Wooyoung found the forum half an hour after he complained about when hats became a thing because his nape would get sunburn again. At least, Babylon's sun hours had prepared him well to match with the tanned Romans that flitted around him in their daily lives. While the hustle of the metropolis was similar to the workers of Babylon that had whizzed past Wooyoung like busy bees, both cities created a unique atmosphere. Where Babylon had seemed like a work in process, as if there had been always something to do, always the push to reach out closer to perfection, Rome basked in its supposedly finished glory. Yet, at the same time as the rich upper class laid back in their litters and got carried around purely for sightseeing, as a modern person would do by taking a walk, the slaves worked twice as hard. Compared to Babylon, most of them wore chains somewhere on their bodies that dragged heavily over the ground by their dirtied feet. Sullenness and empty gazes identified their faces even when their partly naked and dirtied bodies disappeared in the crowd.

As an empath, Wooyoung found it easy to detect the anger and humiliation in their eyes. Behind the submissive veil of emptiness laid range, brooding and hot. He prayed Yunho would be different and that Wooyoung wouldn't have to fear waking up at night to find the dominus of the house with his guts spilt throughout the foyer.

After another while of wandering the massive city Rome had already become, Wooyoung finally reached the forum. He had visited it in the present and in the past already, but it never failed to amaze him how well it had withstood the decay of time. The tall pillars that had once carried the town hall on which steps Seneca would laze on in a few years still stood upright in the future, even if the stone had become brittle and broken off. Seeing the full glory of the lofty buildings and the decorative statues and fountains in their original splendour took away Wooyoung's speech yet again. The building he spotted to the left would barely get touched by the ages. In modern times, it sold ice cream, the best Wooyoung had ever tasted.

Wooyoung wandered the edges of the people-filled area. He found a few people idling around on the stairs that surrounded the political buildings from all sides. When he asked them about Linus, they told him the same he already knew and vaguely pointed in the hill's direction.

If names and bells on doors were already a thing, Wooyoung would have loved to spend his time trying to find the right house. Alas, he had to ask around some more to find a better lead.

Wooyoung dropped into multiple inns on his search for someone with better information. He gradually closed in on the hill in question and some answers were more direct (he had to look out for the crossroad behind the blacksmith) others fuelled his confusion since there was not just one man in Rome with the name Linus.

For dinner, Wooyoung bought some bread and meat that he could enjoy outside. If the river hadn't been so far, he would have liked to stroll alongside it. For this term, however, Wooyoung was dead focused on his task. Not only the fact that this was his second visit ended in a lack of reactions. He had also learned enough about Rome that the initial wonder and amazement had long since disappeared. He loved the city for its heritage and the stories it had to tell, but Wooyoung had visited too many cultures and people that had suffered under the Roman Empire to be too fond of it. All stories had two sides to tell them from, and the one Wooyoung had learnt in school had contradicted with his profound studies.

Seated on the rim of a fountain, Wooyoung enjoyed the cool breeze of the water splashing behind him. He watched people milling around to stop for talks or rest in the shadows before they continued their courses. The hunched backs of old men mixed with the elegant forms of young wives led around by their husbands as they regarded jewellery they liked together.

Wooyoung munched on his food while the sun set behind the hills. The pillars of the city threw distorted shadows on the ground and gradually, the streets emptied as everybody left to either sleep or drink the night away.

When Wooyoung curiously peeked his head inside an inn that had brightly announced its jolly mood with the tunes of a string instrument, he was met with a wave of euphoric cheers and laughter. Groups of people sat together to drink or feel up the female waitresses whenever they passed too close. The ladies giggled at the attention and played their role in the well-versed game.

Once Wooyoung had slinked up to the bar to try the wine Rome offered, another woman came over to look after him, too. Her kind smile prompted Wooyoung to grin back.

"I would like to try the most popular wine, please," Wooyoung said. She whipped around to deliver it to him, but still talked over her shoulder.

"What is a lord doing out here alone? Had enough of your friends?"

Wooyoung accepted his mug to swish the dark red liquid around inside for a bit. The men in the main dining area chugged it like beer, but he tried the first sip carefully to savour it. He wasn't much of a wine drinker, but he had to give it to the Romans that considering their antique techniques, they did a fine job preparing the drink.

"Actually, I seek to meet with them before the night passes. Have you heard of a lord named Linus? I learned he lives around here."

The woman's eyes lit up.

"Oh yes, I do! He comes here sometimes to drink, my husband and he get along well. His personal slave is a gem to the eye. A handsome fellow." She giggled into her hand but failed at hiding her rosy cheeks. Wooyoung bounced his leg in excitement over yet another clue.

"That sounds about right. Where can I find him? I don't know which of the houses is his."

With a sound of understanding, she leaned over the counter to draw on it with her finger as she explained to him.

"You'll go up the hill until you find the big road where the carts cross. From there, you go right, past the thermal baths and then take a left. His house has two statues in front of it, left and right of the pillars that hold the entrance. It's a luxurious building, you won't be able to miss it. And to the right, there's an even grander mansion with a spacious garden you will notice right away."

