Sometimes, Ellie thought to herself how lucky she might be, or how silly her life was. Imagining life Outside of the Federation was just not feasible for her. It lacked a proper understanding, which in turn made things difficult for her because she had read a lot about it, but she just didn't get it.

  What if the reality was more brutal out there, and the Federation was a crawling survival group away from the dangers? Cowards... Propaganda?

  That might be for her to figure out, since not many people in the Federation spoke about the worst things imaginable. A lot had been buried or tossed away, far away from the general public.

  She had tried and spoken about it to William weeks ago, and her self-sufficient research, combined with years spent in the library, did the rest. Ellie was changing. She could feel it, and she had to accept it and become a better version of herself.

  Whether alone or not, William's thoughts, friendships, and relationships might come across as unnecessary or simply part of him and his life. That was her guess, which she planned to change or attempt to see.

  Walking forth across the streets, the moon or the lamps provided enough visibility. Ellie led William to the West District, as he was barely familiar with this region.

  It was where her home was. Playing with her dress around her waist, Ellie grew nervous as she thought of her attempts. The words of that man echoed. It was something she wanted to do, even if her bravery was not all that abundant.

  It all stopped when Ellie saw her street, and William didn't know it. Looking at her shifting steps, he wanted to thank her for today, yet there was something else that had grasped his attention. It was her hands that grabbed his shoulder.

  A face of Ellie soon followed, coming even closer than that man's. It was softer and one kind of face, and William wasn't sure what she was trying to do or why it made him shiver, or why his right arm moved towards her head. It was slow; her focused and reddened eyes made a certain impression on William when something in him moved, and she got way too close to him.

  “A... s-small gift. I... wanted to do this so I wouldn't regret anything,” she muttered and kissed him. Fluster spread, the expression on her face stopped, and her feet moved. She turned around and ran away in a hurry.

  William stood there, a lamp above him, and his face froze. He was defeated, speechless, and alone, while his right arm stayed in the air, almost waving. His expression wasn't as calm when he recalled what happened, and like a sudden strike of lightning, something hit his mind. He didn't know what to make of it, yet he might have understood what this could be.

  “D-does she like me?” he mumbled, stroking his cheek with his finger. His eyes traveled to the ground, to the path, and right back across the street where Ellie disappeared. “N-no way...” he shook his head and figured it might be just a good-natured memento. It was a common excuse that helped him feel better after a lengthy and sick day.

  Unbeknownst to him, a flood of other emotions entered his mind at this moment, and quenching them might take more than just a sleep, an excuse, or something else.

  Walking away, the steps led to his home, which arrived like yet another kiss. It was too quick, wasn't it? His mind was in a state of bewilderment after that, plus the boat. He didn't even remember the moment he opened the door to Luke's apartment and entered the kitchen.

  There, Mi-Yung ate some fried chicken with rice. Dressed rather... well, not really. A towel made it quite obvious that she had showered, and there was even Yungmin on the couch, enjoying his chicken as well. Luke was nowhere to be seen.

  “Good evening,” Mi-Yung noticed a new presence, and William was long accustomed to such moments. It didn't happen once, twice, or thrice. Every other day, he found her in this position, eating, meditating, or not even looking at him, yet she knew he was here.

  Her job seemed odd, and time even weirder. She took care of him, yet her position was much more important than his. William felt she should take care of her own position rather than take care of him this much. She should be much more serious than this!

  Mi-Yung disagreed because that was who she was and how she wanted to remain. Her mind was like a tigress, and she found very few things about this bothersome. Also, this was her home, a place where she could do whatever she pleased.

  With Luke being away for an extended period, she focused on other things, since the reason for Luke's absence wasn't pleasing. Due to the approaching Examination, there was a rare expedition that William recently learned about, and Luke was part of it due to a draft that his whole team had to accept. For Mi-Yung, it was a somewhat sensitive and apprehensive idea that Luke was so far away and she couldn't do anything about it. But with William and her brother, she didn't feel lonely, and her days were getting lively because of the upcoming Examination.

  Perhaps for Mi-Yung, the sole reason for Luke was to feel less lonely and less tense about her family manners or status. She ended up loving another Walker, away from her home, a bit older, and never once did she regret it, unlike her uncle.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  With her own issues and history, Mi-Yung had very few problems with what she couldn't do. She could think of an excuse for pretty much anything, and no one from her family would change the outcome. But the Assembly could mess with that, since that was her central affiliation, and she knew it was very important for her to keep it.

  Luke was her little peace of mind that she cherished and wanted, as it came with time in between the crux of everything. It was part of her life and history.

  “Good morning...” William muttered, half knowing what he was even saying and unaware of where his steps moved.

  “Morning? Did something happen?” Mi-Yung glanced at him, swallowing a juicy chicken. William was still shaken and didn't even try to hide it. Maybe he didn't know how or why it was happening in the first place.

