Chapter Twenty One: This is How it Needs to Be
Preliminary Notes: In case, it isn't clear, words in these «double brackets» are being spoken in Korean.
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Shinobu got up and checked her phone that morning. There were no messages from Takane. She hoped that wasn't a bad sign. Despite Naru's reassurances, she did worry that Takane might see her as an immoral woman and blame her for their near indiscretion. Her worrying made her too worried to call or text herself out of fear of a negative response.
I can't do anything about that now, she thought, steeling herself for her next act… apologizing to Naru's friend. She still had negative feelings about the older woman, but she had to admit she was in the wrong. So, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen, sliding it open to what she expected to be chaos.
It was silent, empty. The food preparation had been done in a way that she could prepare breakfast as she saw fit, and water was on the stove for the tea. Maybe she wasn't trying to take over… It made her feel ashamed for her territorial defensiveness in the kitchen the other day. Well, let's get started then.
She hoped Takane would call her today. Not knowing how he saw her after last night's near catastrophe was making her uneasy. And she wasn't sure of who to talk to about it.
The door slid open, and a bleary-eyed Kitsune walked in, followed by Hachi. "G'moorn'g" she mumbled. "We have any tea?" She slumped into a chair. Hachi fell asleep at her feet.
"Good morning, Kitsune," Shinobu said, working her away around the inconveniently sleeping dog and pouring her a cup. "You're up early."
Kitsune took a sip and the caffeine slowly got her brain moving. "Well, now that I stopped drinking myself stupid every night, I find that I go to bed and get up earlier. It's pretty strange." She took another sip. "You look kinda sad this morning… what's the matter?" That felt safer than asking her directly.
"Well...," Shinobu began, wondering how she would explain her fear without giving Kitsune salacious details of last night. "Well, I'm not sure if Takane is going to want anything to do with me now."
Kitsune nodded. "Okay, I should admit I heard ya in the hall last night, and I heard some of your raised voices with Naru."
Shinobu turned bright red.
"But I'm too tired ta tease you on that. So, based on what I heard and what you just said, you're afraid he'll think you're a slut even though ya didn't go all the way?" Kitsune asked sympathetically.
"Yeah," Shinobu said sadly. "I didn't plan to do things things like that. We got carried away and if Naru hadn't come out..." She remembered guiding his hand in the most unladylike fashion.
"I've been there... without the interruption," Kitsune said.
Shinobu's blush went a deeper shade of red.
"At the time," Kitsune continued, "I thought I was getting away with things. Now? I wish I had been busted. Mighta taught me ta ease off." She took another sip of tea. "But, dealin' with your problem, yeah… some guys are hypocrites. They'll play around and then blame the woman. Maybe your Takane is like that, but he doesn't seem ta be unless I'm way off."
"Then why hasn't he called or texted?" Shinobu said. "AUUUU... I just want to know if things are all right between us!"
Did you ever consider calling him? Kitsune thought. Aloud, she said, "Shinobu, there's another kind of guy... the kind who puts all the blame on himself when it takes two to do that. If he's that kinda guy, he might be ashamed of what he did and afraid that ya blame him... so it could be that the two of ya are waiting for the other to show a sign that ya forgive the other."
Shinobu felt her phone in her pocket... then turned to the food preparation. "I guess I can see him acting like that. But I'm afraid that if I call him, I'll find out that he blames me," she said sadly.
"If he does, then you'll know he's a jerk and not worth your time. You're not like me, Shinobu. So don't make my mistakes." Kitsune looked down. "But if he's really the person you hope he is, then isn't it worth risking a phone call over?"
"I guess you're right, Kitsune. I do hope he's the man I think he is. But..." she gestured helplessly.
"I think I get it. You're afraid of being hurt and disappointed. But remember... he might turn out to not be a jerk."
"What's going on?" Motoko said, sliding the door. "Did your boyfriend try to do something to you?"
"No, Motoko," Shinobu said, gritting her teeth, "I don't think there's anything I need to discuss about my relationship." There was no way she wanted to Motoko about what happened last night and risk getting another lecture. Talking about it with Naru and Kitsune was enough. The only person I want to talk about it with is Takane!
The door burst open with most of the rest of the residents rushing in. "Ooh, what happened?" Su asked.
"Nothing happened!" Shinobu snapped.
"I was just asking generally, Shinomu!" Su said cheerfully. Then she got a sly look on her face. "So… does that mean something did happen to you?"
"HEY!" Shinobu protested.
"All right, back off!" Haruka said, walking in with Seta. They both looked rather relaxed and she looked radiant this morning. "She can talk about her lack of a sex life when she's ready to talk about it."
