In Zey, not minding your own business was a foolproof tactic to end your life.

Jongho sat perched on a metal canopy belonging to one of many narrow houses and watched the spectacle in the main street underneath him unfold. The clamour had also attracted the attention of other inhabitants. Jongho made eye-contact with one of the boys he knew from his errands that sat on the roof opposite from Jongho. The dark eyes underneath his hood glinted with excitement as he observed.

In the alley that they called their most popular highway merely because of its slightly smoother cobblestone pavement, a heated discussion took place. From what Jongho had gathered on his way, one of the merchants that populated the streets had been caught redhanded at a misdeed. The older man with a well-groomed white beard ranted and raved disbelievingly at the automaton that had the task of patrolling the streets.

The considerably smaller human didn't have the same kind of gritty determination that most of Zey's people portrayed. Jongho suspected he had either developed dementia or his position as a person with at least a bit of money to his name had made him cocky. Thus, he had broken the most essential unspoken law.

Either way, the tall automaton appeared less than pleased with the barrage of obscenities that met it. It had barely titled its conical head with the two slits that resembled eyes. It didn't say a word, but from his position, Jongho could see the countless little gears ratter inside the robot's head. White steam rose from the motor inside its chest without pause. In a gesture that was far too human for Jongho's liking, it crossed its arms in front of its torso. Its metal body sat on a large brass ball that allowed it to hunt down anybody who dared to sneak around after curfew.

Jongho knew how to evade them in nightly settings, but in broad daylight, dodging them was a nearly impossible task. They brought what could be considered as laws and justice to Zey, and played a vital role in everybody's lives.

"I keep telling you that I wasn't the one to steal! There was a kid, five years or so, he looked completely different than me! Shouldn't you be hunting him instead of me?!" The merchant pushed his chubby stomach out to seem more intimidating to the uncaring automaton. Wary, Jongho watched it beckon him to follow it to the office once more.

The automatons in all their shiny glory were not the ones making the final judgment. They were programmed for certain tasks that this man currently tried to stall. Jongho adjusted his mask in front of his face to protect his lungs from the poisonous emissions that clogged the air.

The merchant's retreating hairline glistened with sweat. Like hungry vultures, the curious audience watched over him and his fate. Thick tension that only them but not the machine felt filled the air.

The robot tried to urge the man to hurry one last time. When he refused again and only clutched the straps of his backpack tightly, its demeanour changed. As it rose its arm that quickly shifted into a weapon, the people began dispersing to protect their own skins.

Jongho got up and stepped away as the single shot sounded. They never missed.

With his teeth gritted, Jongho swung his body up onto the roofs of the tightly aligned houses once more. He began skipping over the obstacles in his way as he concentrated on getting home soon. No need to think about it.

He had gotten distracted by a person foolish enough to offer help in Zey. Before the merchant had been spotted, Jongho had seen him gesture the kid to run as he blocked the path.

"He had that comin' for him," said a voice behind Jongho as if to finish his train of thought. Jongho didn't slow his steps, and neither did he mind when the man he had seen earlier caught up with him. Jongho barely remembered his name whenever they met; it was that seldom.

"Don't be a smartass. A person died." Jongho jumped another gap and landed smoothly when the gadget he wore strapped around his right leg took most of his momentum. Without pause, he continued making his way further south. Nothing shifted his mood; he had seen enough to stop caring.

"Mind your gages; it isn't as if you knew him." The other man's boots thumped against the dull stone all the houses were made of as he kept up with Jongho easily. Irked by his presence, Jongho tried to remember his name to tell him off.

"What do you want, Youjin?"

Youjin's muffled laughter barely left his hood. Like a shadow, he darted along Jongho's side.

"Boss's been askin' me to find you. Seems as if he has another job for you." He shrugged it off.

Jongho nodded, relieved at the good news. A new job meant money which meant a few days more of living. That was all he wanted.

"I will pay him a visit tomorrow, then."

Youjin gave a lazy salute before he abruptly jumped down into one of the alleys and disappeared from Jongho's side like a ghost. Jongho was left alone on the empty roofs to continue parkouring by himself. The constant hiss of the machines on his body was the only noise that accompanied him back home. He kept his head low and his face hidden in his dark scarf even as nobody was around to approach him.

By the time he also dropped down into the alley that led to his home, the sun had already crept far enough down the sky to graze this side of the cliff barely. It disappeared completely from sight when Jongho landed on his feet safely. The dark and wet walls of the city engulfed him like a protective cloak as he stepped up to his home's door.

Like anywhere in Zey, his house was cramped between two other ones. He was living on the second level of four which he had always been thankful for. The rain did not reach them there; it only bugged his neighbours.

