Chapter 77

Luke enjoyed his evening with a full stomach and fewer worries when William left for his new room. He had a lot behind him, frankly. Not only did he do what Mi-Yung asked him to do, act against common military logic, but he also made sure to cause the least amount of trouble.

But what if troubles came up to him? What than? Who was he to blame if the timing was so terrible?

He solved half of the troubles anyway or though very little of them like waves of his hands. He was a soldier, yet not afraid of going against some orders. He surely was no freaking caretaker. He planned to wait for Mi-Yung to ease all troubles because something like Academy or Assembly was far above his little talent.

Sitting alone in his apartment, he felt kind of lonely.

Not for long.

The wind swayed from a sudden open window, which revealed a figure standing aside, leaning on the wall, looking mysterious with crossed arms over the chest.

“Hello?” Luke questionably asked, not even looking there. “Is that appropriate to be like this to our new guess, Yungmin? You should've said hello. Mi-Yung would prefer it.”

“I do what I want. And she is not here if you haven't noticed,” the figure said, revealing a young man in his twenties at most. Wearing all black, his eyes shone in the gradual darkness of the night.

“Yet you live here, stupid.” Luke teased him.

“Whatever. Is that him?”

“Sure is.”

“The one that Mi-Yung talked for the past fucking week?! A simple brat out of nowhere and... she was so obsessed. Is that really him? I don't think so. I don't believe it!”

“Yep. It is him.” Luke said without doubt.

Yungmin wasn't happy about this affirmation for some reason. It was no wonder. His older sister was busy and had no time for her little brother. There was no way that some kid was important enough to warrant so many actions out of her of all people. He couldn't understand it. He was finding Luke as infuriating as someone who stole his older sister from him, so what about a little kid?

“You should've at least introduced yourself to him like you wanted,” Luke argued as he sat.

“What did you say? Why would I do that?” Yungmin said defensively and a space around him shuddered, wavering as if he was slipping into the wall.

“That's going to be one awkward dinner if you keep at this for a couple of weeks or days until she is back.”

“You think I will eat with you? In your dreams!”

“Yet you do it all the time.”

“With my sister! She is busy because of that brat and won't even have breakfast with me!” Yungmin stormed to the table and slammed it twice. “Isn't that the worse? I tell it as her brother. Whatever is this about, it better make sense to me first or...” Leaning to gaze into Luke's eyes, he wasn't bothered with his tones, even if he should.

Luke smirked at this hilarious person who had way too much consideration for his sister. True, Mi-Yung was enticing like the moon to some people. He gets it.

“I think you aren't ready to learn the truth but question the reality. The fact is, William Gale is here and there is nothing we can do about it.”

“William? Are you sure that's true? From what I know, there is a doubt he might be his son. Wasn't there a daughter instead? Who knows it, hm? What is trustworthy?” Yungmin said defensively and had no idea about what Mi-Yung wanted from this mistake, or what she asked Luke of all people. It made sense in the grand scheme of things, for he was young and brittle, and not somewhat very important. But he was Song. He was meant to be good for the sake of his family.

Luke chuckled to hear his doubts speak out of him. “I dunno. Ask him and you will get he is a Gale. Faking doubts is bad. If Mi-Yung already made her choices and went for him with no other doubts or checks speaks for herself. You as her brother should know it. Oh, and that kid does that too. Look into it and you will discover some intense history that is no smaller than his father.”

Stolen story; please report.

“You aren't ready to hear from Songs!”

“Oh, I do wonder about that...”

A gust of wind spread and the room was empty and blissfully silent. Luke took a deep breath and awaited the moment he would see Yungmin's flabbergasted face when he would have to acknowledge the truth about his former idol's son.

For now, Luke planned to sleep well tonight.

***

Slowly, the night crawled on, and William wasn't even sure when he got to his new bed and fell asleep.

Yesterday was a terrible day. It was so long, it felt like a week had passed. He stretched in the sunlight, spread in his new bed, and looked at yet another different room in his life. It was also a new morning, with light shining from surprisingly large and clean windows. It was quite strange. Waking up in another home, in a different place. It almost felt as if he was a different person, but a little poke into his right arm sobered him up.