"Oh come on!" Shinobu protested. "Is my lack of a sex life something the whole world has to talk about?"
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Lieutenant Shikishima looked up from his radio set in the surveillance van. "I think subject Maehara suspects that her residence is bugged," he called out.
"Poor girl," Agent Karakuri replied. "To be interrupted like that last night…"
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"Well," Sara said, looking relieved. "At least I'm not the only one who doesn't-"
"Doesn't what?" Haruka asked, glaring.
Shinobu gave a withering smile. "So, I gather everybody wants instant ramen for breakfast?"
Everyone beat a hasty retreat from the kitchen, apologizing as they fled.
She didn't follow through with that threat of course. She served breakfast, but she ate in the kitchen herself for respite. Then, she slipped out while the others were eating, looking out over Hinata House in the fog. Takane, do I call you?
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"What do you mean, she just disappeared?" Naru asked in disbelief.
Kitsune shrugged. "All I know is Shinobu was the one making breakfast when I got up this morning."
"She only knows a few Japanese words," Motoko said. "I hope she didn't think our knowing English was typical of everyone in the country." I would have helped her if I knew she was going out.
"Well," Kanako said, "I imagine she can't have gotten far in that case. Maybe we can find her."
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Shinobu had about worked up her nerve to get her phone out when she heard a car pull into the carport.
Heart in her throat, she hurried over. To her relief, it was Takane. To her surprise, he wasn't alone. Hyun-Sil was walking alongside, sternly berating him in English about responsibility and honor. "Remember what we believe!"
"I know, I know… why do you think I was there first thing this morning?" Takane replied, wearily.
"Takane-kun?" Shinobu called out, partly to get a sense of how he reacted to her, partly to rescue him from the verbal assault."
"Shinobu!" Takane looked up and smiled in relief… both over the fact that Shinobu seemed to want to see him, and over the fact that it was an escape from the harangue.
"Remember what I told you!" Hyun-Sil said, before walking off to the kitchen. Shinobu noticed she was carrying a bus map and a Korean-Japanese dictionary.
Did she get on the streetcar with that?
Shinobu and Takane embraced. "Erm, what was that about?" she asked cautiously.
Takane sighed. "Well, apparently she belongs to the same religion I do. So, she showed up at the church I found in Hinata City this morning after I checked out of the hotel. She 'asked' me to give her a ride back here. So, after having me translate from English to Japanese when she was asking about some alcohol dependency program the Church hosted, I drove her back and on the way, she berated me about being a gentleman and respecting you." He hesitated about saying more, not sure if Shinobu would understand his purpose of his going to the St. Paul Miki church that morning.
Shinobu put her face in her hands. "Does every damn person at this place know what happened last night?" she mumbled.
Takane started to put his arm around her, caught himself, and instead took her hand in his. "Well, she didn't mention what happened last night, but she let me know in uncertain terms that she thought I was treating you badly."
She did? Shinobu thought. She had expected Hyun-Sil's knowing about last night to mean she would look down at her even more… if that were possible with how I behaved so far.
"I happen to agree with her on this though, even if she didn't know what we were up to." He cleared his throat. "Shinobu… I'm sorry for what I did last night. I know most people don't understand my moral values. I try to live them because I think they're good for both of us. But last night? I was ready to just throw them aside just to be with you."
"I know... I feel bad about my own actions too. Putting your hand where I did and all that. I just wanted to be with you too, even though I knew you want to wait until marriage." Shinobu sighed. "The scary thing is, Naru reminded me about my being, um, fertile and how I probably was at my peak last night." She blushed, talking about that with a man.
"Wow," Takane said. "Yeah, I didn't even think about that. It's a good thing your friend intervened."
Shinobu nodded. "I know I'm not ready to be a mother yet, even if I do have silly daydreams of us overcoming the odds through love. Naru's pretty candid about how rough it can be." She colored, remembering how graphically Naru made her point.
"Well, I'd try my best to be a good husband to you and father to our child if that did happen and I hope I'd succeed, but to be honest, I don't think we're at all ready to handle that yet. It would be hard for you to finish college if you were pregnant, and I'd have to sacrifice my plans so I could become a good provider… and that could cause a lot of stress between us."
"Your plans?" Shinobu asked.
"Well, my father has a small but successful trading company that I'll someday be taking over. But I hope to get experience working at another company first to prove myself as qualified to take over instead of just getting the position because dad's in charge. I'd probably need to scratch that plan and ask my father for a job with a salary that could support you and a child." He sighed. "My father would do it, but he'd be disappointed in me that he had to bail me out because I was irresponsible."
