They arrived in Osaka in the afternoon. After successfully found a hotel to check in and put their luggage there, they by some random restaurant to get their super late breakfast slash lunch while arranging the plan for that day.

“This is my first time in Osaka,” Krystal said while opening her Japan Travel Guide.

Two bowls of warm Gyudonin front of them had long gone, eaten by the hungry kids who skipped their breakfast that morning.

“These are places we could visit while we are here.”

Kai leaned a little forward Krystal, looking at the book she was holding. They both scanned the places inside the book in great curiosity.

“Wait.” Kai suddenly said while pointing at a certain spot on the page. “This looks interesting.”

“Kaiyukan Aquarium…” Krystal read out and hummed. “You wanna go here?”

“Since I’ve never been to any aquarium before, yes.” Kai nodded. “Have you?”

“Once, when I was very little.” Krystal replied. “I don’t remember much, so it’s okay to go.”

“And then after that?”

Krystal’s eyes shifted a little downward, reading something, then pointed at it. “This is right beside the aquarium. After the aquarium let’s try to go up this Ferris wheel.”

Kai looked at the Ferris wheel for a split second, and another memory flashed again across his mind.

“Oppa, shall we try to ride a Ferris Wheel?”

Irene asked happily that night, on their first date in Everland.

Kai nodded of course, smiled too big he almost hurt his mouth.

Irene was so pretty that day, wearing a headband and right arm clung onto Kai’s.

They went inside the Ferris wheel, sitting front to front.

The ride started off slow, while they looked out the window with amazed eyes.

“Seoul is so pretty when it’s dark.” Irene sighed. “Look at the lamps. So beautiful.”

Kai nodded and looked at Irene. Her beauty mesmerized Kai to no end, and the boy slowly reached out to hold Irene’s hand.

Irene turned to look at him, in slight surprise.

“I love you,” Kai said softly with eyes bored deep into Irene’s dark twinkling orbs.

Irene smiled shyly, putting her free hand on top of Kai’s hand that held hers.

“Me too, oppa.”

Kai’s breath hitched when Irene tilted her head a little, giving him the sweetest smile he had ever seen.

“I also love you…”

“-ai? Kai?”

Kai blinked a few times before realized he had dazing away for a good minute. He rose his head to look at Krystal, then stuttered out an

“uh?”

“Let’s get going.” Krystal said once again. “It’s already 2 PM. The animals couldn’t wait until night.”

Kai nodded stupidly, then stood up groggily. “S-sorry.”

Krystal stared at Kai with unreadable expression. She didn’t tear her eyes away for a few seconds, drove Kai uncomfortable under those penetrating gaze.

“What’s wrong?” Kai asked carefully.

Krystal rose her left eyebrow, before folded her arms. “No. You. What’s wrong with you?”

“Huh?” Kai blinked in confusion. “I-, what?”

“You were spacing out just earlier. Why?” Krystal asked. “Are you tired? Or?”

“No,” Kai immediately shook his head. “I am perfectly fine, okay? I just… hmm… remembered about something. But I’m okay.”

Krystal sighed then slung her backpack. “Alright, forget it. Let’s just go.”

Kai followed obediently from behind, trailed after Krystal.

Krystal was quite sharp. She was quick to realize that there’s something wrong with Kai, even when the other just dazed for only a minute. She is sharp even when she looks like someone who never gives a damn about her surrounding.

Somehow, that made Kai a little worried. What if Krystal found out what’s been haunting him these past days-, or more likely weeks?

What would she say? Would she look at Kai and gave him comfort, or would she look away and pretend she had never heard such a thing?

Kai didn’t even dare to imagine it.

***

Kaiyukan Aquarium was so big. Kai had opened his mouth big in amazement from the very first time he stepped his feet inside.

“It’s amazing,” Krystal exclaimed as she traveled around the first section of the aquarium. “It’s bigger than the one I visited in L.A.”

The two wandered around in pure enthusiasm, looking and touching the partition glass between them and the fishes.

“They are colorful.” Krystal sighed when a big group of fishes passed in front of them elegantly. “I feel like watching Nat Geo alive.”

Kai nodded. “I’d love to be one of their staff in the future. They visit so many exotic places in the world, and they study animals. Animals, and their amazing behaviors.”

Krystal laughed and slapped Kai’s arm playfully. “You sound like Diego from Go, Diego, go.”

They joked some more then decided to move to another section.

There, they were greeted by some group of seals.

“They are so fat!” Krystal squealed happily, along with some Japanese kids who kept on pointing at some seals in delight.

 “That one over there, it swam upside down.” Kai chuckled and pointed at one super fat seal that swam backward in an upside down position.

“You are true! How cute!” Krystal squealed again and took out her phone to snap the pictures of the seals. “Would he bump to another he kept on swimming like that?”

“Nah, he was just like-, out of the way kids. King is crossing the path.” Kai impersonated with a deeper baritone voice which lead Krystal back to her high-pitched laughter.

“You do great, you do great!”

They then moved again to another section, and this time it was a dolphin. Krystal rushed to the side when she saw one of the dolphin jumped up to the surface.

“Hi, dolphin! Hi!”

Kai smiled when he heard Krystal. It surprised him that Krystal had this unexpected child-like side.

Well… more like, she had various kind of sides Kai had never thought existed.

At the first glance, Krystal had this y, arrogant look on her face. Then you talk to her, and you find out that she’s actually a very playful girl who loves to keep her identity a mystery. Then you know her better, she is a free-spirited person no cage could imprison. She has no interest in the world, but she’s also sharp and she cares about her surroundings more than people think she would. The more that you know her, the more that you realize you don’t know her at all.

