We stepped out of the clothing store carrying enough bags to justify renting a shopping cart. Ivy happily skipped beside me, hugging her tiny blob-bear plush against her chest while occasionally peeking into the shopping bags to admire her new clothes for what had to be the fifteenth time.
Meanwhile, I was carrying three bags, a giant sunfish plush, and what remained of my dignity.
Then my stomach betrayed me. Loudly, decisively, and with absolutely no warning— a growl that echoed off the mall tiles with enough volume that a couple walking past actually glanced over, then away, with the practiced politeness of people pretending they hadn't heard.
I went very still.
Ivy slowly looked up at me, while the sunfish plush was still grinning over my shoulder.
The silence stretched exactly one second too long.
"Ahjussi."
'What."
"Was that your tummy?" I maintained eye contact. Calm. Unbothered. "No."
She narrowed her eyes.
"It was the floor."
She looked down at the tiles. Then up at me. Then back at the floor, genuinely considering this. Then at me again. "Liar."
I said nothing.
"You're hungry," she said, eyes staring straight through my soul.
I broke eye contact first, turned toward the mall directory board down the hall, and sighed with the full weight of a man who had been defeated by his own digestive system in public. "Fine. Food court. Let's go before I actually starve to death."
Her entire face lit up like I'd announced something miraculous. "FOOD!" Several people nearby turned to look.
I immediately began walking at a pace that suggested I was alone. Unfortunately she grabbed my sleeve before I'd made it two steps. "Ahjussi! Food!"
"Yes. Heard you."
"FOOOOD!"
"I heard you the second time too."
"Food!"
"ಠ益ಠ— ಠ_ಠ…" I kept walking.
She kept up easily, swinging her jellybean bear with one hand and my sleeve with the other, radiating the specific energy of a creature that runs entirely on enthusiasm and has never once in her life been tired. (Children,) I thought, adjusting the sunfish under my arm. (Is Unbelievable.)
***
(,,,(≧▽≦)Food court!!!(⌐■-■)...)
The food court occupied nearly half the upper floor of the mall, sprawling outward beneath giant glowing signs that competed for attention like they were participating in a light based civil war. Bright advertisements blinked overhead while kiosks shouted promotions from every direction. Somewhere above us, the mall speakers were playing what felt like the same three K-pop songs on an endless loop.
The smell hit first.
Fried chicken. Fresh tteokbokki. Grilled meat drifting out from somewhere deeper in the court, sweet and smoky at the same time. Sauces, kimchi, barbecue, coffee— and underneath all of it, the perfume of approximately hundred different shoppers all existing in the same airspace, layering into one enormous cloud of pure consumerism that hit you the moment you turned the corner.
It was chaos.
Delicious, completely overwhelming chaos.
Beside me, Ivy stopped walking.
Just… stopped. Mid step. Like some surprisingly obedient cat that suddenly stopped due to seeing food.
Her eyes went wide.
Then wider.
Then somehow, against all reasonable expectation, wider again— until she looked less like a ten year-old at a food court and more like someone who had just walked into a place they'd been dreaming about without knowing it existed.
"Whoa…" she said quietly
I stopped beside her and looked out at the crowd, the stalls, the steam rising from a dozen different kitchens at once.
Then—
She slowly spun in place, staring at everything around her. Families crowded tables, students laughed over trays of food, children ran between chairs while exhausted parents negotiated peace treaties involving french fries.
To Ivy, it probably looked like another world.
"It smells so good..." she whispered.
Then she pointed.
"What's that one?"
"Chicken."
She pointed somewhere else.
"What about that?"
"Also chicken."
Another stall.
"And that one?"
"Different chicken."
Her jaw dropped.
"There are that many chickens?! (,,꒪⌓꒪,,)"
I stared at her.
She stared at me.
Slowly, painfully slowly, the realization crawled across her face.
"Oh…. ಠ_ಠ… yea.. its this part."
