The next day Luhan decided that he didn't want to go to work. He was tired and he wasn't in the mood. Above all, he was confused. He didn't know what to believe. Was this city really filled with basically robots or had Jongin made the whole thing up? Luhan thought and he couldn't really think of any good reason as to why Jongin would want to go to such measures. It doesn't make sense. Luhan groaned and shook his head in confusion. He sat up from his bed and walked over to the kitchen to put some water to boil and take out a tea bag. He yawned and walked over to the bathroom to clean up. He splashed cold water on his face to wake himself up. It felt kind of cold so he grabbed a black hoodie and put it on. As he walked out of his room he heard a knock at his door. He raised an eyebrow and slowly approached the door. He looked through the peephole and saw Tao standing outside. He quickly opened it and was met with a smile from the latter.

"Good morning Luhan," Tao ruffled Luhan's hair, a habit Luhan wasn't too fond of.

Luhan smiled back, "Morning. Did you need something?" Luhan asked kindly.

"Just came to see you. Can I come in?" Tao asked looking back into Luhan's apartment.

"Sure, come in. I was making tea, would you like some?" Luhan stepped back, allowing Tao to walk in.

"That would be nice." Tao said as he stepped in and walked over to Luhan's couch. Luhan nodded and walked back to the kitchen to check if the water was ready. Once he heard the whistle from the kettle he poured some water in two tea cups. He placed two of the tea bags into each cup and walked over to sit with Tao on the couch.

"Here you go." Luhan handed Tao the tea cup.

Tao took a sip, "Ahh. Thank you."

"No problem." Luhan sipped his drink and smiled in delight. The tea calmed his thoughts a bit. "Listen, Tao. I'm really sorry for leaving you there at the restaurant like that yesterday. Jongin just-"

"Don't worry about it." Tao cut him off. "I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Still... It's rude. I'll make it up to you." Luhan half smiled.

"Why did he do that anyway?" Tao asked.

"He just. I don't know. He wanted me to get away from you. He told me you were dangerous. But I know you're a nice guy. You wouldn't do anything to me right?" Luhan looked at Tao and waited for some sort of reassurance. Tao lifted his hand and reached for Luhan's head. He lightly ruffled his hair and Luhan flinched at the sudden contact.

"Of course. I would never hurt you." Tao gave him a wide grin. Luhan smiled back.

See? Tao is completely normal. How could he have believed Jongin, Luhan thought to himself.

"Listen Luhan." Tao's voice got serious, "I don't know what Jongin told you about me. But I can tell you I am not that kind of person that he says I am. I would never do anything to hurt you. I care about you and I would never lie to you. I think it's time you had someone honest around you don't you think? That Jongin guy, it seems like he hides a lot. I wouldn't like to be around that kind of person. Maybe you should distance yourself."

Luhan's eyes looked down at the floor. Tao was right in some ways. Luhan trusted Tao to never do anything to him, but that's just who Luhan is. He trusts everyone and he lets people get close. Luhan met Tao's eyes and gave him a sincere smile.

"Thank you for being a good friend Tao. I believe you. But... I don't know if I can stay away from Jongin. He was the first person I met, my first real best friend. He might have been wrong about you, but I think he did it because he cares. I believe you and that's what matters right? We don't all have to be friends." Even though Luhan suspected that Jongin had made everything up, Luhan realized that maybe he did it to protect him. Luhan had no intentions of cutting off communications with him any time soon. Tao on the other hand wasn't satisfied with this at all.

"Luhan how can you keep talking to him after that? What kind of friend lies that much? Do you even know Jongin that well? What if he doesn't care about you and all he wants is to hurt you? He doesn't seem like a good guy. Luhan, I don't want you to get hurt and if there's a chance that Jongin might hurt you, then I don't want him near you." Tao said in a demanding tone.

"Thank you for your concern. But I don't need protection from anyone. I can take care of myself. I'm not a little kid. If I get hurt, that will be my fault. No one else's." Luhan said with an angry tone. He was tired of everyone treating him like he was a child.

