"There, all done. Good enough?" Yunho stepped back from Jongho to put down the scissors on the workbench. Upon his beckon, Jongho reached for the back of his head to test the feel of his freshly cut hair. The short locks brushing his fingers tickled his palms, but none dangled into his face anymore. In exchange, he was more aware of the cold that reached his head now that the protective fluff was gone.

"Yeah, thanks." Jongho stood to get the broom and get rid of the many little strands on the ground. Satisfied with his work, Yunho washed his hands. Bent over the sink that had always been just a tad too small and low for him, he looked as if he had never left, and the sweet pain of missing him for so long pulled on Jongho's heart once more. Being alone with Yunho in his home was weird for the lack of their parents around, but at the same time, it felt like home and family again. Jongho had missed that feeling in the past few weeks.

Yunho shook his hands out as he halted in front of the only shelf in the little room. The picture of their family still stood there as the last reminder of their parents that had left. When Yunho reached out his hands for it with reserved silence, Jongho glanced at him from the ground.

For a long while, Yunho just stared at the picture to burn the memories of his parents into his mind. He engraved them in his brain to hold and never forget. Who else, if not Jongho and Yunho, would remember them? Even as Yunho's face remained blank, the fingertip that he trailed along their parents' faces trembled slightly.

"I can't help but think I should have been faster. Their deaths feel even more unfortunate knowing that heartbreak was the cause."

Jongho lowered his eyes on the ground to continue cleaning up. He hadn't told Yunho about the affliction that destiny had bestowed so gruesomely on their parents, but Mingi probably did.

"Don't blame yourself. You were there for them from a distance."

The news had had no way to reach Yunho. After his disappearance and given the little importance that two ordinary people in Zey held, their parents' deaths had never touched him. When Jongho had told him about their deaths a few days ago, grief had hit Yunho double.

Sighing, Yunho put the picture back on the shelf. By now, his presence didn't feel like a dream to Jongho anymore. Yunho's gestures, smiles, and every mannerism were still so similar to the old him that Jongho had adjusted quickly.

"Shall we go, then? To build a bridge?" When Yunho pushed his dark hair back and reached for his jacket, the smile was back on his face. With a nod, Jongho put his broom away to slip into his shoes. As he sat on the ground to lace them up, Yunho's fingers gently brushed through his hair to get rid of a few more loose strands of hair. The familiar touch petrified Jongho for a moment when memories of a time long ago, a better time, flooded his mind. The time when Yunho's fingers in his hair had been a common occurrence.

Yunho's fingers slipped from him only gradually, as if he himself had been reminded of their younger selves. Then, he opened the door for Jongho to step through first.

The two men from the guilds outside immediately stuck to their heels like their personal bodyguards as they set out through Zey. Today, both of them were well-rested and more receptive to the many people that milled the streets. Uncertainty still painted most of their faces, but they moved differently than usual. With their faces up to search for others and talking with people they had passed countless mute times before.

"I never expected to see Zey like this one day. It feels like a dream."

Jongho agreed. The factories of Zey laid lifeless today as the whole place had come to a standstill. No machines sounded in the distance, and no constant emissions clogged the air. Everybody had rid themselves of their masks and hoods to look around with astounded eyes.

As if the ban an evil witch had put upon them had lifted, the westsiders came to life after the long period of crumbling under the circumstances and their pressure. Several of them followed alongside Yunho and Jongho towards the canyon and whispered under their breaths about Seonghwa and the happenings.

As typical, San's head was the first Jongho saw when they reached the canyon. The man sat on a long timber that they had thrown over the canyon. Without an ounce of fear, he hammered the crossbeams of the new bridge onto the outer ones. He had rid himself of his shirt to cool his body in the air of the sunny morning, and people were tripping everywhere.

Jongho was elated to see both Zey and Asora folks work on the bridges. Some of them carried beams and tools, some made measurements, and others helped San with the risky task of piecing it all together. They traversed over the makeshift links that the long beams created for now freely and switched sides whenever was needed.

Seonghwa and Yeosang had already arrived, too, and stood near the sphere with Yongguk to discuss some paper with him. When Yeosang spotted Jongho and Yunho accompanied by another fresh wave of workers just as well as curious onlookers, he waved at them cheerfully.

Another person who had joined them was Mingi. He sat in the wheeled chair he had actually managed to build for himself near the drop to the canyon and strung ropes together or handed out the nails and tools that accumulated around him. A huge grin broke out on his face when he spotted the two of them coming closer.

"Good morning, gentlemen! The day keeps getting better!" He looked solely at Yunho as he said it, but Jongho couldn't blame him. Yunho brightened everybody's days wherever he went.

"Hello, handsome. How's the leg doing?" With a smirk that had Mingi redden to the tips of his also red hair - turning him into a tomato - Yunho joined his side. While he marvelled at the wheeled chair and flirted with Mingi, Jongho already searched the construction site for something for him to do. When San beckoned him over to join him, Jongho didn't hesitate.

