“Whoa! Just look at this place!” Eun-Ae exclaimed as she stepped off of the bus onto the sidewalk, which was streaming with more people then she had ever seen in one place. The air rang with noise, people chattering in Japanese and car horns honking impatiently and bus engines growling steadily as they weaved through the traffic; on either side of the two-lane roads stuffed to capacity with small cars, buildings towered to the sky, with electric advertisement signs blinking with colorful videos and slogans and beautiful models boasting about one product or another. For her tenth day, Eun-Ae had decided to visit the simultaneously bustling and traditional country of Japan. Naturally, her first stop was the nation's capital, the booming, colorful, jam-packed city that was Tokyo. As her eyes traveled frantically across her surroundings, unable to focus on one thing before her attention was snatched away by another, an elated smile naturally formed on her lips. Though her day had begun with that melancholy, miserable sunrise, it seemed that the joy had worked its way back into her heart, chasing away that gloom for the time being.

“Ah, Japan. It's good to be back,” Onew sighed happily, standing at the bus stop beside her. Since they were well-known even in the foreign country, they had donned their signature “disguises,” which only consisted of sunglasses and baseball caps.

“Oh, Eun-Ae, this is going to be so much fun! There's so much to do here! They have all kinds of kooky little shops and weird restaurants and stuff!” Taemin chattered elatedly as he bounced around her, practically like a little boy who had been given permission to raid a candy store. Eun-Ae couldn't blame him; this was an entirely new world to her, and the possibilities were boundless. She was practically boiling over with excitement herself.

Oh, I don't even know what I want to do! She thought in dismay as she stood on her tip-toes, trying to peer over the heads of the endless streams of passersby and inspect the various buildings around. She stiffened when she felt an arm slide languidly across her shoulders, and she glanced up to see that Key had sidled up beside her too, smirking that snarky smirk of his. He wasn't looking at her, or didn't seem to be, as his face was angled towards the noisy crowd; however, she didn’t doubt that beneath those dark shades, his eyes were trained on her.

“So, Eun-Ae? Is there anything that you would like to try?” he asked her smoothly, and for a moment she was distracted by his voice. With his looks partly masked by the disguise, she focused on that instead, and was struck by how deep and y it was. Oh, dear… I can't even hold a conversation with him without getting all flustered! She thought with a slight frown and a mild blush. She turned her mind to his question to save herself further embarrassment. I've seen so much on the Internet about things to do in Japan! It's almost overwhelming, the amount of things to do! After a moment of pondering, an idea sparked in her mind.

“Oh! I know! I want to visit one of those cat cafés!” she cried. They had them in Korea, but not in the area that Eun-Ae lived, a sleepy beach town where retired individuals abounded and the most exciting thing was the casino strip along the beachfront that mostly had upscale restaurants rather than entertainment opportunities. There were probably more unique and exciting things to do, but Eun-Ae had always found the notion fascinating and loved both animals and the idea of relaxing in a quaint little café after ten days of various adventures. Thankfully, the boys did not protest the choice.

“All right! Cat café, here we go!” Minho crowed and pointed to an undefined point in the distance, and together, they plunged into the crowd. It really was like stepping into a raging river, as Eun-Ae felt like she was immediately slammed by the wall of sweaty, bustling people, and she was dragged along by the quick-flowing current. Left, right, front, and behind, she was being shoved and pushed by the various well-dressed businessmen and businesswomen, the occasional schoolgirl or schoolboy, and the even rarer young woman on an errand. Over the deafening din of conversation, repetitive metallic thwongs indicated someone's foot banging into the metal canister of her oxygen tank, which she tried to hug as close to her body as possible. Jostled around like a leaf in floodwaters, she felt completely helpless, pulled along by the throng. I feel like I’m being carried away! She thought in panic as she looked up for her friends. She felt even more panicked when she discovered that she couldn't see her friends among the endless sea of people. Oh no! I’m lost!

She stopped right in the middle of the sloshing waves of bodies, her face slowly paling as she realized what a positively dire situation that she was in. She was alone, in a foreign country, among strangers whom she could not converse with. Her bottom lip began to quiver and her breathing became rapid as she descended rapidly into panic, clenching the handle of her oxygen tank so tightly that her knuckles glared white underneath the fair skin. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she looked around wildly, hoping beyond hope that she was just imagining things, and they were right there all along.