A moment later, her attention locked onto a giant cartoon drumstick mascot dancing outside one of the restaurants. The thing had oversized shoes, little stick arms, and a permanent smile plastered across its face. It waved enthusiastically at passing customers like it hadn't been turned into food.
Ivy immediately pointed at it.
"Ahjussi!"
I already knew.
"No."
"But look at him… or her? I don't know!!! But it's cute!!!"
"The chicken?"
"He… sh— IT looks friendly!!!!"
"That chicken is dead."
Her entire body froze.
The mascot continued happily waving in the background.
"WHAT?! (ʘᗩʘ')"
"That's literally why we're here."
She gasped and hugged her blob bear dramatically against her chest.
The poor thing had somehow become her emotional support witness.
For several seconds she simply stared at the mascot, then at the restaurant, then back at the mascot again as if trying to process the horrifying betrayal.
"So they made it into a chicken..."
"Yes."
"And then they made it work even though it's dead… (,,╹⌓╹,,)."
"Yes."
"That's evil (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)..."
"Welcome to marketing."
Ivy looked genuinely disturbed.
Then she squinted at the mascot. Long and slow, the kind of squint that meant she hadn't decided if it was friendly or not yet.
The mascot— some giant smiling drumstick thing in a yellow suit that had seen better days— noticed her looking and waved. Big, enthusiastic, full arm wave.
Ivy stared at it. Then, very carefully, raised one small hand and waved back.
The mascot gave her a thumbs up. She looked at the thumbs up. Looked at the mascot's giant plastic smile. Looked at the thumbs up again.
And then, without a single word, took one deliberate step sideways and disappeared completely behind me— face pressed into my back, both hands gripping the back of my shirt, jellybean bear squished between us.
I stood there for a second. The mascot then shifted it's look at me. I looked at the mascot. "Fuck you looking at? ಠ_ಠ," I said flatly.
Then came with a thought. (Wait, why am I so mad… ಠ▃ಠ)
"Ahjussi... I think it knows."
"Nah, it's just a guy in a costume."
"It knows."
"It doesn't."
"It looked at me… (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)"
The mascot was now dancing.
I chose not to argue.
A few seconds later she tugged on my sleeve again.
"Can we eat the friendly chicken?"
"Woah… what? That's an incredibly concerning sentence."
"But can we?"
I rubbed my temples and looked around the food court. Everywhere I looked there was chicken. Fried chicken. Spicy chicken. Sweet chicken. Garlic chicken. Boneless chicken. Chicken with cheese. Chicken covered in enough sauce to violate your organs later.
Honestly, at this point the chickens had won.
I had originally been craving jokbal. Warm jokbal. A peaceful meal. A civilized lunch.
Instead, I was standing in the middle of a food court debating the ethics of eating a mascot with a ten years old who looked one hundred percent ready to befriend the chicken before eating it.
Life had taken a strange turn somewhere.
I glanced down at Ivy.
She was looking up at me with sparkling eyes, clutching her plush under one arm while pointing at the restaurant with the determination of a knight choosing a quest.
"Please? (≧▽≦)"
"Are you trying to act cute? ಠ_ಠ."
"No I'm not. (,,꒪⌓꒪,,)?"
"You are."
"Is it working?"
"No, but let's go."
Her face lit up instantly.
"Yay! (≧▽≦)"
Several nearby shoppers turned to look.
I pretended not to know her.
Meanwhile, Ivy was already waving excitedly at the mascot again.
The mascot waved back.
I had a very bad feeling that if I looked away for five minutes, she'd somehow adopt the chicken.
"Yay!!!!"
"I haven't even ordered yet."
"Yay in advance!"
I sighed.
***
(Ordering.)
Five minutes later I returned carrying a tray loaded with food. One spicy chicken plate for me, one mild plate for Ivy, drinks, rice, and several side dishes that somehow appeared despite me not remembering ordering them.
