Protector from Afar ✔️

Chapter 13 - Stray Kids in the building

Stray Kids in the building

"The word you're looking for is 'ew'."

I hummed in agreement. When I brought the fork to my mouth with the last bite, my eyes fell on Minho and Jisung. Minho fed Jisung, they both giggled and everything seemed pretty cheesy.

I looked at Jeongin and silently mouthed the word he suggested, 'ew'.

He leaned forward a little with a grin.

"Are you already regretting saving them both?"

"Starting to."

He snorted, putting a hand over his mouth and I ate the last bite, trying not to choke.

The meal slowly came to an end; There was nothing left of the food, not even crumbs. Plates and bowls found their way onto the serving trolley in piles; they had really thought of everything.

I leaned back in my chair, pulling one leg up to my torso. Such a pleasant warmth spread through me that every word spoken faded into distant noise. Then the words stopped, and I realized where I was again.

"How do you become someone who fights with a katana?" Jeongin asked.

"Well first of all, this is a tachi, don't ever call it a katana again. Secondly, training and a father who cares about all of this."

"What's the difference?" Seungmin asked.

"A tachi is a few inches longer than a katana."

"It's all about the size then," Seungmin stated dryly.

"Just the size," I confirmed.

Seungmin's mouth formed into a weak grin, then he took his half-full glass and toasted me expressionlessly.

"Selapina... I mean, Seraphina." Minho's eyes narrowed as he tried hard to pronounce my name correctly. "Are there parallel worlds? Like in a multiverse?"

"I'm afraid I can't quite follow you?"

Jisung leaned forward, a hand on Minho's shoulder. "You said this, uh, demon was from another world."

I understood immediately, but I carefully considered my next words. I didn't like having to lie, but when the truth did more harm than good... On the other hand, the boys had witnessed something that even warriors with countless years of experience could only dream of: fighting a real demon from another dimension. Dōngfēng, the east wind, originated from a world where humans were being hunted down, anything good instantly turned to ash. A dying world.

"By that I meant the in-between world. The word 'demon' originally means 'spirit', and because spirits are disembodied..."

"Oh, and you made him visible to us with those spears," Jisung interrupted excitedly.

I nodded, impressed by his quick thinking.

The conversation went in a pleasant flow. It was easy to talk to them. I told them that I inherited my abilities from my father, he from his, and so on and so forth. Fighting was basically in my blood. It made no difference whether one was born a daughter or a son.

In between, Minho cut up a watermelon, holding the knife alternately in his left hand and sometimes in his right.

Hyunjin and Changbin were the only ones who mostly kept quiet, hardly speaking a word. Certainly not a word to me. They looked at me but kept their distance. I tried to not let it get to me. Maybe it was better that way.

"Enough about me," I said, putting the melon rind on a plate. "What about you guys, what are you doing?"

Their faces reflected pride, but also uncertainty. As if they had to think carefully about whether they could tell me, whatever it was.

Chan cleared his throat. "We are musicians. We sing and dance to our songs."

"Like a boy band?"

"Yo, wassup, this is Stray Kids in the building!" Jisung blared at the top of his lungs.

I flinched, startled, and Chan sighed.

"You call yourselves 'Stray Kids'? Did I understand that correctly?" Chan nodded. "Can I hear something?"

Before anyone answered me, I already had my phone ready. After a short discussion, they agreed on a song called 'LALALALA'.

I didn't know enough about music to describe exactly why the song wasn't bad. But my tapping foot spoke for itself. Michelle would say 'groovy'.

"Interesting voices," I said, more to myself.

I picked a passage from the song, played it and asked the group who that voice belonged to. Everyone pointed at Jeongin. Then I picked another passage and this time everyone pointed at Seungmin. Chan called them 'Vocal Racha' because they could sing the best. A few more words were spoken, strange-sounding words, but I quickly forgot them. Too much new information sometimes overwhelmed me.

Raphael was right, out of everyone in our family I had the most muscles but zero brains.

Jisung really wanted me to listen to 'God's Menu', but I told him – more directly than I intended – that I would listen to it in my room. I thanked the boys – Stray Kids – for the fantastic food and for letting me be here.

As I closed the door to my room and turned on the light, I saw a letter on the desk. It was the same letter that Marie wanted to give me a few days ago and I still hadn't opened. I sighed and slumped onto the bed. The letter was heavy in my hand, and I pulled out several pages.

The letterhead seemed official; from an association to promote foreign artists. In Seoul. I stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Did I apply there?

Dear Ms. Seraphina von Kattalin,
We would like to warmly congratulate you on winning the competition from May 24, 2023.
Please note the attached documents.

And suddenly I remembered again. Last year I had an extended stay in South Korea, and I entered this competition just for fun. I was traveling with Jian in Seoul and...

I shook my head energetically. According to the letter, I was scheduled to spend two weeks in Seoul in November. All inclusive. All I had to do was paint my motif on a wall.