Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

184. Chapter 184

Chapter 184

"Max!" Jae Sun said as he walked up to Maxwell's desk after his meeting with Mr. Yukimura. "Change of plans for Saturday. Keiko and some friends of hers are going to have dinner with us and we're all going to go to a Karaoke bar."

"Who's Keiko?"

"She's an engineer for the City Planner up on the 10th floor. She and I go way back and I asked her on a date. I assumed it would just be her and I but she mentioned bringing friends," Jae Sun rushed and Maxwell started chuckling.

"You thought a Japanese girl would go on a date with you alone? Oh, Dauer-chan, you have so much to learn," Maxwell said as he continued to laugh at Jae Sun's expense.

"Thanks for your compassion for my predicament, Senpai," Jae Sun answered sarcastically. "Please, Max, tell me you and the guys don't mind Keiko and her friends joining us on Saturday."

"It's fine by me," Maxwell said, "And so long as there's a girl there for each of us, I doubt Louis, Eric or Hirohito will mind either."

"Okay, good," Jae Sun breathed a sigh of relief. "Everybody just needs to dress really nice. I want to make a good impression."

"You said she works upstairs for the City Planner?"

"Yeah," Jae Sun said.

"What's her last name?" Maxwell asked as he grabbed a giant binder he had tucked aside in one of his desk drawers.

"Iwamoto," Jae Sun remembered right away and Maxwell started searching through the names. "You have an itinerary of all the people who work here? Why do you have this?"

"In case I need it," Maxwell answered while continuing to search for Keiko's name. He finally found it and read through all the company information. "Looks like Mr. Saito is her manager," Maxwell said with a heavy sigh.

"What? What's wrong with that? Who's Mr. Saito?"

"Rumor has it Mr. Saito is notorious for working well into the night," Maxwell said, "so come Saturday if that man decides he's busy and he needs to work until 9, Miss Iwamoto won't be getting out of work any time soon."

"What're you talking about? If she starts around 8, she'd work until five or something wouldn't she?" Jae Sun asked.

"I'm afraid that's not how office politics work," Maxwell said. "You're not supposed to leave before your boss does. It doesn't look good. If you want any advancement in your job, you need to wait to leave until after your boss leaves. My boss agrees that once it's five, we all leave so I'm lucky – Miss Iwamoto is not so lucky."

"So she might not be able to go out on Saturday because of her boss is what you're saying," Jae Sun asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Maxwell answered bluntly. "If you want my opinion: try to ask her to go out on a Sunday. We can stick with Saturday for now but don't be disappointed if she bales out on you. It's not you; it's work."

"Great," Jae Sun grumbled. "I guess I can always call her tonight or something."

"You got her number?"

"Yeah," Jae Sun answered.

"Even better," Maxwell said with a light smile, "I guess you two do go way back."

"I've known her since I was three," Jae Sun said and Maxwell looked a little stunned.

"Huh," Maxwell mumbled then said, "Well, in any case, if Saturday doesn't pan out, try to set something up for Sunday and on Saturday the five of us will hang out like we always do."

"Okay," Jae Sun said, "But the plan is for us to have a night out with Keiko and her friends. Just remember to dress nice okay?"

"I'll wear my finest tux," Maxwell answered sarcastically and started laughing as Jae Sun rolled his eyes and walked away. "Talk to you later, Dauer," Maxwell said and waived his hand as he was walking away.

Upstairs, Keiko went straight to her desk still holding Jae Sun's number in her hand. Once she was seated, she smoothed out the paper with her thumb and was staring at it for several seconds. Their boss came out of his office to give his usual pep talk while all the employees stood from their desks to give him their full attention. They thanked him for his hard work, bowed and returned to their seats to start working. Throughout the day, Keiko kept scanning the room trying to decide who she would ask to join her on Saturday. There was a small handful of women in the office Keiko was friendly with but they'd never been out socially except during work functions. When it was time to break for lunch, Keiko used the opportunity to reach out to a few of her coworkers hoping to get at least 4 to agree to join her on Saturday.

Before their lunch break ended, she'd asked all the women in her department she was comfortable inviting but only three agreed they could be free. Mr. Saito did not finally finish for the day until 8:00 so by the time she could leave and then return home, it was after nine and she was exhausted. She took off her shoes before going over the threshold of the house and then reached into her purse to pull out Jae Sun's number. She thought again about who else she could invite but no one else came to mind. She felt awful that she might cause someone to be left out as an odd number so she went to the phone to dial Jae Sun's number. Back at Jae Sun's apartment, he was still unpacking trying to get everything organized while Poki was sniffing around anxiously. Poki had finally started getting used to being in Akihiko's and Yue's apartment only to be moved yet again so Poki was not a happy camper.

"Don't worry, Poki," Jae sun said as he ran his hand over Poki's head down his back and patted his butt when he'd walked over to sniff the box Jae Sun was working on. "I won't move you again for a very long time; I swear." Poki chirped in his throat and lifted his butt when Jae Sun started patting it.

Jae Sun finished unpacking and setting up his work desk keeping it against the wall across from where he had his futon folded. Then he moved on to getting his tiny kitchen set up putting away what few pieces of cookware Akihiko and Yue handed down to him. He also had some cookware from Korea but he needed to get creative with how to store them in the limited space he had and it was really aggravating him. He also kept glancing in the direction of his phone sitting beside his desk wanting to call Keiko but he held off just in case she hadn't made it home yet. He planned to call around 9:30. Right now it was 9:20 and he was feeling a little anxious. When his phone rang, he nearly dropped his clay cooking pot but narrowly managed to catch it and placed that on the counter before rushing to his phone to answer it.

"もしもし?" (Moshi Moshi / Hello?) Jae said once he answered the phone.

"Hello Jae Sun," Keiko said on the other line in English. She noticed the tone of Jae Sun's voice and said, "I'm so sorry; did I call at a bad time?"

"No! No, it's not a bad time," Jae Sun rushed to say. "I've just been getting my things unpacked. My desk's set up – I still need to get my kitchen put together and put my clothes away so I'm almost done."

"That's good to hear. You said you just moved into your new apartment right?" Keiko asked.

"Yeah," Jae Sun said, "but I'm getting used to it. It's smaller than I'm used to but it'll work for now."

"Is it a studio?"

"Yeah and I just barely fit in the living space when lying down," Jae Sun said with a smile. "One apartment I'd seen I couldn't even extend my arms."

"Yes, I've heard of those really tiny apartments," Keiko said, "I can't picture you living in anything like that."

