“Welcome to Auntie Kon’s! Authentic Hot Pot and Tacos!” Arriving at the Banjiha-esque basement-level food place was not easy. Without ‘Auntie Kon’ (as she told me to call her) to guide me, I would have been lost within the labyrinth I didn’t even know Saigon had. Alleyways within alleyways. Even then, only a sign saying: “Auntie Kon’s” revealed that there was a foodshop on the B2 floor.

I took great care to not stare and keep my head low as tattooed gangers eyed me while I headed downstairs. That strange feeling again, they also felt… hot? It was itchy. I shook myself from those thoughts.

“Order first, then I’ll show you where the restrooms are.” The door slid open to reveal a warmly lit diner, its interior screamed retro-environmentalist 30s with cobblestone walls, whole wooden flooring and furnishing made from dark wood to accentuate the smell of meat on charcoal. For such a lavish foodshop, there were no customers tonight.

I looked around, I didn’t receive any pop ups for the menu upon arrival nor did a quick search on Fooder for “Auntie Kon’s” resulted in neither the restaurant’s page nor menu showing up. “Uh… do you have Pho here?”

“...” She stared unimpressedly at me from behind a counter.

Oh… plastered on a wall behind her, I could see a massive QR code with a blackboard plaque stating: “Menu! Please scan me! :)”. I could feel my cheeks flush in embarrassment. Very retro.

“Ah right. Uhhh…” I did a quick glance at the options and decided to have thai-style hot pot with real-grade lab meat instead of the soy meat™ alternatives I’d often eat during late-night assignments. My eyes flashed yellow as I paid for the meal right then. It wasn’t too pricey.

She only nodded and pointed me to the unisex restroom at the back of the foodshop hidden away by stacked cardboard boxes.

It was a clean bathroom, different from the shiny and glossy ones in District 7 but not bad. Look at that, I do look like shit. I could only laugh at the absurdity of it all. My cheeks were wet. Fuck, I’m starting to tear up. It threatened to overwhelm me, but I couldn’t let it. I held it back with a choke and a deep deep breath, pushing it down to the bottom of my throat. Suffice to say. I was… upset. Ha. I had always been known as a calm child, that when pushed I wouldn’t react. It was what was expected of me. “It was how one survived in this world” I recalled the words my old man said to me annoyed at one of my outbursts back then.

I cleansed myself as much as possible. The only clue to the events of tonight was the red around my eyes and the mess of my KIAT University uniform, its elegant design in tatters.

Getting out, I found myself sitting at a booth meant for 4 with the hotpot I ordered, its sweet and sour contents bubbling away, cooking the noodles ready to eat. “One plate of pork coming up! And as Auntie Kon’s first customer! I’ll even give you a second plate of beef!” Came the exaggerated voice of Auntie Kon, balancing big rectangular plates of meat on both hands. The hands too, were chromed. Bronze in colour.

For a while there was no other sound other than the inhalation of noodles and pork. I was so hungry I almost burnt myself downing an almost “too-hot” bowl of hot pot soup. In no time, the pork was gone and another packet of hai-hao™ noodles (free of charge) was ordered.

“You should really slow down, the food isn’t going anywhere ya know?” I nodded, swallowing the first beef roll that was done cooking in the heavenly liquid. “First klepping huh? Well, I mean, it’s understandable, your types stick out ‘round here.” She motioned to my uniform. “Besides, I’m surprised you didn’t get klepped before reaching this deep in this part of town! It wa-”

“I wasn’t robbed…” I muttered. Her eyes snapped to me.

I didn’t pay much attention as my pair of chopsticks plunged another beef roll into the hot pot. Did you know? Lab meats and its derivatives used to share the same parent with the soy meat™ brand and-

“Ah. So it was personal.” Dammit.

“No.” I replied.

“Should I expect a corpo-ninja to get me in my sleep for helping you then?” At that I tilted my head, What do you mean? She raised an eyebrow and pointed towards the horns on my head. Large, ivory, designed to impress and… utterly impractical. “You’re a designer baby- a legacy brat aren’t you?” Before I could even protest “Shush. I know what’s real and what’s not. Yours. Are custom designed. Natural. Ungrafted. I’d even say your parents went to top designers like Desaagen or TT-Song right?” Silence. I could only look away picking up another beef roll.

“If another corpo was willing to punk you like that then that means there’s a ‘polite disagreement’ between the powers above…” She leant backwards, arms crossed. “...and that means trouble.”

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“Will that be a problem for you?” I asked tentatively, scooping more soup into my bowl. slowly processing the information in my head.

“Maybe. What poison am I dealing with here?” Her eyes glazed over and flashed yellow, likely scouring the net- fragmented as it may be, to search up on me.

“None. It was by fellow students… I think.” At that she seemed to relax a bit, her eyes focusing on me once more.

