5 Unravel

Yi Fei heard the officer behind her loud and clear.

"You'll get more hours if you don't stop right now!" The officer shouted, running after Yi Fei with his abnormally long legs.

The officer's shout allowed Yi Fei to confirm why the officer was chasing her, and the adrenaline inside of her pumped faster and harder. Yi Fei didn't try to speak or cover up her flying skirt at all, she instinctively ran for her godforsaken life.

'Sh*t sh*t sh*t! I can't let him catch me!' Yi Fei thought in her mind as she saw a large crowd in front of her. 'Sh*t!'

Though most officers were fit and could catch an average teenager, Yi Fei was naturally good at running for her life. With the wholesome help of adrenaline, she conveniently blended in the populated crowd and entered a random shop's door.

Upon entry, Yi Fei silently breath heavily through her nose, trying to not seem as if she wasn't been chased. She almost collapsed on the black carpet out of exhaustion, but desperately attempted not to. Trying to take her mind off, Yi Fei concentrated her attention on the shop.

A game's soundtrack was softly playing through the speakers, allowing melody and harmony in this desolate space. Yi Fei's ears perked as she looked at the many music posters and discount prices plastered on the walls and furnitures. She then saw a young girl at the front receptionist desk, casually playing on her newly released phone. A dark hallway to the right lead up to a few decent rooms and you could lightly hear the abrasive singing from these rooms. As Yi Fei looked around the karaoke bar, a small relieved smile appeared on her face.

'Now no one can find me,' she thought as she slowly walked up to the lazy receptionist.

—

"Now, what am I suppose to do?" Yi Fei sighed with not a cent in her pocket.

She reluctantly paid for a pricy 3 hours, and this was the end to her spendings. Yi Fei earned money by delivering newspapers to different neighborhoods every summer, but the pay was not great. A measly 150 yuan, but this was due to the fact she wasn't doing the job all year round and her parents didn't sign the parental agreement form.

Yi Fei couldn't believe that the karaoke bar was so expensive! She had never been to a karaoke bar before, but knew the prices were rip-offs.

Sitting alone in a karaoke room, silence filled the unpleasant air. The overused, ripped cushions were uncomfortable and her butt was starting to hurt. Yi Fei hesitantly stared at the karaoke machine for a few minutes, then she finally stood up.

'What's the point? It's not like anyone's going to hear me anyway!' Yi Fei brazenly thought. 'I paid for this, so I should be able to sing!'

Looking through the battered songbook, Yi Fei deliberated in which song to sing. She didn't want to choose a pop song because they were usually too generic neither did metal or rock suit her tastes. R&B and folk came across Yi Fei as too uncomfortable to sing. Jazz music was very easy on the ears, but Yi Fei didn't think her voice was up to it.

The real reason for all these excuses was that Yi Fei didn't recognize a single song in the songbook so far. She couldn't believe that there were so many songs yet so little she knew.

After strenuous half an hour, Yi Fei came to a decision or rather, finally found a song she knew. She was going to sing Unravel, a very well-known song in an online community. The chinese translation had remained in her heart as she felt increasingly related to the helplessness and loneliness expressed in the song. She had, at one time, found herself softly crying, covered by the blankets on the bed. She had earbuds in when she was auto playing in YouTube, and Unravel came on. As cheesy as it sounds, Yi Fei remembered this Japanese song through this unnatural way.

...

Yi Fei happily grabbed the mic and the calm yet passionate melody slowly came on. Yi Fei's version of the Japanese lyrics was not bad, and she started to mutter the lyrics beforehand. The long tables and cushion couches in front of her gave Yi Fei an anxious feeling, so she clutched to the mic and squeezed her eyes shut, imagining she alone was in a dark, silent room with no one around. A karaoke machine faded into the space with an ordinary mic next to it. In that secure, innoxious room, the mic seemed to reach out to Yi Fei, and she earnestly grabbed it intuitively and took a deep breath.

"Oshi-ete, oshi-ete yo, so no—" Yi Fei no longer saw the world in her eyes, only the pleasantly dark room. She didn't feel like she was singing because she was emotionally attached to Unravel, she just sang. Something she would never do, even in the comfort of her own home. It seemed even if she screamed till her lungs burst, the room would just mute her out. There was a tranquilizing almost magical feel to this spectral of a room.

If, at this moment, students from Yi Fei's school came across Yi Fei's room, they would definitely cringe. They wouldn't be able to believe that the quiet kid in the corner would be singing a Japanese song in a karaoke bar, much less an anime song like some 'weeaboo'. As the normal, average students, they would have definitely ostracize and bully Yi Fei for her abnormal actions.

The climax was coming, and Yi Fei was almost screaming into the mic. A handsome, 30-year-old man was coincidentally passing by, casually walking past Room 4 with a small key in his hand when suddenly he hears a hardcore scream filled with just ear-piercing noise.

"YURETE YUGANDA SEKAI NI—"

The 30-year-old man fell down as if an earthquake appeared, looking at Room 4's door as if a maniac was in there. He swiftly got up, patting down the dirt on his new pants.

"Who the f**k let a Japanese in here?" The man angrily cursed, opening the door. "Hey, can you—"

"Mitsukenaide, boku no koto wo.." The back of a petite girl in front of him suddenly quieted down. The man felt that she sung very sweetly with a soft, melodious tune, especially compared to the death metal screech from before. She conveniently stopped though the song was still playing at this moment, and the man thought she had noticed him.

The handsome guy started to approach the mysterious singer as he straightened his tie. He merely wanted to see her face because of curiosity over how such a small girl can rock death metal and high-pitched notes at the same time. As he was just about to introduce himself, the girl yelled.

"Sh*t! I forgot the lyrics!" Yi Fei unhesitatingly cursed, now mumbling an even weirder version of the song because only Japanese characters appeared on the screen.

'....'