Abruptly, after demolishing a bowl of salad, Chaerin stands and excuses herself.

“Excuse me. I would like to be alone for a while.” With that, she walks out.

Zitao waits about two minutes before he rises and strides to the room where he correctly guesses she will be. He soundlessly opens the door and leans on the doorframe, head resting on one hand. Chaerin does not look up. He just stands there, watching her. She has an opened book in her lap and seems so absorbed she does not look up when he appears.

After a few minutes of amused observation, Zitao speaks up. “If I were you, I’d shelve that book and talk,” he smiles.

Chaerin looks up almost blankly. “Huh?”

“You’ve been on the same page for six minutes now. The print is not small, you know. Besides, that is a story, not a complicated treatise on a difficult subject.”

“Very well. I admit I haven’t really been reading.” And for the first time in three months, she smiles genuinely.

That’s some progress, he notes. “How about a little fresh air, Chaerin?”

She hesitates. He sounds almost… cordial. But what excuse do I have to refuse him? Besides, I still have to find out more about my situation. “Where?”

“There’s a garden courtyard.”

Finally, she rises and shelves the book. “Lead the way, Zitao.”

“So… is everything classified to me or can you tell me what is going on to my country?” she asks as they sit on a wooden bench.

“It’s not really yours anymore, you know,” he smirks mischievously.

She heaves a deep sigh of regret. “Well, technically not. Yet at the same time, it is.” Her smile is sad as she says this.

“What’s wrong, Chaerin?”

He sounds… caring? What is this man…? He’s not helping me at all… Just now he was pricking me and now he turns around and wants to bandage me. She hesitates again. “I… I just hate the way my parents ran the show. I wish all this bloodshed didn’t need to happen. Somehow, I wish I could have changed the way they ruled… I wish they weren’t so corrupt. Had they been good rulers, none of this mess would have… happened.” Tears well up in her eyes and she feels a lump in .

“Hey, it wasn’t any of your fault,” he returns in a gentle tone.

“Well, I guess not… but still… Look, you may think that I'm like this because I want everything to be fine with me. Indeed, I would not be here had they done what was right. I could have been in power, but that is not what I regret. I regret that the people had to suffer all that... because of them.” There is a tinge of bitterness in her voice as she speaks. Finally, she sighs and says no more.

After a few minutes of silence, Zitao speaks up again. “I guess telling you of the state of this country will either cheer you up or cause you more grief. If it is going to be the latter, I refuse to tell you.”

Slowly, in the silence that follows again, the furrows on Chaerin’s forehead slowly disappear as she regains control of her emotion. She takes a deep breath and steadies herself. “All right. Tell me everything about how my people are being governed, and how they feel about the entire shift. Also, I want you to promise you will be completely honest with me. It's useless to feed me with lies."

"Oh, is it?" He an eyebrow and one side of his mouth curls up.

"I would say so, Zitao," she returns without a sign of amusement.

"Very well," he chuckles. "I'll be honest on this, then. Though I cannot promise much about future conversations."

Chaerin just sighs. "Okay. Now, what's going on?"

Zitao shifts to a more comfortable position and began. "Well, the leader of the uprising has taken over power. His ministers are well-chosen men the populace