"Neither could I but you make do with what you can get," Jae Sun said. "Poki's not happy but I think he's just mad about having to move again. I just promised him I wouldn't make him move again for a long time."

"Unless it's to move to a bigger apartment, right?" Keiko suggested jokingly.

"Nope," Jae Sun joked with her, "I've made my shoe box – now I must lie in it." Keiko didn't laugh at first and for a moment Jae Sun was scared he'd said something stupid but, finally, she started giggling.

"I'm sorry," she said through her light laughter, "it took me a moment to realize you were using a figure of speech. I'm sorry; I speak English but I still have a hard time with things like that."

"日本語で話したいですか？" (Nihongo de hanashitaidesu ka? / Would you prefer to speak in Japanese?) Jae Sun asked.

"No, I would rather speak English," Keiko said. "I want to practice speaking English with a native speaker."

Jae Sun smiled and said, "I'm happy to be of service then." After a brief silence, Jae Sun went on to say, "So how was work today?"

"It was a good day," Keiko said. "I asked as many people as I could if they would be available Saturday night so we can all go out but only three said they were available. I'm sorry I couldn't get more people to come."

"That's fine," Jae Sun said, "we have plenty of time before Saturday so I'll let Max and Hirohito know – maybe they have a few in mind they can invite."

"Okay, good," Keiko smiled. "I would hate to cause anyone to be an extra wheel."

"Don't worry – we'll figure something out," Jae Sun said eagerly. "I'm really glad you called. I wanted to be able to talk to you without having to rush to work." On the other end of the line, Keiko smiled as she blushed bashfully and was twirling her finger around the phone cord.

"What else did you want to talk about?" Keiko finally asked as she sat on the floor with her back to the wall so she was comfortable. "Maybe you could tell me about the farm in Korea. You ran it by yourself with you grandma, right?"

"It wasn't entirely ourselves," Jae Sun said, "We had some help but I did the majority of the work and maintenance. The rice harvest was always the best time of year because the whole village got together to harvest together. We'd be in the fields early in the morning before the sun was up and wouldn't finish until late at night. Some rice would be distributed, some was put aside to make Makgeolli and some of it was sold in the city."

"What is Makgeolli?"

"It's rice liquor," Jae Sun said. "It's really easy to make. I'll show you how someday. I still have a batch with me. I'll bring it Saturday so everyone can try it. I started getting really creative with the recipe and would make it with fruit and spices. The batch I have I made with peaches and cinnamon bark."

"That sounds like a combination a lot would like," Keiko smiled, "But I'm afraid I don't like food or alcohol."

"Only blood?"

"Yes," Keiko nodded. "I'm sorry I can't appreciate it. I'm sure everyone will love it, though."

"It's really good if I do say so myself," Jae Sun replied with a proud smile and a soft laugh under his breath. "The region your family home is in: was that ever a farm?"

"No," Keiko said, "my mother's family used to control a plot of land in Osaka before the turn of the century. My father's side of the family have lived in Tokyo for centuries. My mother and father both come from families that belonged to the Shogunate."

"You mean your parents were Samurai?"

"My parents both have training as Samurai, yes," Keiko smiled. "So do I as a matter of fact. When I was little, I was homeschooled. Mikamura-san was my teacher's name. He came to the house every day Monday through Saturday at 8:00 sharp. Before that, father would have me up at 5:00 every morning for training."

"The man woke you every morning at 5?" Jae Sun asked and Keiko giggled a little.

"Yes, he did," Keiko said. "My father's extremely organized and he kept me on a very strict schedule. Except on Sundays. That was my day to relax. Monday through Saturday, I was up at 5:00 and father would teach me to sword fight."

"My parents let me sleep in," Jae Sun said jokingly and Keiko giggled again.

"Yes, even my coworkers are surprised by my childhood schedule," Keiko said. "Anyway, by the time my grandparents were born, the Shogun had lost control and the emperor took over power of Japan. My maternal great grandfather retained control over the land his family held before the Tokugawa Shogun resigned which he passed down to my grandfather and my paternal great grandfather became heavily involved in politics and was a member of the Meiji Parliament and so was my grandfather after him. My father studied medical science and joined the military and he and my mother married right before he was deployed to China."

"So were you born in Osaka?"

"No, I was born in the outskirts of Tokyo where my family lives now," Keiko said. "My mother's family lived in Osaka but my father's family lived here."

"And was your father a medic for the army during the invasions of China?"

"No," Keiko replied as she became extremely uncomfortable. She was very aware of the terrible things her father had done and the people who would have been affected by it. She knew that, while her father was only responsible for his own crimes, he was not the only offender and the Chinese were not the only victims. "My father was stationed in Northern China at Unit 731. So was Mikamura-san for that matter. That's how my father knew him so when he found out Mikamura-san was a teacher my parents hired him to be my home school teacher."

"Oh," Jae Sun said when he realized what she was getting at. "So your dad and teacher were responsible for helping produce chemical weapons?"

"Yes, exactly," Keiko said. "My father's a brilliant man – had he been able to he could have used his medical knowledge to help our troops but his skills were seen as being better suited in the north."

"Does…." Jae Sun trailed off feeling like he was about to ask a stupid question but, all things considered, it wasn't a stupid question at all, "Does your father feel remorse over what happened?"

"He does," Keiko said. "Please – don't think my father is an evil man. He's not. My father committed horrible atrocities but it was by the orders of evil people and he thought what he was doing was for the betterment of Japan." Jae Sun's initial instinct was the think of Mr. Iwamoto and Mr. Mikamura as just that: evil men. Then he thought of his mother and he realized that wasn't fair.

"I understand," Jae Sun finally said. "My mother used to serve the People's Army of North Korea."

"Did she?" Keiko asked.

"Yeah," Jae Sun answered, "when the war ended and Korea divided into the north and south, my mother was in the north. Things changed dramatically and she worked in a factory and that's how the General found out about my mother's power. She has all these invisible hands and she can reach really far with them and they're extremely strong but my mom had no interest in serving in the military. My grandma was dying and my mother wanted to be with her and take care of her."

"So your grandma who died recently wasn't your mother's grandma?" Keiko asked with confusion.

"She was a woman my mom met at the M.A.S.H after my father brought her into South Korea after they'd escaped a North Korean POW camp. Yon was a cook and took my mom in as if she were her own daughter and when my siblings and I were growing up, we considered her our grandma."

"I see," Keiko said, "Your mother's a half breed isn't she? So the woman who raised her wasn't her birth mother?"

