Chapter Two

Yuri looked at the structure in front of her.  Sooyoung said that she would be staying in a ryokan, a Japanese inn.  What standing in front of her was like one of those yakuza homes she once saw on TV. 

A girl in a pale blue yukata came running out and bowed.  “Ohayo.  Sakura ryokan e yokoso.”

She mimicked the girl in front of her, “Ohayo.”  The girl was lovely.  She reminded her of Snow White because she was so fair.  “Watashinonamaeha Kwon Yuri desu.”  Her eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together.

“Oh you’re Sooyoung unnie’s friend!”  She quickly shifted to Korean.  “I’m Seohyun.  I was Sooyoung unnie’s junior in college.”  She bowed again.

Yuri sighed in relief when she found out that the girl spoke in Korean.  She would sure run out of words in three seconds if she kept talking in Japanese.  “Thank God.  She didn’t tell me that you would know how to speak Korean.”

“I’m Korean,” Seohyun said and smiled so brightly.  Yuri was silent, feeling awkward that she wasn’t able to tell that she w as actually talking to a Korean.  She wanted to kick herself mentally.

She laughed awkwardly when Seohyun just kept smiling at her.  “Can I come in now?” she asked.  Seohyun obliged.  She showed her into a cozy Japanese room even though she didn’t know what one really looks like.  Seohyun didn’t really let her settle by herself in the room as the younger girl kept talking about Tokyo and what places she had to see. 

“I wanted to go to Roponggi tonight,” she said.  She wanted to laugh at her face when she said that.

“It’s not a good place for female foreigners,” Seohyun warned her.  She just laughed it off, telling her that she was old enough to take her of herself. 

This was what she decided.  If she wanted to grow up, she needed to take care of herself and let herself go sometimes.  As soon as she settled, she told Seohyun that she had to go out.  There was so much of the city that she wanted to see.  She wanted to cross that street in Tokyo full of pedestrians. 

She’s lost, hopelessly lost.  She’s been flipping the map on her hands several times already but she couldn’t figure if she should go back two blocks or go right at some souvenir shop in front of her.  She was trying to ask for help but people were too busy to stop or they couldn’t understand her pitiable Japanese. 

She cursed herself when the wind almost blew the map out of her hands.  She tightened her grip on the map and decided to just get inside the souvenir shop.  She thought that maybe she could clear her mind by buying some stuff for Sooyoung.  She hurriedly went for the shop and it was almost too late to stop when she heard the chime of the door and she crashed onto someone.

Stuff spilled everywhere including rosary bracelets and scented candles.  She didn’t mind her hurt and hurriedly helped in collecting the spilled items on the pavement.  She heard the guy she crashed into curse in Korean and she looked up with a wide smile.

“Are you Korean?” she asked and she held out a green scented candle with a Hello Kitty design.

The guy looked alarmed at her sudden question and suddenly looked confused.  He said something in Japanese which she hardly understood but she figured that he was denying it.  She frowned at him.  Why would he deny that he’s Korean when she clearly heard him curse in Korean.        

“I’m sorry if I startled you but I’m not an opportunist,” she said trying to implore her way into him.  “I just wanted to ask for a direction because I’m terribly lost.”

The guy just kept collecting the other items and was intent on not listening to her.  When he was done collecting everything, he just stood up and continued walking.

She thought of going after him to persist on asking her way but she decided to just let him be.  Maybe he wasn’t Korean after all.  She was about to get inside the shop when she was sent on her again after somebody collided into her again.

She swore her luck has already run out.

Yunho heard another commotion while he was walking away.  He looked back and saw the girl who was trying to talk to him earlier was down on the pavement again.  She bumped into another guy who was also about to go out of the shop.  He thought that she was some sort of a scammer preying on foreigners and what’s the best way to find those preys than waiting for them outside a souvenir shop.

His curiosity was piqued however when she was trying to talk to the guy who turned out to be Japanese in broken Japanese and with Korean accent.  The guy was frowning at her, trying to make out what she was saying but accommodating her nonetheless.

“Are you trying to say that you’re lost?” the guy asked but of course the girl didn’t understand. 

“What are you saying?” the girl asked in Korean sounding frustrated already. 

“Where are you trying to go?” the guy asked, trying to enunciate the words slowly so she would understand what he was saying.

Finally he girl seemed to have caught on.  She showed him a map that was a bit crumpled and pointed on something.  They talked a bit more in a very confusing way and he gathered that girl was trying to find a way to the big pedestrian crossing in Tokyo Central.  The guy volunteered to take her to that place.

He didn’t know what made him do it but he followed the two and was trying to overhear what they were talking about.  He told himself that the girl was Korean after all and if something would happen to her, like the guy turned out to be a ert, he would be there to prevent something to happen to her.

What he didn’t foresee was being mistaken as a stalker though.