We found a quieter table near the corner of the food court, away from most of the crowds. The giant sunfish plush immediately claimed the third chair like an honored guest joining us for lunch.
I set everything down and sat heavily in my seat.
Across from me, Ivy stared at the food with the same expression explorers probably wore when discovering treasure.
Then she looked at the giant sunfish.
Then at her blob bear.
Then at me.
"Should we give them names?"
"No."
"Too late."
"ಠ_ಠ…"
She pointed at the sunfish.
"His name is Sir Bloop."
"What? Why? No."
Then she lifted her tiny plush.
"And this is Bear."
I blinked.
"Bear?"
"Yes."
"That's too normal isn't it?"
"Thank you."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
Ivy giggled and immediately reached for her food while the sounds of the food court buzzed softly around us.
For a moment, sitting there with shopping bags piled beside the table, a giant sunfish occupying its own chair, and a tiny girl happily introducing plushies to each other, the whole day felt strangely... normal.
Which was honestly becoming a little suspicious.
Ivy stared at the chicken for a second then taking her first bite a second later.
Then she froze.
Not the normal kind of freeze either. The dramatic kind. The kind where her eyes slowly widened, her shoulders stiffened, and her entire brain appeared to stop functioning while she processed the experience. For a moment she simply sat there chewing, looking down at the piece of chicken in her hand as though she'd accidentally discovered a hidden treasure. Then her eyes suddenly lit up so brightly I could practically see the sparks.
"It's crunchy!" she announced, immediately taking another bite. "And warm! And juicy! And..." She paused, waving the chicken around while searching desperately for the correct word. Her brows furrowed. Her mouth opened and closed twice. Then she pointed at it like she'd solved a great mystery. "It tastes happy! (✪ω✪)"
I leaned back in my chair and watched her continue demolishing the piece with complete dedication. Every few seconds another tiny noise escaped her. A happy hum. A satisfied little gasp. A quiet "wow." It honestly looked less like eating and more like witnessing a overly dramatic mukbang you'll see in those slops video..
"Slow down," I warned. "You're going to choke."
"But it's so good!" she protested immediately, already reaching for another piece before she'd finished the first one. "This is the best thing ever! Better than bread! Better than noodles! Better than..." She looked down at the table dramatically. "...actually, I don't know that many foods."
"Glad to know fried chicken changed your life."
"It did."
"That fast?"
"It did."
ಠ_ಠ
I wasn't even sure she was joking anymore.
After a moment she suddenly shoved her plate toward me, nearly sending it sliding across the table. "Try it!"
"I've had chicken before."
She immediately shook her head. "Not this chicken."
"Ivy, it's chicken."
"It's different! Hmm… it's Ivy chicken."
"That's not a category."
"It is now."
Sighing, I pushed her plate back and grabbed a piece from my own. Honestly, I already knew what this was going to taste like. Fried chicken wasn't exactly a revolutionary discovery. Still, after listening to her talk about it like she'd ascended to a higher plane of existence, curiosity got the better of me. I took a bite.
...
Okay.
Fine.
The little gremlin wasn't completely wrong.
The coating was ridiculously crispy. The seasoning actually had flavor. The meat practically fell apart.
Across from me, Ivy immediately noticed my expression changing.
Her eyes narrowed.
Then a grin appeared.
Then the grin became bigger.
"You like it didn't you? (ㆁωㆁ)"
"No."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You absolutely do."
"My face didn't change."
"It totally changed."
I pointed my chicken at her.
She pointed her chicken at me.
For a solid five seconds we just sat there accusing each other using fried poultry.
Then Ivy burst out laughing first.
The rest of lunch passed surprisingly quietly after that. The food court buzzed around us with distant conversations, trays clattering against tables, and the faint sounds of the arcade somewhere across the mall. Meanwhile, Ivy happily worked through her food while kicking her feet beneath her chair. Every now and then she'd glance at her blob bear plush sitting beside her drink, show it a piece of chicken, nod seriously to herself, and continue eating.
