NAM WOOHYUN

"Are we there yet?" Sunggyu whispered.

Woohyun sighed. It was the fifth time Sunggyu had asked that question in the past hour.

They were sitting side by side in the cramped cart, the blanket covering them up till their necks. The cart was on move, and they had decided it was safe enough for them to poke their heads out; it was way too stuffy to stay underneath the blanket the whole time.

"We'll arrive there soon, right?" Sunggyu urged .

Woohyun knitted his eyebrows. "Sunggyu, are you aware how far it is from our district to the Trost District?"

Sunggyu shook his head. "I’ve never been out of our district before," he answered straightforwardly.

"Me neither, but I know the distance between Wall Sina and Wall Rose is around 130 kilometers. With this speed I think it would take six or seven hours for us to reach Wall Rose. However, the Trost District is located in the south while the Yarckel District, where we live, is in the west, so it will take longer because we have to make a slight detour. So, I’m guessing we'll arrive there just before dawn," Woohyun explained.

More than a hundred year ago, the Walls were built surrounding the territory that was inhabited by humans. Each wall is fifty meters in height and the distance between the walls is more than a hundred kilometers. The outermost circle of the human territory is surrounded by Wall Maria with a radius of 480 kilometers. Inside Wall Maria is Wall Rose with a radius of 380 kilometers and inside Wall Rose is Wall Sina with a radius of 250 km. Each wall also has a stronghold in the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) with each stronghold denoted by a district name. The region inside Wall Sina is the Capital, and a castle was built in the middle to house the royal family. All the other humans live in the villages located between the Walls, or in the districts. Yarckel District where Woohyun and Sunggyu live is located on the western point of Wall Sina and their destination, the Trost District, lies on the southern point of Wall Rose. They have a long way to go.

Plus they actually had to travel beyond Wall Rose since their real aim, the wild garden of sunflowers, grows somewhere between Wall Rose and Wall Maria.

"Dawn? That’s a long time," Sunggyu mumbles quietly. "I thought we could already be back before dinner tomorrow. Guess that’s impossible …"

Woohyun snorted. "If we're lucky, we'll be home in two days."

Sunggyu jutted out his lower lip. "Well, I hope so. I'm afraid Dongwoo can’t lie and cover for me for too long."

Woohyun’s eyebrows furrowed. It was the second time Sunggyu had mentioned Dongwoo's name, and Woohyun still didn't know who Dongwoo was.

"By the way, I didn’t know Young Master Nam was this clever. Must be because of all those books Young Master reads."

Woohyun blushed slightly after hearing Sunggyu's praise. "You too, every once in a while you should read too. You would gain a lot of new knowledge," suggested Woohyun. When Sunggyu didn't reply, Woohyun turned. He saw Sunggyu was a little gloomy. "What?" Woohyun asked.

"I can’t read well," said Sunggyu in low voice. "Mom and Dad don't have enough money to send me to school. And because they are busy working, they could only teach me the basics. Ah, but it's okay… I don't need to be good at reading if I only need to tend the plants," said Sunggyu, grinning.

Woohyun was speechless. Hearing that Sunggyu was not going to school surprised him, but also made him grateful for being able to get an education. He felt sorry for Sunggyu. "If you want, I can teach you," said Woohyun.

Sunggyu raised his face. "Really? Young Master Nam is willing to teach me?" he asked cheerfully. But a second later he looked hesitant. "But… I have nothing to give as payment."

"You don't have to repay me," Woohyun grunted, "just take it as my gratitude for accompanying me to find the sunflowers. When we return, I'll teach you every afternoon."

Once again Sunggyu pursed his lips. "But… I will feel bad if I can't offer anything in return for Young Master’s help." Suddenly Sunggyu clapped his hands. "Ah, I know. I'll invite Young Master Nam to the river. Why? Because it's very fun there, we can play anything. Sungjong, Dongwoo and Myungsoo will be there too, they’re my friends, by the way."

With the help of the moonlight that came in from the gap of the cart's cover, Woohyun noticed how Sunggyu's eyes were sparkling and a smile was hinting at his lips as Sunggyu talked about his friends and what they used to play when gathered together. Woohyun has never had a friend, all his life was spent inside his house. He didn't even know if he could go to the river that Sunggyu mentioned. Ah, but maybe after he returns with sunflowers he will be permitted to go out and play? He wanted to have friends too. Woohyun expected great benefits to come from this journey.

