CHAPTER 8

 

Time: around 3:40pm

 

 “It’s a bigger Jollibee!” Yuto exclaimed in English like an idiot. Mia silenced him seeing that the people around them looked at Yuto, almost laughing.

 

 “Come on.” Mia told Yuto as she went near a tricycle.

 

 “Eh? Chotto. Let’s go around here first.” Yuto said, seeing that Mia was already getting inside the ride.

 

 “Demo…” she said.

 

 “Oneigaishimasu!” Yuto pleaded, bowing his head down.

 

 “Hai, hai.” Mia said. “…but stop bowing down like that here. Minna will think you’re baka.”

 

 “Hai!!!” Yuto answered, bowing his head once again, then realized that he bowed, he said: “Gomen.”

 

 Mia took Yuto to the nearby grocery store because she thought that that’s the only place here that Yuto would like to be in. Once they got inside, they just walked around like it was some kind of park. Yuto told Mia that he wanted to ‘explore’ the marketplace. Of course Mia didn’t allow him but he was so persistent that he insisted and insisted and insisted until Mia finally said yes.

 

 Before reaching the main market where fresh fish and meat were sold, they first passed the many lined-up stalls of different fruits and vegetables. Yuto looked nothing else like but just an idiot. He turned his head from right to left with every step he took. He was excited about this. Mia on the other hand was nervous because she doesn’t know what Yuto’s reaction would be if he set foot inside the main market.

 

 Once they got to the main market Yuto stopped to look around him. The raw meat of different kinds being chopped, the fish, shouting vendors…

 Mia readied herself to get yelled at. Yuto’s mouth opened. Here it comes, Mia thought…

 

 “Sugoi!! Sakana!!! (Sakana= fish)” he said as he pointed to Mia the live fishes ‘jumping’ up and down their containers.

 

 “Eh?!” Mia said, almost dropping her jaw. This is not what she had expected of Yuto’s reaction and this definitely is not what was expected of an idol. Right?

 

 Yuto grabbed a fish from a vendor’s 5-inch deep tray and he amusedly played with it until it slipped from his hands and drop back down on the tray.

 

 “Oi! Yamero!” Mia told Yuto. “Hora, you’re hands smell of fish already.”

 

 Yuto sniffed his wet hands and rubbed them in his clothes. Mia’s eyes widened. What kind of idol is he, really?

 

 They walked around a bit more. They didn’t buy any of these meats just because they wouldn’t be doing anything with it: Mia doesn’t need them while Yuto stays in a hotel.

 

 After getting out of the main market, Mia noticed that Yuto REALLY smelled of fish. She thought that it was just the place that she smelled earlier but now that they’re already outside, she proved that it was Yuto.

 

 “Iku.” She said, taking Yuto’s forearm.

 

 Mia dragged him to a nearby clothing stall and she let Yuto choose his clothes. Once the clothes were paid, she took him to the nearest restroom to let him change his clothes. Yuto managed to put his clothes inside a plastic bag, which Mia had given him, and put it inside his body bag. He was now wearing a horizontally striped black and gray polo shirt that fit him perfectly.

 

 Once he was done changing, Yuto went out of the males’ restroom and saw Mia. “KAWAIIIIIIIII”, Yuto thought. She was wearing a simple pink long blouse and her jeans from earlier.

 Mia also decided to change her clothes because she realized that she also smelled of fish like Yuto. She had managed to buy a mini shoulder bag from a stall nearby so she put her top earlier in there.

 

 “What took you so long?” Mia asked.

 

 “Ano…” Yuto said. Obviously, he still haven’t snapped out of Mia’s kawaii-ness.

 

 “Nevermind.” She said, “Let’s get outta here.”

 

 Yuto saw an arcade place and invited Mia in there. Since Mia thought it was a good idea, they went in. They enjoyed themselves in there. They played different video games and played shooting games together. When Yuto saw that Mia was playing a ball-shooting game, he decided to assist her but she just shoved him away jokingly. Yuto went to the other ball-shooting game beside Mia and played it himself. Once they were done with the game, Yuto had 130 points while Mia earned 215 points.

 

 They realized that they were tired already so they went out of the arcade to grab some ice cream. As they were eating their ice cream, Yuto’s phone rang.

 

 “Moshi, moshi?” He answered. “Ha?...eh,.. wakaranai.” Then he looked at Mia and Yuto gave her his phone.

 

 “Moshi, moshi.” She said, “Oh, Chinen! Where are we? You’re going to pick us up?” she nodded, understanding Chinen, “St. Augustine Church.”

 

 Then Chinen hung up.

 

They hurriedly finished their ice cream and went to the church just nearby. Once they got inside, Mia knelt and prayed while Yuto just sat down on one of the benches as he gave his respects to Mia.

 

Yuto observed Mia as she was praying. She looked almost like an angel with her eyes closed and her hands in a praying position… but she had a serious face, like she really meant was she was praying for, even though Yuto didn’t know what that is.

 

 When they got out of the church, they found out that the HSJ’s van was already waiting outside. How it got there so fast, Yuto and Mia didn’t know. They got inside and found that only Daiki was there.

 

 Yuto and Mia both sat on the back seat.

 

 “Where are the others?” Yuto asked (in Japanese)

 

 “Hotel.” Daiki answered, while he was texting Chinen, informing that Yuto and Mia was already in the van. “What did you guys do here anyway?” he said, still looking at his phone.

 

 Mia understood what Daiki said and looked at Yuto. Yuto also looked at  her upon hearing Daiki’s question and they just both began to laugh silently to themselves.

 

_______________

Meanwhile in the HSJ’s stay-in hotel…

 

“Daiki texted me that Yuto-chan and Mia-chan are both with him now.” Chinen said. Everybody was in the middle unit at that time.

 

 “So they really were with each other, eh?” Takaki said.

 

 “And also…” Hikaru said and then grinned. “…the plan had unexpectedly pushed through. They’ve had the afternoon to themselves. I wonder how Yuto feels now.”

 

 Keito just stood there in the farthest corner in silence. He looked at his right hand… the hand that had pulled Mia up from earlier’s commotion.

 

 

                                                CHAPTER END