Chapter 13

“I don’t care if it’s not for long, there’s no need to rush; Tonight, we’ll be together under that sky – Freely”

Despite his reservations and insistence that she sleep earlier and better, she still liked it if they spend a while chatting.

So did he, of course.

So their nightly conversation continued.

“How old are you, Brian-san?”

“22.”

“Huh? 22? So old?”

“Hey, 22 is not old. It’s not that far away from being 17.”

The cheek of this girl, Young K fumed, but feeling like an ahjussi, none the less.

“That’s ok,” Momo put her hands up in surrender. “We are not comparing.”

Her English was getting better and better, while he too started picking on some Japanese phrases, enough to allow him have simple conversation with Momo’s parents.

“And aren’t you like those girls, who likes older men?”

“I’m not like other girls.”

And he smiled, knowing her words could not be any truer.

He never thought life could be any better.

He slept good at night.

The air was wonderfully clean and crisp.

Everything about the place was catalystic to his creative genes.

Each night after he said good night to Momo, Young K would spend at least an hour to write.

And he would continue after breakfast til it was time for him to go to the ski centre.

He has already finished the lyrics to the band’s already written songs, and he was now penning down new melodies.

He has never been contented, almost forgetting what brought him to the little town in the first place.

And the food, oh, the food.

Okasan's cooking was perfection on earth.

He knew he was gaining weight, but lucky for him his job at ski centre help shed the extra kilos off.

Which brought him to thinking about Momo.

The little whirlwind never seemed to stop - he was tired just looking at her go.

His days with the boys were tiring as well, but at the end of the day, the end result was their music – which they love.

And that totally made up for all the tiredness.

But for Momo, were cleaning and tending to clients what she really wanted to do when she grew up?

***

“So, Mochi, what do you dream about out here?”

“Mochi? As in the sweet?”

“Desert, yeah, you remind me of one. Round and small, and I can’t tell what flavour I’m gonna get next.”

Young K suddenly stopped himself.

Gosh, I sound like a player, he thought.

“That sounds like pick up line,” she looked at him in alarm, not at all flattered with his words.

And he lost himself in laughter.

Momo looked both persplexed and amused, that bordered slight repulsion.

She’s really cute, he thought again and again.

Where other girls would swoon at his feet with those words, Momo actually looked a little disgusted.

“Gomene,” he apologised still laughing. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that.”

She was about to let it go, before he continued, “but you are, y’know – small, round, cute and sweet. In a good way.”

“Well, Just Brian,” she huffed, “small, cute and sweet I can accept, round I cannot.”

And he doubled up on the floor and lost himself to laughter again.

***

“You didn’t answer my question, after getting all uppity just now.”

“What you ask, again?” Momo asked, pretended not to remember.

Both of them munching on a bag of Japanese snacks of green peas, chips and savoury crackers, as they chatted.

It was getting warmer those days.

So, they were both sitting on a bench right outside the closed balcony area instead, right under the stars.

Both their feet stretched out in front of them.

Time totally forgotten.

“What do you dream of? When you sit out here.”

It took her a while before answering him.

“Seeing the world.”