Unconsciously Woohyun mumbled. "I wish I had friends too…."

Sunggyu stopped in the middle of his words, apparently hearing Woohyun. He stared at Woohyun intensely, looking like he had a lot on his mind before finally opening his mouth again. "If Young Master Nam wishes, I could be Young Master's friend…"

Woohyun was at a loss for words. No one had ever offered to be his friend. Sunggyu's words made a warm feeling spread throughout his chest that he liked. Slowly Woohyun lifted the corner of his lips. "Then… You're my first friend," he said.

Sunggyu smiled back. "Friend," he said, extending his hand.

Woohyun gladly accepted his hand.

"Friend."

Woohyun and Sunggyu talked for the rest of the night, or more precisely Sunggyu talked all about his friends, about the plants under his care, and other things that could be found in their district. Woohyun simply listened, he didn’t have anything to say, or at least nothing he thought was interesting. Moreover, Sunggyu looked so cute when talking, so Woohyun didn't mind listening to him. Sunggyu's lips were always slightly pursed and even when he talked in a low voice Woohyun still could hear that Sunggyu had a slight lisp when saying the letter s. Finally, they became tired and unconsciously fell asleep, their heads leaning on each other’s. They slept soundly, and didn’t awake even when the cart had stopped. They also didn't hear when someone opened the back and shouted in surprise at seeing two kids. That person then gently shook their shoulders, trying to wake them up.

Woohyun stretched, his limbs feeling stiff. He was used to sleeping in a comfortable and soft bed, but last night he had to sleep in a sitting position while leaning on the hard wooden wall of the cart. His position would have been really uncomfortable except Sunggyu was besides him. Sunggyu was a little chubby, and was soft to lean into. Rubbing the sleep away from his eyes and squinting because of the bright morning light from the outside, Woohyun finally realized that the back of the cart had been opened and someone was standing there.

"Who are you?" asked the unknown person.

"Uhm…" Woohyun couldn't answer him.

Oh no, we got caught, Woohyun thought, worrying about their fate. He didn't know what he should do. What if they were kicked out from the cart and had to continue the rest of their journey to the Trost District on foot? How far were they from the Trost District?

Next to him, Sunggyu finally decided to open his eyes too. He inhaled sharply before greeting the stranger brightly. "Oh, Sungyeol Hyung!"

The stranger, Sungyeol, stared at Sunggyu, his brows knitted, but only for a second. "Oh, you are.. Sung… Sunggyu, right? Sungjong's friend?"

Sunggyu nodded, confirming Sungyeol’s suspicions.

"I didn't recognize you earlier because it's kinda dark inside the cart," Sungyeol explained. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, last night I hid here, wanting to surprise Sungjong… But, I accidentally fell asleep" said Sunggyu softly, as if he was embarrassed about getting caught for a wrongdoing.

Woohyun gaped at Sunggyu. Shocked at how easy it was for Sunggyu to grind out a false story.

Sungyeol exhaled deeply, looking worried. Then suddenly someone older showed up beside him. "What's wrong? Why are you taking so long? I told you to unload the cart."

"Oh, Dad," greeted Sungyeol. "Here, Sungjong's friends hid in our cart last night, and were accidentally brought along."

Sungyeol's father was late in recognizing that Sunggyu and Woohyun were in his cart. His expression immediately turned sour. "Oh God, what should we do? They shouldn't be here."

"Dad, let's just get in and have some breakfast first, then right after I'll send them home. Dad, is it okay if I leave Granny to you for a day?  I'll come back quickly to help you with her," suggested Sungyeol.

"Well, I guess that's good enough," said Sungyeol's father, sighing. "Let's get in and eat, our horses need some rest too." Then he turned away.

Sungyeol then turned to Woohyun and Sunggyu again. "Come on, hop down, you two. After breakfast I'll send you home so your parents won't be afraid."

Sunggyu elbowed Woohyun, nodding slightly at him before climbing down from the cart. Woohyun followed him, almost falling because his legs felt so stiff, lucky for him Sungyeol had quick reflexes and caught his arms.

"You… uh, what's your name? I don't remember seeing your face before," asked Sungyeol, staring intently at Woohyun.