Shinobu nodded. "I'm not sure what my parents would do, but I'm sure it would involve blaming each other for raising me badly. Probably their divorce would come sooner than they promised… right now, they're just staying together until I graduate."
"That must be hard on you," Takane said sympathetically.
"It is. Without you and my friends here, I'm not sure how I would have handled their constant fighting."
They sat for awhile. Finally Shinobu said, "I guess we need to figure out how things need to be between us."
Takane nodded. "Yes, we can't go on the way we were and hoping to stay out of trouble." He hesitated. " Despite my failings, I still do want to wait until marriage. But I guess I should ask you what you think about this. If it's not what you want in a relationship, then maybe you won't want to stay in a relationship with me." He paused and cringed. "I'm sorry Shinobu… that makes it sound like I'm telling you to go my way or I'll dump you… and that's not what I mean at all."
"No… I didn't think it was what you meant," Shinobu replied, trying to be reassuring. "It's obvious that this value is very important to you, but you don't want to tie me down to you if I don't want to live that way. Is that right?"
"Yes," Takane said. "I told you about women I dated in the past, who thought I was 'strange' because I didn't try to sleep with them. In those cases, we all agreed to cut ties and go our separate ways with nobody getting hurt. So, if you feel that way too… if you think you can't be happy in a relationship with me and the way I think, then I'd rather you find where you can be happy rather than feel trapped or annoyed with me." He hated the thought of losing her. But if she would be unhappy with me, I guess it's better to let her find happiness elsewhere.
Shinobu squeezed his hand. "Well, I think we both got carried away last night. But I'm glad we were interrupted before we went too far. It might be hard to wait, but I think you're waiting for." I hope I can live up to that.
They embraced then.
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"I'm glad to see you made it back, Eomeoni," Naru said. "We were worried since you don't know much Japanese and a lot of people in Hinata City don't speak English."
"Eh," Hyun-Sil said. "I showed the streetcar driver this." She showed a handwritten note where she had copied the characters of the address taken from the list of Alcohol recovery places. "He pointed to me when we reached the stop, and a policeman in a box helped me get the rest of the way. I had this for the rest." She held up her dictionary. "And now I know the way for the next time I go."
"That must have taken a lot of concentration," Motoko remarked. When she started studying Korean, she had trouble doing the transition between kanji/kana and Hangul letters.
«Not as much as you might think, Motoko-yah. I know a little Hanja from school and it helped me figure out the meaning of some signs. Also, most of your street signs had English below the Japanese. So between the two, when the police officer wrote the instructions for me, I was able to piece together when I was in the right place.»
«Oh... I should have guessed.» Motoko felt foolish. Official street signs with kana and English translations were becoming more common. She studied some Hanja since it could be relevant Korean legal documents. Still, she seems much more confident getting around Japan than I would in Korea.
"At any rate," Naru said. "I'll have to attend the Ryokan association meeting today with Keitaro." She turned to Hyun-Sil. "I'm sorry. I'm not being a good hostess so far."
"It's all right, Naru-yah," Hyun-Sil replied. "You have responsibilities. I never expected you to spend every waking hour with me. I'll find things to do."
"Did'ja make plans for when Keitaro forgets?" Su cracked.
Keitaro came in then and greeted everyone. "So, Naru... what time do we need to leave?"
The Hinata residents—sans Naru—reacted with surprise.
"Wow, oniisan remembered this?" Kanako whispered to Naru.
"Well," Naru whispered back. "I figured out that if I left post-it notes on his pottery, he'd see it first thing."
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Since he hadn't planned on an overnight stay, Takane had to take his leave to return to Tokyo to meet his obligations and get a clean change of clothes before they could have a date that evening. They managed to keep their parting chaste... with great effort.
Left with nothing to do after he departed, she decided to head over to Kitsune's tea room and see how things were going over there.
Apparently, the business was in a lull at the moment, because Kitsune was sitting behind the counter reading something. Not seeing anybody else, she walked over. "How is business doing," she asked, sitting at the counter.
Kitsune got up and got a cup of the orange pekoe grade black tea Shinobu had grown attached to. "Not bad. It's not as busy as I would like to pay of my fine, but I'm paying it off a bit at a time." Sitting back down, she looked over at Shinobu. "So, what are you up to? I figured you and your boyfriend would be spending every second together."
"Yeah, well… he did need to go home and take care of things he would have done if he hadn't… you know."
