ㅤ His stomach felt the satisfaction after savouring a bowl of local dishes. It took him quite some time to find something authentic but wouldn’t be too offside of his palate. And the choice he’d made didn’t disappoint. The taste was beyond expectation; its sweet-savoury flavour lingered in delicate comfort. There was still room for desserts, though.
ㅤ As he wandered around the town, a small crowd at a long table on the grassy corner snatched his attention. Under normal circumstances, he might shy away from the hustle bustle of society. But somehow, the curious cat pulled him there.
ㅤ Once he reached the spot, he saw a bunch of people scattered here and there, making crafts. From kids to the elderly, ladies and gentlemen. Their hands moved its magic with the provided tools and supplies to make the main star of the town: The Lantern.
ㅤ He stood on the side, watching as people did their activities. It was quite amusing for him. The way some senior citizens taught the new generations or foreigners with gentle patience. While some aunties instructed little rascals to follow their steps but those rebels went on a freestyle. That never failed to pull chuckles out of Taehyung. Even more so when the short-fused aunties couldn’t help but nag and grouse as they considered the kids’ doing was wasting their equipment and time.
ㅤ After a moment, the desire to make his own crawled up from inside. He wasn’t sure where to start, or what to make. He might have had the idea of how to make a simple lantern, but the young lad didn’t want something simple. He wanted a challenge. A crave to learn a new thing and to make something memorable for the memory and maybe the lens.
ㅤ When he caught a young lady making a unique shape, Taehyung’s eyes couldn’t move away. Not that he was bewitched by her beauty⸻maybe a little, unconsciously⸻but the determination to make the same thing, or at least similar, had been set. Thus the dark-haired man watched in silence and studied the process.
ㅤ “What are you doing just standing there, son?” A faint, tremulous voice came from someone across the table. “Sit down and make your own!”
ㅤ Taehyung looked up, a white-haired venerable woman smiled with her eyes. He didn’t realize how long he’d been standing there, but… did he bother the grandma’s view? That random thought popped briefly. At the same time, the young lady finished her handicraft with a name or something else written inside as a final touch, and stood.
ㅤ “Ah, ye.” Taehyung nodded a friendly smile before slipping down to the spot the girl had left.
ㅤ Wrinkled hands of the Grandma slid some items and materials in front of him, letting him choose whatever he wanted. A quick scanning gaze and he took some bamboo strips, sticks, glue, also some plain and coloured translucent papers. A thought of using teabags as improvisation slipped in⸻he’d seen someone doing it before. But he was unsure if they would work with the type of shape he’d make. In the end, he shrugged it off.
ㅤ “Thank you!” He bowed his head to the older person like an automatic response.
ㅤ He soon began to measure and cut the wooden materials into his desired sizes and lengths. It would save time before assembling them into one unified structure, wouldn’t it? Considering the shape he’d chosen required him to make several skeletons. For a second he questioned his own choice.
ㅤ “Is this your first time here?” Grandma asked.
ㅤ He glanced at her, beaming. “Ye, it is.”
ㅤ “I feel that.” She murmured, almost to herself. Somehow, the words rang an odd tune in the back of his mind.
ㅤ “Are you from around here, grandma⸺ah! Can I call you grandma? Or should I call you Pretty Lady? Pretty Woman?”
ㅤ A wipsy laughter burst out, sucking out the air from the frail-looking body. It worried Taehyung, in case the senior ran out of breath and⸻sheesh! He shouldn’t have that thought. “Of course, son. Everybody calls me Grandma. I’ve been living here for Heaven knows how long.”
ㅤ He nodded without giving much thought. A little relieved that she looked all well, not choked, not suffocated. While his hands continued the work, someone chimed in and engaged Grandma in conversations, causing her voice to blend with the buzzing noise of the surroundings. It became a background music as his focus fully shifted to his own creation.
ㅤ Step by step, he followed the young lady’s technique of making the lantern. The crab-shaped one, which he thought was cool to make. Solemnly piecing everything together from the memory recorded in his head, his brain seemed to work just fine as he made it halfway through. A smug smile playfully rose as he examined the formed body frame.
ㅤ “Wrong.”
ㅤ He heard someone say. The word shattered his smile. With furrowed eyebrows, he turned around and found a kid⸻a boy around ten or twelve, perhaps⸻with arms crossed over the chest and a sneer on the lips, belittling. That kind of expression stabbed Taehyung’s pride a little. He was certain he’d strung the crab the right way.
ㅤ “What do you mean?”
ㅤ “The claw is tricky.” The boy’s tone was firm. Almost demanding. “You need strong material.”
