Honor and Glory | ATEEZ

014

As our group wandered further into the center of the city, I decided to take back one of my previous thoughts.

District 8 was definitely something else, and this city didn't look like anywhere I had ever been before.

I had been expecting igloos to stretch out for miles upon miles, but I felt a little embarrassed, humbled, even, as I looked up at the tall facades of the beautiful buildings that rose above us.

The entirety of the inner city was coloured crisp white, and the buildings were covered in big windows, both round, and square, that reflected the morning sun's rays, blinding me as we walked past them.

I couldn't help the thought that it looked as if District 8 had been shaped from ice and snow.

It was almost as if the city had simply risen from the snowy dunes beneath them and made space for the elements to settle down.

It was truly beautiful.

I tightened my grasp on Yunho's hand in excitement, and pulled him along with me as I ran toward the marketplace a couple of hundred meters away, failing to notice how his blush from before grew even stronger as he tried to keep up with me.

We might as well get the most out of our situation, I told myself, pulling Yunho closer to me as we walked past the many shops and stands that lined the road.

San didn't want to help us, and that was that.

Memories of District 2 suddenly came back to me in flashes, and I reminded myself of the first time Wooyoung and I met Yunho.

I looked up at the brunette with a smile.

He didn't want to help us either, I remembered.

Our first encounter had been rather unpleasant as well but as it turned out, District 8 was still on top of my list of unpleasant experiences.

Our meeting with San had been even worse.

I sighed. Maybe we would meet someone, other than San, of course, who would be willing to help us.

The rumbling of my stomach brought me to a halt, and I turned to Yunho with a look of embarrassment as he giggled down at me.

The smell of food that hung heavily in the air all around us was almost like an evil reminder as I realized that none of us had any money.

I patted the bag on my shoulder regretfully. No, we wouldn't sell the gemstones.

But I had another idea.

"Could you maybe find the others and meet me by the well in a couple of minutes?" I asked Yunho, trying my best to untangle our fingers.

I struggled a little as Yunho tried to hold on to my hand with a pout on his face.

"Why?" he wined, "I can go with you. Let me help."

"You would be helping, though," I said, letting out a small huff as I finally got Yunho to let go of my hands.

"We need to find the others. It will only be a couple of minutes, Yunho. I swear. Just wait for me."

Despite his protests, we split ways as he went to get the others and I took a turn down a small alleyway.

I had caught a glimpse of a clothes store somewhere, and I knew just what I had to do.

It was harder than I thought, getting rid of something so close to me, but the shopkeeper had given me a good price for the dress as I hesitantly handed it over to him.

He hadn't commented on my eyes, and I felt thankful for his discression as I had already had my share of uncomfortable experiences today.

To top it all off, he had even mentioned an old temple somewhere in the mountains, telling me that I could probably reach it by noon or maybe afternoon if I headed straight north.