Kitsune sat on the urge to tease Shinobu. Partly because the younger woman clearly showed remorse for what happened. Partly because her arm was in a cast and even Shinobu would probably be able to kick her ass if she got mad. "My first boyfriend, I wanted ta spend all my time with him and felt lost when he wasn't there. That kinda how you're feeling?"
"Kinda, yes." Shinobu sighed. "But I also need to talk to Mrs. Park and I'm feeling pretty nervous about it. I feel bad enough about how I treated her since she arrived and since she somehow knows what happened last night, I'm even more embarassed at the thought of facing her."
Kitsune tensed and gave a nervous smile.
"Let me guess," Shinobu winced. "She's standing right behind me, isn't she…?"
"I'm gonna go check the storeroom," Kitsune said, beating a hasty retreat.
Hyun-Sil didn't look hostile, but she didn't look like she was especially thrilled to have this encounter either.
I guess it's understandable she'd be wary around me, Shinobu thought. She cleared her throat. "Mrs. Park," she began in English... and feeling just as awkward as she did the first time she ever tried speaking English to Nyamo. "I—"
"The first time I met Naru-yah, was the day her husband went on a dig," Hyun-Sil said abruptly. "The night before, the two had a big fight we could hear in our house. She left angry. The next morning, she comes home. Keitaro leaves. It's very quiet. When it gets to be evening and no lights come on in her house, I bring some food, and I draft my daughter into coming along because I only knew little English and no Japanese. I can see she needs a mother figure, so I was that for her. We become good friends. But it all starts with food. So, for us, meals are part of our past." She looked a little stern. "I'm not looking to take your job or say you are no good with cooking. Talking while I cook is something, how do you say it, comfortable between us."
"Oh." Shinobu said, feeling ashamed. Well, better try to get it out. "Umm, Mrs. Park, it seems to me I have not been very welcoming to you. And at times I have been rude. I don't know how much Naru told you about my problems..."
"She said your mother made you mistrustful of us. This I think I can understand. My grandparents lived when your country occupied mine and they told bad stories too about that time. But you are not those Japanese and I am not those Koreans your mother is afraid of." She looked over at the storeroom door. "Come out of there, Kitsune-yah. I know you're listening."
A red faced Kitsune stepped out of the storeroom and walked back to her chair. "Sorry, Eonni."
"But," Hyun-Sil continued, ignoring Kitsune's mispronunciation, "if you do know what the problem is, you need to address it before something worse happens. I understand that you struggle with this but without changing, apologies are to give a disease then give medicine."
"I wish I could say you were wrong, but I can't," Shinobu said, bowing deeply at the waist. "I am sorry for accusing you and making you feel unwelcome. I just wish I knew how to control those feelings. You're Naru's friend after all."
Hyun-Sil's expression gentled. "I can tell you want to be a good person, Miss Maehara. If you want to try again, I am willing."
"Thank you," Shinobu said, truly grateful. "I just hope I don't mess things up."
Hyun-Sil smiled. "I will try to be understanding if you do. Was there anything else?"
"I don't think so," Shinobu said. She turned to leave and stopped, remembering what Takane said. Well, apparently she belongs to the same religion I do. "Well, actually there is."
"Perhaps we should make some more tea then and talk."
Both Shinobu and Hyun-Sil got up to make it. Hyun-Sil deferred to Shinobu. If doing these chores means so much to her, perhaps I should step back.
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"Well, apparently you know about what happened last night," Shinobu began, blushing.
"I… happened to see when I was returning from the hot spring," Hyun-Sil began cautiously. She wasn't planning on initiating that discussion, but since she asked… "I just tried not to be seen since I was afraid that might make things more tense between us, but when I saw your boyfriend this morning…," she made a shrugging gesture.
"Yes, he said you were both part of the same religion. I don't really have any religion myself… I never thought of it much before. But it's obviously important to him, and because of that, he wants to wait for marriage before we, well, do that. I want to respect that, but since I don't really understand why it's important to him, I'm not really sure where the line is supposed to be. So I'm not sure how I'm supposed to behave." She blushed. "I'm still a virgin, so feeling like this is all new to me."
Hyun-Sil nodded. "So, you're not sure how far you are allowed to go with him without doing what he thinks wrong and if you will push him by accident?"
"Yes," Shinobu said, blushing deeply. "I do love him so I don't want to do things he thinks is wrong. But lately, I'm starting to feel like I want to take the next step with him too. So, I feel confused and sometimes frustrated."
Hmm, Kitsune thought. I always thought of her as being forever naive, but I guess she is a woman now.
