Parcly: When I woke up the day after my fantastic skiing run, it was raining without end, the falling drops making ever duller drones as they hit the pavement. My muscles were aching and I couldn’t see or think straight; even Spindle was struggling to keep her form from dissolving in its innate energy.

Spindle: The recovery from that exercise was slow, but eating a round red bean bun lit up her eyes like the morning sun! With this refreshed awareness she could pronk out for some sheltered places in Seoul.

Parcly: My first stop was the market in Majang selling black beans, the same food as I ate on my first day in Jeju. I acquired a plate of them and went to a nearby restaurant to cook and chomp on them myself (rather than ordering the black beans provided, which would have meant more hassle).

Spindle: We then travelled to the streets surrounding Hongik University, a young scholar’s district where all matter of new trends and ideas converge. Of course, Parcly had outgrown these times of her fillyhood long ago, but she still sticks a hoof in its happenings, the “inspiration of inspirations” that nourishes philosophies.

While rounding the corners she noticed an oddity: a large bunch of ponies gathered below some shop, looking up in awe and squeeing. This fangirling is common in South Korea, given how much importance is placed upon beauty and fashion, but Parcly doesn’t follow celebrities so she walked on. As for the stallion on the second floor, we won’t need to know.

Parcly: Indeed, this day was a reliving of what I had experienced in Jeju; the spa (or 찜질방) there was good so what was even better? The queen of them all at Yongsan, or the Dragon’s Hill.

Everything there was tuned to perfection, from the temperatures of the hot and cold pools to where each room in the waiting area was positioned. The quartz beds and saunas sent me wandering off into a small daydream, while sitting in the body-temperature baths tickled the coat underneath as if each current was melting away a part of me. I left with a beating heart and happy windigo…

Spindle: …which led me to want fried peaches again for dinner. Though I can’t swallow real food, I can taste it and the sensation generated here was enough to feed me for the whole day.