Florence: Memories of the Striped City
Florence, Italy. Even here in Florence. Two busking performances were scheduled here as well.
The city held quite a bit of meaning for me. In my past life, one of the idols I managed had been born here. She had come to Korea alone with no one to rely on, so I often listened to her stories, most of which were about her hometown.
She would talk about the tourist spots in her city, the atmosphere, the food… She had so much to say. Like most girls, she could tell right away if I was only half-listening and would sulk, so I always made sure to pay close attention.
Because of that, I had never actually visited the place, yet I felt an odd sense of inner familiarity with the city of Florence.
“This is the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella.”
Do You Like Music? was technically a music variety show, but it also mixed in elements of mukbang and travel. It was a chimera of an entertainment program, cramming in everything that was currently trending. Still, the viewership and YouTube numbers were solid, which probably meant the public liked this kind of chimera.
In Barcelona, the rain had been so heavy that we couldn’t properly sightsee, but this time the weather was quite good, so we visited several places considered Florence’s highlights.
One of Florence’s representative tourist spots: the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. It was beautiful, but the crowds made it less enjoyable.
Still, it really is pretty.
The intricate marble patterns carved along the massive outer walls of the cathedral gleamed brilliantly under the afternoon sunlight. Seeing the “most elegant stripes in the world” that the girl from my past life had always mentioned when talking about her hometown stirred something strangely ticklish in a corner of my heart.
“Wow, it really looks like it jumped straight out of a textbook. Siyeon, aren’t you amazed too?”
Baek Yuyeon kept exclaiming in wonder while clutching my shoulder. I simply nodded and gazed up at the tip of the cathedral’s spire.
This person never even looked at textbooks back in school… What textbook?
I had such rude thoughts, but I didn’t voice them. No matter how much I cultivated a chic elementary-school-girl image, being rude was a different matter.
While I was staring blankly at the cathedral, someone beside me spoke in a whisper.
“Siyeon.”
“…Hngh! Y-you startled me.”
“Hehe. Did I surprise you?”
I frowned. Why was she suddenly speaking Japanese? Was it a habit? Well, Saki was Japanese.
“Please just tell me what you want.”
“What? You understand Japanese?”
“…I studied it.”
Because there had been so many Japanese trainees. So in my past life, I had studied hard. My pronunciation was terrible, but I could manage basic communication.
“Anyway, about that song yesterday. What are you going to title it?”
“Ah. It’s Platonic Love Story. I wrote the melody after already deciding on the title.”
“So it really was inspired by the star?”
“I suppose so. You were reading a page and then fell asleep… How do you know the content?”
“I looked it up on the internet! Since you probably weren’t going to read it anyway.”
I stared at Saki for about 0.1 seconds with a dumbfounded look.
Do people these days read books through wikis?
After visiting the cathedral, we had lunch at a suitable place. T-bone steak felt a bit heavy for lunch, but the taste was excellent nonetheless. Lately, I had been eating so many delicious foods here that I couldn’t get in Korea that my palate seemed to be getting more refined. Next week we would return to Korea and I would have to eat the orphanage’s imitation jjambbap again… The thought already filled me with dread.
Escaping the orphanage… I really do need to do that.
Originally, I had planned to leave right after Singer Star ended, but with them providing a dorm and even a private room, it felt awkward to just walk away. The problem was that even in the new dorm, there was only one bathroom per floor to share. There wasn’t even a refrigerator; everyone had to use the one on the first floor. At least I had a mini fridge for drinks in my room, so my situation was slightly better… Still, there were more than one or two reasons I wanted to escape immediately.
I should just rent a practice room and move out. I can sleep there too.
I would have to look into that as soon as we got back to Korea. If I had someone from the agency with me, I could probably find a decent practice room nearby.
“Siyeon. Senior Hanyul says we should practice.”
“Ah. Yes. I’m coming right now!”
During the first busking in Florence, I wouldn’t be singing. Instead, I would perform three times using only the violin, the instrument I handled best. Then, at the final busking in Florence, I would sing two songs. I had considered performing the new song, but it felt wrong to reveal an entire track that would likely become a title track here. It was still unfinished anyway, so I decided not to write new songs for this program and just use familiar ones.
“Key, you really play the violin like you’re starving for it.”
“Hehe. Thank you.”
“Who was it again? That Grammy-winning person’s playing reminds me of you. Ah! Yoo Seon-ah.”
“Haha.”
Yoo Seon-ah, the Korean who won a Grammy for violin, was the mother of Blooming’s bassist Park Heesoo. My skill was still far from reaching that level, of course.
Time passed quickly, and we finished the second busking in Florence as well. One song was a famous overseas pop song, and the other was Starlit Night. Surprisingly, Starlit Night received a better reaction from the audience than expected.
“No, actually, it might just be that people find it novel to see a little kid singing.”
During this trip, I had played the role of a zoo monkey drawing crowds. Whether as a session musician or a singer, whenever I joined the busking lineup, far more people stopped to watch. Saki and Jia’s beauty as idol members probably helped too, but there was no denying that I had the biggest impact. In any country, a child playing an instrument and singing seemed to draw attention easily.
While staying in Florence, I wrote a few more songs that could be included on the album. They were barely more than rough sketches, so I wasn’t sure how many would actually make it onto the album.
“Hey. Siyeon. If you’re not going to use them, give them to me!”
Judging by people’s reactions, the quality didn’t seem too bad either. The theme of this album could be summed up as the excitement of travel. The songs would mostly be inspired by the thrill of my first overseas trip and the variety show filming.
“At this rate… it should be enough.”
After continuing to refine the unfinished Platonic Love Story, it had reached a fairly decent level of quality. Ever since Singer Star ended, I had bought an expensive paid MIDI program, which noticeably improved my workflow. It made me realize once again that money really was everything in this world.
“Come to think of it, I should go to the hospital too.”
I really needed to get a growth checkup as soon as possible. Even from the moment I first possessed this body, it had seemed odd that a nine-year-old was developing so well. Lately, my physical condition had been strange. If I was already small for my age and hit puberty early, I might end up even shorter than expected. Honestly, I didn’t mind being a bit short, but at least 150 centimeters would be nice, wouldn’t it?
I should have gone earlier.
But I had been too busy. Still, it was fortunate that I had at least made a reservation before leaving. Of course, if I used the company’s influence, I could skip the reservation and go straight to a university hospital in Seoul, but I had simply booked an appointment at a nearby university hospital. Going all the way to Seoul was a hassle, especially if treatment was involved and I had to keep commuting back and forth.
“Oh my, it’s so pretty!”
Jia, sitting in the seat beside me, leaned over and shouted while looking out the window. Outside the window stretched a view of Athens and the Mediterranean Sea. The scenery was breathtaking, but the soft flesh of Jia’s chest pressing against my cheek seemed even more beautiful.
They say she’s the current number-one in direct-cam views…
There was a reason she had risen as the new powerhouse in that area. How was that size even possible on such a skinny body? It was practically a mystery of the human body.
“How about it, Siyeon? Pretty, right?”
“Yes. It’s beautiful.”
I didn’t specify what exactly was beautiful. But it was clear that what she was thinking of and what I was thinking of were slightly different.