Yesteryear

Fairytale

With a hiss, Wooyoung pulled the bandages off his side. The wound didn't throb as bad as he had feared, but the fist-shaped bruise on his skin had assumed purple darkness. It would have looked pleasing to the eye like a night sky if it didn't bring such pain.

Wooyoung set the bandages down to twist his upper body left and right with careful consideration. Slight pain zapped through him when he leaned too far to the right, but if he didn't parkour over the roofs of Rome later, he would be fine. He doubted parkour was part of the Roman dining activities. If he had a choice, he would pick a seat that had him leaning on his left shoulder.

The servant helping him with his bandages and clothing that evening was young. She could barely be of age and the youth hadn't left her cheeks yet. She kept her eyes lowered throughout their session and didn't react to his mumbled thanks. When he flinched in pain upon her first touch of spreading the soothing ointment on the injury, she muttered an airy apology. Her touches were light as a feather afterwards and she did her best not to contact her skin to his. Wooyoung felt as if he were a sick patient one had to avoid, but he didn't mention it to her.

He moved in accordance with her movements. As if he were a mannequin she had to dress, his arms lifted and sunk as she wrapped the scratchy cloth around him. The bandage sat snugly without restricting his breathing. Once he lowered his tunic back over his side to cover his body, the white cloth disappeared under his clothes.

The servant stood back once the work was done. Her hair fell in front of her face as she lowered her head demurely. While Wooyoung pulled his sandals on his washed feet, no noise escaped her lips. By the time he rose from the bed to fix the flap of his toga that he carried over his arm and return to his arrogant posture, she had opened the door for him to leave first. Wooyoung couldn't help but address his soft voice at her.

"Thank you for your help. Take care."

Wooyoung smiled at her, but he wasn't sure whether she saw it. When he left the room, she closed the door behind him to skitter away through the corridors in the opposite direction. Her swift steps disappeared in the well-ventilated corridors that let the air of the evening in. The sun set outside to bathe Rome in an ocean of orange and reflected off the tall buildings that disrupted the tightly perched houses. Once Wooyoung had reached the foyer to wait for Linus to arrive, he watched the spectacle from a window. Despite having seen the sun many times in his life and having noticed the difference in its intensity through the centuries, it had become a symbol of Babylon for him. The sun-bathed dunes had been something special.

Linus didn't take long. Soon after, he stepped through the extravagant doors that led to his area in the back of the house. His tunic was white, and the cloth wrapped over his shoulders was a festive purple. He was alone, but he approached Wooyoung as if they were the best of friends. When Wooyoung turned to watch him near, the man opened his arms in a greeting gesture.

"How are you this evening, my friend? Did you rest?"

"I did; thank you for your hospitality. A cosy dinner might just be what I need to unwind during the night and return to my voyage with fresh energy tomorrow." Wooyoung bowed his head politely to show his gratitude. Linus grinned at him until a golden tooth flashed in the corner of his jaw.

"I agree! Nothing better than that. I'm glad I can show you true Roman culture so that you may tell the people in rural Faesulum about it. The parties of my neighbour are infamous for his excellent taste in wine and his company." Linus didn't stop raining praise on his people as he picked up the gift he had prepared on a pedestal next to the entrance door. He picked up the pretty amphora under his arm. The object was corked shut, and Linus noticed Wooyoung's curious gaze on it.