Chapter 9 Japan Here We Come

(A/N: Blue font means the language used in the conversation is Filipino while Green font means the language used in the conversation is Korean. Black font means the narration, the character’s POV or the language used in the conversation is English. Pink font means the language used in the conversation is Japanese.)

Anne’s POV:

I’m sitting on the airplane for our trip on Tokyo, Japan with my family & friends. Maybe you’re all wondering why. Grandfather talked with his friend on Japan & decided that they’ll have my birthday party & engagement announcement on Japan. I really wanted it to be hold on our house in the Philippines but his friend missed him so they wanted to have it on Japan & also because grandfather has a branch there. He also wanted to check up on how the business there is doing. Maybe also because JYJ oppas is currently on Japan having their concerts & on the day before my birthday will be the last stop on their concerts in Japan.

For me, any location will be fine because what’s important is my family & friends are there. Some of my college friends can’t make it because some of them have already plans on that day but they can attend even though they’ll be late or cancel the plan for me if it’s on the Philippines but since it’ll be on Japan so they can’t make it. You know they still have to travel to go back so they really can’t make it.

What also makes me happy during our flight is the smile on my friends’ faces. Maybe you already know why so I’ll tell the reason if ever you guessed it right :) it’s because JYJ oppas would be there. Maybe many got it right. They are really energetic & even listening to the songs of them while we are on the plane. I just shook my head with their behaviour.

To tell you honestly, I’m not seated with my friends because I’m seated with Kuya Jerome. Kuya Jerome was really tired that he’s asleep since we seated on the plane because he went home late just to finish the work. Kuya really is a person who doesn’t want to leave unfinished works when he has to go to another place.

Since I don’t want to disturb Kuya Jerome, I decided to get my mp3 player & played the songs on it. Since I get dizzy easily, I decided to just sleep because it may stop me from getting dizzy & it was really effective because I was able to sleep after some minutes.

Time surely flies past because without me noticing, we were already on Japan. Kuya Jerome woke me up so I first stretch myself before going down with them. I was still feeling dizzy so even if we were on our way to our hotel & is riding the car, I still sleep to continue my sleep because it’ll help me to get rid of my dizziness. It was not a long trip because after some minutes, we were already on the hotel.

Since I’ve requested grandfather, I & my friends will be sleeping on 2 rooms next to each other. Since we’re 6, 3 of us will share 1 room & the other 3 will share the other room.  I’ll be going with Ate Shiela & Ate Christina. Ate Marielle, Ate Stephanie & Ate Jessica will be sharing the room next to us. We decided to go to our rooms to unpack our things. When we finally finished unpacking our things, I decided to sleep on 1 of the bed. Yes, there are 2 beds on each of our room. But suddenly, Ate Shiela sits on the end of the bed & looked at me.

“Bunso, let’s tour the place. Don’t be a killjoy. When we were on the plane earlier, the 5 of us decided to tour the place once we’re done unpacking our things. We weren’t able to tell you because we know you’re really dizzy. Go with us! Let’s have fun!” Ate Shiela said.

I sit up & looked at Ate Shiela before saying “But I still want to rest. I’m not on the mood to tour the place Ate.”

I even pouted after saying that because I was hoping she’ll buy it. But I was dead wrong. Ate Shiela with Ate Christina starts tickling me while saying “We’ll stop tickling you if you’ll go with us!”

I said while laughing “Ok. I’ll go. Stop now.” I wasn’t able to say anything more because I was out of breath because of their tickling. I first drank a glass of water before I went out of the room with Ate Shiela & Ate Christina meeting Ate Marielle, Ate Stephanie & Ate Jessica on the hallway.

We all went on the lift to go to the reception to go to our destination. I was really surprised that they already had a plan on where to go because I kept on hearing them while we’re on our way. We decided not to use any car & just walk to look or admire the place we’re walking on because you’ll not be able to look at the place this close up if you’re riding on a car.

Our 1^st stop is on a stall of street foods. I looked at the food & they all looked yummy. All of us eat ramen but since I don’t know but I was still not full, so I also eat udon. My friends looked at me while I gave them an innocent look saying “I’m still not full.” I even decided to eat yakitori because it’s so delicious. My friends also eat but I was the one who eats the most. By then, I was really full so we decided to walk again to go to our next destination.