I didn't ask.
Some questions were better left unanswered.
Then, right in the middle of reaching for another piece, her movements slowed.
The excitement faded slightly.
Not completely.
Just enough.
She looked down at her plate for a moment before lifting her gaze toward me. The smile was still there, but softer now. Smaller.
"Ahjussi..."
"What?"
"This is my favorite day."
The words were so casual she almost sounded surprised by them herself.
I paused halfway through another bite and looked at her across the table. Shopping bags surrounded our chairs. The giant sunfish occupied an entire seat by itself. Her blob bear sat beside her drink like a tiny guardian. Around us, hundreds of strangers moved through their own lives without noticing any of it.
"Because of the chicken?" I asked.
She smiled.
Then shook her head.
"No."
A tiny pause followed.
Then she looked directly at me.
"Because you're here."
The words were so simple she probably didn't even realize how much weight they carried.
For a moment, the noise of the food court seemed to fade into the background. The conversations, the trays clattering against tables, the distant arcade music bleeding through the mall... all of it blurred together while I stared across the table at her.
She wasn't smiling because of the shopping bags piled beside our chairs.
She wasn't smiling because of the arcade.
And apparently not even because of the chicken she'd been treating like a divine revelation.
She was smiling because I was here.
"..."
That was dangerously close to becoming a heartfelt moment.
I immediately rejected it.
"There's sauce on your face."
Ivy blinked.
Then grinned.
"Then clean it, Dad."
I nearly swallowed the chicken bone.
"Don't push it."
"But there's sauce."
"Use a napkin."
"You clean it."
"No."
She tilted her head and deployed the smile.
The smile.
The one that somehow made every request sound reasonable.
"Pwease? (｡◕‿◕｡)"
"No."
"Pwease?"
"No."
"Pweeeease?"
"I said no (⌐■-■)"
She didn't stop smiling.
That should've been my warning sign.
Unfortunately, by the time my brain caught up, my hand had already grabbed a napkin. Before I even realized what I was doing, I leaned forward and wiped the sauce off her cheek with one quick motion.
The second I sat back down, I froze.
"(ಠ_ಠ)>⌐■-■…"
Ivy froze too.
Then her grin slowly grew.
And grew.
And somehow became even bigger.
"Ahjussi."
"What."
"You totally did it."
"(ಠ_ಠ)---->⌐■-■"
I immediately regretted everything.
The worst part wasn't that she'd won.
The worst part was that she'd won without even trying.
Meanwhile, Ivy looked so pleased with herself that I was honestly surprised she didn't stand up and start celebrating.
For the next few minutes she continued eating while humming quietly to herself, occasionally kicking her feet beneath the chair. Crumbs had somehow migrated onto her sleeves. A tiny smear of sauce had reappeared near her chin despite my previous efforts. Even her blob-bear plush wasn't safe anymore.
At some point she'd balanced a french fry on top of its head.
I chose not to question it.
The bear seemed happy. Of course it does… it has a permanent stitch smile.
By the time I finished my food, she was barely halfway through hers. Honestly, I wasn't sure whether she was eating or conducting a detailed scientific study on fried chicken.
I leaned back in my chair and glanced toward the rows of restaurants surrounding the food court.
"Drink?"
Her head snapped up so fast I thought she'd heard a battle alarm.
"Yes!"
"What kind?"
"The bubbly one!"
"You mean soda."
"Yeah! That!"
She proudly lifted her water cup and took a sip from it first, as if demonstrating what a drink looked like. Then she pointed dramatically toward the menu boards hanging above the food stalls.
"The red one!"
"Cherry?"
I frowned.
"You sure? That stuff tastes like medicine."
"I like medicine!"
The way she said it made her sound weirdly proud.
Like it was an achievement.
"Of course you do."
A few minutes later I returned carrying two drinks and found Ivy exactly where I'd left her. She was talking to her blob bear.