She jumped violently when someone appeared in front of her, a middle-aged business man. He was talking to her, but she couldn't understand a thing he was saying to her. She quailed in front of him, unnerved that the stranger was prattling on, and she squeaked in fright when he grabbed her by the wrist. Unsure if he meant her harm, she stumbled back and tried to wrench her arm free of his grasp, and ended up tripping over her oxygen tank. As she hung in open air, wobbling, she anticipated a rough landing; instead, she landed against something soft but yet firm. She looked up, afraid the man had an accomplice and that she was going to be a victim of something that would air on a crime drama years from now; instead, she laughed in relief.

“Excuse me, sir, but I can take it from here,” he smiled at the man. Behind that smile was the shadow of a threat, warning the man not to contest; sensing the small level of hostility, the older man released her and bowed his head slightly before continuing on his way. Eun-Ae wondered if she had perhaps overreacted, and that he was merely a concerned elder trying to look out for the hapless girl. She would never know. She turned to Key, smiling brightly, and was so relieved to see him that she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to press a small kiss against his lips. She couldn't hold it for long, because he was chuckling. “You really are hopeless. You cause trouble no matter where we go,” he teased, but his voice was full of nothing but affection for her and her apparently troublesome ways. She smiled as she felt his fingers curl around her own, gripping her hand tightly. “Now you won't get lost. The guys already found us a nice little café down the way. Let’s go.” As he pulled her back into the current, she pressed against him, completely at ease now that his reassuring presence was beside her.

He led her to a quaint little shop nestled between two large restaurants. It was a brown brick-and-mortar building, with little flower pots on the window sills filled with various succulents. On a standing chalkboard out front, Japanese characters were written in colorful chalk, accompanied by a cute drawing of a cat. In the clean glass windows, nice curtains were pulled back to allow the sunlight to stream in. Overall, it was a precious little café, and she found it quite charming. Key led her inside, and a little bell signaled their arrival. As soon as the girl stepped in, she was bombarded by friendly cats twisting around her legs and butting her calves with their heads, meowing loudly and clearly demanding to be petted. A frisky on began batting at the shoelaces of her tennis shoes, and then grabbed the string between his sharp teeth to begin tugging at it. Eun-Ae giggled and squatted down to give each of the kitties her affection, until Key laughed at her to get out of the doorway lest someone trip over her. She joined her friends at a table, where they were already sipping on various drinks and enjoying the company of the furry employees.

“You are just too cute!” Taemin squealed as he held one of the cats up, nuzzling its face happily.

“It's going to bite you,” Jonghyun warned as he the back of a cat who was situated on his lap, its paws tucked underneath its body and making it look like a furry loaf of bread. Its eyes were closed and its purr sounded nothing short of a truck engine, with how loud it was.

“Nah! These are such well-behaved cats!” Onew disagreed as he played with one of the cats, dragging a mouse attached to a string around the floor and watching in amusement as the cat pawed at and chased it. He seemed to be wrong, as a few short seconds later the cat decided it had had enough of Taemin's doting and meowed angrily, nipping him on the nose and causing the startled boy to drop it. The cat came scurrying up to Eun-Ae, who picked it up and pet it much more gently.

“You deserved it,” Minho mused to the depressed boy as he scratched a cat under the chin while sipping at his iced coffee.

“I need another kitty,” he moped in response. His request was granted when a long-haired tabby sauntered up to him, and he was promptly cheered.

Eun-Ae enjoyed the feeling of the cat purring in her arms as she sat down in one of the chairs, looking down at the happy car as she scratched it behind the ears. What a wonderful life it must be, to be constantly doted upon by so many people, to know that you will be fed and sheltered and loved. Surely, the cats here were living the high life. They know what will happen one day from the next… Not like her; her life was nothing but uncertainty, not knowing what part of her body would break down next. Would she be able to walk three days from now? Would her lungs fail completely and cause her to be bed-bound in five days time? She didn't know anything.

Stop thinking like that, she scolded herself as the gloom began to paw at her happiness, and she shoved it away like a cat that was bothering her while doing something important. She looked down at the cat, who was just content with being held in her arms and loved. … I'm not much different than this cat, really, she mused silently as she looked over at Key, who had begun playing with a boisterous young cat. I have someone who loves me. That is enough.

That's what she kept telling herself, anyway.