"Oh, he's Young Ma--"

Woohyun quickly cut Sunggyu off. "Woohyun, my name is Woohyun. I rarely come out to play, but I'm Sunggyu's friend."

"Oh… Well, Sunggyu's friend is Sungjong's friend too," said Sungyeol, laughing. Then he took some stuff from the cart before telling them to follow him into a small house nearby.

"When we're out here, just call me Woohyun, not Young Master Nam!" Woohyun whispered to Sunggyu.

"Why?" asked Sunggyu, curious.

"Because I said so," Woohyun answered.

Sunggyu shrugged his shoulders, dropping the subject. Then together they walked to the house.

By good fortune, Woohyun's worries weren’t fulfilled. It turns out they had arrived at the house of Sungyeol's Granny in the Trost District. Sungyeol and his father were very kind, and they gave Sunggyu and Woohyun a delicious breakfast. They didn’t talk much since if they made a lot of noise it might disturb Sungyeol’s Granny who was sick at the moment and resting in her room. After breakfast, Sunggyu helped Sungyeol tidy up the table.

"Hyung, should I fetch some water? The well is in the backyard, isn't it?" asked Sunggyu as he brought the dishes to the sink.

"Aigoya… Sunggyu, you're so diligent and nice, unlike Sungjong, my lazy brother. I had to yell at him over and over again before he finally did what I asked him to do," praised Sungyeol. "Yes, the well is in the backyard, you can use the side door there. Be careful, don't get your shirt wet."

"Okay, Hyung," said Sunggyu, smiling sweetly. Then he nudged at Woohyun who was still sitting at the dinner table. "Let's go, help me fetch the water."

Woohyun furrowed his eyebrows, he didn't want to get the water. It sounded like hard work to him. But Sunggyu squinted at him and grabbed his hand, so Woohyun had no choice but rise from his chair. Sunggyu turned his head to Sungyeol who was still busy in the kitchen before snatching Woohyun's bag. They went out through the side door and walked toward the backyard. However, instead of stopping at the well, Sunggyu just continued walking to the back gate.

"H-hey… Sunggyu, you missed the well," said Woohyun, his hand still being firmly grasped by Sunggyu.

Sunggyu turned and smiled. "Stupid, who’s going to get the water, aren't we going to get the sunflowers?" He then led Woohyun out the gate before running as fast as his short legs could carry him.

"Hahaha, stupid Woohyun, did you really think we were going to get water?" Sunggyu laughed while running. "If we didn't quickly make a run for it, we’ll be sent home by Sungyeol-hyung before we can get the sunflowers. You don't want to go home, do you? We've gone this far, we have to make it!"

Woohyun was impressed, Sunggyu was really clever. Sunggyu might not be able to read well or go to school , but he was ingenious. And… also good at lying. But all of a sudden Woohyun realized something. "H-hey… did you call me stupid? Twice? Who do you think you are? Do you think because you don't have to call me ‘Young Master’ that you can call me whatever you wish?"

Sunggyu squealed a high pitch laugh and ran faster, leaving Woohyun behind.

"Y-yah, get back here!" yelled Woohyun, running after Sunggyu.

"No, you're going to hit me, aren't you?" Sunggyu screamed.

Woohyun chased after Sunggyu. They ran between houses and ducked between people, before Sunggyu tripped and lost his balance. Woohyun who was right behind Sunggyu had no time to avoid him and crashed right into him. Both of them tumbled, falling to the ground, with Woohyun on top of Sunggyu. Woohyun used the opportunity to trap Sunggyu, pinning his shoulders.

"Now you can't escape," said Woohyun, panting.

"Don't hit me, don't hit me," Sunggyu shrieked, laughing.

"Alright, I won't hit you, but you still have to be punished," Woohyun snarled playfully before bringing his hands down on Sunggyu, tickling him. Sunggyu squealed, twisting his body to avoid Woohyun's hands. Even though Woohyun was smaller and weaker than Sunggyu, his position gave him the advantage. Sunggyu couldn't stand it any longer and started to attack Woohyun back. They tickled each other until they were out of breath.

Eventually Woohyun gave up and rolled aside. The morning sunlight irritated his face, forcing him to squint his eyes. "Let's stop, I'm tired…" he sighed, his smile still evident on his lips. Sunggyu didn't answer him, busy controlling his breath.

