The trio had descended into the canyon's dark abyss that was filtered by sparse streams of light from above for another hour when Yeosang lost his footing.

Mingi had just called for another break so that they could warm up and share their warmth in the gradually cooling depths. Despite all care and caution that Yeosang had put in his every movement, his fingers tore off the edge he had found purchase on. The brittle stone broke away with his weight, and abruptly, Yeosang wasn't pressed up against the secure wall anymore. His arms flailed about as his weight tipped backwards. Panic flashed in his heart.

At once, he slid off the wall completely.

The abyss offered no help. With its deadly pull, it called him to sink into an embrace that was as welcoming as it was deadly.

A hoarse yell sounded from Yeosang's lips and echoed in the narrow gorge. As he fell, Mingi hastily turned his head and called out his name warningly. Both of their faces were frozen in horror.

"Grab this!"

Jongho was the one with the coolest head out of them. Something hissed, and as Yeosang desperately craned his neck to search for the man, an object hit the wall near his head. With faster reflexes than Yeosang had expected from himself, he reached out and grabbed the rope that Jongho had fixed between the two flanks that enclosed them. From how viciously it bit his fingers, he nearly let go, but with gritted teeth, Yeosang held on.

His weight dropped and ripped at his shoulders brutally, but he withstood. For a long, terrifying second, he hung on nothing but a rope and his weak hands over the Chasm.

Then, Jongho carefully called out his name.

"Yeosang. Climb over here."

Shaking and trembling, Yeosang rose his eyes to the man. He hung on the wall with one hand and both of his feet blades buried deeply in the rock. His left hand held the rope that had shot from his shoulder and stabilised Yeosang with his machines' help. Still, he looked strained. His lips were pursed in concentration as he didn't take his eyes off Yeosang.

Above them, Mingi scrambled over the wall to catch up with them and aid somehow.

With all the inner strength Yeosang could muster, he forced his arms to move. It took him a few seconds longer than necessary, but he arrived at Jongho's spot in one piece. As soon as he was in reach, Jongho wrapped his arm around Yeosang's waist and let go of the rope. Instinctually, Yeosang reached out to stabilise his body on the man's shoulder. As his feet searched for a hold on the wall next to Jongho, they were pressed against each other for a long, excruciating moment.

Jongho smelled of machine grease and metal.

"Kick your feet into the wall." Unaware of Yeosang's sudden bout of shyness, the man mumbled near his ear. His voice was gentle and patient, and Yeosang felt incredibly secure in his arm for a long moment before he managed to ram the blades into the wall and regain his balance. He would have kissed Jongho in gratitude again, but it was hardly the time.

"Thanks," murmured Yeosang timidly as he tried to normalise his erratic breathing. His heart that he only now noticed beat eccentrically as if it wanted to jump out of his chest.

"Yeosang! Are you alright?!"

Mingi's call boomed through the canyon and had Yeosang wince. Bricky fluttered around him worriedly.

"He's fine. A bit startled, but we can take a break and continue then."

Jongho's arm was still wrapped around Yeosang. It trapped him against the wall as if he didn't trust Yeosang yet to stay there. Heat wavered from it and seeped into Yeosang's back like a comforting blanket. Subconsciously, Yeosang prayed that he wouldn't pull back anytime soon.

"Please be careful! My heart dropped!"

Chuckling, Jongho turned his head to check on Mingi, who still hastily climbed closer.

"We can collect it once we reach an end. I hope there are some terraces big enough to carry us down there. I get sick of being glued to a wall already. Could you prepare the hammock?"

Mingi whipped out his nails and hammer and ropes. By the time their little resting spot was set up and hung from the wall, Yeosang had calmed mostly. He matched his breathing pattern with Jongho's and found comfort in the man's closeness.

They allowed themselves another while of rest. Mingi overshadowed the care of any other brother in the world as he kept assuring himself of Yeosang's comfort and safety. He even joked about pushing Jongho down if he took up too much space. The other two had protested loudly.

By the time they continued their climb, Yeosang's fright had worn off. Jongho went first, and as before, the other two followed. It must have been over two hours that they had climbed by now, and Yeosang began to grow worried about night approaching. They had yet to arrive somewhere, and Yeosang grew claustrophobic the longer he climbed around here.

He allowed his thoughts to stray to his book. To distract himself, he pondered his characters and world-building. After all, he planned to write a great fantasy novel, and even if Seonghwa wasn't around to make a judgement about it anymore, then Yeosang could still ask Wooyoung what he thought about it.

If he ever came back. Yeosang couldn't imagine not returning to Asora, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if he would get received back if he did.

Yeosang was deep in his daydreams about his main character getting kissed on a rooftop of some building by their main love interest when Jongho called out beneath them.

"Guys? I found something; you might want to take a careful look down."

Yeosang peeked between his body and the wall. He detected Jongho quickly, but it was not him that his attention was drawn to. It was something beyond Jongho.

A village grew in between the two walls. An abundance of houses made from woods and cloth nestled between the two stone cliffs like a cat that had found its favourite spot between his owner's legs.

Yeosang regarded it with an open mouth.

There were people there. They milled around on the gangplanks that connected the huts and even stepping into a cave system that they must have built into the walls. A group of them had already detected the climbers, and they stood there and watched like curious insects in the distance as the three men came closer.

They lived here. He saw children running around and chase each other over the bridges. Women carried baskets with laundry on their hips, and some men sat on benches together as they took a break from work.

