Seulgi managed to get to the ground floor with very few problems by using the elevator. Normally, she took the stairs to supplement her workouts. But, not today. Jackson threatened to carry her over his shoulder to the elevator if she even thought about trying. Even though she had not even contempted the many, many steps to the ground floor. Normally this was barely just a warm-up, but today it would be a trial. She was normally up to any challenge, but today it would not be worth it.
Several people had offered to lend her shoes, but none would fit. One enterprising soul offered to carry her home on his back. That would have been mortifying. So, she decided to just limp over to the taxi stand to get a ride home. Jackson suggested a hot bath with Epsom salts and that sounded like a very good idea. He’s such a good idea man. What to do for dinner? Making something herself would involve standing, a bad idea. Take away would involve her walking, so that’s out. Delivery it is. Local? Korean? Chinese? Pizza? She had not had pizza for a while. And as pizza was comfort food, she did need some comforting. Pizza it is! Now, what to put on this creation that was bubbling in the back of her mind.
What she didn’t know was that she had about four people unobtrusively following her. If they had thought about it, they could have been wearing clown suits and pying one-man-bands and she would still not notice. Ah, Seulgi forever being Seulgi. Still, that was just something else that they all loved about her. Her minions and Min-Jeong just looked at each other, smiled and nodded at each other, then they kept following her to make sure she was safe and didn’t hurt herself further.
Her friends kept close enough to her to catch her if she fell, but far enough that they would not have to worry about cops asking uncomfortable questions as to why they were following a young woman so closely. If they had thought about it, she would not have minded being walked to the taxi stand. She would have enjoyed the company.
Down the street, she remembered that there was a street festival going on. Street festivals usually mean street food. Street food is usually the number one thing that she has always denied herself as it was too oily, too salty, and too bad for her. And was absolutely delicious.
Before she knew it, Seulgi was on her way to the street festival. This confused her cohorts, but what the heck, they were up to dealing with her whims. They have learned that she had whims of steel and no one would be able to sway her once she decided something, serious or frivolous. Her whims also usually turned out to be a lot of fun. Then they caught the scent of food in the air and they knew what was really changing her direction. After all, Seulgi was an inveterate foodie.
The four hangers-on started taking bets as to what food stall Seulgi would go to first. It wasn’t a serious bet, but ?10 was ?10 after all. Jackson said the Korean BBQ pce. Nayeon said something sweet like candied apples. Yeji said something cold – like ice cream. Min-Jeong abstained from betting as she didn’t know Seulgi well enough, but was hoping that it was beer.
Seulgi was pondering where to go first. Food, drink, or just sight see what was going on. Sometimes the arts and crafts were interesting, sometimes it was amateurish. Rarely was it just junk. There was always something interesting, but you had to look harder sometimes than others. She wondered what hidden gems she would find today. She wondered if she would find any gems today, let alone good ones. But, that is part of the charm and adventure of these street festivals. And the food. There is always good food. One must keep one's priorities, she thought.
The next thing she thought about was what sort of entertainment there would be. There have been singers, dancers, musicians, storytellers, and puppet shows for kids and for adults who still like puppet shows with childlike enthusiasm. Which also set off another round of bets if Seulgi would watch the puppet shows or not. This time, Min-Jeong also joined the betting.
Sadly, they all lost as there was no puppet show this time.
They had to go slower and more carefully than usual because of Seulgi’s ankle. They wanted to move forward to fnk her, protecting her from random people bumping into her. It’s human nature to be wrapped up in your own little world and not pay attention to others, this would let people not pay attention to anyone else. This would make people less aware of others in their surroundings, so not everyone was as careful – or polite – as they should be.
Seulgi’s Shadow Guard (and one hopeful attendant) was able to unobtrusively fend off most of the people who would have bumped into her. Min-Jeong of all people also managed to gre off one potential pickpocket. Somehow, she was more intimidating than Jackson at that moment. Yeji happened to look back at Min-Jeong at just that moment and saw the look on her face. It was like a winter breeze blew down her spine. She made a mental note to let the others know that they needed to stop teasing the girl so much. Or, at least, be more careful about it. No one would have thought that cute and sweet Min-Jeong of all people could be that scary. Yeji suppressed a small shudder.
Seulgi’s entourage managed to keep a small bubble around her to keep most people at bay. It was, of course, impossible to keep everyone away, especially in crowds this rge. But, they all followed the ebb and flow of the crowd to the street festival with minimal entanglements.
While at the stop light, waiting for it to change, they indistinctly heard an MC announce the new act. They were too far away to hear what was being said, but there was a small cheer for the next act. Evidently, the new act had a small, but noisy, following that was super excited to see them.
And that was when it happened.
The light turned blue and the crowd surged across the street. The new act on the street was a single female and she started out on a pure, clear note that floated across the whole area. Then the next came, the next, and still more came tumbling across the pza making even the least observant people take pause.
Seulgi managed to get halfway across the street when she was thunderstruck by the sound. She felt like she had just been struck by a ten-ton feather pillow and could have been knocked over by just one of those same feathers. She froze. She could not move, being enraptured by that sound. She was lost to that voice, she was unable to move, even when the crosswalk was empty and the light changed. Nayeon and Jackson had to grab her by each arm, pick her up and move her to the other side before she came back to herself. Yeji bowed a quick apology to the angry drivers. If their windows had been down and could hear the music, they would have understood.
Seulgi blinked, almost back to her regur self. That was when she finally noticed her Four Musketeers. Sheepishly, she grinned at them and thanked them for looking after her. That electric grin made everything they ever went through for her trivial and imminently worthwhile.
The next song started.
They lost her to sound again.
Like a bloodhound scenting a target, she turned and quested forward to find the source of this heavenly music. The problem was that so was everyone else. And the rge crowd was getting rger with every passing moment. It was already difficult to walk, but with the enrged crowd, it was becoming near impossible. If Jackson had not tucked Min-Jeong in between them, they would have lost her early on. They made a near phanx centered on Seulgi to try and keep themselves all together and protected. Jackson held onto Yeji and Min-Jeong, and Nayeon held on to Seulgi and Jackson.
Someone from the 1980’s heavy metal scene might have been excused for being mistaken in thinking that this was an incipient mosh pit. Many people had the same idea as the group. Everyone was trying to get closer to the stage to see this amazing songstress.
That was when the song called for a near impossible note, the Eb7. Lots of people might be able to hit it, but they could not hit it as well. Nor could they hold it for a nearly impossible length of time. Seconds blended into moments, moments blended into hours and days and eternities. Everyone’s times stopped, wrapped in that sweet, pure, clear note.
No one knew who started the appuse, but once started, it was a tidal wave of sound that managed to drown out the amplified sound of the MC. The only part of the MC’s announcement that Seulgi was able to catch was part of the singer’s name: Son.
