After The Last Midtown Show

“So, where are we heading off to next?” Chanyeol asked as we settled into an almost empty train car. There were about five other people who entered the car with us, all seeming over the age of twenty, so I deemed it safe enough for us to take the train from now on. He sat on one bench and I sat on another, facing him.

I gave into taking the train simply because it was almost midnight on a Sunday. Based on those who were riding the train with us, most of the people who took the train would be in bed. Well that, and the fact that the cab we took from Shibuya to Ikebukuro left a pretty nasty feeling in my wallet. Chanyeol offered to pay for it like the gentleman that he is, but I couldn’t have him doing that, considering I was the one who dragged him to Ikebukuro in the first place.

“I know I pretty much laughed in your face about going to Takea dori, but I’m thinking Akihabara,” I said, counting the stops before our destination on the map above Chanyeol’s head.

“Akihabara? What’s that?”

I was pulled away from the map and stared at Chanyeol astonished. He was staring at me and I almost blushed at the intensity of his gaze, “Are you serious? I can’t believe you’ve travelled as much as you have and not know what Akihabara is.”

He blushed furiously, hands immediately covering his reddening cheeks as he sent me a bashful smile. Chanyeol scratched the back of his head and shrugged, “Is that like a restaurant or something? I mean, we had like a bite of sushi each at your friend’s party, but I’m still a bit hungry.”

I didn’t know if he meant it as a joke but I continued to gape at him, “You’re lucky you’re cute because if your Japanese fans ever found out you know just about nothing about their culture, you’ll be performing in an empty stadium.”

“Heeey! I know a something about Japan!” He tried to defend.

“Pshh, try me!”

“Anime, Mount Fuji, Sashimi and Mao Asada. Done. I nailed it.” Chanyeol listed, counting with his fingers and clapping for himself.

“Mao Asada and sashimi?” I scoffed, “Japan is a much more culturally relevant country for you to only think of raw fish and Mao Asada. She’s not even the best figure skater out there. You’re Korean, you should be supporting Queen Yuna!”

Chanyeol got over his initial embarrassment and was grinning at me widely but I stared him down in disappointment.

“Yah yah, enough with the scolding. Go ahead and tell me how much of a heathen I am to the Japanese culture,” He joked.

I rolled my eyes at him in annoyance before speaking, “Akihabara is pretty much the center of the otaku culture. People call it electric town, mostly because it’s filled to the brim with electronic shops. And not gonna lie, it’s probably the best place to see Tokyo by night.”

“So, what are we gonna do there?”

I feigned a thinking expression, “Hmm, I don’t know Chanyeol. Maybe I’ll sell you off and they can turn you into a maid café server. I mean hey, you’re pretty enough.”

“Ha ha, you’re a real comic, Hyemi.” He said, rolling his eyes at me, “But what on earth is a maid café?”

I gasped in excitement, “Oh my goodness that’s brilliant! I’ll take you to a maid café as soon as we get to Akihabara!”

“What? I still don’t get it?” He asked with a quizzical look on his face. He looked like a little lost puppy and it may have gotten to me a little bit.

Platonic. Platonic. PLATONIC!

“I’m pretty sure it’s a totally Japanese thing, but remember how I said Akihabara is the center of the otaku culture in Japan? Well otaku means die-hard fan and I think I can go on and say it’s the Anime center of Japan as well. And there are like, these little cafés all over the place where the servers are these girls dressed in cute little French maid outfits and serve you like you’re their master!”

It seemed like a lot for Chanyeol to take in all at once, with his face in deep concentration, attempting to digest all of the information I had just fed him.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’ll see once we get there, it’ll be great!” I exclaimed, clapping my hands giddily.

“You seem really excited for this, huh?” He asked as the train pulled up at Uguisudani station.

“I just really can’t wait to see how you’re gonna react to it,” I replied with a large smile on my face.

As the doors to the train slid open, a few more people got on the train, looking for empty seats and Chanyeol abruptly stood up and crossed over to my side of the train, taking the seat beside me just before another new passenger sat down.

Chanyeol turned to me and gave me a wide smile, “I’m sure I’ll love it.”

The thing I loved most about the Akihabara station was that it was right smack in the middle of the Electronics district and that our destination was only a short, albeit crowded, walk away.

Although it was pretty risky to take Chanyeol somewhere heavily populated, I thought that maybe it’d be okay since it was pretty late and that due to the amount of people, we’d blend right in.

The maid café I wanted to take him to was just a short ten-minute walk from the station, but it quickly grew into a twenty-minute trip with Chanyeol gazing at all the bright colors and blinking lights the electronics district could offer. I understood the fascination of it all. There was so much stimulation going on all around us, and when you’re there for the first time it was understandable that it was easy to lose track of time, where you’re going, and what exactly your purpose there was. But I pulled on Chanyeol’s arm adamantly, promising him we would have enough time to go around after eating.

The @ Home Maid Café was just as colorful as Akihabara and the look on Chanyeol’s face when we entered was priceless. All he could do was simply gawk at everything. He was experiencing what I think was ultimate culture shock and I had to try really hard not to laugh at his expression.

Our server, a pretty girl with long brown hair and dressed in a cute little French maid uniform, greeted us at the door of café. She was all smiles and rainbows and it instantly brightened up the mood.

“Welcome back, master! Are there two in your party today?” She asked with a bright smile and a slight bow of her head. He directed the question at Chanyeol, considering it was a maid café and that they mostly catered to men.

Chanyeol was shocked and turned to me for instruction, eyes looking just about ready to pop out from his skull. I covered my mouth and tried to stifle my giggles.

I was failing terribly.

“She’s asking how many people are in our party,” I explained, acting as translator for Chanyeol and our ‘maid’. It felt strange calling her that but I was unsure of what else to call her.

I turned to our maid and explained that Chanyeol was a foreigner and she happily smiled before nodding in understanding. “Okay then, I’ll lead you to your table!” She said as she led us into the mostly empty café. Before she sat us down at our table, she rang a little bell and announced into the café, “Our masters have come back home!”

Chanyeol looked at me grinning, finally getting used to the whole concept, “This is really awesome,”

I chuckled, glad that he was enjoying himself, “See? I told you this was gonna be fun!”

“This is all so new and different from what I’m used to,” Chanyeol said as our maid went off with our food orders.

“It’s so cool, isn’t it? This is a whole culture here in Japan.” I mused. “These Maid Cafés were no joke. They treat their customers like their masters who have come home instead of café patrons. I heard that