"No," Jae Sun said. "Mom never knew her birth parents. She ran away from her village to the east after she'd used her power to defend herself against Japanese troops and kept going west until she made it west. A woman named So Chin Sun found her and took her in as her daughter. I don't know what the disease was, but she was dying and my mother wanted to stay by her side but her superiors wouldn't let her leave and tried to hold her at gunpoint. She used her power to destroy the guns and returned home. The General heard about what happened and wanted her to join the army. My mom agreed to serve with the condition that my grandma would be looked after and healed of her disease. They lied to my mom and made promises to her they couldn't keep, so of course my grandma died. But mom was permitted to stay by my grandma's side until she died so my mom served the army loyally until she met my father and helped him escape. While she was a part of the army, though, she did things she can never take back and everything she's ever been ordered to do still haunt her to this day."

"I can imagine," Keiko said.

"I assume your father was changed while he was in China?" Jae Sun asked.

"Yes," Keiko nodded. "He was changed by one of the former inmates."

"An inmate became a vampire and he let your father live?" Jae Sun asked.

"Yes," Keiko said, "Mr. Chen used the chaos of the Red Army approaching to kill some of the Japanese troops but when he had the chance to kill my father, he didn't. Mr. Chen and my father don't talk about what happened but whatever happened Mr. Chen and father grew to become very good friends."

"It sounds like Mr. Chen's extremely forgiving," Jae Sun said.

"He most definitely is," Keiko said. "I've only had the pleasure of joining them a few times when I was a girl, but sometimes my parents go to Hong Kong to visit Mr. Chen when everyone's there."

"Everyone?"

"My father wasn't the only one changed but he was the only Japanese troop who was changed that night. At least by Mr. Chen's doing," Keiko explained. "The Chinese weren't the only inmates at the Unit. There were English and American missionaries and there was a German soldier who'd been captured after deserting Hitler's army. Anyone unfortunate enough to be captured was used in experimentation. My father stayed in China with these people for years. Mr. Chen was the first to offer my father forgiveness but Mr. Pembroke, Mr. Schmidt, Mr. Li and the others eventually forgave my father."

"How long did your father stay in China before returning to Japan?"

"For about five years after he was changed if I remember correctly but my father was in China for seven or eight years altogether," Keiko answered. "It was a really tough time for our family. My father asked my grandpa for his consent to marry my mother – less than a month later they were married and my father was shipped off to war two days after the wedding. My grandparents – my maternal grandparents especially – were banking on my mother having a son but…..when my mother bled and they knew she wasn't pregnant, everyone was extremely disappointed. Everyone except my father. When my mother told him she wasn't pregnant, she'd written him a tearful, heartfelt apology begging his forgiveness and my father replied to her that there was nothing to forgive and they would simply need to try again when he finally returned home and he told her how much he loves her. My parents have two giant boxes in their room holding their letters they exchanged to one another. I read through them once."

"Did you? For shame," Jae Sun teased and Keiko smiled.

"I couldn't help myself," Keiko replied. "They were dated so I was able to read them in order. My parents wrote to one another up to the night my father and the others were to destroy everything. Father never talked to mother about what they were doing. All he would tell her in his letters was he missed her dearly, loved her desperately and thoughts of her and returning home to her was all that kept him going. My mother wrote to him how she missed him and longed for the day he would return home and would write him love poems. My father's last letter he wrote to her came in September of 1945. My mother responded but the letters stopped after that. When the Americans bombed Japan and we'd lost the war, my mother and grandparents didn't know what happened to my father. My mother refused to believe he was dead but her parents insisted she needed to remarry; that my father was almost certainly dead and never coming home. But she never did – she refused any suitor my grandparents presented. One suitor my grandparents had chosen was given consent to marry my mother. They didn't gave her a choice in the matter and arranged the wedding behind her back. She threatened to commit suicide when she found out but they wouldn't be swayed so she tried to hang herself. My grandparents were able to save her in time. After the attempt, my grandparents called off the wedding and my mother secluded herself refusing to speak to anyone."

"Holy shit," Jae Sun mumbled, "But your mom's alright now?"

"Yes, she's alright now," Keiko said. "She never lost hope my father would come home and if he wouldn't come home, she'd see him in death. She'd promised to wait for my father and she did. Before he left for China, my father gave my mother the second button of his uniform."

"Because it's the button closest to his heart," Jae Sun finished with a light smile. "My mom did that for my father too."

"She still wears that button to this day," Keiko said. "In fact, after she'd attempted suicide, my father returned home within the month. My mother was overjoyed."

"How did she react when she found out your dad was changed to a vampire?"

"She didn't care – he was finally home and that's all that mattered. Then my mother became pregnant with me and after she gave birth to me, my father changed her to save her life."

"Do your grandparents know?"

"No, they don't," Keiko said. "My father secluded himself from his family and my mother's parents were so upset with her that after my father finally returned home, she'd still not given them a grandson but they were able to move on with time. My grandparents all passed away a long time ago but I was able to know them and I loved them."

"That's good you were able to know them," Jae Sun smiled pleasantly. He wished they were sitting across from each other at a restaurant or something instead of on the phone. He was trying to imagine what she must look like right now. "So did you just get home from work?" he finally asked.

"Yes," Keiko answered. "Mr. Saito was busy today so we didn't leave until 8."

"Yeah," Jae Sun said awkwardly, "I heard from Max that Mr. Saito is notorious for working late."

"Your friend knows Mr. Saito?"

"Not personally; just whatever he's heard from other employees and people who work in the building. I'd actually wanted to ask you about that. If you have to stay at work late, I understand but…..if you get held up at work, do you suppose I could see you Sunday? We can go to the park or we can go out for coffee." Keiko blushed as she considered it. She wanted to say yes but she kept thinking she should bring people along with her but she didn't know who she could invite.

"I'm sure we can think of something," Keiko said and Jae Sun could barely contain his excitement. "How will I notify you if I have to work late?"

"I'll be home until 6:30 – we're all meeting for dinner at 7. If you can't make it that night, give me a call at my place and let me know," Jae Sun smiled. "Then I'll call you Sunday morning and we can do something else." After a moment of silence and realizing Keiko still seemed apprehensive about being alone with him, Jae Sun added, "I can even invite my Uncle Akihiko and Aunt Yue."

"That would be lovely," Keiko answered with a bright smile on her face. The relief in Keiko's voice was palpable. He had to remind himself he wasn't asking out an American girl who would go out alone with him and there was no issue.

