​Seo Jin-ah stretched as the first light filtered through her window. She got up, rolled her shoulders, and began her usual routine—some light physical training to kickstart the day. Squats. A few punches. A roundhouse kick. Then more squats.

She smiled to herself. “Nothing wrong with sticking to the routine,” she muttered. “Being alone can be dangerous sometimes. Gotta keep myself strong. The only one looking out for me… is me.”

She glanced at her phone lying nearby. Kakashi stared back at her from the wallpaper—calm, cool, collected.

She knew he couldn’t protect her. He wasn’t real. But the message was clear: Protect yourself.

Another set.

Afterward, she hopped into the shower, then put on her usual outfit: a soft, slightly oversized T-shirt layered with her favorite hoodie, the Uzumaki symbol proudly displayed on the back.

She cooked breakfast, ate while rewatching another Naruto clip on her phone, then washed the dishes and cleaned the counter.

Finally, she grabbed her bag, stepped outside, and locked the door behind her.

The sun was warm on her face. She smiled up at it. “Another brand new day.”

​She checked her phone. Still some time before the ramyeon shop opened. Boss Lady had told her to come in about two and a half hours early to help prep the kitchen. Jin-ah didn’t mind. She liked getting there early—it made her feel useful.

But for now? She had one of two choices. Either binge another set of Naruto clips on YouTube… or go to the park.

She shoved her phone into her pocket and turned toward the street. “Park it is. I’m not that addicted,” she said out loud to no one. She was human, after all. Even an introvert needed fresh air and real-life people from time to time.

She walked at a comfortable pace, enjoying the quiet buzz of the city around her.

The park wasn’t empty. Kids were playing. Dogs were barking. People were laughing. Music floated in the air from someone’s portable speaker. And birds—so many birds. Nature’s soundtrack, she thought with a grin.

She just smiled to herself and kept walking, feeling oddly light.

The park stirred softly with life. Birds chirped in passing, a light wind rustled the leaves overhead, and cicadas filled the spaces in between with their tireless chorus. In the distance, someone laughed, and a dog barked twice.

Jin-ah made her way down the path, taking in the gentle noise of the world.

And there she was.

Do Areum.

Same bench as always. Same posture—relaxed but upright. A cardigan layered over her t-shirt. Glasses slipping slightly down her nose. Earbuds in. Eyes closed.

But Jin-ah knew better. She wasn’t listening to music—not the kind most people meant when they said “music.”

Areum didn’t dislike music entirely. She just had a very different definition of it.

Auto-tune? Sure, she acknowledged its place. Techno beats? Synthetic layers? She understood their function. But to her, they weren’t pure. Not in the way she believed music was meant to be.

She once told Jin-ah, “Music existed before people named it. Before they built devices to record it. It started with breath and bones and the world itself.”

Her favorite sound? Whale 54. A solitary whale whose song rang out at a frequency no to which other whale responded to voice reaching through the ocean, unanswered—but honest. That, to Areum, was a song in its truest form.

Second favorite? Human clapping. The sound of recognition. Two hands coming together with no melody, no machine—just feeling.

Third? Whistling. Emotion pushed into air. Unfiltered. Imperfect. Real.

But her love for sound didn’t stop there. She once called a thunderstorm “the rock concert of the clouds.” Said the wind blowing through a bamboo forest sounded like breathy flutes woven by nature. Said a rooster’s crow was “as honest as any opera.”

To her, music wasn’t something you downloaded or played. It was something that happened—raw and living.

The crow of a chicken. The rustle of leaves. A storm rumbling in the sky. Even people talking—not scripted, just being.

That was the kind of “playlist” Areum carried around in her earbuds. Just life, unfiltered.

Jin-ah never tried to understand all of it. She liked her anime intros and Naruto OSTs. But she respected Areum’s view.

They didn’t share hobbies. They didn’t talk about idols or fictional characters. But they worked side-by-side in a small ramyeon shop, respected each other’s silence, and kept showing up.

And that was enough.

She walked up to her and plopped down beside Areum on the bench. Areum noticed Jin-ah and nudged her with a smile.

“Good morning, Areum unnie!” Jin-ah said, bumping her back with a grin.

Areum smiled back, pulling out an earbud. “Good morning, Jin-ah.”

"It's another beautiful day," Jin-ah said, tilting her face up to the sun. "I was almost late for it."

"Glad you made it," Areum replied softly, her eyes closed again. "The cicadas and people are in full chorus."

Jin-ah grinned, pulling out her own earbuds and putting them in. "Well, I'm listening to my own kind of chorus." She hit play, and the dramatic opening chords of a Naruto theme song began to play.

The two friends sat there, side by side, listening to their very different worlds while watching people in the park.

Jin-ah moved her finger along with the music in her ear, humming the melody of "Naruto Shippuden Silhouette."

Areum moved her hand, making Jin-ah pause. "Er, unnie?"

Areum flipped her hand over and then put her left hand on her right.

She giggled. "Look, Jin-ah, this tiny spider. How cute."

Jin-ah's eyes followed Areum's gaze and she saw the tiny creature moving on her hand.

Jin-ah grinned. Of course, Unnie always finds living beings cute. Even worms.

Areum stood. "I'm going to put this spider on that tree."

The tiny spider moved and jumped, so Areum carefully put her left hand under her right. The spider jumped to her left hand. She moved her right finger, and the spider jumped to her finger again. She kept moving her hands, a gentle, mesmerizing dance to keep the spider from jumping and getting lost in the wind, until she reached the tree.

Jin-ah smiled, then focused on her song again.

Areum returned and sat back down. She put her earbud back in and closed her eyes. The two friends listened to their own separate soundtracks.

After a few minutes, Areum took out her earbud. "Hmm, it's time, Jin-ah. The ramyeon shop is getting ready for opening."

Jin-ah stood. "Yep, let's go help our Boss Lady."

Areum giggled. "Jin-ah, she's ten years older than us. And did you forget? Don't call her that."

Jin-ah smirked. "Yep, but Minji unnie deserves the title of Boss Lady because she's the boss."

Areum sighed playfully. "Fine, but get ready for her glare if she hears that."

Jin-ah laughed. "Oh no, the glare of doom!"

Both of them laughed as they began walking out of the park.