"Fine." Tao put his tea cup on the table in front of him. "Do what you'd like. But listen to me when I tell you that it's for your own good to stay away from him. You wouldn't want to end up like the others." Tao stood up and stormed out of the apartment leaving a confused and upset Luhan behind. Luhan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he sat back on the couch and stared at the roof.

Jongin had stayed in bed all day. It was now 11:30 pm and he was still thinking about Luhan. Even though he had agreed to stay away, he still felt that Luhan might be in danger. Jongin sat up and walked out of his room toward the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and gulped it down. He looked at his scar and sighed. He didn't want to think about his stupid city anymore. Suddenly he heard a knock at his door. Once again, someone had gotten through his gates. He thought of who it could be, and the only people he could think of was the government's people. His hands curled into fists. Jongin was absolutely tired of these people coming and bothering him. He stormed over to the door and swung it open.

"What?!" Jongin said in an annoyed voice. But he widened his eyes in shock when he saw the person in front of him. The one person he wanted to see the most.

"L-luhan?" Jongin stuttered.

"Hi Jongin." Luhan gave him a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" Jongin said in a low voice.

"I came to see you. I just needed to talk to someone." Luhan chuckled. Jongin remembered that night when he went to visit Luhan at midnight. Luhan was doing the same just now. Jongin then remembered his talk with Tao earlier. He panicked and quickly pulled Luhan into his house and closed the door. He looked through the peephole on his door to make sure there was no one around.

"Jongin, what's wrong?" Luhan said as he saw how Jongin was acting. Jongin turned around to face Luhan.

"How did you get in? Are you crazy why would you come here?" Jongin said.

"What's wrong with me coming here?" Luhan asked innocently.

"Everything. I told you that you were in danger." Jongin closed his eyes and sighed.

"Jongin, there's nothing to worry about. I talked to Tao earlier." Luhan held his arm with one of his hands.

Jongin's eyes shot open, "You did?"

"Yes. And I just want to let you know that you don't have to lie to me. I know you only care and don't want me to get hurt, but I can take care of myself." Luhan bit his lip and stared at the floor. "I also care about you. Even if you did make everything up, I still want to be around you."

"Luhan, I didn't make anything up. It's all true. What did Tao tell you?" Jongin narrowed his eyes at Luhan.

"He thought you were dangerous but I told him that this doesn't concern him. I know you won't hurt me." Luhan looked at Jongin. Jongin softened when he heard Luhan's words. He really trusted him, but he didn't believe anything he had said earlier.

"I'm sorry I lied to you for so long. I should have saved you from the start." Jongin muttered. Then he grabbed Luhan's arm and pulled him into a hug. Luhan widened his eyes and turned pink at the sudden contact. But soon he relaxed and hugged him back. Jongin pulled out of the hug and looked straight into Luhan's eyes.

"Do you trust me?" Jongin said seriously. Luhan was confused but he nodded his head. "Let's leave." Jongin said sternly.

"Leave where?" Luhan asked.

"Leave the city. Let's run away and never look back. We can start over in another city. A normal one. Let's escape." Jongin's eyes were pleading Luhan to say yes. Luhan stared at Jongin. He had no idea what to say. It was silent for a moment and Jongin's hope began to fade away. His hopeful expression was now filled with one of disappointment and sadness. After what seemed like forever, Luhan spoke up.

"We can't just leave Jongin. I have an apartment, a job, friends. How am I supposed to throw all of that away?" Luhan stared at the floor.

"Luhan that's the last thing you should be worrying about. You're in danger. We both are! We'll be turned into a walking robot. How can we live like that. If we run away, we could start all over and forget anything that ever happened. We'll be safe and we can live a normal life. Please Luhan, just think about it." Jongin pleaded.

Luhan sighed and nodded. "I'll think about it."

Jongin smiled, "Trust me."