"I'll talk to my aunt and uncle about it," Jae Sun smiled. He didn't want to stop talking to her but he glanced at the clock and knew he had to let her get some sleep. "I'd better let you go. I don't want to keep you up talking all hours of the night."

"You should get to bed too," Keiko replied pleasantly. "I look forward to Saturday. If I can't make it, we'll plan for Sunday instead."

"I can't wait," Jae Sun answered. "Sweet dreams, Keiko."

"Sweet dreams, Jae Sun," Keiko said and the two ended their call.

Jae Sun laid his head against the wall with a light smile on his face. Poki meandered around the small apartment rubbing his cheeks against the boxes, corners of the room and anything else that didn't smell right to him. Jae Sun gave Poki space to do what he needed while returning to unpacking and made a mental note to himself to call his friends to see if they had anything they could invite. After Keiko ended the call, she went to her room to get ready for bed. Once she'd gone to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, she returned to her room and saw the long row of manga Jae Sun had written over the years. She looked at her clock to see the time only to see it flashing 12:00 over and over again. Keiko sighed heavily realizing she'd not fixed her clock before rushing out the door that morning.

"愚かな時計," (Orokana tokei / Stupid clock) Keiko muttered as she walked to her clock to fix it and set the alarm.

Once her alarm was set, she went back to her bookcase to grab book 1 of Jae Sun's manga and unfolded her futon before getting settled to start reading. The story started simply with Popo the cat's origin story of how a kindly Korean woman rescued him from a mean weasel and had taken him in. From there, it told of how Popo the Cat met the raven named Bayok and the blue bird named Blu. Then the story proceeded with Popo the Cat's first adventure in the quiet town of Forks. It was a precious story of Popo and friends protecting the town from evil while the people lived normal lives. Keiko read through books 1 and 2 before finally going to bed for the night.

Thankfully, Keiko's alarm went off the following morning and she was able to get ready for work and make it to the train station on time. The remainder of the week went on normally until Friday. It was nearing the end of the work day but Mr. Saito, diligent and hard working as ever, remained in his office so everyone remained at their desks. There were three people in the office currently sleeping at their desks but so long as they weren't snoring, no one bothered them even when Mr. Saito stepped out of his office. He was going from desk to desk talking to the other employees and eventually made his way to the desk Keiko was sitting at. They all rose from their seats to face Mr. Saito and bowed to him.

"こんばんは、斉藤さん," (Konbanwa, Saitō-san / Good evening, Mr. Saito) everyone at the table said as they bowed their heads to Mr. Saito.

"こんばんは," (Konbanwa / Good evening) Mr. Saito replied to them. "明日はみんな一生懸命頑張ります. 私たちは早くオフィスを出て、みんなで夕食をとります." (Ashita wa min'na isshōkenmei ganbarimasu. Watashitachi wa hayaku ofisu o dete, min'nade yūshoku o torimasu. / Everyone work hard tomorrow. We're leaving the office early and we'll all have dinner together.) Everyone including Keiko bowed their heads but Keiko didn't say thank you like everyone else did.

Instead when she rose from her bow, she said, "齋藤さん、ご容赦ください. 明日の夜は他にも予定があり、全員で夕食をとることはできません." (Saitō-san, go yōsha kudasai. Ashita no yoru wa hoka ni mo yotei ga ari, zen'in de yūshoku o toru koto wa dekimasen. / Please forgive me, Mr. Saito. I have other plans tomorrow night and I cannot join everyone for dinner.)

"他にどんな計画がありますか?" (Hoka ni don'na keikaku ga arimasu ka? / What other plans?) Mr. Saito asked with surprise. Keiko blushed a little feeling irritated. Was it so unbelievable, she wondered, that she might for once have plans of her own? "若い伊藤賢治が明日参加します," (Wakai Itō Kenji ga ashita sankashimasu / Young Kenji Ito will be joining us tomorrow) Mr. Saito added as a reminder and his mentioning the man only aggravated Keiko more.

The sentiment aggravated her so much that, in a fit of frustration, she said, "齋藤さんはご容赦ください. でも明日の夜は彼氏と夕食とカラオケに行く予定です." (Saitō-san wa go yōsha kudasai. Demo ashita no yoru wa kareshi to yūshoku to karaoke ni iku yoteidesu. / Please forgive me Mr. Saito, but I already have plans to go to dinner and karaoke with my boyfriend tomorrow night.) Mr. Saito and everyone else in the office who overheard what Keiko said went wide eyed and when Keiko realized what she'd just blurted out, her cheeks went crimson.

"岩本さん、どうして彼氏がいるって言わなかったの? これは最近ですか?" (Iwamoto-san, dōshite kareshi ga iru tte iwanakatta no? Kore wa saikindesu ka? / Miss Iwamoto, why did you never tell me you had a boyfriend? Is this recent?) Mr. Saito asked but another coworker spoke up before she could answer.

"彼氏がいるなんて知らなかった. 彼のお名前は? 私たちは彼を知っていますか?" (Kareshi ga iru nante shiranakatta. Kare no onamae wa? Watashitachi wa kare o shitte imasu ka? / I didn't know you had a boyfriend. What's his name? Do we know him?) one of her coworkers asked.

"岩本さん、きっと夕食に一緒にいられますよね? この若い男に会いたいです. 彼のお名前は?" (Iwamoto-san, kitto yūshoku ni issho ni i raremasu yo ne? Kono wakai otoko ni aitaidesu. Kare no onamae wa? / Miss Iwamoto, surely he can join us for dinner right? I would love to meet this young man. What's his name?) Mr. Saito asked and Keiko realized with embarrassment she'd just talked herself into a corner. She wondered if she should just tell them the truth and admit it wasn't actually a date.

"彼はこの建物で働いている人ですか?" (Kare wa kono tatemono de hataraite iru hitodesu ka? / Is he someone who works in this building?) another coworker pressed.

"彼," (Kare / He) Keiko began awkwardly but she was still debating with herself what to say.

"おお! あなたが私たちに話していたのはその漫画家ですか?" (Ō! Anata ga watashitachi ni hanashite ita no wa sono mangakkadesu ka? / Oh! Is it that manga artist you were telling us about?" asked a woman at another desk that Keiko had tried to invite to the night out in question. She mumbled briefly to herself trying to remember the name before finally saying, "彼の名前はジェ・サン・ダウアーですよね?" (Kare no namae wa Je San Dauādesu yo ne? / His name is Jae Sun Dauer, right?)

"Dauer Jae Sun?" one of the men at her table said. "彼はそれらのポポ漫画を書いていますね?" (Kare wa sorera no po po manga o kaite imasu ne? / He writes those Popo manga doesn't he?)