Jongho let himself in and pulled his mask off first thing as soon as the door was closed. He breathed in the not fresh but also not as deadly air greedily. As he kicked off his boots in no particular corner, his eyes already tried to spot the figure that had curled up in the single bed in the room. He could barely see behind the curtain that divided the sleeping area from the rest, but he believed to notice something shift.

"Hey, dad!" Jongho called out loud enough to be heard over the hum of machines that came from outside at any time of the day.

No answer.

Sighing, Jongho put down his bag next to his working bench and patted the head of the little clockwork bunny he had left there. At his touch, the cogs whirred to life, and it curiously turned its head towards him. A soft melody that came from the music box within started playing and had Jongho smile at peace.

Jongho left his jacket on the ramshackle chair in front of it before he went to heat water for some tea. He activated their little boiler and leant next to it on the wall as he watched it work hard to generate heat by supplying steam.

In the middle of adding the tea Jongho's father rose from his bed. He tumbled from behind the curtain with his greying hair wild and sunken eyes. Startling at the ashen paleness of his skin, Jongho quickly stood to gently push him back down. Belated, his father looked up at him, and a gleeful smile that missed some teeth appeared on his wrinkled face.

"Oh, there you are, boy! I was just wondering when you would come home." With a fond pat on Jongho's hip, he allowed the younger man to put him back underneath his blankets.

"I just came in, sorry for startling you." Jongho snapped his brown leather gloves off his fingers before he reached to feel his father's forehead. Humming, he leant into the touch.

Jongho had to chuckle as he took his hand off his burning skin. Worry etched into his heart, but he tried his best not to let it show on his features.

"How are you feeling today?"

Using his impeccable aim, Jongho threw his gloves onto his working table. The bunny curiously hopped onto them, its machines whirring with a tune far more pleasant than the roaring outside. The boiler hissed and alerted Jongho of its temperature.

As he knelt next to it to finish the tea, his father settled back comfortably against his pillows.

"Wonderful, I feel wonderful! I might be back to full health, let's go out on a trip sometime, son!"

Jongho sighed as he left the tea where it was and pulled the curtain to his father open. While he waited, he fetched his dad's medicine and frowned at its dwindling amount as he handed it over.

"Youjin approached me today with another job. As soon as you are back to health we can go," Jongho promised. He washed both of their mugs, taking the splintered one for himself so that his father would not cut his dry lips on it.

"I dislike that Youjin fella. Whenever you take jobs from him, you are near the Chasm." A dry cough shook the man's gaunt body. Jongho worriedly watched him as he poured their tea. His father was heaving for breath, and his eyes were glassy from the fever as he settled back. When he noticed Jongho's vigilance, he giggled weakly.

"See, it brings bad luck. Stay away from that place. I don't want you falling."

Jongho brought him his tea and helped him sit up with a smile on his face.

"It's not as if anybody could overlook a giant canyon in the ground, don't worry." Jongho unwrapped his medicine for him and mixed it in his tea before handing it over. With trembling fingers and barely enough strength to hold the object by himself, he drank. Jongho supported him with one hand.

"If not the Chasm, then the automatons. They don't care what you are there for. If they see you lurking, they shoot." He spilt wisdom as if he was the one living outside every day, but it had Jongho listen to him fondly. At least his memories kept his sick father entertained.

"My great-grandfather told me about how peaceful it was before the big earthquake. There was no canyon back then and no robots that hindered you from crossing it."

Jongho looked into the murky water that his tea was as he circled his wrist to stir it.

"You speak as if you want to go to Asora."

Flabbergasted, his father stared at him. His watery eyes were wide, and his lips parted with indignance.

"No way! I'm not interested in those arrogant narcissists! I would not know either way. No one crosses the Chasm, but back in the day, son, back in the day when there was no chasm the people freely travelled!" His cheeks had reddened from the fever, so Jongho quietly urged him to drink more. As soon as he was done, he sunk back and Jongho put the mug away.

He finished his own, too, and brought the bunny over to his father so he could revel in its sweet tunes as he closed his eyes once more. Jongho adjusted his blankets just when his dad spoke up again. His voice was barely more than a gust of breath, and Jongho had to strain to hear it.

"Oh, Jongho, you came home? Let me just sleep for a bit; then we can go on a trip." With that, he fell asleep again.

Jongho worriedly stared down at his relaxed form. Even after eight months of sickness, his father was showing no signs of improvement. It was as if the fever stubbornly clung to him like the remnants of sticky oil. No amount of medicine seemed to be able to wash it off. Jongho liked to blame it on his mother, assuming that she was too unsatisfied with her early death to let go of his father's soul just yet.

He needed her to stop soon.

Jongho wanted to go on a trip with his father. Preferably to Asora, the beautiful eastern part of the city. It was the place where his father had always wanted to go.

Rich and shining Asora, a dreamy city of white marble and glass that reflected the sun in all colours of the rainbow. The place where the royal family resided and people didn't hunger every day.

The city on the other side of the Chasm.

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