Jongho was arguably terrified.

With no clue how he could have been naive enough to run into a random room and think of himself as alone in there, he stayed frozen right where he was. His eyes flickered between the boy in the bed and the window on the other side of the room.

"Who are you?"

The voice addressing Jongho was quiet and deep enough not to be considered boyish anymore. Jongho had yet to fathom why a boy lived in a room that would normally be used as a dusty archive.

Without a word, Jongho crossed the chamber. He stayed clear of the door leading to the library in case the crown prince still wandered about, and instead focused his determination on the window. He could still meet Mingi from the outside.

However, before he could reach the escape route, the white blankets rustled when the boy sat up. His earlier fear of Jongho seemed to have eased since he didn't hesitate to speak up. It was mildly alarming how unfazed he was.

"Wait! Don't go yet! I never had someone break in here before!"

Jongho couldn't help himself. He scoffed disbelievingly at those words, but he did slow down. The man had protected him just now, so he at least had the sense to listen. As crooked and broken as Zey's people were, Jongho tried to hold up some morals for himself. And that meant to pay back favours. He could not deny his intrigue with the peculiar reaction his breaking and entering had warranted.

When the man spotted Jongho falter, he cautiously crawled over to his nightstand. His eyes didn't leave Jongho's masked and hooded figure for even a second as his fingers fumbled with his lamp as if he had to make sure that Jongho didn't jump from his sight.

After a few mishaps that Jongho watched with pursed lips, a faint blue glow lit up the room. Nethicite energy cursed through the round and moon-esque lamp that the man possessed. It was a pleasant colour and bathed them in enough light to see without blinding anyone.

As soon as the oddball of a man got a closer look at Jongho, he gasped softly. Eager eyes slid up and down Jongho's apprehensive posture a few times, and each time, they seemed to get brighter. They carried a nearly child-like excitement at the prospect of having a robber inside his room, and Jongho arched a brow at him. He doubted the man even saw it under all components of his masquerade,

"You're from Zey, aren't you? That's so cool!"

Was he making fun of him? Unsure, Jongho just narrowed his eyes. In his opinion, that was enough of a threat to make the guy back down, but it seemed as if he was wired differently.

Jongho didn't expect the man to scramble across the bed and nearly get stuck in his white sleeping gown as he reached for what appeared to be a diary and a pen. With no clue what to expect, Jongho awaited his judgement.

It came with the blonde boy shifting until he sat comfortably cross-legged and looking up at Jongho expectantly. A shy smile curled around his lips.

"Do you have some time? I would like to exchange my help just now for information."

Jongho blanked for a second. He quickly collected his wits, so it didn't get awkward, but shock laced his words anyway.

"Information?"

The man nodded enthusiastically - causing his hair to flop around wildly - before sinking down between his shoulders immediately. His hand rose to scratch at his neck timidly.

"You see... I want to know about Zey, and you are from there! I won't tell anybody that you snatched a few things, so please?" A pallid blue hue illuminated the tips of his hair. The colour complimented his light skin tone and soft appearance that seemed to be a crass opposite of Jongho himself.

At once, the mechanic felt incredibly dirty. He was not supposed to be here in this prim and proper place and converse with somebody who lived here. They would only ridicule and pity him for who he was.

His bitter side told Jongho to refuse and bring as much distance between him and any selfish person in Asora. They would only fight if he tried to find a place here.

However, he owed the man something. And if it were as easy as answers, he would give him just that and then scramble.

Jongho stiffly crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Fine. I have a few minutes to spare."

Relieved, the man nodded more often than necessary before he patted his bed in an appropriate distance from himself. The invitation was written on his face.

Uncomfortable, Jongho looked between the guy and his risky offer. Jongho had yet to decide whether he was very confident or extremely stupid.

"I'm dirty."

"I don't mind. Sit down."

Jongho stiffly perched at the very edge of the bed. He tried to ignore the discomfort he felt at his curious eyes that scrutinised his gadgets with amazement. Inwardly he prayed that the man wouldn't cross the boundary of asking whether he was allowed to touch them. For now, he didn't, as he pulled his little book in his lap and stared at Jongho with his pen poised.

"Will you tell me your name?"

"No. We won't see each other again after today."

The boy pouted at him, and his lower lip jutted out like that of a stubborn kid as he did. Jongho was irritated.

"Fine. I'm Yeosang, though, and I'm happy to meet you. So, westsider, you grew up in Zey?" Yeosang started his interrogation off easily.

Jongho tried to relax, but he couldn't stop his hands from playing nervously with the metal of his leg supporting devices. He repeatedly tapped the shiny brass plates and withheld the need to nudge his finger against the little cogs underneath.

"I did. I spent every second of my life there." It was weird to explain a concept that was so familiar to Jongho to somebody who had not a clue about it. Mediating the exact acrimony that Jongho felt about his home didn't sit right with him. This person who lived in the palace could hardly relate.

"How is it? Is it as dark and outlawed as the books say?"

Careful, Jongho nodded. Yeosang hurriedly took a few notes.

"Do you dislike it?"