Wooyoung nodded along. His little hums of understanding made the woman smile.

"And then," she jammed her finger where she had described the entrance to be, "you knock four times since Linus accepts only friends at night. If you fail at that, you'll have to try tomorrow. But you are welcome to come back; I can give you a room." With a wink at him, she scurried off to serve another customer. Wooyoung went over the route in his head again as he finished his drink. Once he was done, he paid and conveyed his gratitude to the woman before he left once more for the dark streets of Rome.

He wasn't drunk, just barely warmed by the alcohol. For a while, he breathed the mild air of the summer night peacefully and savoured his lonely walk through the streets.

Would Linus be the one with information about immortality, or Yunho? Wooyoung had never heard of a Linus in combination with such matters, so his theories might have been mocked and buried under the true philosophers of the time.

On the other hand, Yunho might not be able to read and write with his status. Or maybe Yunho could establish the connection to the person in question? Yongguk was never clear with his instructions. Once more, Wooyoung's acting abilities got tested.

"Hey, you!"

Wooyoung perked up at the drunken slur so close to him. He was just about to move to the side tactfully when he was grabbed by the shoulder brusquely and shoved around. His heart jumped in his chest when he found himself pressed against the corner of a building with four tall men looming around him. They were regular citizens, judging by their clothing, but all of them swayed dangerously on the tips of their toes. In the faint light of the street lamps, Wooyoung found their cheeks and noses red from the alcohol. Glassy eyes struggled to focus on him.

"What can I help you with, my lords?" Wooyoung inquired politely. He dodged the smell of booze that wafted from their mouths, but it permeated his nose anyway and had him grimace.

"You! You're the one who talked to Titus' wife earlier! Right, Titus!"

The man they called Titus was too busy trying to stand to even mind. When he heard his name being announced, he just reacted with a vehement shout of 'damn right!'

Wooyoung tilted his head. He had only talked to the fruit lady, so that was the only person they could mean. Had he done something wrong after all? Or was this matter as fresh as the woman in the inn?

"She was mighty comfortable around you!"

Wooyoung had trouble understanding the rowdy bunch. They supported each other like devoted friends and spoke in jumbled messes that had Wooyoung questioning whether Titus was the one having a problem or his musketeers.

Stiff, Wooyoung shifted his weight to his dominant leg so he could make a run for it if these men caused trouble. The street to his left was vacant; he could dash in there quickly and avoid their grappling, oily hands.

"I don't know what you mean," Wooyoung said to diffuse the tension. The hands balled to furious fists at their sides made him uncomfortable. His muscles were tense with alarm.

"Don't lie! She said you searched for Linus! Just earlier, we saw you bothering more people with it! What's your deal, are you after our women?!" The one yelling was the tallest one. Wooyoung's head barely reached his shoulder. When he stepped back to lift his flat palms in defence, they closed in on him like a swarm of hyenas.

"Please understand, I-"

The fist crashing into Wooyoung's face took the words out of his mouth. White pain flashed behind his eyes when his cheekbone erupted in a sharp ache that had him whimper and throwing his arms up to defend himself. For a moment, he stumbled, disoriented. His shoulder met a wall, but a moment later it flinched back from it when the next punch hit his ribs. Wooyoung gasped, body curling up. He hoped they wouldn't break the remote.

Should he fight back? Flee? His instincts yelled at him to act, but he was unsure which method would save him most future trouble.

Just as one of them fisted a hand in Wooyoung's hair to rip his head back up, a voice interrupted the spectacle. Wooyoung tried to breathe around the blood dripping from his nose to create a bloody mess on his features.

"Halt! No brawls in the streets!"

Wooyoung squinted through the pain to make out his saviours. Two men had come to his aid, one dressed in the uniform of the city guards. The other one was a tall young lad in a humble tunic. A frown pulled his brows together, but rather than disgusted, he looked concerned.

"But he- my wife, and-" Titus slurred so bad that Wooyoung didn't understand him anymore. The man tumbled against his friend, taking down both of them as they nearly fell asleep on the spot.

The guard took them aside to reprimand them to drink at home. Meanwhile, the other stranger carefully helped up Wooyoung from his collapsed position against the wall.

"Can you stand? I'm Yunho. Master Linus sent me after he heard you searched for us. That was you, right?"

Weak, Wooyoung wiped his blood with his hand. He tried not to get his toga dirty, but through the dim light and his blurry view, he was sure that had already happened. Aching in pain, he allowed Yunho to pull him into a standing position.

"That's me, yes," Wooyoung whispered around the pain. With one arm wrapped around his mid, and one hand cupped under his nose to catch the worst of the blood flow, Wooyoung stood like a shaky foal. He leaned in the arm Yunho had wrapped around him, painfully aware of the blood he smeared on the slave's tunic.

"Many thanks for your help. I will take him with me and treat his wounds," Yunho called out towards the soldier. The man with the spear had shooed off the cursing drunkards by now and they moulded into the nightly shadows of Rome's alleys.

The guard nodded at them stiffly and went on his way. Supported by Yunho, Wooyoung trudged out of the street and up the slope to the villa Linus resided in.