"彼は漫画家ですか?" (Kare wa mangakkadesu ka? / He's a manga artist?) Mr. Saito asked. He was trying to be polite but Keiko could tell he was extremely unimpressed. Regardless, he smiled pleasantly and said, "明日の夕食に彼を招待してください. 私たちは皆、彼に会いたいと思っています. たぶん彼はみんなのために漫画にサインするほど親切だろう." (Ashita no yūshoku ni kare o shōtai shite kudasai. Watashitachi wa mina, kare ni aitai to omotte imasu. Tabun kare wa min'na no tame ni manga ni sain suru hodo shinsetsudarou. / Please invite him to join us all for dinner tomorrow. I think we would all love to meet him. Perhaps he would be so kind as to sign some manga for everyone.)

"恵子ちゃん、そうだと思いますか?" (Keiko-chan,-sōda to omoimasu ka? / Do you suppose he would, Keiko-chan?) one of the older women asked Keiko eagerly.

"それで解決しました," (Sore de kaiketsu shimashita / It's settled then) Mr. Saito said with a pleasant smile. "この若い男に会えるのを楽しみにしています." (Kono wakai otoko ni aeru no o tanoshiminishiteimasu. / I look forward to meeting this young man.)

Keiko kept thinking to herself she should tell them the truth but she was far too embarrassed to do so. The issue arose that now she needed to tell Jae Sun….or maybe she could tell him she had to work and she could tell her coworkers something came up and Jae Sun couldn't make it but she eventually shot down the plan as cowardice. She wondered if, instead, Jae Sun might be willing to go along with it as a favor to her so Mr. Saito would finally get off her back about trying to set her up. When she returned home, the house was quiet. Her parents were still in Osaka with Zihao and, as it turns out, his mate Daiyu – or Gingistune Oba (Aunt Silver Fox) as Keiko affectionately called the woman. They were planning to return to Tokyo on Sunday so she would have the house to herself until then. Still feeling extremely embarrassed over what happened this afternoon Keiko walked to the phone and anxiously dialed Jae Sun's number.

"No, don't try to act cute, Poki," Jae Sun muttered irritably as Poki was purring and rubbing up against Jae Sun's knee while he was sitting on the floor.

Jae Sun slurped down his instant noodles still lamenting the loss of his mackerel he'd been looking forward to. He'd had rice cooking, vegetables prepared and was going to steam the fish along with them but Poki had jumped onto the counter while Jae Sun wasn't paying attention and stole his mackerel away from him leaving Jae Sun with only his rice and some vegetables, then some instant noodles when he was hungry again after an hour. Poki kept rubbing against Jae Sun's knee then stepped onto it so he could sniff Jae Sun's noodles which he quickly lifted higher.

"You had your fill you greedy little stink butt," Jae Sun protested and stood from the floor so Poki couldn't reach him anymore. He slurped down more noodles just as his phone rang. He rushed to his tiny kitchen area and placed his noodles on the counter as far back as they'd go and covered them with a plate. "Don't you touch my noodles," Jae Sun said firmly to Poki as though he would understand but, of course, Poki was unbothered.

"もしもし?" (Moshi Moshi / Hello?) Jae Sun once he had the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Jae Sun – it's Keiko," Keiko replied, "I'm sorry to call you so late. I just got back home."

"Hey, it's no trouble," Jae Sun said but just as he was about to sit on the floor, he heard the sound of something coming from the kitchen and he saw Poki on the kitchen counter trying to get to his ramen. "Poki! 무슨 일 있어?!" (museun il iss-eo?! / What is wrong with you?!) Jae Sun barked and rushed to the kitchen counter to stop him. Keiko waited on the other line as she heard the commotion wondering what was wrong.

"Jae Sun?" Keiko asked but there was no answer as Jae Sun got his ramen in the fridge away from Poki.

"Ha! Now what's your next move?" Jae Sun challenged while Poki slowly and gently opened and closed his eyes and chirped a little. Jae Sun sighed heavily and then realized he'd just yelled in Keiko's ear so he rushed back to the phone. "Keiko?"

"I'm here," Keiko answered, "is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Sorry, Poki was trying to eat my ramen," Jae Sun explained. "Earlier I was making rice and veggies and I was going to steam some fish to go with it but Poki stole and ate my fish. Now he's trying to steal my ramen too."

Keiko giggled, "Sounds like something Popo the cat would do."

"Trust me: Popo used to do that too. Drove dad absolutely nuts," Jae Sun smiled and looked down at his desk and what he had done of his next manga. "So I'm almost done with the next book. I don't have to turn it in for another two weeks. Did you want to read it first before I submit it?" Keiko's instinct was to say no, but she thought about it for a moment as her curiosity and eagerness got the better of her.

"I would love to," Keiko finally said. "I need to know what happens."

"Alright," Jae Sun smiled, "I'll let you know once I'm done. Just keep this our little secret okay? I don't let Hirohito read my manuscripts before I submit so if he finds out I'm letting you read it first he'd be really mad at me."

"Well," Keiko began bashfully as she blushed, "I'm honored." She got a little nervous as she prepared herself for explaining to Jae Sun what happened. "About tomorrow night," she began and Jae Sun's shoulders slumped.

"You can't make it?" he guessed.

"No," she said, "My boss is having everyone out to dinner after work….so…I really did try to tell him I have other plans. Mr. Saito kept pressing and…..I told them I was already going out to dinner with my boyfriend."

"Oh," Jae Sun responded awkwardly while trying his best not to let himself read too much into it.

"After that, Mr. Saito and my other coworkers kept asking me who my boyfriend is. One person guessed I meant you and before I could say anything, the whole office was calling you my boyfriend and now Mr. Saito is insisting I should bring you to dinner tomorrow. I was too embarrassed to tell them they're mistaken, that you and I aren't dating so I wound up going along with it and….I suppose I was hoping you would be alright with pretending.." Keiko gently shook her head with embarrassment although Jae Sun couldn't see her, "I'm sorry. Forget I asked. I'll tell them you were busy and can't go."

"I can go," Jae Sun blurted out eagerly. "Just tell me when and where and I'll be there."

"Really?" Keiko asked timidly.

"Absolutely," Jae Sun smiled, "I'd love to go. We can have dinner with your boss and coworkers and after that we'll all go to Karaoke together like we planned. We can even bring a bunch of your coworkers if you want. It'll be fun!"

