In The Shadow of Asora

12. Of Dreams and Hopes

No matter how often Jongho listened to the story of Asorazey splitting, he still wondered what had been going on in people's heads at that time. When Jongho imagined how he would react if the earth suddenly broke apart under his very feet, then rather than a single person, he would trust in the population of the city. As wishful as his thinking was, though, he knew that the people who had insisted to hurriedly make the Undying - the brother of the original king back in the day - had been selfish. When they heard that their king and his young daughter died, but another member of the family offered safety and riches to them, they complied. They had deliberately looked away as Zey sunk into ruin and the automatons were built. The ban on bridges withheld Zey's people from contaminating the rich eastside. Asora bloomed with development and progress while Zey fell further behind than what it once was.

Zey's people had learnt their bitter lesson. Now, about four generations after, they had suffered enough to see the faults in the Undying's system. But since he was an eternally living human, the respect and fear had even those in Asora who disagreed with his standpoints keep low and shiver. There was no way to change things as long as he remained in his position.

Jongho's father blamed all the misfortune of his existence on this one man. Most of Zey's inhabitants did. Their bitterness gifted them with unfulfilled lives that were fuelled by hate until the day they died. Jongho was not an exception, but whenever his father cursed the king, he felt oddly detached.

Jongho didn't have enough to do with the king himself to despise him. While dissatisfied with the regulations and laws, he blamed his situation rather than a single person.

Undeniably, he was still at fault. His irrevocable mistakes had cost countless lives and would demand even more.

"What has you sighing like that?"

Jongho jolted out of his thoughts at the sudden call behind him. The owner of the deep voice grinned at him broadly as he crossed the last distance between him and Jongho. With his hand held up to deflect the sun, Jongho blinked up at Mingi through narrow eyes.

"Shouldn't you be wearing your mask?"

Mingi waved it off with an exaggerated gesture of his hand. He folded his impossibly long legs under his body to drop down next to Jongho. Then, he handed a bowl over.

"I'll be fine, the wind blows in from the sea, not towards it. Here, eat."

With big eyes, Jongho stared at the sizable bowl in his lap. Then back at Mingi.

"You brought me food?"

"Yeah I did, you look meagre. You better not leave anything!"

Jongho's hands were shaking slightly as he unwrapped the cloth that held the package together. The amount of food Mingi had gotten for him was far more than he would usually purchase, and Jongho's throat tightened at the thought of what this had to cost. He never got full meals for himself; he only ever ate half of them to save money and share with his dad. Sometimes, when his dad couldn't eat much, Jongho allowed himself more, but that was his limit.

"I can pay you back," he murmured as he picked up the spoon and got comfortable. Mingi shook his head where he was busy fiddling with the knot himself.

"Just eat, man. Its compensation for the time you spent with me instead of working."

Jongho swallowed the first bite around his constricted throat, and it was delicious. The best meal he ever had, maybe. When he began wolfing it down, Mingi grinned at him sunnily from his side.

They were too preoccupied with their food to uphold a conversation, but as soon as Jongho had finished scratching the whole bowl clean, he talked. His stomach was full for once and pleasantly rumbled at him for once feeding it the amount it desired.