“Uhm, can we take the bus this time?” he softly asked when they are walking to their bikes the next morning. It’s the third day, the last of the three-day promised tour in Japan.

Her brows creased upon hearing his request. “Huh? Why? Tired of pedaling?”

“It’s not that, cycling is one of the things I love most”, he honestly answered.  Also doing that for a date is a fantasy of mine, thank you for realizing it for me for the past two days, his thought goes.

“Then why?” she asked when he didn’t talk for a moment.

With a really low voice, he said, “I just wanna try it.”

“What? Speak louder, I couldn’t hear you better”, she said leaning closer to him.

“I said, I wanna experience riding a bus in Japan”, his voice is his normal one now.

“Oh, is that so? But why? Bus system here is of no difference in Korea.”

“I know that, but, I just wanna experience it and my mom would definitely be glad that her youngest managed his way into a public transport in a foreign land”, he’s smiling shyly at her when he finished.

“Woah, I didn’t imagine you to be the sweet, mama’s boy type, but for a guy to be thinking of his mom while on a vacation away from her is adorable, yes, adorable indeed”, she approves. “So, to the bus station we march!” she beams then walked ahead.

He followed her, shaking his head and smiling.

Waiting for the bus, she asked him. “Is there anywhere else you have in mind since we basically covered your itinerary?”

He taps his chin to show that he’s thinking over that question, he answered, “There’s still one”, he faces her.

“I’ll guess”, she cuts him before he could speak. She got his attention, with brows almost meeting in the middle, he looked at her expectantly.

“The cat café!” she exclaimed, and as she do, she smiled a proud one at him, confident that she has nailed it.

His face brightened up, and his mouth opens in surprise, “How did you know that?”

She’s about to answer when the bus came. They hurriedly scrambled in and find vacant seats for two. They found it at the far back seats of the bus. They seated themselves; Hyun Hae claimed the space nearest the window, leaving Minsoo to sit beside her near the walkway.

“I always love to sit by the window”, she beams.  “And about your question, you’re easy to read sometimes.” His attention is all hers as he awaits the next words she’s gonna utter.

She continues, “Back in Seoul, I’ve seen how fond you are with that kitten, not even minding if she stinks or if she is dirty, you look at her as though she’s the prettiest thing in the world, and I immediately know that you’re a good guy. You even mentioned that both you and your sister are fond of cats so, guessing that you’d want to go to the cat café isn’t that difficult to do.”

He looks at her with amazement spread across his face, So apparently, I did managed to show her my true nature that day, not the jerk dude who’s so full of himself but the gentle one, and she thought I’m a good guy, wow, that’s a relief!

“Lost for words, are we? I’m not playing with you if that’s what you’re thinking, I’m telling the truth”, she said before facing forward and concentrating on their destination.

“It’s not that, I was just amazed to know that I’m not that difficult to read and understand as I thought I am”, he too faced front and the two of them didn’t talk until they reached their destination.

Walking their way to the cat café, they saw other stores that sell different stuffs; they even passed food stalls and a convenience store.

“Let’s have bento for lunch”, she suggested which he immediately agreed upon. He’s anticipating his first bento, but that will have to wait, he’s meeting his beloved felines first. He’s smiling even at the thought of a bunch of cats in one place.

When they arrived, Hyun Hae stopped by the door. He looked at her with looks of confusion.

She answered his mute question, “I remember that I’ve let you know that I’m scared of them, right?” she introduces the idea gently, “So, I’ll just wait for you here, have fun!” she waves her hands on him but he didn’t go.

“No, you’re coming with me”, he stated so firmly Hyun Hae wanted to just agree and went inside with him, but her fear is greater, she shook her head.

“Remember back in Seoul?  You’ve petted a cat, right? And I know that you enjoyed it, no, that’s an understatement, you loved it!” he said emphasizing the last words.

She suddenly looked pleased then as quickly as it goes, changes to scared and fidgety. He has to assure her, again, and he doesn’t mind at all, he loves to do that; to always make her feel secured and safe when she’s with him.