Jongho pondered the question. He could not disagree, but neither was a yes at the correct place here. Naturally, agreeing seemed like the logical thing to do, but since Jongho couldn't be sure if it were better anywhere else, it seemed wrong to deny his home. He disliked Asora with a passion, so where if not there would he be? He knew nothing else.

"Can't say. It's my home, so I see it as such," Jongho retorted instead. It was a lame reply, but it seemed to be enough for the interested palace boy. His veiny hand flew over the paper as he scribbled.

Jongho idly looked around his bare room. He found some notes and papers strewn over his desk. They were topped by an empty platter that still smelled of food faintly. Against the wall next to the desk, a violin had found its place, which was already about it. A book was the only other item that rested on the man's nightstand.

It looked oddly empty and shabby for a noble chamber. Once more, Jongho wondered how the man had found this place for himself. It seemed as if at least the prince knew and approved of it.

"I see. How do you feel about Asora? And the royal family?"

His questions were poised directly and made Jongho challenge his motivations once more. From how the guy acted, any reason to distrust him seemed valid.

"How much impact does this question have on your judgement whether to tell the guards about me or not?"

Yeosang looked surprised for a moment before he hastily declared his innocence. Both of his hands rose defensively to support his case. The pen in his hand nearly tumbled down into his lap, but he caught it in the last moment.

Awkwardly, they exchanged gazes.

Yeosang cleared his throat.

"It doesn't. I won't snitch on somebody who helped me."

His eyes were incredibly trusting and open as he regarded Jongho. Perplexed, the mechanic turned his head away from him.

"I hate both. Asora and the royals. They ditched Zey at a dark hour, and many people there feel furious about that. People like me who abused the royals' existence to steal stuff." Jongho managed a grim smile. With a frown etched into his forehead, the other boy continued to write.

"What else?"

Jongho pondered for a while. There were so many little things in his life that greatly inconvenienced or worried him. The amount of work, the diseases that lurked around every corner, and the air.

But all those were things that defined Zey, things the people had accustomed to. They had nothing to do with the royal family themselves.

"The automatons. The curfew. The ban on trade. Forbidding us to cross. You people- Asora's people all do that to other people. You don't mind these facts, but they make our messy lives all the harder."

Yeosang looked up from his notes. Jongho sharply regarded the surprise in his eyes.

"They are that bad? Don't they protect the city from crimes? Our teachers say that it's dangerous over there without them."

Jongho didn't know whether to laugh or hate the man for his ignorance. There was no way that somebody in the heart of the kingdom, in the very palace, didn't know about the true intentions behind the surveillance. They didn't help; they weeded out the people that didn't fit their system. And yet, they viewed every citizen of Zey with contempt after holding them in the places they had forced them in.

"I think I should leave. I don't want to risk getting found by anyone else but you." Jongho rose from the bed and pulled his bag against his side protectively.

Yeosang looked lost. The need to protest showed on his face, but he was wise enough not to speak up. Maybe he noticed that he had struck a nerve. At least he was that smart.

"I understand. But- Ah, I shouldn't ask that of you. Still, please consider coming back."

Jongho's eyes were popping out of his head from shock. While he still smoothed out his expression, his mind already reeled with the little knowledge that this guy had over the Chasm. What did they teach to the palace people? A servant, from the looks of it. Jongho suspected he might be the librarian. He had too little general idea of their surroundings.

"Here? It's dangerous."

"I won't tell them! If you promise to come back to tell me more, I will collect a few things you can sell! Like that, it's not in vain..."

Jongho disbelievingly shook his head.

"Farewell, airhead. Your stack is smoking, but gears don't turn. Fix that, if you want to understand the people in Zey."

Curious, Yeosang titled his head. The gesture conveyed innocence and wonder, but Jongho just sighed once more.

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to." With those words, Jongho opened the window and threw a glance down in the gardens underneath. Everything looked peaceful, and no guard was in sight.

He cradled his bag close and jumped. From his peripherals, a movement from the bed followed him, but the man was too slow. Jongho was gone before he could reach for him.

The gear on Jongho's right leg smoothed out the weight of gravity catching up with him. As it cushioned his movement and kept him from bending too far, steam rose from the sides with a hiss. As soon as he stood, Jongho took off running.

The odd encounter with the boy living in the archive had thrown him off. Jongho wondered if he had said too much and what the man would do with his newly acquired information. Would it actually help anyone? Jongho doubted it.

He found the proposal to come back all the more quizzical. Even if Yeosang hadn't known about the dangers of the canyon, just why would he put that amount of trust in a complete stranger that he had caught stealing in his very home? If the decision not to snitch on him had been foolish, then asking Jongho to come back was downright silly.

With his mind crossed like a riddle, Jongho looked around the corner to round the building. The door that he and Mingi had used as an entrance was near. After a second of hiding behind a row of thick bushes while the soldiers passed, Jongho darted through it.

He tried to blend with a corner as he waited for Mingi to return. After today, Jongho just wanted to go home and make sure that his father was taken care of.

The weird librarian would fare well on his own.