  “No idea. I am going to sleep.” William made a circle around the kitchen, left, and committed to sleeping rather than wandering even further.

  Confused, Mi-Yung watched him in silence, realizing that her play might have left its mark. Unbeknownst to her, it went much further than that. Grinning after he disappeared around the corner, Mi-Yung grabbed a beer and cheered.

  “What have you done?” Yungmin asked, glancing over his shoulder at her, aware that she cared for him today so that he wouldn't spy on William. It was a clever plan for sure since it worked.

  “You don't need to know. It is what? A secret. Is it about her, or he did...stuff? I am wondering which one it is. What is likely?” Mi-Yung wondered and felt she might be an angel in disguise.

  William spent the night in his room in silence and on the bed. His eyes were also open, glancing at the ceiling. This particular one looked different, or not at all. Perhaps they were all distinct in their own way, with varying colors and materials. He wondered if those textures made sense or if an open sky was much better. Sometimes, Ellie's close face was there, and he couldn't fall asleep.

  “E-Ellie... I... have no idea. What if that kiss was a way to greet someone on their birthday? I read about it, or did someone mention it to me in the past? That must be it. That must be it! I... no way she likes me. I am an orphaned boy with nothing to my name whatsoever. She is busy! Young... I am too, but... whatever.” William slapped his cheeks in an attempt to figure out a better excuse. Then, he pushed a pillow over his head, all the while his Emblem was visible throughout the night and everything.

  Resting on his left side, the sight of the night from his window left no better sight than the ceiling. It even reminded him of that man, the Assembly, and the boat.

  It wasn't so bad to be depressed, or he might be lying again. He battered his head, believing in words that may not be true or wrong. There were some ways to get it done, or excuses, but he had no idea about love or the differences between liking someone and loving someone.

  It was safe to say that he didn't even want to think about it. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that bad to consider it or think of that face, or that strange possibility that liking someone might be a good thing.

  He couldn't help but pound his face and head, causing his hat to fall off, but he continued doing it for a long time. Hundreds of times were enough for his tired hand to relax, and his mind to waver. He slipped away, falling asleep in an attempt to shake unfamiliar emotions away.

  Alas, will they remain, or will something replace them with stronger possibilities? It was hard to say when the playful waves of his Emblem danced in this nice night, gladly taking it for yet another neat rest. The true fun was about to start anyway, for there was no escape from it.

  A new day arrived, letting the sun crawl over the horizon and reach one obnoxious, open window. William, who was sleeping with a pillow on his chest, winced and groaned when things returned. Cursed enemies be damned...

  The watch on his left wrist remained, reminding him that it was already past 8 AM. When did he fall asleep? He didn't know. He felt like shit, so perhaps just a few hours was his bare guess. His mind was still restless, though at least he did fall asleep, but what remained of the previous night lingered.

  That wasn't all that bad. Rubbing his eyes, William felt like he had had a bad dream. Could a kiss be even worse than some of them? William realizes very quickly that it happened and how some things were confusing for no apparent reason, existing just to haunt his head.

  Like... a girl. Noun. Was he even regarding Ellie as someone special since the time she left him, let alone like... well, she had helped him a lot and taught him and done so better than most. He appreciated her help and then something more, right? He did, but how much?

  Left and right, William winced on his bed. Slapping his cheeks, a stinging pain rang true and didn't help with his choices or his mind.

  “I am stupid, stupid...” Each word followed a slap. His mind calmed down after dozens of them, which left his cheeks red and his hair a mess. He didn't care about either.

  Getting his feet to the floor was easy, and he had so much to do and think since the ground was stable. Because, hell, screw that freaking boat and oceans to all eternity.

  For another smack, he noticed and sighed over his tattered shirt, and ripped it off. It was an unfortunate incident, so he shed a small tear as he tossed the shirt into a trash can and grabbed a new one. He didn't even question the lack of any bandages.

  Half the tear came from a strange behavior of his Emblem. Another from Ellie, for sure. A change of clothes went along with it, and he didn't have to think twice about walking out of his room with a mismatched set, but who was he to care about fashion? He was not Richards, nor anyone like him.

  He pretended nothing had changed from the previous morning and told another lie. Unfortunately, his red cheeks gave some of it away for no other reason than his faults.

  In the kitchen, Mi-Yung was there as usual, but unlike last night, she was snoozing as she sat, surrounded by a couple of bottles. Yesterday must've been intense if she ended up sleeping like this: over a table and sitting, and... freaking sleeping?! That was the first time he had seen her sleeping like this here.

  But one fact changed from yesterday. A black uniform with small green stripes was on her body, making her stand out. Her long hair came off as clean, put into a single, long ponytail. Unlike her position, she had already changed. Now, she almost resembled a regular soldier if one disregarded her face.