The bear appeared to be losing the argument.
The moment I set her soda down, her entire face lit up. She grabbed the cup with both hands like I'd just delivered something… precious, something… I'll stop.
Then she took a sip.
And froze.
Her eyes widened.
Another sip.
Her eyes widened more.
Then she slammed the cup onto the table with enough enthusiasm to startle three nearby customers.
"It's FIZZY! (✧⌓✧)!!"
Several people turned to look.
I pretended not to know her.
"And sweet!"
Another sip.
"And cold!"
Another sip.
"My tongue is dancing! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧"
"Congratulations."
I took a drink from my own cup.
"You've discovered sugar."
"It's amazing."
"It really isn't."
"You're wrong."
She pointed at me accusingly.
"You've just forgotten."
"What?"
"The wonder."
"ಠ_ಠ… The wonder…?"
"Yep."
"I mean I don't know what that is…"
"Me too (≧▽≦)!!!"
"ಠ益ಠ… ಠ_ಠ… okay"
She giggled into her cup before taking another giant sip. Then, slowly, almost suspiciously slowly, her eyes drifted toward my drink.
I noticed immediately.
"No."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
"..."
"You were."
"Can I have yours too? (◕ᴗ◕✿)"
"No."
"Half?"
"No."
"Quarter?"
"No."
"One tiny sip?"
"No."
"One super super duuuuuuupweeeer sip?"
"No."
"A super super super super duper duper duper sip?"
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Then she deployed it.
The smile.
The ultimate weapon.
The final boss.
The reason civilization would eventually collapse.
A few seconds passed.
Then, against all logic and self respect, I handed over my cup.
"YAY! (≧▽≦)"
She accepted it like she'd won a championship trophy.
Then...
She took the tiniest sip imaginable.
A super really duper tiny sip…..
Barely enough liquid to qualify as evaporation.
Afterward she happily handed the drink back.
I blinked.
"That's it?"
She nodded proudly.
"Yep."
"You fought that hard for one sip?"
"Victory isn't about quantity, Ahjussi. And I swore just super duper tiny sip (,,Ծ_Ծ,,), I'm a good girl..."
I stared at her.
She stared back again.
The blob-bear stared at both of us from beneath its french fry hat.
ಠ_ಠ
Sometimes I genuinely had no idea what went on inside her head.
And honestly...
I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
***
(A bit of time skip)
A few minutes passed in relative peace.
The food court buzzed around us with the usual chaos of a busy afternoon. Families drifted between tables carrying overloaded trays, children chased each other through the aisles despite their exhausted parents protests, and somewhere in the distance the arcade continued screaming for attention with its endless jingles and victory sounds.
Above it all, warm mall lights reflected off polished floors, giving everything a soft golden glow. For once, neither of us had anywhere important to be. It was just food, noise, and another ordinary afternoon.
Across from me, Ivy was still nibbling on the last few pieces of chicken. Her blob bear still sat beside her drink like a tiny guardian while the giant sunfish occupied an entire chair by itself, silently judging everyone who walked past. Every now and then she kicked her feet beneath the table and hummed to herself between bites, completely content. Then I noticed it again. That sparkle in her eyes. The same one she'd had all day whenever she discovered something new.
After licking a bit of sauce from her finger, she let out a long satisfied sigh and leaned back in her chair. "Ahjussi..." she said dreamily.
"What?"
"Chicken is the best."
I snorted and rested my chin on my hand. "That's just the basic version."
The effect was immediate. Ivy's head snapped up so fast I thought she'd heard a fire alarm. She stared at me for a second before slowly lowering the piece of chicken in her hand.
"W-what? (,,꒪⌓꒪,,)"
I couldn't help smirking.
"You heard me."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Her eyes widened.
Then widened more.
Then somehow widened even again.
"THERE'S MORE?!??!!!?? (☉o☉)!"
Several nearby customers glanced over.