Moments later, Jongho perched on the wooden beam in the same manner as San. His legs wrapped around the solid wood to support his body as he began to hammer away on the boards that Zey's workers handed him in an endless line.

"They ditched the factories today to help us here. The amount of people on our side outweighs the few cranky souls, and in general, the mood seems great. Asora supports us, too, and the questions about the ruler are probably more divided than us building a bridge here." San grinned triumphantly. Despite his wild hair and bare skin that glistened with sweat, his face remained alert and joyous. He had slept well, and it showed on his face.

Somewhere behind him, Wooyoung apologised for running into a person.

"Delightful. Be careful where you go, though. As usual, you are a lonely lamp in between a mass of moths. If you are distracted for a second, our whole population might run into the canyon instead of building."

The bright laughter of the man filled the streets. Jongho chuckled with him before he focused on the hammer on his hand and where it wasn't supposed to be: on his fingers.

The sun watched over them, just as fascinated with their progress as the nearby people. High noon came with warm temperatures despite the season, and Jongho rolled up his sleeves to keep working.

By the time that he wiped his sweat from his brow and looked around, they had nearly finished the five bridges they had been going for. They still needed to be fixed to the ground so they wouldn't fall into the canyon, and Mingi had suggested strengthening them with the brass of the automatons if there was time.

The special bridge for the sphere meant to keep it up and safely enclosed to connect to Zey would take a longer time to finish. San and a few others had tirelessly worked on the setup of the design that Seonghwa and Yongguk had come up with.

Jongho met Mingi's eyes when he searched for his friends. Hastily, Mingi beckoned him over to take a break for a few minutes. With hurting muscles, Jongho followed the call and left his post to somebody else to continue.

Yeosang sat next to Mingi on a wooden crate and handed out food for the workers. Sellers from Zey and Asora had joined hands to supply everybody with their goods for free and made sure that the workers didn't dry out during work.

When Jongho stepped over with heavy steps to fall to the ground to Yeosang's feet and lean against his shins, the prince's eyes widened a bit. While Jongho looked nowhere as racy and debauched as San did, the three buttons of his shirt he wore open above his vest revealed a considerable amount of chest for Jongho's standards. Still, Jongho couldn't help his smug smirk over the fact that Yeosang rather stared at him than at San.

Yeosang handed him a sandwich and a bottle of water that Jongho accepted with a throaty 'thanks.' After drinking a few sips, he leaned his head back on Yeosang's knees to rest his eyes for a bit.

Kind, Yeosang shielded his eyes with the shadow of his hand as his remaining fingers brushed the sweaty hair from Jongho's forehead. Soothing like healing water, his affectionate touches pulled all the pain from Jongho's muscles.

"You aren't wearing your armour today," the prince pointed out quietly. Jongho nodded.

"Yeah, they are heavy, and I figured I didn't need them today." Hungrily, he unpacked his bread. The delicious taste seemed to fill his energy meter noticeably with every bite.

Mingi, next to them, shooed off two young workers that had approached him to ask about San with a curt 'he has a boyfriend.' Judging from how he sighed once they were out of earshot, he had had this conversation several times today already.

"Popular man, huh? We should fear everything that hides underground from now on. They carry unknown powers." Jongho chuckled at the way that Mingi rolled his eyes.

"At least you two don't have to worry about somebody snatching the other up. Imagine poor Wooyoung's fear. Or mine." Instantly, Mingi's eyes searched the site for Yunho again. They found him next to Yongguk, also taking a break and eating at the moment. The two of them laughed heartily together, and Mingi had to smile, too.

"I never should have told you about him. How did you even fall for the stories about a dead man?"

Indignant, Mingi huffed at Jongho. His good foot came over to kick Jongho's knee without any force behind it.

"How dare you. Sometimes it's the unknown that attracts us most. Or the unachievable."

"Imagine he fell out of love now just because Yunho actually appeared in his life." Yeosang giggled over his little joke even when Mingi explained himself with offended gasps.

Peaceful, Jongho watched how Asora and Zey worked hand in hand while the two bickered. Just how his father had always dreamed, the two cities unified over their mutual goals. No hatred, no war. Finally, the oppression that had kept hundreds of people from reaching for each other had expired.

Yeosang's fingers gently massaged Jongho's scalp as he turned his head to glance up at his two friends.

"So tonight, we will celebrate? With everyone together in Zey?"

"Aye. And if everything goes as planned, then the people accept Seonghwa for his deeds, and he will become our new king. The only tension, for now, lies behind his heritage, but I'm sure that once he introduces Yeosang and explains everything that has happened so far, the people will understand."

Satisfied, Jongho glanced out at the bridges again. Then, he finished his food and got to his feet once more.

"I'll go back to work. You two watch out for anybody who might not be too fond of Seonghwa, so we can make sure we can protect him out in public tonight."

The two men saluted gravely before Yeosang asked him to be careful. With a promise to return without a scratch, Jongho set out to finish the bridges they had started so that all of Asora's people could come and join them this evening.