[06] Dancer in the dark
Santa Quaranta
MMXXV / XXVIII
Visits to Santa Quaranta become more frequent for Jongin. He doesn’t know why, but ever since a night he vaguely remembers like it happened in a dream, he finds himself visiting town more often than before, hence recognizing more faces and being recognized by people. He introduces himself as Kai, choosing to never give out his real name. Every weekend he hops to a new club or a new bar, socializing, drinking and dancing. Those who don’t know his name have conjured up a nickname for him. Dancer in the dark. Jongin gains quite the reputation as a dancer in the various nightclubs he’s visited, always attracting groups of people wherever he goes. He is aware of what they call him and he makes sure he lives up to it.
Word about him reaches Shin Haneul, probably the most uninterested person in what goes on in Santa Quaranta. If she knows all the talk of the town, it’s thanks to her friend Kim Kibum, who loves himself a good conversation with practically anyone who comes to talk to him.
His curiosity as to who “the dancer in the dark” is, gets the best of him and subsequently Haneul. It’s a Friday night when she finds herself in a club, after having avoided it for so long. There’s a party happening that night and one doesn’t need an invitation to attend. The club is crowded and it’s all it takes for Haneul to want to disappear. But knowing Kibum, she knows that topic is not up for discussion.
The DJ plays hit songs that have everybody dancing and singing. Haneul wonders if the “shadow man” will really make an appearance, even though they say he is notorious for never missing a good party in town. And there are a lot of good parties happening around Santa Quaranta. Almost as if he could detect her thoughts, Kibum answers them.
“Oh, he will be here. Anna has never once failed to give me correct information whenever I’ve asked her.”
If there’s a person who probably knows more than Kibum, it’s Anna Lang, one of the receptionists at the Mile High Tower. Maybe it’s her job, maybe it’s her as a person, but she knows almost everything about everyone.
A good hour passes but there is still no sign of the man. Haneul tries to enjoy herself in the meantime but her mind flows elsewhere. She thinks of a fateful night when she was in another part of town. The beach. It was entirely empty, save for herself and a boy, whose heart she broke. She doesn’t know why she suddenly thinks of him. She remembers what happened as if it were a dream. She has no recollection of his face anymore, she only remembers how she felt. There are a series of other moments that she doesn’t know if they’ve truly happened or not, but they giv
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