Yesteryear

The Bazaar

Wooyoung entered the bazaar of Babylon, only to be hit in the face by a wave of sound and fragrances cascading over his senses. The sweet smell of burnt sugar mixed with the mouth-watering scent of meat cooking with herbs in oil. Everything was underlined by the notes of soaps and fabrics, wood even whenever Wooyoung passed the respective stands. The merchants around here offered wares and skills of all kinds. Wooyoung dangerously side-stepped a seller who showed a customer how to hold a sabre only to crash nearly into the performance of a musician right next to the weapon's stand.

While overwhelming in their variety and the ever so constant shifting, Wooyoung had so much to see; he didn't know where to look first. He stretched his neck to peek over the assembled people who strolled around and laughed at and praised what they found interesting. Caught between feeding into his historian's fascination with the people and the architecture of the place and his personal infatuation with food and shining jewellery, Wooyoung stumbled left and right like a drunk man.

The heat in the open town square was murderous, but the stands provided some shadow with their colourful tents. Moving between the masses of people was like wading through quicksand, but Wooyoung wove through. He passed a loud seller with his fishes and crabs in his display. Other clothing stands looked just like modern ones. Wooyoung couldn't believe that aside from the ware offered, humans hadn't changed their market attitudes.

For fabrics, Wooyoung spotted only linen and cotton. Wool was out of trend by now if not for wintry days, and the linen was far more modern and expensive, too. When he spotted a shawl that looked so similar to his own, Wooyoung sent a brief prayer of proud thanks toward the skies. Seungyoun would probably hear it.

Drawn in by a young woman who offered jewellery, Wooyoung lingered nearby with inquisitive eyes. She explained the precious lapis lazuli of these lands to a customer and despite lacking some vocab, Wooyoung tried to pick up on the majority. If he deciphered it right, she explained the way they needed to be filed so they wouldn't break and match into their holdings.

For a while, Wooyoung just wandered over the endless bazaar. New stands kept appearing as if out of thin air, and he never finished the entirety of it. As the sun wandered over the zenith to throw contorted shadows of more subdued light, Wooyoung gradually grew hungry. With the money he had received from Seungyoun specifically for this journey, he purchased something he couldn't translate the name of that looked absolutely delicious. It turned out to be meat topped with plums in barley bread. Not something Wooyoung would try in modern times, but he found it a delightful experience.

As he stood under a palm tree to eat with a few travellers nearby that rested their feet, Wooyoung admired the beauty of the city once more. It deserved the title as a world wonder, undoubtedly. For the ancient times it existed in, it was modern and civilised in unexpected ways.

The bazaar never slept. Soon, the sellers lit the torches next to their stands to create a vast field of illumination. From his spot, Wooyoung couldn't see how the stars gradually appeared in the darkening sky. But he knew he should find a place to sleep in. Desert nights could get cold, even in a city with so many people around.

When Wooyoung finished his curious wanderings in the primary area, he set out to find a well-visited booth on the outskirts of the bazaar. There, he could question the people about Song Mingi in a private setting. His eyes rang after a day on the market with many voices yelling over each other, but he was fulfilled by it.

Just as he passed the larger street weaving through the bazaar, a sudden movement to his left startled Wooyoung into halting. Between the meandering people shot out a boy, ten years old at maximum. He cradled a bunch of fabric to his chest that was filled with food peeking out at the edges. Fear widened his dark eyes and had him cast nervous glances over his shoulder as he ran from the people after him.