The market in the human world was completely different from what So had imagined.
The smells from her mother’s stories were real, but the people moved much faster and made far more noise, and no one stepped aside for So.
“So many people…” So stopped at every vendor stall, her eyes sparkling.
Rice cakes, fruit, fabrics she had never seen before. She tried to touch everything with her fingertips and got scolded by the merchants several times.
Then someone brushed past So and snatched the little pouch hidden in her sleeve.
“Huh?” It took So a moment to realize that her waist felt strangely empty. It was the norigae pendant the Queen had given her.
The thief was already running through the alleys. A boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen, with worn clothes and a quick, nimble gait—it was Derek.
So chased after him without a second thought. The problem was that the way So caught up with Derek at the end of the alley was anything but human. She stepped on air and leaped up, cutting him off.
Derek froze on the spot.
“…What did you just do?”
Only then did So realize what she had done. In the human world, in front of all those people, she had stepped on the sky.
“Um… wait, it’s not what you think…”
A few people in the distance began murmuring and looking their way. Derek’s eyes darted rapidly between So and the onlookers. Then he did something So never could have expected—he grabbed her wrist and started running with her toward the opposite alley.
“Just run for now. I’ll explain later.”