"I do." Luhan stated.

"Listen. If you do decide to come there's something you need to know. Escaping... it isn't exactly... easy." Jongin rubbed the back of his neck.

"What do you mean?" Luhan asked.

"I mean that there's a border around the whole city. It's being monitored day and night. All roads leading outside of the city have been cut off." Jongin began to explain.

"But what about flights. I mean, that's how I got here."

"I know. They only allow flights in when they need more people. Unfortunately that's how you got in. Flights never leave the city, unless they're exporting goods. Same goes for the waterways such as the river, they're always monitoring that too."

"Then how do you expect to escape?" Luhan questioned Jongin. Right now, the option of leaving doesn't sound too good.

"I've got a plan." Jongin smirked. "I've been watching how everything works for a long time now and I found a weak spot. About 3 miles out from the city, behind the city hall where the government's headquarters are, there's a place that is only monitored twice a day. It's the perfect spot to escape through. Around there, there's also a cave a discovered around some rocks and I've got everything I need to escape. Clothes, food, water, money."

Luhan stared at Jongin in disbelief. How Jongin had managed to figure all this out and even have it all planned out was beyond belief. But he had done it.

"There's just one thing." Jongin spoke up.

"What is it?"

"There are days when they turn on the voltage on the border. I've been observing for a while but there's no specific pattern, it's just random. I'm not sure if we'll be so lucky." Jongin looked at the floor.

"What if I say no?" Luhan asked throwing Jongin off.

"Well... if you don't want to. I'll still be leaving." Jongin stated with a blank expression.

"You'll still leave even if I say no?" Luhan sounded a bit disappointed.

"Luhan. My presence doesn't bring safety to anyone. I've already been warned that I am to stay away from you or else they will turn you into one of them. If I stay, I'll be putting you and myself in danger. If I go and you stay, at least they may leave you alone for a while until they need you. I'd prefer if you did come with me, this way I can keep you safe." Jongin reached his hand out and squeezed Luhan's shoulder. "Listen, I know this is a lot to take in. But I promise I won't let anything happen to you as long as I am around." Jongin assured Luhan.

Luhan stood there in silence for a while thinking about his options. It was the most difficult choice he would ever make in his whole life, but the decision was now clear to him. He needed to stay with the one person he cared about. He looked at Jongin straight in the eyes and nodded with determination.

"Okay. I'll come with you." Luhan spoke confidently. Jongin smiled widely and pulled Luhan in for another hug. Luhan was taken aback again but quickly relaxed and hugged Jongin back.

"Thank you for caring about me Jongin." Luhan whispered. Jongin nodded and then released Luhan.

"Okay, so we will meet up..." Jongin thought of places they could meet.

"How about that park by the Han river. It's also not too far from city hall." Luhan suggested.

"That's perfect. So you should just bring a couple of clothes, enough to carry in a backpack. Any money you have, some food and water. Maybe a blanket, because we will have to stay in the cave for at least a day. We have to make sure it is safe to leave. I already have everything hidden in the cave." Luhan nodded as Jongin explained how this was going to work out.

"Okay then. Go home and be careful. It won't be good if they see you leaving my home."

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Right after work right?" Luhan asked before leaving.

"Yes. Now go." Jongin slowly peeked through the hole in the door and made sure no one was outside. He nodded and slowly turned the doorknob and opened it just enough to let Luhan walk out. Luhan gave him a quick smile and waved before he walked out. Jongin closed the door and leaned against it. He sighed happily because he had gotten Luhan to believe him. Suddenly he remembered the front gates and he opened the door slowly peeking out to see how Luhan would get out. He caught a glimpse of Luhan's feet going over one of the walls by the left. He smiled to himself and shook his head as he walked back in to go to sleep.

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Hey guys. I want to apologize for taking so long to update. I'm going through some personal issues and I haven't had time to write. But hopefully next update won't take so long! Thank you for reading and putting up with my late updates ;;;; Have a nice day!