As long as Woohyun could remember, he had never ran as fast or as long or laughed as freely as he just did. His head spun due to the lack of oxygen, and although he felt tired, he was also really happy. It was the first time he had played and teased someone else like that. It felt so nice to have a friend.

After they had caught their breath, Sunggyu jumped to his feet,  and reached out his hand pulling Woohyun up as well. "Let's go, let's find the sunflowers now and after that Sungyeol-hyung can send us home."

It wasn't hard to find the gate out of the district, they only had to find the main road and follow it. A big pentagon shield was attached to the wall above the gate, a silhouette of a side-profile of a woman's face was engraved in it, along with the words “Wall Rose” above the woman.

"Uh, the woman in that shield is different than the one of our district," Sunggyu pointed out.

"That's Rose, the protector of the second circle Wall. Different than Sina, the protector of the Wall in our district, who has her hair in bun, Rose wore a veil. Whilst Maria had short hair. If you look carefully, their diadems are also different than each others," said Woohyun. He knew all about it from his book, of course.

"Ah, I never knew," Sunggyu mumbled. His eyes nailed to the shield of Wall Rose.

They kept walking but before they reached the closed gate, someone stopped them. According to the clothes that man wore, short light-brown jacket, white pants and knee-length dark-brown boots, he must be a soldier. The badge attached on both of his shoulders, left chest and back was a shield with two red roses, revealing his identity as the Garrison, the gatekeeper.

"You kids, where are you going?" the gatekeeper asked them.

Sunggyu answered him, telling the gatekeeper that they wanted to go out for a while.

The soldier furrowed. "You two… are not from here, right? This gate is locked, no one is allowed to pass it."

"Just for a second," begged Sunggyu. "We'll return as fast as possible."

"No, you can't. It's very dangerous outside. Now, shoo…" the soldier replied, denying their request and motioning for them to leave.

"I don't understand, why is there a ban to go outside," Sunggyu mumbled lowly. After being chased away by the soldier, they sat behind the wall of a house, not far from the gate. "In Yarckel we can get in and out freely. But here, look, they guard it well and the gate is also lowered, it's impossible for us to sneak out."

“Wall Maria is the only restricted gate, all the others are supposed to be open," said Woohyun. He remembered reading it in his history book. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. "Sunggyu, what if… Wall Rose's gate is now forbidden because of the same reason as the gate of Wall Maria? That soldier earlier said it's dangerous outside, right?" he asked, uncertainly.

Sunggyu stared at Woohyun, squinting his eyes and thinking. Then he chuckled. "Eyy… Don't tell me, you believe in that thing? Stupid Woohyun, that only exists in bedtime stories? What are you, five? Still believing in such a thing…"

"They're not a tale," Woohyun countered. "I read about them in the history book, and history is based on facts, not tall-tales. Furthermore, why do you think all these Walls were built if not for that reason?"

Sunggyu chewed on his lower lip. "I don't know…" he said, clearly confused. "But, no one had ever seen them, right? Besides, look, the Walls are sturdy and very thick, they wouldn't have a chance to get in. It's impossible for them to breach Wall Rose."

Woohyun swallowed. The Walls were really strong and had been their protector for years, indeed. His guess may actually be really stupid.

A sudden noise caught Woohyun's attention. A cart stopped not far from the edge of the alleyway where Sunggyu and him were hiding. Soon more carts and wagons appeared all being pulled by horses. Some soldiers yelled at each other, everyone looked busy. "Quick, everything has to be ready now. Right when the sun sets, we'll depart. Check the carts over there as well," shouted a soldier, giving commands. Unlike the gatekeeper, these new soldiers were wearing badges of two crossing wings, one wing is white and the other is dark-blue.

Woohyun's eyes met Sunggyu's. Sunggyu's eyes shined; he grinned. This time Woohyun knew what Sunggyu was thinking. Unlike before, Woohyun could guess what his friend's plan was.

Sunggyu jumped up. "Wanna walk around the district first? We have a lot of time until the sun sets."

Woohyun smiled and rose up as well. "Let's go!"

His previous concerns were soon forgotten.

beta by: Minsoph74

Author's Note :

It will be long till I can update again. I recently got a job and it really take all my time.