"How is this possible?" Yeosang muttered mostly to himself. Their village disputed all the laws of nature. It held itself up between the walls like a spider in its web. Who were those people? How had they built this place? Yeosang's head steamed from all the questions that coursed through it.

"I think it might be safe. Let's continue!"

Yeosang wouldn't have disputed Jongho's call even if his mind had been clear. His interest was reborn with fascination about this settlement. So far down the unfriendly canyon, how did they live?

Maybe Yeosang hurried a bit more to follow Jongho down. The endless thirst for knowledge in his head had him scramble to arrive.

One of the platforms that attached multiple gangplanks and houses united with the wall. By the time Yeosang arrived, Jongho already stood on the wooden ground surrounded by a group of people. They eyed him warily, but without malicious intent. Once Yeosang was in reach, Jongho grabbed onto his hips and lifted him off the wall like a little kitten. Yeosang came to stand by his side and dusted his sleeves off.

"Tell us what you want here, boy. Even if you're from Zey, we need some answers before we let you roam. You could pose a risk to all of us."

Jongho withstood their prying eyes with determination. To Yeosang, he looked incredibly strong and cool with his dark gaze and mask that he had pulled down to his neck somewhere during their descend. Yeosang let him speak while he awaited Mingi.

"We are in search of something. We cannot give you any details, but it was not this place. Finding it came as a surprise."

Mingi finally joined them. His breathing was as excited as Yeosang's, and with curious eyes, he peered around. The people stared back. Their bodies were defensive in the same way that Zey's inhabitants were. Wary of strangers, and distrusting towards anything unknown.

Other than the people of Zey, however, these had a group behaviour. They weren't lone wolves; they acted as a community. Yeosang was beyond intrigued. He wanted to whip his notebook out and interview them all about their lives, but that was hardly appropriate. Instead, he marvelled about their colourful clothes and hairdos that seemed beyond exotic to him. The people all looked similar to the ones he knew from Asorazey, but their culture seemed entirely different.

He rose his eyes when the people parted around a newcomer. Someone muttered under their breath that three newcomers had arrived.

The man who emerged from the masses was hardly invisible with his bright pink hair. As he halted in front of the trio, however, Yeosang gulped.

He was a sight to behold.

Despite his pink hair that was pushed back to expose his fox-like features being his most striking trait, the man was much more than that. From the curl of his lips that screamed attractiveness to Yeosang to the dimples he exposed when he smiled at them brightly, he was already one beautiful man. However, his body, or rather, how he presented his body, left even more of an impression.

By Yeosang's guess, he was about the same height as Jongho, but his shoulders were far broader. They tapered into a tiny waist that seemed ridiculously narrow in the spectre of measurements and ended in long legs. He was clad in black leather, but the top he wore only clung to his chest. It exposed a sliver of his stomach and toned muscles that had Yeosang's mouth run dry.

His pants hugged every shape and dip of his legs sinfully tight. Powerful legs, as far as Yeosang could see.

He also wore a leather jacket over his shoulders, but when he reached his hand out towards Jongho, it slipped from his skin slightly and exposed his naked flesh. His top was held to his body only by a few straps.

Yeosang didn't know where to look. His cheeks were warm with shyness, but he also wanted to stare at the exquisite man forever and draw him until his fingers bled.

"Welcome in Qam, strangers. My name is San; I'm the mayor's son." His smirk was mischievous as he shook Jongho's hand. It pulled one corner of his mouth up further than the other one. Seonghwa had had a crooked smile, too, but Seonghwa was nowhere near the realm of how charming this man looked with that type of grin.

Yeosang nearly fainted when the man stepped up to him to give him his hand. Hastily, he thrust his sweaty paw out and prayed the man wouldn't mind.

He took it with ease, though. His fingers wrapped around Yeosang's and squeezed gently. Yeosang's breath hitched when their eyes met. No way didn't the man see his blush.

With a wink at him, San let go and greeted Mingi, too.

Yeosang's knees were weak. He had never reacted to someone quite like this before, but he was in too much of a daze to mind. Silent, he watched San as if the man were a fallen star.

"Now, who might those strangers be that the heavens sent to us?"

Yeosang believed to notice that San's eyes stuck to him more than the other two. While flattered, he also helplessly attempted not to look silly in front of him.

"We came here to aid Zey. The crown prince of Asora was rumoured to know of something down here that might help." Jongho's reply was guarded and as vague as possible. As San nodded, his jacket slipped down his shoulders further. Enthralled, Yeosang stared at his collarbone. It looked as if it was carved out of marble. Yeosang wanted to run his fingertips over it.

"Something to help, huh? Follow me. I will introduce you to my father." San turned on the spot to march off. He shrugged his jacket back on, and Yeosang tried not to be disappointed.

He oversaw the careful glance that Jongho gave him. He was busy trying to catch sight of San in front of the other man.

The people parted around them, but they made no effort to hide their curiosity. They whispered under their breaths as their eyes suspiciously followed the group.

San guided them to a hut in the centre of the village. It was larger than some others and even had two stories. The doors were wide open to welcome anybody. In one row, they marched right in.

"Wait a moment." San signalled them to stay in the entrance room as he disappeared behind a blanket that covered another passage.

Yeosang just turned to look around the peculiar home, when his eyes fell on the two men seated at a table to their left. Both parties had already taken notice of one another, and Mingi of all people spoke up. He addressed one of the two men that looked back at him as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Hongjoong?!"

"Mingi?!"

Yeosang, however, had frozen over completely.

The second man in front of him was an actual ghost. A man that was supposed to be dead.

"Seonghwa?!"