It was there. It didn't flee, or escape. Crimson Emblem was there in his hand, glistering in the morning sunlight. Shaking his head in a try to move his feelings up, he found it didn't work at all. So he got up and walked to the wide window in a room that he could describe as way too big and generous.

It was too big, full of space and it was his alone. He didn't know that it wasn't everything. He had his bathroom around a corner, a walk-in closet, and a bed that was enough for three people. What kind of people required this room's existence? He barely had any clothes for that closet the size of his former room. It was unfortunate that his basic human senses were far from normal, and this sort of room was common for Walkers.

Opening the window was surprisingly challenging. There were some knobs and mechanisms that looked way too complicated. It wasn't as difficult to figure it out like a belt. A new kind of sight soon entered his direct view. Fresh air hit him first, then the direct sunlight. A summer was here, leaving the scent of the ocean that was impossible to replicate.

It was fresh and acceptable.

“This will take a long time to get used to. This city, this sight, or this damned feeling in my chest,” William said and didn't even need to pull his sleeve to uncover his Emblem. It was already there, watching the same sight as him.

He was facing a rather open sight of the Central District that poked beyond the other street. There were large buildings that went up to shroud the morning sky. This building was on the outskirts of the Central District, so he was fairly close to those big places.

There were no tight streets below the window, indicating that there were some areas left over some rare grass or trees, or they were there because this part of the Federation was among the richest places. There were some sort of natural places with some trees aside from the street and complexes, and across there was a river before yet another street and buildings.

It looked like a city all thought and thought. There was no denying it. He moved through time, had he not?

“Well, at least you are still in my hand today. Good. Nothing bad will happen then, unlike yesterday. Hopefully...”

It was a superstitious thing. Anytime his Emblem got out, disappearing just a handful reach away the next morning, something terrible was about to happen. When it didn't, it meant something good, not great, or nothing.

Without a need to dress up from yesterday—since he didn't bother changing clothes before he fell asleep—William felt there was no need to touch his little bag that he assembled in a hurry. There were only so many clothes he owned, so there was nothing much to it.

He yawned, scrambled his hair that didn't touch his neck, and went back to the hallway and empty kitchen. Nobody was there, and he wasn't even sure who was living there besides Mi-Yung and Luke.

Was he even alone? He felt as if he wasn't. “What am I supposed to do? Should I wait this out, or... steal some meal?” He eyed the fridge that was looking at him like a treasure box without knowing what was inside. “Well, I don't like this. Here I thought becoming a recruit would be an exciting part, but was this even about recruitment? I feel freedom is cheap and expensive enough, while... am I even free? What had even Kaufman assumed yesterday, what does Mi-Yung want from me, and what is this Examination and Awakening about? I am missing a lot... I know it, but how much?”

He had a lot of questions that should have even more questions behind them. William was aware of what becoming a recruit meant because being a lone wolf Walkers was almost impossible in today's society or this hemisphere. He understood that he had to join some organization long before Luke mentioned more details about it.

If anything, choices and talks of these choices were something that young Walkers endured before their teens. He knew them, yet still dismissed every last one of them.

No matter what, Walkers were precious resources that had to be managed appropriately. Outside touched them too, be it in children, or rare lone Walkers, hoping to help or see their value. It was inevitable to see them as critical since the birth of one was a game of luck and chance.

William heard stories and rumors of the Walker families and even some questionable rumors Outside that were hard to validate as facts. A Walker birthed between two Walkers like his parents was a doubtful claim, while one Walker making another with a normal person was common, if not likely. Two normal people assembled randomness.

Those facts shocked him when he heard Luke's reveal that both of his parents were Walkers, but he didn't know much about it, or whether those rumors were right. How Walkers came to be, or how their status revolved around societies, was hard to see in small or social details.

But he knew one fact. Births of any children Outside were compelling because there was a need for people to increase all numbers. It was a chance for Walkers to arrive, and the Federation should have the same principles.

It wasn't as accurate, though William bet it must have some of that Outside perspective.

Alas, the ways of breeding was one thing that William did not understand.