"Yeah," Keiko replied with a gentle smile feeling relieved Jae Sun wasn't upset. "They know you're the artist and writer for Popo's Adventures so be prepared to sign a few things."

"It's no trouble," Jae Sun said. "Do you know where dinner will be? What time should I be there?"

"We'll be at Honkaku," Keiko said, "It's about two blocks away from the office."

"Okay, I know what place you're talking about," Jae Sun said. "That place is really expensive isn't it? It's Mr. Saito's treat I hope."

"Yes, it's a company dinner so he'd pay," Keiko said, "Whenever we get dinner together, we're usually at the restaurant by 6:30 so you can meet us then."

"Perfect," Jae Sun smiled. "So how long have we been dating?"

"I didn't say," Keiko said as she blushed, "Not very long I suppose. If they ask how long we've known each other, we can just say since childhood."

"I mean, it's not a lie," Jae Sun smiled with a light chuckle. "Don't worry about a thing; I'll meet you guys there at about 6:30 and I'll make sure I have a pen handy."

Keiko giggled lightly, "Thank you for this, Jae Sun. I know its last minute but I really appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure," Jae Sun said. "I'll let my friends know the new plan. Can I tell them we'll meet at the Karaoke parlor around 8:30?"

"Make it 9," Keiko replied, "Mr. Saito should be alright with us leaving around then."

"I'll let them know," Jae Sun said. "I should warn you," Jae Sun said, "My talent for singing is mediocre at best."

Keiko laughed, "It's okay. I'm hardly a pop idol myself."

"I, for one, can't wait to hear you sing," Jae Sun said. When Jae Sun heard the cabinet door opening and closing, he looked over his shoulder and saw Poki trying to get into the little cabinet space where his food used to be. "Poki's trying to steal food. Joke's on him; I already moved it to one of the high up cabinets."

"Have you fed him?"

"Of course I fed him," Jae Sun said. "The issue is he always wants more food. If Poki had his way, he'd eat until he turned into an immovable blob."

"Good thing he has you to protect him from himself," Keiko said.

"I certainly try," Jae Sun replied. Then he glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly ten. "I'd better start calling the guys before they turn in for the night. I look forward to tomorrow."

"Yeah," Keiko smiled lightly, "me too. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Jae Sun replied and they ended their call.

Keiko had a soft smile on her face as she put the phone back on the receiver. She went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and once she was in her pajamas and had her futon unfolded for bed, she grabbed the book of Jae Sun's manga she'd left off on and started reading until she needed to go to sleep. Jae Sun, on the other hand, dialed Maxwell's number and waited about 10 rings before he finally answered.

"Hello?" Maxwell asked in English, his voice thick with aggravation.

"Max, it's me," Jae Sun said.

"I figured," Maxwell said. "Why are you calling at this hour? Unlike a certain someone I know I have to be in the office early."

"I promise I'll make this quick. So Keiko can't join us all for dinner tomorrow. Her boss is taking everyone out. Keiko tried to get out of it and wound up calling me her boyfriend."

"Hold on; what?"

"I guess her boss wants to meet me so I'm going with her to dinner with her coworkers tomorrow BUT we can all go to Karaoke afterwards – around 9."

"Hold on a second – since when are you two dating? When did this happen?"

"We aren't technically dating. She told her boss that trying to get out of going to dinner with her coworkers and it backfired. I told her I'd go along with it and I'm hoping-"

"You're hoping if you play your cards right you can make it official?" Maxwell finished Jae Sun's thought. "I'll tell you what: if you can make that work you'll be one lucky son of a bitch. I'll tell everyone when we meet up for dinner tomorrow. For all this last minute change of plans, Jae Sun, she'd better be Brigitte Bardot."

"Who the hell is Brigitte Bardot?"

"She's an actress from Paris; my point is she'd better be a bombshell," Maxwell said.

"I can assure you she is," Jae Sun said. "I'll let you get to sleep but make sure the guys know."

"I'll tell them. Sweep her off her feet, Romeo," Maxwell said and then hung up.

Jae Sun smiled as he put his phone on the receiver and went to his tiny closet to pull out his suit. It was the only suit he had. It'd needed to be specially made for him by a store in Seattle years ago but he knew he needed to replace it soon. Regardless, he had that hanging towards the front with a chocolate brown shirt and a beige tie. It was much more formal than he was used to. Most of the time he was in jeans and a shirt. Once he had his outfit ready, he went back to the fridge to pull out his ramen.

The next morning, Keiko was so anxious. She always wore makeup to work but it was simple and natural. This morning, she was staring at herself in the mirror trying to pick an eye shadow that looked nice, playing around with glosses and lipsticks but everything looked like it was too much. She had out a copy of An An with Sayoko Yamaguchi featured prominently. Keiko was trying to emulate Sayoko's signature bold red lip and thick liner but it wasn't coming out as glamorous. She couldn't bring herself to wear bold red lips to work but she kept the tube of lipstick in her purse to apply after dinner. She decided to wear a pale blue long skirt, a white silk blouse she had tucked into the waistline of the skirt and brought it together with a thick black belt and black shoes. It wasn't something she would normally wear to the office but she wanted to look cute for dinner and Karaoke.

Jae Sun was nervous all day while still trying to focus on drawing and writing. Poki was swatting at a little toy mouse nipping at it and tossing it around and was altogether a huge distraction. Jae Sun chuckled gently as he watched Poki attack the toy mouse ruthlessly and couldn't help drawing the scene out. He drew Poki trying to attack a real mouse but that mouse getting the better of him being far too clever and always managing to escape Poki's attacks. Once he had that drawn out, he organized it into panels so he could have it as bonus content at the end of the book he was working on now. He had so much paper lying around and he had some markers and got an idea that kept him busy most of the afternoon.

Around five, Jae Sun started getting ready starting with a shower and making sure he was clean shaven. He ran a towel over his hair back and forth trying to get it dry then started styling it while it was still slightly damp. Once he was dried off, Jae Sun got into his suit getting more and more nervous the closer to six it became. Keiko, by the same token, became jittery with each passing hour. She did her best not to let anyone see how nervous she was. Her coworkers kept pestering her all day with questions about Jae Sun: how long have you two been dating? How did you meet? When did he ask you to be his girlfriend? Is it serious? Has he met your parents? Have you met his parents? Keiko refused to answer anything, though, claiming they needed to work or they wouldn't be able to go to dinner tonight. When it turned 6 and Mr. Saito hadn't come out of his office, she felt even more anxious. He didn't finally leave his office until 6:25 and that's when he told everyone they could all leave and meet at Honkaku.

