The streets of Harbin were still just as crowded and noisy as ever as the three of them moved forward into the mass of people. Alan steps closer to yumiel and asks:
« Didn't you say you wanted to be discreet? »
« At first, yes. But now they're looking for us—we can't stay passive anymore. We just have to leave this city tonight and reach the forest before tomorrow morning. »
As they continue pushing deeper into the crowd, they notice a lot of people suddenly starting to run in a specific direction. First surprised, then curious, they follow the movement, arriving at a huge square with a stage in front of them.
All of a sudden, spotlights turn on. Men step forward on the front of the stage, speaking in Chinese, while the girls next to them start screaming. Then comes a speech, music starts playing, and they begin singing while dancing.
« What the hell is this? They just gather like that, sing, then dance. »
Alan, standing next to yumiel, corrects her.
« That's called k-pop, I think. And it's an organized event, even if it doesn't look like it. »
yumiel lowers her head slightly, repeating the word k-pop to herself. Then she thinks of Morgane, who used to constantly tell her that a new k-pop group had just been born or that this or that song was incredible. It had never interested her—but for sure, she would have loved to be in yumiel's place right now.
« You think the police patrols were for this event? » Jack says.
During the concert, one of the group members starts speaking in English, with a fairly fluent accent and decent pronunciation—at least good enough to understand what he was saying.
yumiel snaps back to attention when she hears the man sing in English and answers Jack:
« I don't know, and I don't care. »
She says this while staring at the group member who had just sung in English. Alan, next to her, understands immediately by looking at yumiel.
« Let's not make a scene here and wait for the break. »
« Good idea. »
They stand there listening to the music. Jack starts getting into it, dancing in the middle of the crowd.
« Your teammate is really something. »
« Yeah. »
Alan looks at yumiel, who is staring up at the sky.
« You're really different for your age. »
« I'll take that as a compliment. »
The music begins to die down. One of the group members steps forward, says a few things in Chinese, then leaves the stage. yumiel stands up, Alan follows her, she grabs Jack from the middle of the crowd, then circles around the stage.
The noise from the audience in the background is awful, yumiel thinks. Once on the other side, they jump over metal railings and arrive in a very makeshift area, with fabric tents serving as dressing rooms.
They enter the tents randomly until they find the man in question. Some of the group's singers raise their voices when they see them come in, but they don't care and simply move on. She finally finds him in the sixth tent.
yumiel approaches him. Up close, you can see he's mixed-race; his eyes aren't very slanted, and he has European features.
« Do you speak English? »
He looks surprised and takes a few seconds before answering.
« Yes, I'm not excellent, but I manage. Are you fans? If you want, we can go have a drink after this. »
Jack, behind her, can't help but speak up.
« I think he's hitting on you. »
« Thanks, I noticed. »
She steps closer to him.
« Listen carefully. You're going to follow us from now on and you'll serve as our translator, and if you behave, we'll let you go afterward. Simple, right. »
« I love roleplay. »
The man steps closer to yumiel to kiss her. But before he can reach her face, a hand grabs him by the throat, lifting him into the air.
Alan, standing next to her, places a hand on her shoulder. « I pity your future husband. »
« Seriously, » Jack says.
« Fuck off. Alright, our turn. »
She lets him go. He crashes to the ground, coughing heavily from yumiel's grip.
« Who the hell are you people? »
She signals to Alan, who pulls out a phone showing an address written in Chinese.
« Where is this? »
He looks at the address on the phone and answers. « It's not very far—wait, all this just for that? You're completely insane. »
Alan puts the phone away and helps him up.
« If you know where it is, perfect—you're going to take us there. »
The man struggles, but Alan holds him firmly.
« No, you're completely unhinged. »
« What's your name? »
He hesitates for a few moments, then answers yumiel:
« Kai Ren. »
« Okay Kai, walk ahead, we'll follow you. »
« But my name isn't— » yumiel cuts him off.
« I don't give a fuck, so move your ass because I'm starting to lose patience. »
yumiel and Jack leave the tent. Alan pushes Kai toward the exit. Completely confused by the situation, he looks around. Jack steps closer to him.
« Listen, you're gonna have to be quicker on your feet and start moving if you don't want your head on the ground and your brain in my mouth. »
Terrified, he starts walking. As they leave the makeshift backstage area, one of the group members sees them leaving and runs after them.
« 凯,你在做什么? »
No one understands, but Kai answers him:
« 这些人把我当人质了,救命啊! »
The other replies with something else in Chinese before running off, then coming back with the group members and police officers, pointing at the three of them while shouting in Chinese.
yumiel exhales. « That was really stupid, Kai—because now they're going to have to die. »
Opening her flask, she creates five daggers and throws them, killing the police officers before they even have time to draw their weapons. Jack joins in as well, killing the group's singers. yumiel's daggers take down the last ones trying to flee. Only a few screams can be heard, drowned out by the crowd on the other side.
Kai, completely frozen by the scene, starts screaming. Alan puts a hand over his mouth and looks him straight in the eyes.
« Hey kid, you'd better wake up, because those two aren't joking. So behave, obey, and everything will be fine—trust me. »
Terrified, he nods slightly. Alan slowly removes his hand. Meanwhile, Jack had finished eating, and yumiel too.
« Alright, that's good. You show us the way, yeah? »
Kai doesn't speak, completely petrified. He starts crying, then nods his head before heading into the street, with them following behind.