"Well," Hyun-Sil said. "Since you asked, we think sex is intended to be between one man and one woman in a lifelong relationship open to the possibility of having children. So, whatever goes against that is considered wrong. And since physical intimacy that arouses leads to sex, the unmarried need to avoid that too."
"Huh," Shinobu mused. "Some of that sounds like what Naru said to me last night, though her focus was more like 'Unless you're ready to wind up like this," she pantomimed Naru's pregnant girth, "'you shouldn't do it.'"
Kitsune grinned. "I could see Naru doing that."
No you couldn't, Shinobu thought, recalling how Naru drove her point home. She hesitated. "Mrs. Park? Naru tells me you have a daughter close to my age."
"A little younger I think. Ji-Hwan just turned nineteen. You're twenty?"
"Twenty one," Shinobu nodded. "What would you tell her if she told you she had desires like mine?"
"Well, at her age, of course she has desires like you. At your age, I had desires like you. But, in her case, I'd say 'Did you forget everything I told you?'" She raised her voice in feigned yelling, but Shinobu could see a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
"But you're not her," Hyun-Sil continued quickly in case Shinobu didn't realize it was a joke. "You weren't raised with the values I raised Ji-Hwan with for nineteen years. So I would have to start with basics and say something different to you. I would say that the desires are going to be strong for someone your age, but just because you have a desire doesn't mean you should act on it. Do you really treasure your relationship with your boyfriend?"
"Well, yes. It's too early to be making plans, but I would like it if we ended up getting married. I do want him to be happy and I do want to be the one who makes him happy."
"Well, I would say that it would be better if you agreed to wait. You lose nothing if you wait and respect his beliefs. But if you don't wait, maybe your love then die like opening a cocoon to see a butterfly before it is ready. Even if you don't think like him, isn't that a good reason to wait? When one of you is tempted, the other has to be the one to say 'No. This is how it needs to be.'"
"That's a good point," Shinobu nodded. "But how do you know when this butterfly is ready?"
"When you're standing at the altar and both say 'I do,' or whatever your custom is here. Then you've both made the commitment to be together for life."
"Wow," Kitsune said, rubbing her eye. "I wish my Mom had said something like that before I first had sex."
"What did your mom tell you?" Shinobu asked.
"Just 'use protection.'"
That would explain a great deal, Shinobu thought to herself, sweatdropping.
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"You have to go through that every time these Ryokan association people have a meeting?" Keitaro asked. "I feel negligent leaving you to do this on your own."
It had been a grueling meeting. The topic of discussion—which Naru suspected was not coincidental—was dealing with unruly long term guests. The head of the association had implied that those people who wound up with arrests should be banned from the property they lived at.
Naru implied that it was none of the association's damn business who was considered a worthy long term guest.
Keitaro sweatdropped.
"Eh, I was intimidated at first. But then I realized each of them were all trying to get the others to acknowledge their superiority, and to compete with that, I'd have to turn Hinata House into something it's not and I'd have to become something I'm not." Naru gave the ohimesama laugh to emphasize her point.
"Yeah, I'm happy with you as you are," Keitaro said, sweatdropping again. "I wouldn't want to lose that just to have a place that meets with their approval."
"Speaking of having to lose something, how are you feeling about not being in the field anymore? I know that's your love… outside of me of course." She colored slightly. "I could have probably phrased that better." Definitely could have phrased it better, she thought, noticing his wistful expression. As her pregnancy progressed and she became less mobile, she found that part of married life more difficult for her to perform. Maybe I can make the extra effort for him tonight.
Getting his mind out of the gutter, Keitaro smiled. "It's true I miss the field," he said. "But for now it's the best choice for us, so this is how it needs to be. I want to be here when the baby is born. If I'm quarantined because I was in Pararakelse, I wouldn't be able to do that. Besides, taking classes now means I'll be her for our little girl's first years. I'll get to be there for her first word, her first step, and I won't be a stranger to her."
They smiled at each other and leaned into each other as they walked.
"Do… you want to stop and rest a bit before we go home?" Naru asked, seductively.
"I wouldn't mind…" Keitaro said with a mischievous leer.
They walked a bit faster on the way to their destination.
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"I do need to pick up some more supplies so I can provide Naru when she has her cravings," Hyun-Sil said. "But we can work out kitchen time so I don't take over."
"That sounds fine," Shinobu agreed, feeling more at ease. "What sort of supplies did you need?"
"Chili powder, roasted sesame seeds, ground black pepper, aecjeot, and ssamjang. I think for the rest, you have things in your kitchen. We just prepare it differently."
"Okay," Shinobu said, thinking. "I'm not sure where we'd go to shop for some of those…."
