mouth stretching into a grin. "The one and only."
 
With a polite smile, Youngjae began to move on, but was stopped.
 
"Aw, come on, not even gonna buy anything from me?" the man asked. He sounded only mildly offended, but Youngjae still felt guilty––and, well, he was hungry.
 
Youngjae examined the various fruit set up on the stand, but he didn't find anything too appetizing. The apples were overripe and bruised; the bananas were green; nothing seemed to be worth buying.
 
"Hey, so," the man started, casual and mundane, and Youngjae looked up, "you supposed to be Daehyun's new toy?"
 
Youngjae paused his movements, his hand holding a soft orange. His head automatically tilted to the side. He remembered the guy mentioning something like that last night. "I'm sorry?"
 
"How much did he pay you? I'm sure I can pay it, too. Probably even more." His eyes shone with a mischievous glint, and Youngjae decided he needed to leave before the guy began asking any more embarrassing questions.
 
"First of all, he's not for sale," a stern voice announced behind Youngjae.
 
Upon turning around, Youngjae found Daehyun holding a paper bag with a near hostile look in his eyes. Blinking, Youngjae placed the orange down and backed away from the stall. He noticed some people already beginning to glance warily at them.
 
"Second, stop being such an ." Daehyun scowled.
 
The man put his hands up in mock surrender. "Can't I make innocent conversation?"
 
" off," Daehyun replied. He grabbed Youngjae's arm and dragged him off, tugging roughly at the bicep.
 
Youngjae grunted, his feet stumbling over each other as he tried desperately to keep up with Daehyun. People automatically avoided them as Daehyun strode past like they knew he was a force not to be bothered with.
 
"I can walk on my own, you know," Youngjae stated once they were well out of earshot. He yanked his arm out of Daehyun's vice-like grip, and glared at his back.
 
"I told you to call me if there was trouble," Daehyun chastised as he spun around. The paper bag he held against his chest made a crackling sound and it made Youngjae briefly wonder what was inside it.
 
"Did you see me in trouble?" Youngjae asked in lieu of a reply. "Was I screaming for help?"
 
Daehyun grit his teeth as if he was biting back anger. "He's not right in the head."
 
It took most of Youngjae's willpower not to roll his eyes. "Really? I'm not stupid, Daehyun. Just because Junhong told you to protect me doesn't mean you—"
 
"He killed three people," Daehyun interrupted, and it didn't take Youngjae too much to sense the smallest amount of smugness in his voice.
 
Youngjae flushed at the statement, and he felt all his frustration dissipate into the morning air. "Oh," he breathed.
 
"Yeah," Daehyun said.
 
"Why isn't he in jail?" Youngjae asked cautiously. Killing three people didn't just go unnoticed by the Republic; the harshest punishment was instant execution. And yet...that guy was in District Eight, selling fruit.
 
Daehyun shrugged. "Long story. He also runs that hostel we slept in with another guy. He's tolerable when his mouth is closed."
 
Youngjae involuntarily shuddered. He slept under the same roof as a murderer and Daehyun was completely unfazed—even called the guy tolerable.
 
"He's actually an , if you didn't notice," Daehyun added, and he began to walk again.
 
When Youngjae failed to follow, Daehyun turned around, a slightly confused expression on his face. "Aren't you gonna come?"
 
"You're just... How are you so calm about all this?" Youngjae nearly exclaimed incredulously.
 
Daehyun rummaged through the bag, and pulled out a bundle wrapped in paper. "You're probably just hungry. Eat this."
 
Youngjae walked up to Daehyun, and took the bundle. When he unwrapped it, he found a sugary pastry. Youngjae looked up to thank Daehyun, but the other was already farther down the stalls, walking slowly to glance at the things being sold. Youngjae broke out into a light jog to catch up to Daehyun.

A/N: So... I won't be updating as often next week because of finals, but during winter break I'll definitely be able to (if I'm not procrastinating or anything). If anybody has questions, please leave them in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer them o u o

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