“Come on, just like the last time, I wouldn’t let your fear be realized, I’ll make sure of it”, he offers her his hand for her to hold.

She looked up at him, hesitant, but when she sees the sincerity and gentleness in his eyes, she draws in a deep breath, grabbed his offered hand, and said, “Let’s go!” He smiled at her, and they marched inside.

They just stepped into the café and they can already hear the soft meows of the cats and kittens that inhabit the area, his smile broadens, her fear hitches. Feeling her growing fear, he squeezes her hand that’s clasp tightly in his, she relaxes due to Minsoo’s assuring gesture.

__________

They are now eating their bento in a convenience store, they actually lost track of time when inside the cat café, sure they’ve had pastries and tea while enjoying the company of cats and kittens, but their stomachs growl for a full meal.

Finishing hers, she faced him who’s still into his food, he’s hungry alright! “Thank you”, she said.

He smiled, understanding what her gratitude was for. Throughout their entire stay in the café, he never once leave her side, holding out kittens for her to pet, and she even let him put one on her lap. She enjoyed it, if not for that silly fear to their kind, she’d really have a cat as a pet, though thinking about that now, she wonders if they would get along with her dog.

He looked up from his meal and smiled on her, “No prob, I know you like them, a lot, we just don’t understand where your fear of them came from”, and he finishes his food.

___________

“Do you wanna go to a Maid café? You know what that is, right?” she asked when they both finished their lunch and are now back on the streets.

He nods, of course he know, it’s that type of café where the ones that would serve and entertain you are young ladies in a maid costume, and being all cutesey and doll-like. “Though, meeting them is out of my appetite”, he answered.

formed an ‘O’ and they continue walking. “The Gundam café then”, she suggested yet again.

His face lifts up to a smile and she leads the way to the inter-galactic themed café.

When inside to their amusement, they saw that the waiters are clothed in suits that Gundam pilots wears. They ordered and finished a drink for each of them then head out.

She drags him to Kappabashi-dori, located on the west side of Asakusa. It’s a place where everywhere you look, Japanese foods prepared deliciously are everywhere though not one of them is edible. That is right, everything in here are made of plastic, carved by artistic hands and are on display on rows and rows of shelves around the shop. They look so real your mouth will water.

Minsoo bought some pieces.

“What are you going to do with that? Put it on display in your house?” she inquires after he has paid for it.

“That, but first, I’ll trick my family into eating these”, his eyes are shining with glee.

“Aish, you naughty boy”, she said laughing a small laugh.

They walked around and about downtown Tokyo when Hyun Hae suddenly remembered something to say to him.

“Hey, we still have tomorrow here in Japan, the day after that, we both fly back to Korea, right? What are your plans for tomorrow?”

He halts from walking and ponder on her question. “What do you wanna do? I’ll follow your lead”, he said sure of himself.

“Well, the thing is, you are on your own tomorrow”, Minsoo quickly opened his eyes wide at her as though she has said something really shocking.

“You won’t be with me?” he asked, checking if he heard her right.

She nods her head gently, “You see, the reason why I flew here is to be with my family, but because mom asked me to take you around Tokyo, I haven’t been spending time with them these past three days, I wanna dedicate the whole tomorrow with them”, she explains.

His heart weighed heavy upon hearing this, but what she said is correct, he actually didn’t expect for anyone to accompany him around Tokyo when he decided to fly, and he must admit that the last few days have been great. He’s set to wander around alone so, having tomorrow all by himself is no big deal, but why does he feel otherwise? These last few days have been really fun. Because of the places he has been to? The things he has seen and experienced? The assurance that he won’t be lost in direction even if he’s wandering around in bicycles? No, it has been fun because he’s with her, and the thought of not having her anymore saddens him.

“Is that so?” he tried to smile to lighten up the air around them. “Then maybe I should surf the net for a great place to go to tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll manage.”

“Of course you’ll do fine, I know you’re clever”, she said, gently patting him on the shoulder. “Even though you sound as though you wanna go home, let’s go somewhere beautiful first”, she winked at him.

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welcome, third one!

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