"Why not 5-Ban?" Kitsune interjected suddenly. "They have a Korean market there."
"5-Ban? Isn't that supposed to be a bad neighborhood?" Shinobu asked with alarm. "My mother always said I had to stay… oh…." Suddenly putting the two concepts together in her mind, she blushed and buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I did it again, didn't I?"
Hyun-Sil looked down awkwardly.
Kitsune, taking pity on Shinobu, cleared her throat. "I know what she means. Back then, people were afraid because of kidnappings. My dad told me the same thing. Shinobu's the good girl type who doesn't challenge or disobey her parents. Me? I'm the kind of person who just wants to see what's not allowed. So I just had to go see any spies for myself. I was disappointed to find out it wasn't dangerous like I imagined, but it was different, and I thought it was kind of neat."
Hyun-Sil looked up. "Look, Shinobu-yah. I understand that you have issues. I'm patient. But if you keep farting you'll eventually shit yourself."
Kitsune laughed out loud. "I like her…," she said to herself.
Shinobu let out a shocked gasp. Then, she thought about it. "Umm… What exactly do you mean with that saying?" she asked, puzzled.
Hyun-Sil had to ponder that for a moment, as she just directly translated from Korean to English. "Eh? More or less, if you don't be careful with what you do, you might end up causing yourself harm and embarrassment."
Shinobu sweatdropped, but had to admit the older woman had a point. "You… don't pull punches, do you? Is that a…." She cut herself short, embarrassed. "I mean… um…"
Hyun-Sil decided to let it go before Shinobu wound up digging herself a hole so deep, she found herself in America. "…A Korean thing? Well, we tend to be more up front then the Japanese seem to be, yes. But I'm also considered kind of blunt by our standards too." She gentled her tone. "What else did your mother teach you? Maybe, I can help you with these issues before they become a problem for us."
Shinobu pondered that. "Well, one of the more embarrassing ones was, my mother told me that there were a lot of Communist sympathizers out there out to overthrow the country."
Hyun-Sil nodded, and had a distant look. "I see. Well, I think you need to understand people of my age demonstrated against a dictatorship in Seoul. Why should we want to replace one with another?"
Shinobu was startled to think of this woman as opposing dictatorships. "Ohh... I never thought about like that.…" Dammit, I'm sure having to say that a lot!
"You did?" Kitsune asked, interested. I guess I vaguely do recall in my visit to South Korea, with people talking about how it used to be.
"Yes, the June Democratic Struggle in 1987. My husband and I had recently moved from Incheon to Seoul… he had just started graduate studies. Back then, few women went to college, so I was working 72 hours a week in the factory. I don't think of myself as political. But If it's Kim Il-Sung standing on your neck or Chun Doo-Hwan standing on your neck, the boot feels the same."
She took a sip of her tea and continued. "My generation, we just want to live our lives freely. Most of us who protested weren't thinking about one or another politics—just about everyday life. My parents ran a restaurant. They were more concerned about the quality of the day's catch than some President, but that President made himself a problem for everyone, so we stood up. I want a stable democracy and I think it's important to speak out about injustices—both politically and personally. So, if I ran into another Korean who said he supported Kim Jong-il, I'd give him a piece of my mind. This is how it needs to be."
"I had no idea," Shinobu said, bowing again in apology. "If I had, maybe I wouldn't have been so quick to accept everything my Mom said. I guess I should start learning more and stop thinking I know."
Hyun-Sil set down her empty cup. "So, Shinobu-yah. Do you want to help me find this 5-Ban? I'm pretty sure we won't see any spies, but it might be educational." She gave a wink to let Shinobu know there were no hard feelings.
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Feeling much more relaxed, Naru and Keitaro checked their clothing to make sure they didn't look disheveled. The usual looks they got when they came out of these places were bad enough. They preferred not to provide anything extra to encourage their imagination. Having made sure they hadn't left any obvious clues about their stopover, they left the love hotel.
"Well, I guess we ought to get home," Naru said. "I do want to catch up with everything with her! Besides, I'd like to spare Hyun-Sil from facing the asylum alone. Especially if Shinobu is still having problems."
"You're not expecting Shinobu to do anything, do you?" Keitaro asked. He didn't think it likely. Then again, he never expected Shinobu to still have a crush on him after he married Naru, so he had learned not to rely on his own judgments.
"No," Naru said. "But if they're uncomfortable with each other, being together could be hard on both of them."
Keitaro looked at the streetcar going the other direction. "It may be less tense than you think," he said nodding in that direction. "Pretty bold of them to head out without Motoko to translate."