Krystal took a lot of pictures with dolphins, and took Kai’s as well. They explored the dolphin area for a good minute then arrived in the area Kai had been waiting for. The whale shark area.

“That’s the whale shark!” Krystal said excitedly while pointing at a very large fish swimming inside the giant tube.

“Woahh!” Kai shook his head in pure amazement. “Look at that size. How could they put it here?”

“That’s also what I’ve been curious of. How.” Krystal pursed her lips into a thin line. “Do they like… bring it inside super large truck then put it here? Like what Nanami did to Tico?”

Kai blinked and laughed all of sudden. “You watch Nanami and the seven sea anime as well? Gosh, we both must be a ‘90 kids.”

“You are a ’90 kids?”

“Yeap. 1994. You?”

Krystal looked at Kai with a weird look, before smiled so big and looked away. “…well, you could say around ’90s.”

Kai huffed when he heard the reply. “You never answer my questions with answers. Always in a form of riddles.”

Krystal ignored his protest and once again pointed at a certain fish swam along with whale shark inside the tube. “That fish is called sun fish. I never thought I would see it with my own eyes one day.”

Kai followed her hand and noticed another big fish, smaller than the whale shark but definitely a lot bigger than dolphins, stared at them emotionlessly by the partition window.

“Holy sh-, why there are so many big fishes here?”

“Must be the type who comes from the bottom of the seas.” Krystal hissed. “They are mostly ugly.”

“Terrifyingly huge.” Kai added again. “Imagine what would happen if we were drowned in the bottom of the sea?”

“Not dare to imagine,” Krystal rose both of her hands. “-or let’s imagine, what if that whale shark suddenly gets angry, then with all his strength slams himself to the partition glass?”

Kai blinked and fell into silence as he imagined that horrible scene.

“Then, the whole aquarium would be filled with water… and the Whale shark would open his mouth to eat whatever comes across it…” The blonde said in a low, horror show host like voice.

Kai cringed and shook his head. “That’s not possible, bubblegum. They built these glasses so thick that the-,”

“Roar!” Krystal suddenly shouted beside Kai’s ear, with hand pinched the side of Kai’s stomach all of sudden.

“Aaaahh!” Kai screamed out in surprise, causing some people around him turned to look.

Krystal laughed so hard at Kai’s reaction, making Kai’s face blushed hard in embarrassment. Especially when people around him gave a weird look.

“You were scared, didn’t you?” Krystal asked between her exploding laughter. “You thought-, that was a whale shark, didn’t you? HAHAHAHA!”

Kai hissed and chased after Krystal, making the girl squeaked and ran so fast leaving the big fishes behind.

Just like two overgrown little kids.

Somehow, the two managed to finish their exploration inside the aquarium and ended up in the last store filled with so many aquarium merchandises. Kai was busy looking through the snacks with various kind of animals shape. He was thinking about buying Taemin some of the cookies.

“Would this one taste great?” Kai hummed as he lifted one of the biscuit with chocolate cookie flavor. He was focusing all his attention to the expiry date behind the tin when a small whale shark doll came right in front of his face.

“Hello, Kai~ are you afraid of me~?”

Kai turned his head a little to find Krystal was the one holding that doll. The boy tsked and returned his attention to the biscuit. “Enough with the teasing, bubblegum. I am embarrassed enough.”

Krystal chuckled and pulled the doll away. “You are planning to buy that biscuit?”

Kai sighed. “I don’t know. Confused. What do you suggest?”

“Drop that, because we are going to Dotonbori tonight.” Krystal sang lightly while walking away.

Kai rose his eyebrows high. He watched as Krystal went to the cashier and decided to just put the biscuit down. He waited for Krystal to finish her shopping while looking around the shop.

“What did you buy?” Kai asked in curiosity when Krystal approached him after paying things she bought.

“Some souvenirs. The penguin doll is too cute so I take one home with me.” Krystal grinned. “Shall we leave for the Ferris wheel? It’s almost a perfect time to see sunset from above.”

Kai nodded and they both walked out of the aquarium.

“There are so many fishes I never knew before.” Kai sighed. “Like the one you showed me before. Never knew that kind of fish exist.”

“The universe is so big.” Krystal nodded. “I don’t think we would ever be able to explore every inch of it. It’s like… a huge, gigantic book which we would never get to read.”

“The more we think we know this world, the more we find out that we don’t.” Kai said slowly, eyes lingered on Krystal.

The world is one big living mystery with all the hidden secrets hidden inside.

…just like this bubblegum girl.

“Yes. We are, just one of a very small part in this world. Yet sometimes we act so superior, like we are the center of the universe.” Krystal scrunched her nose in disgust. “When in fact, we are nothing but just a breathing dust.”

Kai looked at Krystal, seeing how beautiful that girl looked.

Her white skin glittered and her orbs reflected the soft biasedof evening sun light.

She suddenly turned to look at Kai, lips curved to form a friendly smile.

Her lips then parted, letting out her usual melodious voice that reached Kai’s ears softly.

“Let’s go to the Ferris wheel, shall we?”

A/n

New chapter updated~

I am very happy to know that somehow this story could be informative enough as a fun way of reading a travel experience XD

So I don't write it recklessly. This story is really based on my personal experiences visiting Japan on this early year, minus the romantic parts lol. And somehow, KaiStal couple really suits the ideal couple for playing the plots I made XD

I really hope you will enjoy the reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

God bless you!

*kisses from Indonesia, onerusticpen*