(A/N: This is what the ramen looks like & what they eat. A real bowl of ramen in Tokyo is quite often rather large, almost enough for a whole meal. It includes slices of pork, boiled egg, seaweed, onions, other greens and spices.)

(A/N: This is what the udon looks like & what they eat. Think ramen except, switch out the curly stringy noodles with big fat ones. Udon noodles are a couple times thicker than Spaghetti noodles, this gives it quite a unique texture and taste. The broth is mildly flavoured and can include veggies, tempora, seafood and others.)

(A/N: This is what the yakitori looks like & what they eat. Similar to Kebabs, Yakitori is simply a stick with bits of grilled chicken, glazed in a rich sauce, or served plain.)

We stop on a nearby store that has many accessories & clothes. We all tried the accessories there but it was always me who wear most of the accessories because they said it suits me. We even took pictures with each other but they were all saying “I’m cute with that accessory” while looking at my solo pictures.

(A/N: This is the cup that Anne tried. Don’t mind the stuff toy.)

This is their favorite picture of mine. I didn’t expect them to make me wear that wig & also the headband. They kept on saying “I look like an anime & I’m so cute.” It was really embarrassing because they’re attracting the attentions of some of the people on the store.

(A/N: This is the wig & the headband that Anne tried. Don’t mind the dress & her makeup.)

Suddenly, an old lady approaches us & was smiling at us. I suddenly felt weird because we didn’t know who she was but after seeing her smiling, I suddenly felt that she may not be a bad person.

“Hi, I’m _____, the owner of this store. If you don’t mind, can you wear these clothes?  Every time the customers went in my store, I always look for those I think who will be good for any outfit on my store & take a picture of that person. You can say that she/he will be the model of the outfit. I really wanted to hire models for the outfit but my store just open for 4 months & I think hiring model is expensive so I just asked politely to those I think will really look good on the outfit I had.” The owner told us.

“May I know who you wanted to model the outfit?” Shiela asked. Maybe you’re wondering. All of us can speak Japanese because all of us are very fond of anime & also because aside from our siblings who are the one working on the Philippines branch of our family business, we’re the one who will be the future working on our Japanese branch on our family business. My friends is also studying Korean since their Korea branch is doing well & if ever they’ll be assigned there or go there to observe how their business is doing there, they also need to speak the language. But most likely, I’ll be assigned to our Korea branch because of my marriage.

She just smiled before pointing at me. She also asked “Can you do me that favour?”

“Yes, she’ll be glad to do it.” Ate Stephanie replied. I was really hesitant to answer yes because I don’t think I’ll look beautiful with her outfit or I can do justice on it but since Ate Stephanie already answered, I have no choice but to agree with it.

The old lady brought me to a room where she kindly asked me to try out the outfit. When I exited the fitting room, she exclaimed “Kawaii” while I bowed after saying “Thank you” while also hiding my blushing face.

After that, she began applying the makeup & also put the wig on mine. She was really smiling widely & even claps her hands while saying “I was really right to choose you as the model for that outfit. You really are cute & look like a doll.” I bowed & thanked her while smiling my fake smile that I always wear whenever grandfather has parties with his business partners since I get uncomfortable or not used to being complimented.

“Look at yourself. If you don’t believe me, you can see it for yourself.” She said with a smile. I just nodded & do what she said. I stand in front of the mirror & she was right I really look different from what I look earlier before she gave me a makeover as the model of her outfit.

(A/N: Just imagine Anne was standing in front of a mirror & not posing that way. Sorry I can’t find a picture of Alodia Gosiengfiao standing only while wearing that outfit :( If ever you’re curious of her, here’s the link about Alodia Gosiengfiao: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alodia_Gosiengfiao

She’s really my favorite cosplayer among those I have seen here in Philippines because she’s so cute & look really an anime or Japanese doll. Sorry if I’m blurting out things about her when I should be talking about this fic or the characters :( If ever there are those who are wondering who she is, I’ll just wanted to give some information about her so that you’ll know why I picked her as the face of Anne :) )

Suddenly, we heard squeals & girls saying “Anne you’re so cute!” or “Kawaii”. Just after hearing their squeals & their voices, I know they are my friends so I looked at them like saying ‘Please stop because you’re all embarrassing’.