Naru looked up to see Shinobu, Kitsune, and Hyun-Sil inside traveling towards the center of town. "I did not expect to see that."
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"Well," Kitsune said grinning. "I did not expect to see that."
Shinobu blushed furiously, seeing Naru and Keitaro standing in front of a building marked Hotel Exe, and knowing what it meant.
Hyun-Sil, not knowing the kana had no idea what the building was, so she waved to Naru as the streetcar drove past.
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"I think I'm ready to run away again," Naru groaned, burying her face in her palm. "I can never show my face at Hinata House again."
"Is there any place to run to we haven't already tried yet?" Keitaro said with a wink.
"The South Pole?" Naru said, smiling slightly. "It could have been worse though. At least Su wasn't with them."
"Heya, Keitaros! Heya Naru-yan!" Su said cheerfully. "Whatcha doin' here?"
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Shinobu had to admit that there were no spies or criminals she could see in 5-ban. And the market was interesting. There were even food items she was curious to try—properly cooked of course—sometime. And, when it came to Hyun-Sil buying those spices and the omnipresent kimchi, she shrugged. She's doing it for Naru and those who want to take part. Still, she felt there was so much she didn't understand about Korean culture and that was holding her back.
So, while Kitsune and Hyun-Sil shopped for different foods, Shinobu popped into the local Tsutaya next door and went to the foreign movie section… which, this being a Korean shopping district, had a large selection. Thankfully, the movies had a Japanese translation of the Korean plot descriptions so she picked out one that she hoped might provide a "slice of life" insight. One involved a person in college seeking to become a professor, with a pregnant wife. Apparently a dog was involved. It was billed as a comedy. Maybe Keitaro and Naru would like this.
Wrapping up the shopping, Kitsune looked at the watch on her good arm. "I guess we should do something for lunch?"
Shinobu looked around. "Well, I don't know the area, so I have no idea what restaurant to try." Don't do something stupid like assume Mrs. Park automatically knows this! she told herself.
"Do you have any ideas, Eonni?" Kitsune asked.
Hyun-Sil and Shinobu sweatdropped.
"Well," Hyun-Sil said. "I suppose I can see what sort of place looks like some place I'd want to try."
She scrutinized the restaurants carefully, assessing how their displays and employees looked, as well as how it smelled walking by. About the time Shinobu was ready to suggest just picking one, she gave a nod and pointed out a small restaurant/bar. "I have a good feeling about this one."
Shinobu shrugged. It didn't seem like anything special. But she wasn't the expert here. So they walked in.
It was small inside, but clean. Surprisingly enough, the music playing in the background wasn't Korean or Japanese but American Country/Western. Shinobu could make out something in English about some ring of fire.
"Irrasshaimasse" a man said. "Welcome Ne-sans." There was a young man cooking, but the two of them seemed to be the only two staff present. "How are you today?" He spoke flawless Japanese.
He seemed well organized, seating them and providing the basics. He poised, ready to take their orders. So, Shinobu relaxed slightly. "I'm doing well thank you."
Kitsune, on the other hand, seemed suddenly uncomfortable and self-conscious, looking at her outfit and her cast. "Ah, I- I am fine, thank you very much," she said, trying to bury her Kansai accent. He's handsome and I'm a mess!
Shinobu sweatdropped.
The man smiled warmly at Kitsune—leaving her flustered—and turned to Hyun-Sil. "And how about you, oneesan?"
«How about you speak properly,» Hyun-Sil said, mildly annoyed at not understanding the conversation.
«Ah, sorry Noona, I did not realize,» the man replied, bowing. «How do I best communicate if you don't have a common language?»
«Our common language is English.»
"So, how can I serve you today?" he said, switching to English.
Shinobu and Kitsune both sweatdropped as they looked at the menu. Shinobu, because of what kind of unexpected flavors she might not like, and Kitsune, because of her concern of accidentally ordering something fermented or cooked with alcohol.
Seeing their expression and recognizing the reasons, Hyun-Sil took charge. «Okay, these people are uncomfortable around kimchi and hot spices. So let's try Samgyeopsal, Bulgolgi and Galbi for the younger girl and me and some Samgyetang for the older girl.» While the staff seemed confident, she figured these were the safest to try on a first visit.
The man nodded. Switching to English, he said "and can I interest you in a drink. Soju perhaps? On the house." He smiled at Kitsune.
Kitsune blanched. "Erm… maybe I had just better have water, but thank you." For a moment, she resented her Antabuse preventing her from getting to know this man, but she realized that that was just a result of her real problem. She just hoped Hyun-Sil remembered her special needs.