Keiko left the office casually trying to go ahead of everyone but the moment she was out and could no longer be seen, she bolted for the stairs not wanting to bother with the elevator. She made it to the first floor before anyone in her office did and she continued to run until she finally made it to the restaurant. At the entrance, Jae Sun was waiting outside dressed in a nice suit and holding a tiny white box in his hand. When he saw her approach, he smiled at her and that smile made her weak at the knees.

"Jae Sun," Keiko said once she'd made it to his side, "I'm so sorry; you weren't waiting long were you?"

"Not at all; I got here a few minutes ago," Jae Sun said and then presented the box to Keiko holding it with both hands and bowed his head. "I made these for you. I hope you like them." Keiko accepted the box gingerly and opened it to reveal paper flowers made from white paper with the ends colored with pink and red. The bottom of the box the flowers were secured to was bright green and allowed the flowers and their colors to stand out. It was precious and she realized there was a string on the back of the box to allow it to be hung to the wall.

"Jae Sun, they're beautiful," she said with a bright smile and lifted her head to look up at him. She was so baffled by his height. He was like a giant from demon lore yet he was gentle with a welcoming smile. "Thank you again for coming to dinner with my coworkers."

"I'm happy yo do it," Jae Sun smiled. "Let's get inside and wait for everyone." Jae Sun held the door open for Keiko and followed after her once she'd stepped inside. They told the hostess they were with a group and Keiko gave her boss's name. He already had a room reserved so the hostess led the way and opened the door for them. They thanked the hostess and took a seat together at the large table to wait for Keiko's other coworkers.

"So," Jae Sun began once they were seated and the hostess had left, "Is there anything you told them that I should be aware of? For continuity?"

"I only told them you were my boyfriend," Keiko said as she started to blush. "They've been asking me questions all day but I've refused to answer anything."

"Good call," Jae Sun smiled. "So how long have you worked for the city planner again?"

"7 years," Keiko answered. "I remember you saying you wrote comic strips for a Korean newspaper. Do you still do that?"

"Not anymore," Jae Sun said. "I tried to work something out where I'd send them a strip once a month but they weren't going for it. I'd really like to have Popo's Adventures translated to Korean but that's later down the line. Someday, though. I'd love to sell it in the US too. I'll even translate both versions personally."

Keiko smiled, "You certainly could."

"It won't be for a while, though," Jae Sun said. "Maxwell's of the opinion I'm not likely to start selling overseas until Ichigo decides it's worth it to convert my manga into an anime."

"I'm confident you'll get an animation deal," Keiko said eagerly, "And for the record, if it becomes an anime, I'll watch every episode."

"Thanks for saying," Jae Sun chuckled lightly.

"岩本さん," (Iwamoto-san / Miss Iwamoto) someone said and they both looked at an older man who stepped into the room. Keiko shot to her feet and bowed to Mr. Saito and her other coworkers who'd just entered the room. They all gawked at Jae Sun when he stood and they could see how tall he was. He towered over everyone in the room to an almost comical degree. Jae Sun stood and bowed alongside her. "紹介しますか," (Shōkai shimasu ka? / Are you going to introduce us?) Mr. Saito finally said awkwardly after managing to remember he shouldn't stare.

"はい!" (Hai / Yes) Keiko answered and stood back up and patted Jae Sun's shoulder. When Jae Sun stood from his bowing position, the group was mesmerized yet again by his enormous height. "ジェサンダウアーです. 彼は猫のポポの不幸の著者でありアーティストであり、いちご出版を通じて出版しています. ジェ・スンくん、これは私の上司の齋藤さんと私の同僚です. 齋藤さんは当事務所の取締役です." (Jesandauādesu. Kare wa neko no Popo no fukō no choshadeari ātisutodeari, Ichigo shuppan o tsūjite shuppan shite imasu. Jae Sun-kun, kore wa watashi no jōshi no Saitō-san to watashi no dōryōdesu. Saitō-san wa tō jimusho no torishimariyakudesu. / This is Jae Sun Dauer. He's the author and artist of The Misadventures of Popo the Cat and he publishes through Ichigo Publishing. Jae Sun-kun, this is my boss Mr. Saito and my coworkers. Mr. Saito is the director of our firm.)

"こんばんは," (Konbanwa / Good evening) Jae Sun answered and bowed again. "皆様にお会いできて光栄です." (Minasama ni o ai dekite kōeidesu / It's a pleasure to meet all of you.)

"あなたは外国人のために日本語をとても上手に話します," (Anata wa gaikoku hito no tame ni nihongo o totemo jōzu ni hanashimasu / You speak Japanese so well for a foreigner) Mr. Saito said. "日本で育ちましたか？" (Nihon de sodachimashita ka? / Were you raised in Japan?)

"いいえ. 私はワシントンで生まれ育ちました," (Īe. Watashi wa washinton de umare sodachimashita / No. I was born and raised in Washington) Jae Sun replied. "私の父は数年間日本に駐在し、私たちは皆、基地の家族と非常に親しくなりました. 私は幼い頃から日本語を学び始めましたが、英語と韓国語が私の母国語です." (Watashinochichi wa sū-nenkan Nihon ni chūzai shi, watashitachi wa mina, kichi no kazoku to hijō ni shitashiku narimashita. Watashi wa osanai koro kara nihongo o manabi hajimemashita ga, eigo to Kankoku-go ga watashinohaha kokugodesu / My father was stationed in Japan for a few years and we all became very close to a family on base. I started learning Japanese at a young age but English and Korean are my first languages.)

"とても良い," (Totemo yoi / very good) Mr. Saito smiled. "In that case," Mr. Saito continued with a thick accent, "I can see no better way to keep our language skills sharp than by speaking English with a native speaker." Jae Sun glanced at the others and saw a few of them weren't terribly thrilled with Mr. Saito speaking English.

"齋藤さんお願いします. グループにとって都合がよければ、日本語を話してもかまいません," (Saitō-san onegaishimasu. Gurūpu ni totte tsugō ga yokereba, nihongo o hanashite mo kamaimasen / Please Mr. Saito. I don't mind speaking Japanese if that's more convenient for the group) Jae Sun offered but Mr. Saito shook his head.

"Not at all, not at all; we could all use some practice," Mr. Saito insisted and then directed everyone to take a seat at the table. Once they were all seated, Mr. Saito used the call button at the head of the table to request a waitress and ordered sake for the whole team to start.