“Aunt, you really do a good job on her. Actually, we don’t know why that friend of mine don’t like dressing up when she’s so cute or beautiful like that.” Ate Marielle told the old lady.

“So her name is Anne? Can you pose for me & I’ll just take one picture?” The old lady said & I just nodded.

Since the lady was really smiling & very nice, I decided to do this pose:

(A/N: This is the pose that Anne was referring to. I totally agree that she’s so kawaii :) )

She also asked me to pose for more while showing the outfit & just like what she told me, I just do the pose she like while she was giving me a thumbs up & also saying “You did well.” The old lady was really kind & the way she cares for me reminds me of nanny who I left on the Philippines since she can’t go with us because we can’t left the house without someone who we can trust to keep the house well.

“Thank you very much for doing me this favour. I’ll soon post this photo of yours on my online shop hoping many will buy this outfit. You can now change into the clothes you wear when you went here.” The old lady told me while I only nodded & smiled at her.

I was about to change into the clothes I wear earlier. My friends stop me & started taking photos of me. When they finished taking pictures of me, that’s when I was able to change my clothes.

We bought some accessories on the shop. When we were about to paid the accessories we wanted to bought, the old lady handed me her business card.

“All of the items you bought will be free since your friend Anne does a favour of being my model for that outfit. Since I can’t give her a salary for being my model that can be her payment. Sorry if it’s not the right amount of what the model should be paid.” The old lady said.

“No, Aunt. You should not do that. We want to pay for these items. Just like what you said, it’s a favour & I don’t want to get a payment for you. You can say I’m okay working not having a salary or you can say I like to work for free service for you Aunt who is very nice and kind.” I replied at her.

“No, I insist. By the way, Anne, if ever you wanted to be a model for my store, just call the number on my business card. I’ll surely give you salary this time & not out of favour. I know you’ll be a big help for my business so I hope you think about it.” The old lady told me & put the items on the paper bag before giving it to us.

“Actually, Aunt, I really wanted to but I can’t. It’s because we are only here in Tokyo for a vacation & I was really staying in the Philippines. It’ll be hard for you to have a model that is not staying here. Maybe you can find a model here who can be a big help for your business. Sorry Aunt” I said as I handed the business card to the old lady.

“Why? It’s alright you can take the business card. You don’t have to return it. Just think of it as a souvenir. Really thank you for today. Have fun & have a safe trip here!” The old lady said. We also waved her our goodbyes & our thanks before we make on our way back to the hotel.

When we arrived on the hotel, my friends decided to stay for a while on Ate Shiela, Ate Christina & my room. I wasn’t really listening to their conversation because their topic was about me when we were on the old lady’s store. They kept on saying “I look cute”, “I look like a Japanese doll or anime”, “The clothes fit me” & many more complimenting me. Actually, maybe many of you will be happy if many will compliment you but for me, I already used to it so you can say I kinda don’t like hearing people complimenting. It’s not because I’m boasting or bragging about it that I always get compliment but I think I’m not that deserving to be given those compliments so I just always says “Thank you” even though it’s not very sincere from me. But still I don’t know why my friends still don’t know about it when I’ve been with them for many years.

Suddenly, a knock interrupted my thoughts and my friends’ conversation.

I immediately said “I’ll go get it.” You can say that I just used it as an excuse to be far away from my friends’ conversation :)

I was surprised when I opened the door & saw the persons I didn’t expected to visit me.

“Jaejoong oppa, Yoochun oppa, Junsu oppa?” I said surprisingly.

Author’s Note:

This is the 9th chapter. The ideas for this chapter just pop out on my mind recently so I hope you like it.

Hoping you’ll give some comments or your thoughts on this chapter. That will really help me in creating new chapters!

Thank you to those who read this chapter :)

Hope you’ll forward to my next update!