Why is she talking so funny? Shinobu wondered. Kitsune without her Kansai accent was just bizarre. Her hiding her accent and her nervousness didn't seem like her. It seemed more like high school where some of the girls in her all-girls school tensed up when they were shyly trying to look attractive and suppressing behavior they feared looked strange in front of some guy they were attracted to… Nah, couldn't be. Kitsune's so much more confident and experienced with the world than I am.
But as the meal went on, Shinobu began to wonder if her first impressions were right. Kitsune flushed when the man went by or interacted with the table. He always smiled at Kitsune and her response was one of liking the attention but afraid of ruining it.
How strange.
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"You seen Kitsune?" Kanako asked when she returned to Hinata House.
"I saw her with Shinobu and Hyun-Sil taking a streetcar towards the center of town," Naru said, shrugging.
"That's a trio that I wouldn't expect," Motoko said, looking up from her manuscript. She'd spent much of the day—after Su disappeared—trying to finish up the final edits for her novel. "Any reason you need them?"
"Just Kitsune asked me to help her and Mrs. Park with something involving the internet. Since I was going to see Grandma Hina tomorrow, I figured I ought to track them down before then.
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"You were totally into him!" Shinobu said to Kitsune as they traveled back to Hinata House. "You were even blushing!" She grinned wickedly. She'd forgiven Kitsune for the antics when she first met Takane of course, but getting a little back of her own was fun. She noticed he didn't have a wedding ring.
After the meal, the man had introduced himself. His name was Oh Dae-Jeong, and he was the owner of the establishment. He told them they were all welcome back any time, but Shinobu thought his attention was directed towards Kitsune. Kitsune, for her part seemed to like the attention, but also became shy… something Shinobu couldn't wrap her head around.
"Are you going to try to see more of him?" Shinobu immediately winced after saying that. Kitsune was sure to use that phrasing as a setup for a lewd joke.
But instead, Kitsune shook her head. "I'm afraid it wouldn't work out," she said… a bit sadly. "He seems like a decent man who deserves a decent woman. And I'm… not… so this is how it needs to be."
Oh Kitsune! Shinobu thought, abandoning thoughts of teasing. Don't give up right away!
"I'll try talking to her later," Hyun-Sil whispered to her. Speaking louder, she said, "I got you and your Takane something." Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a bag. "They match. I think the two of you might appreciate it.
A bit surprised, Shinobu reached into the bag and pulled one item out.
It was a necklace of a butterfly.
Author's Notes
So, this month makes it a over a year (the first chapter was posted on 5/15/20) since I started Life Moves Forward. Have to admit that when I first posted Forever and a Day here, I never expected it would be a trilogy. The state of the story is I have three more arcs (after this one is finished). Thank you all for following it so far.
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Hanja. The Korean name for the Chinese characters that the Japanese call Kanji. If I understand it right, the meaning of the characters is the same but pronunciation is different. It's based on the classical characters. As a result it differs from the simplified characters currently used in mainland China and some Kanji. So a person who knows the characters in one language won't always have a 1:1 correspondence with the other two. So Hyun-Sil could recognize the meaning of some characters and piece things together combined with the English on signs. But she couldn't just read the Japanese signs, especially considering the need for knowing kana in Japanese.
Up until 1971 (Hyun-Sil would have been seven) it was taught in elementary school. After that it was taught in grades 7 and onward until 1980 (Hyun-Sil would have been 16). It seems to have fallen out of use outside of historical and legal documents. So Hyun-Sil (from pre-1980 schooling) and Motoko (from legal applications of studying Korean) have some knowledge of it that would be unusual now for the average Korean.
"I figured out that if I left post-it notes on his pottery, he'd see it first thing." Thanks to reader Fencer29 for the idea.
"give a disease then give medicine." 병 주고 약 준다 (byeong jugo yak junda).
"She gave the ohimesama laugh to emphasize her point." That is: "oh ho ho ho ho ho!"
"Why not 5-ban?" I recently learned that Japan doesn't so much use street names as block numbers.
"So, if I ran into another Korean who said he supported Kim Jong-il" In 2007, Kim Jong-il was still ruler of North Korea.
"Shinobu popped into the local Tsutaya" Tsutaya is a Japanese video rental chain. Apparently video rental is still a thing in Japan.
"Samgyeopsal, Bulgolgi and Galbi" also known as Korean Barbecue.
"Samgyetang" is a form of chicken soup. Given how frequently cheongju (a rice wine) is used in cooking, Hyun-Sil is playing it safe.