Yuri looked at the structure in front of her.  Sooyoung said that she would be staying in a ryokan, a Japanese inn.  What standing in front of her was like one of those yakuza homes she once saw on TV. 

A girl in a pale blue yukata came running out and bowed.  “Ohayo.  Sakura ryokan e yokoso.”

She mimicked the girl in front of her, “Ohayo.”  The girl was lovely.  She reminded her of Snow White because she was so fair.  “Watashinonamaeha Kwon Yuri desu.”  Her eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together.

“Oh you’re Sooyoung unnie’s friend!”  She quickly shifted to Korean.  “I’m Seohyun.  I was Sooyoung unnie’s junior in college.”  She bowed again.

Yuri sighed in relief when she found out that the girl spoke in Korean.  She would sure run out of words in three seconds if she kept talking in Japanese.  “Thank God.  She didn’t tell me that you would know how to speak Korean.”

“I’m Korean,” Seohyun said and smiled so brightly.  Yuri was silent, feeling awkward that she wasn’t able to tell that she w as actually talking to a Korean.  She wanted to kick herself mentally.

She laughed awkwardly when Seohyun just kept smiling at her.  “Can I come in now?” she asked.  Seohyun obliged.  She showed her into a cozy Japanese room even though she didn’t know what one really looks like.  Seohyun didn’t really let her settle by herself in the room as the younger girl kept talking about Tokyo and what places she had to see. 

“I wanted to go to Roponggi tonight,” she said.  She wanted to laugh at her face when she said that.

“It’s not a good place for female foreigners,” Seohyun warned her.  She just laughed it off, telling her that she was old enough to take her of herself. 

This was what she decided.  If she wanted to grow up, she needed to take care of herself and let herself go sometimes.  As soon as she settled, she told Seohyun that she had to go out.  There was so much of the city that she wanted to see.  She wanted to cross that street in Tokyo full of pedestrians. 

She’s lost, hopelessly lost.  She’s been flipping the map on her hands several times already but she couldn’t figure if she should go back two blocks or go right at some souvenir shop in front of her.  She was trying to ask for help but people were too busy to stop or they couldn’t understand her pitiable Japanese. 

She cursed herself when the wind almost blew the map out of her hands.  She tightened her grip on the map and decided to just get inside the souvenir shop.  She thought that maybe she could clear her mind by buying some stuff for Sooyoung.  She hurriedly went for the shop and it was almost too late to stop when she heard the chime of the door and she crashed onto someone.

Stuff spilled everywhere including rosary bracelets and scented candles.  She didn’t mind her hurt and hurriedly helped in collecting the spilled items on the pavement.  She heard the guy she crashed into curse in Korean and she looked up with a wide smile.

“Are you Korean?” she asked and she held out a green scented candle with a Hello Kitty design.

The guy looked alarmed at her sudden question and suddenly looked confused.  He said something in Japanese which she hardly understood but she figured that he was denying it.  She frowned at him.  Why would he deny that he’s Korean when she clearly heard him curse in Korean.        

“I’m sorry if I startled you but I’m not an opportunist,” she said trying to implore her way into him.  “I just wanted to ask for a direction because I’m terribly lost.”

The guy just kept collecting the other items and was intent on not listening to her.  When he was done collecting everything, he just stood up and continued walking.

She thought of going after him to persist on asking her way but she decided to just let him be.  Maybe he wasn’t Korean after all.  She was about to get inside the shop when she was sent on her again after somebody collided into her again.

She swore her luck has already run out.

Yunho heard another commotion while he was walking away.  He looked back and saw the girl who was trying to talk to him earlier was down on the pavement again.  She bumped into another guy who was also about to go out of the shop.  He thought that she was some sort of a scammer preying on foreigners and what’s the best way to find those preys than waiting for them outside a souvenir shop.

His curiosity was piqued however when she was trying to talk to the guy who turned out to be Japanese in broken Japanese and with Korean accent.  The guy was frowning at her, trying to make out what she was saying but accommodating her nonetheless.

“Are you trying to say that you’re lost?” the guy asked but of course the girl didn’t understand. 

“What are you saying?” the girl asked in Korean sounding frustrated already. 

“Where are you trying to go?” the guy asked, trying to enunciate the words slowly so she would understand what he was saying.

Finally he girl seemed to have caught on.  She showed him a map that was a bit crumpled and pointed on something.  They talked a bit more in a very confusing way and he gathered that girl was trying to find a way to the big pedestrian crossing in Tokyo.  The guy volunteered to take her to that place.

He didn’t know what made him do it but he followed the two and was trying to overhear what they were talking about.  He told himself that the girl was Korean after all and if something would happen to her, like the guy turned out to be a ert, he would be there to prevent something to happen to her.

What he didn’t foresee was being mistaken as a stalker though.

A/N: Surprise!  Guess what time it is?  Three days til passing the soft-bound thesis document!  Procrastination time, yes, but I swear I've done this four days ago!  :)