The strong smell of piss permeated the air. Jungkook’s nose crumpled as he opened the door to his house with a pile of clean water. His grandfather was boiling the Grimroot he’d retrieved from the Cultivation Sector and he briefly wondered how the old man could stand the strong smell of the herb, standing so close to the pot while stirring it. As though he hadn’t been consuming the herb all the while, Jungkook scoffed to himself, shaking his head slightly.

Jungkook was reminded of what the herb actually was for. Taehyung mentioned that it was to treat ancient injuries. He’d seen the old man without clothes on. He sure had noticed the slight scars scattered here and there, but none of them were old. Most of the scars were caused by the recent events of when he’d trained alone or with Jungkook.

Days ago, the two of them had been quiet after Jungkook’s outburst. He still hadn’t spoken a word to his grandfather and the old man never was the type to start a conversation after each of his burst of anger, no matter what the reason was. Remorse stirred inside of him. Holding his breath for a few moments before giving up, Jungkook walked over toward the old man and placed the pile near the other piles he’d refilled.

“Why exactly do you need this?” he asked hesitantly, though he knew that the old man would reply him, nonetheless.

His grandfather continued to stir the herb inside the dark boiling water. “I have some injuries I need to treat.”

Jungkook took a deep breath and sighed at the obvious answer the old man gave him. He should have been specific with his question anyway. “Grimroot is used for any ancient injuries according to the Cultivator I got this from,” he said, picking the herb that hadn’t been touched. “Where –?”

“Just some injuries I obtained so many years ago,” his grandfather gestured at his back fleetingly and Jungkook’s brows furrowed at the lie. He wanted to point out how those were new and couldn’t be that old yet for him to go as far as using Grimroot, but he let it pass.

“How long has it been since you got them?”

“Too long ago I do not remember the exact day. No use to count the days, as if that would restore my health,” he grumbled.

Jungkook pressed his lips into a thin line. “What caused them, then?” he asked, putting the herb back into the bowl. “Did you get them from your days as a Newcomer or –”

“Neither of those questions is going to help me,” huffed him with a slight irritation. “We are running out of woods so it’s best if you get some to add to the supply while you have the time.”

The way his grandfather responded hinted that he was actually hiding something. Did he actually face mistreatment from his comrades the same way Jungkook did? He knew that one reason why he’d been harassed by his fellow Newcomers was for the fact that he’d been quite excellent in his training and he might land a top spot as a Defender once he graduated from being a Newcomer.

It might be the same for his grandfather, as well. He was the best Defender in his time while he was on an active duty.

The old man took a quick look and an irritated sigh escaped his chapped lips. “What are you still doing here?”

Jungkook let his own sigh rolled out his lips. As he strode toward the door with an axe in hand, he said, “You could save a lot if you would just head over to the Healing Sector and get healed.”

His grandfather’s silence hung in the air as a response, though briefly. He replied to Jungkook, then, the same thing he’d told him over and over again every time Jungkook mentioned of the Healing Sector.

“I would rather –”

“Die, I know,” Jungkook cut him off, “You told me that about a hundred times if not a thousand, Grandpa. I just do not understand why.”

*

Chaeyoung’s frustrated groan came out of her naturally when her eyes settled on the figure standing in front of the door of her house. Junhoe’s hands crossed behind his back, eyebrows lifting as though he hadn’t the slightest idea why she acted that way.

Taking her out a few times in a week for some walk just for the sake of getting comfortable around one another would do nothing to change her mind. Useless for both sides. After all, they were going to be united eventually. She chewed the inside of her lip. No, I will never allow that to happen.

But still, this was useless.

“Why do we have to keep doing this?”

“Ask your father,” he shrugged. “He requested this and my parents agreed.”

“Your parents agreed. You do not want this,” she stated.

“You’re right. I do not want this,” he said with such calmness that began to irritate her. “But my parents agreed it is my duty to do as they say.”

“Do you ever say no to your parents?” she softly grunted.

When they were, again, walking around the Cultivation Sector, Junhoe suddenly stopped walking and after a while giving her attention to her feet, Chaeyoung looked up to see what had caused him to stop.

A woman of the Cultivation Sector with a basket filled with potatoes stood about ten feet before them. Her eyes on Junhoe and his were on hers. Chaeyoung saw emotions written on the woman’s eyes, drawn on her face. The woman, then, turned to look at her briefly and Chaeyoung was surprised to see the look sent her way. She did not know what she expected, but she was certain deep