Jungkook was restless that evening. He tossed and turned in the bed. Dahyun had kindly offered him her room for his recovery. He thought of her during dinner. She had swept her long, turquoise-silver hair into a braid while she helped her father clean the kitchen. The atmosphere greeted him with a homely welcome, like a warm embrace after a hard day of work. His muscles ached, and he did not realise how tough the errands were.

            To be an ordinary man, what a life that was. Then again, he did not remember about his life outside the mercenary quarters. Dahyun was right about one thing. His world only revolved around money and orders. The shock occurred when he heard the truth off someone else.

            With a heavy sigh, he left the bed and inspected the room. There was a worn photograph of Dahyun with her father. She was about six years old; a skinny child with a smile that brightened the world. Namjoon was younger too, his hair still long but more dark than silver. He was unrecognisable without the giant moustache that covered half of his face. Jungkook stared at another picture, a more recent one of Dahyun. She stood beside Victoria, Yeji and two other teenagers. Each woman held a rabbit in their arms. Again, her smile was wide and full of life.

            He shook his head. He stared at the picture for longer than he should. Jungkook borrowed Namjoon’s slippers and carefully stepped out of the room. He realised that the back door was open, and moonlight crawled over the threshold, casting the house with in a mysterious glow. A cold draft circulated from outside. Jungkook stood next to the open door.

            Namjoon crouched in the garden, tending to some potato plants and tomato vines. Not many people grew their own vegetables back in the President’s District, but Jungkook began to notice that people in the Old City thrived off their own produce. Vegetables were so expensive, it came as no surprise.

            “Still awake I see,” said Namjoon. The medicinal alchemist turned around and beckoned him into the garden.

            Jungkook resisted at first, but he decided to sit next to him. After all, he shared dinner with the family. It was a chilly night, and the stars twinkled through wispy clouds. A big moon hung low and shone against the inky black sky.

            “I must admit, I was afraid of leaving Dahyun by herself with you.”

Dew hung over the potato plants. “Why?”

            Namjoon’s smile would not have been visible beneath his enormous moustache, but his eyes crinkled like his daughter’s. “You carried weapons. You’re a mercenary. But who has hired you, my dear boy? Is it someone from the Old City, or is it Santa Maria?”

            Jungkook pursed his lips. There was no use in hiding it. If the daughter caught the lies in his story, then surely the wise father had known before her. “I can’t disclose my contractors. It’s part of our Code.”  

            “I understand that. Your lot has some loyalty in you yet.” Namjoon chuckled. He lifted a potato from where he dug and wiped the moist soil from it. “How is your injury now?”

            Jungkook touched his neck. The new skin was raw but it did not hurt. “It’s strange.”

“Is that so?” The alchemist lifted the potato towards the moonlight and examined every inch. “Why do you say that?”

            “My injury was life-threatening, but I don’t have any scars, and it’s fully healed in less than three days.” Now that he thought about it, it was more than strange that his fatal wound left no imprint. Namjoon even told him he almost died from blood loss. “Whatever you used to heal me, I’ll guess you won’t tell me?”

            “I’m an alchemist,” Namjoon said. “It’s hard to explain.”

A cold silence passed between them. Finally Namjoon stood to his full height, and he was a tall man, taller than Jungkook by a four or five inches. “You must forgive me, Jay, but I’ve got a request for you.”

            Jungkook nodded. “Please, anything. It’s the least I can do for all your help.”

“I want you to leave tomorrow night. I like you, but I’m not fond of mercenaries near my daughter or her friends, especially when I cannot trust your contractors. You traded an ordinary life for money.” A crease formed between Namjoon’s brows, and the wrinkles on his forehead deepened. “Dahyun will be very upset if she finds out, because I told her you need a few days to recover. But I’ll give you medicine. Tomorrow when she’s asleep, I want you to take your things, and leave without a sound.”

            It was a salient dismissal, and he should be used to it. However, an inexplicable emptiness mushroomed inside him. “Alright.”

Namjoon held his shoulder and pressed it. “Don’t take it personally. Just take it from me, a father who looks out for his daughter. If you are working for Santa Maria, or heck, even the Thunderstorm guys, I can’t let them near my house or my daughter.”           

            “I understand,” Jungkook said. Dejection gnawed the weight in his chest. “I also have a request.”

            “I’m listening.”

He wanted to ask Namjoon when they shared dinner that evening. It had only been a day since he met the man, but a strong sentiment lingered inside him. He carried a gut feeling that Namjoon was trustworthy and a man of honour. “I suffer from memory loss…”

            The alchemist listened intently while he rubbed his chin.

“Every time I try to remember anything, I get severe headaches. Sometimes I pass out for days.”

            “Amnesia. It’s no wonder there’s something so strange about you,” Namjoon said. He mumbled to himself and then clicked his fingers. “I have some mythril roots back in my practice. Tomorrow I will give you some. Mind you, it’s very expensive. The first batch is free, but if you ever need more, come back and I will gladly sell it you.”

            “Mythril root,” Jungkook emulated. “I’ll get my memory back?”

“Yes, and it should help with the headaches too. How long ago did this happen?”

            “I woke up two weeks ago with no recollection of anything. My name. My past. My family.” He paused. As much as he trusted Namjoon, sharing such intimate details with a stranger worried him.

            Namjoon must have sensed that too, because he rubbed his hands. “No worries, Jay. I have you covered. Now, it’s very late. Let’s get to bed and wake up for the next day.” He left first.

            Jungkook stayed outside for a bit longer. He stared at the moon, and it twinkled like a celestial figure. It ignited the sky’s canopy with radiant silver. It had only been a day, but he realised that his heart wanted to stay in the Old City for a bit longer.

            Just a little bit longer.

                                                                        *

“I’m having second thoughts about this.” Taehyung knelt down beside the sewage hole. His face drained of colour and he pulled back, wary and sceptical. “I’ll wait for you two out here, you know to make sure you come back alive.”

            Jungkook had a busy morning helping Dahyun with her usual errands. He learned soon enough that it was her way of collecting some money, whether from helping Madame Taeyeon with her laundry business, saving animals for Victoria’s sanctuary or selling her father’s home-grown vegetables. She had many eclectic ways to keep the household going.

            Taehyung arrived without his buggy, which Jungkook learned was not his vehicle but his father’s. The young man used it to drop people to their given destinations, and so, he brought money in that way.

            “You really are a frightened crow, Taehyung,” said Dahyun. “Jay, you ready?”

 “Taehyung, take this.” He gave his axe-gun to Dahyun’s friend, who almost lost his balance.

“Yeesh! This is so heavy. How’d you carry it around without tripping over? Are your arms made out of potatoes or something?” Taehyung groaned.

“I’ll go in first to make sure there aren’t any beasts about,” said Jungkook.

            “Well, you’re the last person I thought would be such a gentleman, Jay. But here you are.”

He locked gazes with her. Dahyun smiled, bright and vivacious, and he began to associate her with the Old City itself. Taehyung rubbed h