"Yeah," I said casually. "You haven't even tried Korean fried chicken yet."
The Ivy froze completely.
"There's another kind of chicken?"
"There's a better kind of chicken."
Her jaw dropped so hard I was surprised it didn't hit the table. For a moment she looked genuinely betrayed, like humanity had been hiding classified information from her.
"Where?!"
I pointed toward the far end of the food court where a bright sign hung above one of the stalls.
[SEOUL BITE Authentic Korean Fried Chicken]
Ivy followed my finger. She looked at the sign. Then at me. Then back at the sign again.
"Wanna try it?" I asked.
She didn't answer.
Instead she immediately jumped out of her chair and started marching toward the stall with all the determination of a hero embarking on a legendary quest. Her blob bear bounced wildly under one arm while she pointed dramatically forward.
"AHJUSSI LET'S GO! (≧▽≦)"
I watched her disappear into the crowd.
"One day she's going to sprint into another dimension because somebody mentioned food." With a sigh, I grabbed the giant sunfish and followed after her.
The moment we reached the stall, the smell hit us like a truck. Sweet soy sauce, garlic, and enough gochujang to emotionally affect anyone standing within five meters. Even I had to admit it smelled amazing.
Meanwhile, Ivy had already climbed onto her tiptoes to stare through the glass display.
"Ahjussi! They're shiny!"
"That's the glaze."
"They sparkle."
"It's food."
"They sparkle."
"ಠ_ಠ…"
A few minutes later we returned to our table carrying a small mixed box. Ivy immediately grabbed one piece before I'd even finished sitting down. She took a bite.
Then froze.
Again.
Honestly, freezing seemed to be part of her eating process at this point.
"Ahjussi."
"Crunchy?"
She slowly turned toward me.
Her eyes were shining.
"Heavenly."
I sighed.
"There it is."
"It's crunchy AND sweet AND spicy! (✧Д✧)!! Gwaaa WA WA wa WA!!!!!"
Half the food court heard her.
The other half probably heard the echo.
Heads turned in our direction. A few people laughed. One older man sitting nearby actually gave her a thumbs up.
Ivy, meanwhile, remained completely oblivious as she continued chewing with puffed cheeks and the expression of someone who had just discovered the meaning of life.
I leaned back in my chair and took a sip of my drink.
"Congratulations."
"What?"
"You've achieved chicken enlightenment."
She immediately pointed a drumstick at me.
"If I ever get rich, I'm buying this every day."
"Hope your wallet is made of gold."
She giggled.
Bright.
Carefree.
The kind of laugh that made everything around it feel a little lighter.
For a while, neither of us said much. The sounds of the mall drifted around us while Ivy happily worked through the rest of the chicken box. Looking at her now, it was hard to imagine she'd been freezing in a dumpster less than a day ago. She sat beneath warm lights with food in front of her, new clothes waiting in shopping bags nearby, and enough energy to power the entire city.
Then, little by little, her smile softened.
I noticed it immediately.
The excitement was still there.
But quieter now.
"Ahjussi."
I looked up.
"What's wrong? Too spicy?"
She shook her head.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
For a few seconds she simply stared down at the chicken box. Then she swallowed and looked back up at me.
"Thank you."
I blinked.
"For what?"
She laughed softly, a shaky little laugh. The kind people make when they're trying very hard not to cry.
"For yesterday."
The words caught me off guard.
Ivy lowered her gaze again.
"It was really cold."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"I thought nobody was coming."
The food court continued moving around us. People laughed. Conversations blended together. Trays clattered against tables.
But somehow all of it felt very far away.
She rubbed at her eyes with her sleeve.
"And now there's chicken." A sniffle. "And a bubbly drink." Another sniffle. "And this." Her smile trembled. "All of this."
Then she looked directly at me.
"And you."
Before I could think of a response, she suddenly slid off her chair and hurried around the table. A second later arms wrapped around my waist and her face buried itself against my shirt.
