Yesteryear

Villa Romana

Deep night settled over Rome and brought tranquillity to the busy streets. The occasional night swarmer passed Yunho's and Wooyoung's path to duck in the shadows beyond the rims of torches lighting the street corners. Every so often the soothing clacking of the guards' armour as they patrolled the pavement reached Wooyoung's ears to startle him before he relaxed back into Yunho's side.

The tall man smelled of rosemary and, despite his unfamiliar identity, his grip was delicate and his words quiet when he muttered for Wooyoung to take care of the uneven terrain. They barely talked since Wooyoung was still choked up from pain and shock. He could feel the bruise on his cheek forming already and cooed inwardly over the temporary loss of his beauty.

The walk up the hill was steeper than Wooyoung's weakened body could handle. Every step stabbed at his damaged side like a needle and had him grit back pained whines. He tripped over a loose stone once, bad enough that agony flared in his side. His teeth bit back a whimper.

"Are you alright? We'll be there in a bit, then you can rest," Yunho hurried to assure him. Wooyoung didn't want to put too much of his weight on the taller male, so he remained stubborn through the pain. When a dog suddenly barked at them from the shadows between two buildings, Wooyoung didn't even startle. They dragged each other up the hill and down the street that the lady at the inn had described to him before. When they finally slowed in front of a building, Wooyoung's relieved exhale interrupted the night.

Two massive pillars towered next to the entrance to the large mansion. The Minerva statues guarding them stood towering and proud in pieces of priceless marble art. Their bronze spears were taller than Wooyoung.

To the right, some noise rang from the ample gardens that Linus' neighbour owned. Since thick hedges framed the entire place, Wooyoung couldn't peer in and listened instead. An amused male voice spun absurd stories that could be straight from a book about ridiculous hero sagas from the past.

"I once knew a man with feet longer than my spine. Wherever he stepped, he left massive footprints that caused the people in the area to fear he was a monster. We called him Magnus Pes, and he is famous for the terror he spread among the lands by his presence alone!"

The giggle of multiple women replied. Wooyoung subconsciously stuck to the sound as Yunho hauled him up the stairs to open the right door of the double-leaved entrance.

"Then what did you do, dominus? Wouldn't the dread of your people concern you?"

"Well, I hunted him down, of course. That's how I knew he was just a fellow with enormous feet. Loneliness broke his poor spirit, so I told him to find a village to befriend people in instead of scaring them with his lurking. He left off, and I was celebrated a hero."

"Ohh, so humble! No, what a man." The woman sighed dreamily. It went quiet as they most likely either continued a meal or cosied up together. Since Wooyoung stepped into the foyer of the other villa, he lost his interest. While Yunho pushed the door shut behind them, Wooyoung carefully glanced around the atrium.

The building had a luxurious entrance hall held in a deep ochre colour that decorated the walls. White pillars carried the high ceiling and between them, statues of various goddesses watched upon an indoor pool. Rather than for swimming, it had colourful fishes floating around in lazy circles under the water surface adorned by lilies and flower petals.

Yunho accompanied Wooyoung to the left, and they passed a bright corridor with many windows that had insects come in to pump against the lamps.

They entered a room together that reminded Wooyoung of a changing room in a thermal bath. Two ornate stone benches with curled edges offered a seating space and baskets with laundry stood around in a corner.