In The Dark (SNOWDROP)

"one way ticket"

❄︎ — chapter 7 — ❄︎

Eun Yeongro walked through the bustling street market of Seoul, on her way to the book and record shop in the middle of the city. Eun Yeongu had taken her there to get lunch, but he'd gotten held up talking to an old friend that they'd happened to bump into. Yeongro had gone on ahead, leaving her brother to chat. The record shop was only a block away, anyway.

The bell on the door jingled as she walked inside, like the one in her halmeoni's rice cake shop. It wasn't very crowded inside; maybe about four other people in the tiny shop, including the lone clerk.

Yeongro made her way towards the little listening booth in the back. She already knew what she had come for, but why wait until she was back at her brother's apartment to listen to a song she'd heard once in the radio, and now couldn't get out of her head?

She picked up the listening headphones, then inserted the little, colorfully-decorated tape into the slot. She pressed play, and the song started streaming through the headphones. She hummed along, and when the chorus hit, she threw up one hand, dancing in place and singing to herself.

"One way ticket, one way ticket..."

Yeongro completely forgot where she was as she lost herself in the catchy beat. For all she knew, she could be alone in her bedroom.

"One way ticket, one way ticket..."

❄︎ — ❄︎ — ❄︎ — ❄︎ — ❄︎

Lim Sooho was on his lunch break, and he decided to escape the stuffy air of the ANSP office for an hour or so. He went to downtown Seoul, getting a quick lunch at a food vendor's stall, then walking down the block to the Evergreen book and record shop. There was a book on an ancient Korean navy admiral that he'd been intending to read for a while. Maybe the shop would have it.

He got there quickly, keeping an eye on the time so he wouldn't be late back to the office. As always, he kept vigilant, checking his six every once in a while to make sure he wasn't being watched or followed.

Sooho found the book he'd been looking for near the front windows of the shop. He picked it up and began to thumb through the crisp white pages.

A couple more people came and went, and he looked up every time the door bell jingled. None of them look suspicious, so he returned his attention to the book.

A few minutes later, the door bell rang, and Sooho looked up. A young woman walked in, wearing a baby pink blouse and black skirt with a small black leather purse slung across her torso. Sooho's eyes widened.

It was Eun Yeongro.

He quickly ducked behind a bookcase to avoid being spotted, in case she remembered him from the incident at the rice cake shop. She didn't notice him at all, walking right by towards the listening booth at the back of the shop.

Sooho was tempted to purchase the book and get the hell out of there as fast as he could, but then a possibility crossed his mind. Maybe Eun Yeongu was here with his sister, too. Maybe he could take this opportunity to check on the director's son's whereabouts.

So he stayed, going back to reading. Only a couple of seconds later, he heard noise coming from the listening booth. Eun Yeongro stood there, alone, the headphones over her ears. She was singing and dancing along to whatever song was playing on the cassette, like she didn't have a care in the world.