"Thank you, Ahjussi..."
I froze.
Completely.
My brain immediately stopped working.
"You're getting grease on my shirt."
A laugh escaped her, a Small. Shaky. Happy. Laugh. "Don't care." Of course she didn't.
I let out a slow breath and rested my hand on top of her head. Her hair was soft beneath my fingers, still carrying the faint scent of the expensive shampoo she'd probably used half the bottle of earlier.
"Eat before it gets cold."
She nodded against my shirt.
Then, after a second, her muffled voice floated upward.
"Okay, Dad."
I looked down at her.
Then at the food court.
Then somewhere beyond the ceiling.
Searching for patience, finding none… And for some reason… I didn't correct her this time.
***
We left the food court a little while later after Ivy finally calmed down. Her eyes were still slightly red from crying, but the sadness was gone now, replaced by the same bright smile she'd been carrying around all day.
Every few steps she hugged her little bear plush against her chest and occasionally looked down at it as if checking whether it had enjoyed the chicken too.
Outside, the city had begun slipping into evening.
The glass walls of the mall reflected a hazy orange-gray sky stretched across the horizon, the last traces of sunlight slowly surrendering to Seoul's endless sea of artificial lights. It was always easy to tell the time of day in this city.
Not because of the sun, but because of the colors. Morning painted the buildings silver. Afternoon turned everything bright and sharp. Evening softened the edges of the world until every reflection looked like a memory.
Seoul never really slept.
It just changed outfits.
The air felt cooler now as we stepped onto the sidewalk. Storefront signs buzzed awake one by one, filling the streets with neon colors. Cars flowed through the roads in steady streams of light while delivery drones occasionally zipped overhead, their tiny navigation lamps blinking against the darkening sky. Electric taxis waited along the curb, their headlights reflecting across the pavement like liquid glass.
Beside me, Ivy hummed quietly to herself.
The tune was familiar.
That same strange little melody she'd been humming since yesterday.
A melody that somehow felt older than it should have.
I glanced down at her.
She was happily walking beside me, hugging her plush with both arms while occasionally swinging it back and forth. Meanwhile, the giant sunfish remained tucked under my arm like a burden I was destined to carry forever.
For once…
Everything felt peaceful.
Just that quiet evening walk through the city.
The kind of ordinary moment people usually forgot.
Then I saw her.
My footsteps slowed.
Not immediately.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Across the street, beside a CU convenience store glowing beneath its familiar purple green sign, stood a woman.
At first glance she looked like any other pedestrian waiting outside.
Then my stomach tightened.
She wore a flowing white dress that moved gently in the evening breeze, the fabric catching the nearby streetlights and turning almost translucent around the edges. A wide ribbon hat cast a shadow across most of her face while a disposable mask concealed the rest.
Normal.
Almost.
Yet something about her felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Not threatening.
Just…
Wrong.
Like she existed half a second out of sync with everything around her.
People walked past her without looking.
Cars drove by.
The city continued moving.
But she seemed detached from it all.
Standing there.
Watching.
Waiting.
My heart skipped.
Beside me, Ivy tugged lightly on my sleeve.
"Ahjussi?"
I didn't answer.
My gaze remained fixed on the woman.
She shifted slightly.
Just enough for a nearby streetlight to catch her eyes beneath the shadow of her hat.
Cold.
Familiar.
Beautiful.
The breath caught in my throat.
A memory surfaced before I could stop it.
Black hair.
Snow.
Dreams.
A voice that never quite sounded human. My fingers tightened around the sunfish plush. "Vesper?"
The name escaped before I could stop it.
Across the street, the woman slowly tilted her head.
Not surprises nor confused.
Deliberate.
As though she'd been expecting me to recognize her.
The traffic lights changed.
Cars rolled past between us.
And for the briefest moment…
I could've sworn she smiled beneath the mask.
Then the evening suddenly didn't feel peaceful anymore.