ㅤ Taehyung inspected the refined sticks on the table. Taking one and bending it, as if to test its flexibility. Strong enough, he thought. Still could be bent for the curved claws with a little heat without breaking it. “These are fine. I think these will wo⸺”
ㅤ “No.”
ㅤ “No?” Taehyung’s tone raised in a melody. “Have you tried making one? I don’t think strong ones will fit the parts. It would be too stiff and hardly formed, and heavy.” He chattered away before turning back to the boy whose expression turned sour.
ㅤ “You should use strong ones.” He insisted.
ㅤ Looking at the boy who was about to get sulky and all, Taehyung exhaled and patted the empty spot beside him twice. “Come on! I have an idea.”
ㅤ The boy’s eyebrows furrowed in a blend of suspicion and confusion. But he did take a seat next to him.
ㅤ On the other hand, Taebang’s mischievous grin and wiggling eyebrows showed his playful nature. “Let’s make a bet!” He said. “Let’s make the same shape! You do your way, and I’ll do mine. If my lantern works, you should take me to the best ice cream place around here! And if it’s broken beyond repair, I’ll do whatever you ask me to. How about that?”
ㅤ The little one looked at him without blinking. In silence. As if considering the offer with deliberate calculation, whether this old man was genuine or only scamming him or something.
ㅤ “Okay.” He finally accepted.
ㅤ “Oookay.” Taehyung clapped his hands. “Now let the game begin!”
ㅤ By that, the two proceeded to make⸻and continue⸻the lantern-making process. With religious focus on their own masterpiece and occasional battle of banters and disturbing one another, they made the time more fun in the middle of other lantern-makers.
ㅤ Hours passed. The blue sky shifted to a tad bit darker shade with a glow of golden hue. It felt like the crab had beaten the crap out of Taehyung, all the effort he used to complete the task had drained his energy. Nevertheless, to his satisfaction, the crab-shaped lantern sat in front of him like a tough warrior.
ㅤ In reddish-orange and white skins with ocean waves doodles decorating its carapace, its claws were well-formed even though their positioning looked a bit…odd. And next to his masterpiece, a crab in a blueish-green colour sat like a protector. It was bigger, looked stronger, and its claws seemed like they could clamp Taehyung’s wrist like a snack.
ㅤ “See! It works fine.” said Taehyung, twirling a marker between his fingers. “I win.”
ㅤ The boy tried to snatch the older’s flaming red crab so as to see if it really was strong enough or it was about time for it to break into pieces, but it wasn’t particularly successful as the lantern only jerked at the sudden movement. He had no intention to actually ruin the other’s craft, anyway.
ㅤ “Ooh? No foul play, little one! No-uh.” Taehyung waved his index finger at the boy, like a wise big brother.
ㅤ With pouty lips, the boy huffed. “Fine. I’ll take you to the best ice cream place!”
ㅤ “조아!” He sang and about to sign his masterpiece with a word or two, a little mark of ownership or so. People said this kind of thing mattered. Perhaps, to make it easy and avoid getting mixed up when they float them off together? Or was it something else?
ㅤ As the afternoon wore on, a shift of vibes nudged in. Noises gradually overlapped, grew louder, livelier and busier. He could barely hear the boy hurrying him up while he drew a downward line and a curve, but…
ㅤ “Be careful! Don’t let your name be taken!” A soft, shivery voice drifted into his ears distinctively.
ㅤ “Why, why?” He jotted down a period before looking up, thinking that it must be the Grandma passing by behind him.
ㅤ To his surprise, there was no sign of a white-haired person around him. No old woman, no trembling gait in sight. Everybody seemed to do their own thing. And somehow, he noticed the boy was already standing some distance away from him, tapping his foot on the ground while waiting with his teal crab. A shiver dived down his spine.
ㅤ “Holy crap!” His mind cursed as he gulped down. The thought about this town’s folklores⸻or rumours⸻swam to the surface, making him reconsider its authenticity. With heart beating and blood rushing, he hastily put the stationery aside, grabbed his masterpiece and fled towards the boy.
ㅤ Mayhaps a scoop of cold dessert would cool down his nerves.
ㅤ A dreamy getaway in a town famous for its Spirit Lantern Festival leads Kim Taehyung to discover wondrous stories behind the festive seasonal celebration. Be it the heart of the locals and visitors, the diverse cultural traditions… or something beyond human ignition.
An alternate universe stories of Kim Taehyung within Spirit Lantern Festival Universe.
Genre : Fantasy.
Status : Active (on-going).
In affiliation with @lanternfestive.
Whispers of the Lights
Lantern I ⸻ {WIP}
A plot in response to this agenda.
ㅤ The hunt was done.
ㅤ His stomach felt the satisfaction after savouring a bowl of local dishes. It too
