"Do do do do do, do do do do do do do do~," she begins humming, as she attempts to finish up and go pay for her current groceries.

Someone bumps into her.

"Ah, excuse me," he says before turning back to comparing the prices of two brands of instant noodles.

"Sorry, my fault," she agrees, to the person that is almost certainly not Jaeha, all sweetness and light.

Back to humming!

The self-checkout machines seem to all be broken. The line of people waiting to be checked out is short but extant.

The back of her neck feels itchy, like someone's breathing down it.

The self checkout lines are probably all fine, but she doesn't know which ones are actually fine and which ones aren't, so. Yep. Standing in line it is. While humming.

Someone breathing down her neck? Who ever could that be? Is it the someone she's beating by seeming completely fine and downright cheerful towards? She thinks it must be!

Is she beating him, though? Is she sure of that? Why is her heart starting to beat faster, if so?

That sounds like stuff that is not humming along to the silliest song she can think of in a pinch, and so is not her problem, actually!

Also, c'mon, Jaeha, do better. This isn't the point where she'd be getting nervous. She's a damned combat esper, what the hell do you think it takes to make her nervous? Because she killed Volcanic Range, thank you, and she is in public and is aware you can't do shit to her here, only put her in situations where she could maybe ruin herself. That's nothing. She's been living with the ability to be a terrifying person of mass destruction for her entire adult life.

Sure, she can keep telling herself that.

"Next, please," calls the bored cashier.

The next person walks up to him. He doesn't have a ton of groceries, so he should be quick.

Honestly, that's just kind of funny. Surrounded by Jaehas. She's not going to giggle about it, but on the inside: she's amused.

The buzzing noise of the fluorescent lights feels kind of too loud. But she shouldn't be able to hear it, should she? The background music—

—is gone. Actually it's been gone for a while, now that she thinks about it? Or was it ever even playing since she walked into the store?

"You know you're not good enough for him, right?" the person in front of her asks without even turning around to look at her. He's so quiet it could almost have been just her imagination.

She thinks that's up to him to decide, actually. He's an adult, with agency, he can make his own choices.

She doesn't say that out loud, only smiles at the person in front of her. Sounds like she's getting on somebody's nerves and he's trying different tactics to see what unsettles her!

The lights are starting to go off. The buzzing is getting louder.

She feels sweaty under her clothes.

"Korea has lots of A-rank espers who could be S-rank. Like myself, of course. You're really just riding on the coattails of his success, but you think you're good just because you're better than your last partner. That's a low, low bar."

Ahuh, ahuh, keep searching, jackass. She's sure you'll find something eventually, and maybe it won't even be something that a blind toddler could trip over in an empty room!

Guess what she's still humming? That's right! It's still Caramelldansen! Very softly, so as not to disturb the actual people that are definitely next to her and have nothing to do with this stalker's little crush.

More lights are going out. The buzzing noise is actually getting uncomfortable.

"Quasar is only keeping you around to appease their star boy. Sure, they're pretty happy with the stunt they think you pulled in Volcanic Rage, but they don't really believe you did all of that. They do so, so much for Tae-gun. They'll do things they think are stupid or even counterproductive, if it'll keep Tae-gun happy." He finally looks over his shoulder at her. "I'd know.

"And you're just making the same mistakes again, aren't you? All of your friends are from Quasar, your whole life is with the guild again, even though you wanted something different. When it inevitably falls down, they'll choose him, not you, just like White Star did."

Oooo, low blow, Jaeha, low blow! Except, wait, no, you're speaking to the crazy woman who can and will burn every single bridge available and flee the country, because she knows she'll be okay. If she's not S-rank, if Quasar doesn't want to protect her? Fine. She can fend for herself and stand on her own, unlike some clingy dipshits that can't even get over a breakup after half a decade.

She gives a little sigh, and checks the time on her phone. It will probably tell her something dumb and Jaeha related, but probably her perception of time is important or something.

...well, either he's lying with the clock or she's lost a reasonable amount of time.

Evidence for the latter is that the guy that was in front of her is now getting his items checked and the guy behind her is making annoyed noises from the back of his throat for her to move forward.

All lights are out, now, except the ones directly above her and the cashier. The buzzing noise is loud enough she wouldn't be able to hear normal conversation with it if she weren't an esper. She can't hear the conversation between the cashier and the person that had been in front of her, as a matter of fact.

She doesn't believe the lying clock, but it's useful data to keep in mind now. (She should start keeping firmer track of her time.)

"Sorry," she apologizes, to the Jaeha behind her that she's been holding up, as she dutifully scoots forwards. "Lots of sleepless nights." Exactly the sort of innocent comment that will come off fine to a stranger and get under Kang Jaeha's fucking skin.

If it's getting to him, this illusion of him doesn't show it. "It's kind of funny that you take so much pride in being self-reliant like that," the guy behind her muses. Her clothes feel really sweaty, like she's been running, and her heart feels kind of painful. "I gotta give it to you, it's not like you're wrong. You did come to Korea! Congratulations! You didn't even try to keep any of your old relationships, you still refuse on principle to talk to a guy who wanted to help you because he wounded your petty pride, you're making yourself alone for no good reason. It's not even interesting to say that your arrogance is a weakness because you just keep shooting yourself in the foot with it. Actually I said it was funny, but GLaDOS was right on that one."

Of course she can hear him despite the loud buzzing.

That's not the sort of thing that normal people say in public, so she won't be replying to it. Even if she thinks I think one of us is objectively more sad than the other. But, hey, maybe he's a mind reader and can read her literal thoughts and hear the sick burns she's coming up with.

Is it checkout time yet?

For a moment, the illusion lifts around her, and she gets the vision/memory that the guy behind her had been trying to ask her for a picture or an autograph and she just smiled at him and didn't say anything until he got too awkward and looked away mumbling something because the famous S-rank esper Kim Hye-jin completely blanked him—

—but no, it's not checkout time yet.

"Have you ever met Fugimura Hana, by the way? She seems like a sweet girl."

She's done worse in public before, and it's a confluence, she has every reason to be a little spacey and smiley and humming an obnoxious tune. She's overworked and tired. Sorry, if you actually exist, random fan, but you might not, so.

Still not a normal thing to say to someone! She will not be replying until and unless she sees an opening for something that would make sense to say in public!

"Next customer, please!"