Staring at her, my face was blank, without emotion. Professional. Textbook. “My name is Huy Mai-Vy. I am the legacy for Mai-Vy textiles and design.” the words glided out of my mouth effortlessly with years of rehearsals and applications. Once upon a time I would have said it with pride, but as the years went on that pride became more of a brand of burden.

“The one that went bankrupt?” I didn’t answer as I focused on fetching the remaining rolls left onto my bowl.

“A few months after the 2082 Krash, yes.” I sipped on the complementary jasmine tea. Recalling how lucky it was that the company went bankrupt after and not before the crash.

“That explains your lack of protection.” I winced behind the cup. “What will you do now?”

I placed the cup down gently and closed my eyes. I don’t know. “If you could, might I know where I am?”

She sent me an incredulous look. “District 4.” One of the most crime-ridden places in all of Saigon. Great.

I sighed. I recalled receiving a message from an acquaintance to go and celebrate our first semester’s end. I remembered feeling off while waiting, that something was amiss. My instinct proved correct as I vividly recalled getting hit on the back of the head by something hard and then waking up to the shouting and kicking.

It’s 8:34PM. It’s late. “I really should start heading back home now.. But-” I don’t know how?

“Yeah yeah, you’ll get klepped for real if you were to wander around at this time.” I nodded. “Alright, you head out, up the stairs and turn right on the ground floor, ask for a ‘Sebastian’ to show you around, he’s a good boy and loiters around my shop at this time” I nodded again, taking note. “And remember… pay your respects around here. Don’t make trouble.” I bowed and flashed my eyes yellow, paying her an extra tip.

“Thank you for your help Auntie Kon, your Hotpot was delicious.” She waved me off before collecting the dishes and cleaning up the table.

Following her words, I found myself on the ground floor walking towards the entrance. There, a group of teenagers were hanging out in a circle, drinking and laughing, they had a vibrant sort-of energy around them. I walked over.

“Um… Excuse me, Is there a ‘Sebastian’ here?” Eyes of varying colours turned to look at me. This is awkward? “Auntie Kon-”

“Alright! That’s my cue choombas, I’ll see y'all tomorrow, work calling!” A bare-chested young man with metallic blue skin and a neon green crop jacket then stood up, dusting himself. With a smile plastered on his face he offered me a hand. “Tha name’s Highlight. Nice to meet cha!” Uhhh… I shook his hand awkwardly wondering if I got the wrong person.

As if he knew what was in my mind. “Oh ! Uh- ‘Highlight’ is my street name and Sebastian is my birth name. I’d prefer if you called me ‘Highlight’ though” before I could open my mouth, ‘Highlight’ wove his hands, cutting me off frantically, almost panicking. “B-but! It’s fine if you prefer Sebastian- the client is always right!” I was silent. Huh.

“Say, boss, whatcha need? A klepping run? Maybe someone needs tailing?” wryly I shook my head. “No, I just need a tour guide to show me to the nearest train station.” at that, he visibly drooped. “But… that’s so boring…” I nodded. “That’s fine! boring is good!”

Aside from the far-off sounds of gunfire (I totally didn’t dive for cover) and barking, our walk was… peaceful? “Say Highlight, why ‘Highlight’ and how are you so sure we wouldn’t get ‘klepped’?” I asked in response to his ‘professional assurances’.

“Well that’s easy boss, I roll with the local Lotus Claws here and there so no one’s stupid enough to get a mark on us!” He gave me a thumbs up. A bright smile plastered on his face.“As for the other question, well… I didn’t choose it per say but a street name is something given to you by your choomiest of choombas! your chummiest of chums!” Huh, interesting. “-so you sometimes get names like Currychop or so, there was even a Lotus Claw called Guitar-hero! Though, I would definitely change my street name when I make it big!”

Over the course of our walk through the district, I learnt that Highlight wanted to make it ‘Big like a corpo’ and become a full time Lotus Claw. I even learnt where the best spots for viewing clouds were. “Anyhow, we’re here!” In front was a train station, devoid of life except for an odd few Janitors. I flashed Highlight 700SGD (with extra tip) and bid him farewell. On the empty train, I pressed my head against the cool window and took a look at the passing city before me. Despite the complexity and dangers Saigon brought. It was breathtaking. Towers jutted out that reached the clouds, tell-tale signs of Holo-displays trailed the skies and lights that never seemed to dim dotted the landscape.

Wait. What is that? From a distance I could see something looming in the night clouds. That’s no Holo-display. There’s no display trails. I pressed my face against the glass, straining my eyes in order to view the phenomenon better. There was something among the clouds, lit up by the lively city below it. It was long and slender, floating aimlessly and coiling. It was familiar among the books I read about, as themes and as characters. It looked like A dragon? There was no way. But nothing else could explain it.

Right then, the train entered a tunnel and by the time I exited, the phenomenon in the clouds was no longer there.

What the?