Traveling alone has always been on Minjeong's bucket list. And now that she finally has all the time to herself, she did not hesitate to book a one-way ticket to Japan, just a week after her graduation. 

She wanted to make sure those weekends she spent working part-time at the record shop would not go to waste — not that she hated working there, quite the opposite, actually. It was the perfect setup for her, with her weekdays consisting of lectures, exams, and group projects, the laid-back vibe of the shop helps clear her mind apart from the extra money she gets to save for her trip.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Japan Airlines welcomes you to Narita International Airport. The local time is 7:41 A.M. The weather is sunny with clear skies. For your safety…”

She puts down her camera hearing the pilot's announcement, after browsing through photos of her graduation and the party her coworkers threw for her last day at the shop. With the runway now visible from her window, she stowed away the tray table and tightened her seat belt, bracing for the plane's landing. 

Quite a smooth one, that was. 

She waits for the people in front to get off, before taking her backpack from the cabin, the flight attendants flashing their signature smile as she heads to the bridge leading to the terminal.

It was her first time in Tokyo, but the countless vlogs and guides she almost memorized made it seem like she'd been here before. Getting everything she needed, from a transit card to a prepaid phone line was almost a breeze, equipped with enough knowledge of Japanese and English phrases she learned during her free time at the university. 

Amidst the busy crowd and her luggage in tow, she boards the train to get to her accommodation, a quaint backpackers hostel right at the heart of Shibuya. 

The room she got was quite large, housing two single beds and a bathroom. Minjeong picks the left side to settle down her bag, leaving the one across her vacant. She didn't mind being alone at the moment, aware that most people who stay at these hostels are in it for social connections. For her, practicality is the main reason she chose to stay here rather than a hotel.

She prepares to take off after getting a quick rest, tying a flannel around her waist and slinging both her backpack and camera on her shoulder. About to open the door, the person outside beats her to it, swinging it wide open almost hitting her in the process.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" A ridiculously tall girl walks into the room, stopping at the sight of Minjeong who is still in a bit of shock.

"Next time, please knock at least," she mumbles in her vernacular, earning a second look from the other.

"Wait, are you Korean?" The girl asks excitedly, and Minjeong purses her lips as she does an inward sigh.

Unfortunately.

"Yes, I am Korean. Uhh, please excuse me, I need to leave." She requests politely, not wanting to get stuck in a fake conversation with what looks to be a clumsy roommate for the next days of her stay.

"Wait, wait, wait! Can I please come with you?" The other pleads while hurrying to settle her suitcase on the only vacant bed across Minjeong. 

Is she one of those “clinger” types of traveler? 

"No. I'm sorry, but I was actually planning to tour around by myself," she declines, giving a stoic look to the girl as she heads out, which proved to be useless when the girl proceeds to tail her. If it wasn’t for her pretty face and admittedly nice figure, she would’ve assumed the girl was a creep.

"Please? I am really bad at directions! I just needed to get to Harajuku for this modeling audition, and you look like you know how to get there."

Sure, meeting a fellow Korean isn't impossible given that they comprise 24% of the tourist population in Japan. But the chances of meeting one in this hostel should at least be less likely. And yet, she doesn't know why she ended up accompanying this girl she just met to her modeling audition. It just so happens that she was headed to the same destination, Harajuku being the first on her list of places she wanted to visit in Tokyo. As if it couldn’t get any more coincidental. 

"I'm Yoo Jimin, by the way," the girl stretches her hand hoping to get acquainted.

“Kim Minjeong,” she replies, looking blankly at the hand as the owner draws it back when she leaves it hanging.

“I really appreciate your help, Minjeong! This is my first time in Japan, so I have zero ideas on how to get around here. I barely made it to the hostel earlier,” the girl flashes a sheepish smile as they tread through the sea of people outside Harajuku station, “I promise I’ll pay you back in some way, just let me know!” 

“I would appreciate it if you don’t bother me after this,” she retorts as she tracks their location on her phone maps, hoping to finally get away and go on with the itinerary she planned for today.

“Why do you have to be so rude? I am trying to be nice here,” 

The response stunned Minjeong for a second as she wasn’t expecting the girl to be that sensitive. She would think people like her are more thick-skinned with how shamelessly she asked to be accompanied by her, a complete stranger. 

“I admit that was rude, sorry. But you were the one who suddenly barged in and followed me like a creep,”

“I already said sorry earlier! And I’m not a creep! I was genuinely asking for help,” Jimin reasons, her voice going a pitch lower with each sentence.

“Why bother going here though, if you barely know the place and the language?” Minjeong asks, not that she was curious.

“I don’t know, for the experience, I guess? I’ve done countless auditions in Seoul, but they don’t really prefer my face. They said it's too pretty for a model.” 

Minjeong scoffs, taking back what she thought about the girl being sensitive. “I never thought being that pretty would ,” she blurts out.

“You could guess, you’ve got a pretty face too,” Jimin replies with a smile, and Minjeong could only roll her eyes as a response, as they close in on the less busy streets of Omotesando.

“I think we’re here,” she points to the building that matches the name Jimin mentioned earlier where her audition would be held, and just as she thought, it looks sketchy as hell. Plastered on the signage are adverts of different agencies looking for models, but not the type of model she thinks Jimin is going for. 

“I didn’t think you were that type of model,” she eyes the photo of a young woman clad in a bikini as one of the adverts.

“No, this must be a mistake. It says here ‘Gravure Models’ audition, could you check if there’s an agency named Gravure on this list?” 

Jimin motions to look closely on the bulletin board near the building entrance. Even as a first-timer in Japan, Minjeong’s pretty sure her knowledge of the culture tells her that ‘gravure’ is meant to be something else in this context.  

“Umm, sorry to break it to you but I don’t think 'gravure' is an agency name,” a quick google of the term and tapping on the image search resulted in bikini-laden models sporting poses. The girl beside her could only sit in terror, after realizing her huge mistake. 

"What the hell was I thinking?" Jimin sighs in defeat, so much for the experience she was looking forward to having. 

Minjeong peeks around the area as the tall girl contemplates in frustrated silence. She notices a few girls exiting the building who had seemed to come from the agencies.

Jimin stands back up, dusting off the back of her denim shorts, and pulls out the scrunchie that has kept her hair in a bun. Minjeong watches as her hair falls to her neck covering the collarbones that have been exposed by the off-shoulder top she is wearing. She looks away before she could get caught as Jimin smacks her lips and makes a thinking face. 

"So what are you planning to do now?" Minjeong asks, her thoughts getting back to the matter at hand. 

"I suppose I could go find other agencies here, but I am also really clueless on how to start," Jimin replies, grabbing her phone to try and search for other agencies in the area.

"Seriously, you didn't even do a quick research about the audition you were going for, and you don't have any back-up plans?" Minjeong wonders how this girl could be so naive to even go to another country only to be met by a sketchy modeling job.

"Look, sorry I'm not like you, okay. I don't make plans, I don't have any back-ups and I don't even have a sense of direction. I just go with my gut and see where it takes me," Jimin argues, almost getting mad at being judged by the other.

"Yeah, and look where it has taken you," Minjeong responds as a matter of fact and Jimin could only close her eyes to take a deep breath, fully accepting her fate.

Minjeong doesn't know if it's pity or the shared failure she felt witnessing Jimin's misfortune, but something clicks in her, wanting to get rid of the frustration from this other girl's face. Spontaneity isn't usually in her dictionary, but this foreign crowd in this foreign