"あなたと恵子ちゃんはどのくらいデートしています、ダウアさん?" (Anata to Keiko-chan wa dono kurai dēto shite imasu, dauā-san? / How long have you and Keiko been dating, Mr. Dauer?) one of Keiko's coworkers asked.

"Miss Tanaka, remember: speak English," Mr. Saito said.

"本当に、斎藤さん、私は日本語を話すことを気にしないでください," (Hontōni, Saitō-san, watashi wa nihongo o hanasu koto o kinishinaide kudasai / Really, Mr. Saito, I don't mind speaking Japanese) Jae Sun said again.

"Please, Mr. Dauer, I insist," Mr. Saito said. "Although I am also curious about you and Miss Iwamoto. When did you two meet?"

"Years ago," Jae Sun said. "My dad's a Korean War veteran and after the war, he was stationed in Japan and Korea for a few years before we could return to Washington permanently. We were visiting family friends before returning to Washington and we'd all gone to the park together. Keiko was at the park that day and we made snowmen together. I was three or four at the time. I couldn't speak Japanese at the time, Keiko didn't speak English at the time and she didn't speak Korean either so we couldn't really talk but we could play together. We lost touch for a while until my Uncle Akihiko got married and I invited Keiko to come with me as a guest. After the wedding we lost touch again until a few months ago when I moved to Japan for work. We met on the subway, we started talking and this past Monday, I asked her to be my girlfriend."

"It sounds like fate," another female coworker swooned.

"And you're the artist for 猫のポポの不幸 (Neko no Po Po no fukō / The Misadventures of Popo the Cat)?"

"The artist and writer, yes," Jae Sun answered.

"Oh good!" another coworker said and reached into their bag to pull out several copies of Jae Sun's manga. Then he held all the books in both hands presenting them to Jae Sun and bowing as he said, "これらに署名しますか? 私の息子はとても幸せだろう." (Korera ni shomei shimasu ka? Watashi no musuko wa totemo shiawasedarou / Would you sign these? My son would be so happy.)

"はい! 私にも署名してください!" (Hai! Watashi ni mo shomei shite kudasai! / Yes! Please sign mine as well!) another coworker said as she pulled out one book and offered it to Jae Sun in the same formal way.

"よろしくお願いします," (Yoroshikuonegaishimasu / I'd be happy to) Jae Sun answered politely and started signing everything that was handed to him. The waitress finally came back with sake and cups for everyone. As she was handing them out, she saw Jae Sun signing the manga and became extremely excited.

"あなたはジェ・サン・ダウアーですか?" (Anata wa je san dauādesu ka? / You are Jae Sun Dauer?) the waitress asked and when Jae Sun said yes, she smiled brightly and continued, "私は大ファンです! 私は高校であなたの本を読み始めました、そして彼らはそれらの厳しい試験週を通して私を本当に助けてくれました." (Watashi wa kōkō de anata no hon o yomi hajimemashita, soshite karera wa sorera no kibishī shiken shū o tōshite watashi o hontōni tasukete kuremashita / I'm a huge fan! I started reading your books in High School and they really helped get me through those tough exam weeks.)

"Well geez, kid," Jae Sun chuckled gently, "あなたは私を年老いた気分にさせています." (Anata wa watashi o toshioita kibun ni sa sete imasu / You're making me feel old).

The waitress looked alarmed and bowed, "ごめんなさい! 私はあなたを怒らせるつもりはありませんでした!" (Gomen'nasai! Watashi wa anata o okora seru tsumori wa arimasendeshita / I'm so sorry! I did not mean to offend you.)

"あなたは私を怒らせませんでした. 私はあなたをからかっていただけでした," (Anata wa watashi o okora semasendeshita. Watashi wa anata o karakatte ita dakedeshita / You didn't offend me. I was only teasing you) Jae Sun assured.

He finished signing everyone's books while the waitress bashfully continued handing out the cups and bottles of sake still feeling bad and before she left, Jae Sun grabbed a napkin and drew an image of Popo, Blu and Bayok. Blu and Popo were dressed as waiters excitedly serving Bayok who was seated at a table wearing a monocle and smoking a long cigarette and wrote on the napkin in both Korean and Japanese "You're doing great!" ((あなたは元気です! (Anata wa genkidesu!) / 잘하고 있어! (jalhago iss-eo!) When he offered it to her, she accepted with both hands with a bright smile and bowed.

"どうもありがとうございます!" (Dōmo arigatōgozaimasu! / Thank you very much!) she said and then she asked, "韓国語で「ありがとうございました」とはどういう意味ですか?" (Kankoku-go de `arigatōgozaimashita' to wa dōiu imidesu ka? / How do I say 'Thank you very much' in Korean?)

Jae Sun chuckled gently and answered, "あなたは、「매우 감사합니다」と言います." (Anata wa,` maeu gamsahabnida' to iimasu / You say 'maeu gamsahabnida').

She bowed again with the same bright smile and repeated, "매우 감사합니다," (maeu gamsahabnida) before leaving the room to give everyone time to decide what they wanted.

"That was very kind of you," Keiko whispered to Jae Sun with a smile.

"I'm curious," Mr. Saito said to Jae Sun, "what inspired you to start writing and drawing."

"My Uncle Akihiko likes to draw and is really good at it. When I was a little kid, he made me these comics and they were usually poking fun at my dad a little. One story he drew for me was an incident that happened when I was just a baby and we were living in Japan. We lived on base at Zama and one morning my dad got out of bed really upset because there was a crow outside making a lot of noise. He opened the window and threw a boot at the bird to make him go away and for a while that crow would torment my dad by dropping things on his head."

"あなたのお父さんはカラスとの戦いを選びましたか?" (Anata no otōsan wa karasu to notatakai o erabimashita ka? / Your father picked a fight with a crow?) Keiko asked with a gentle laugh.

"Yes, my dad picked a fight with a crow," Jae Sun answered with the same laugh. "Then when I was a little older, Uncle Akihiko taught me how to draw a cat and from there I started making little comics about our cat Popo for my younger siblings."

"I assume this is your mother's brother, right? Or is your father Japanese American?" one coworker asked.

"No, my dad's Native American and my mom is Korean. I call Akihiko my uncle because he's an old family friend and we used to visit them whenever we'd take trips to visit my grandma in Korea. He's the one who introduced me to the head publisher of Ichigo Publishing so I could start writing and selling manga in Japan. Before that, I was writing comic strips for a Korean newspaper while I worked on my grandma's farm and before that I worked for an animation studio in Seattle."

"That sounds so exciting," another coworker said.

"After his grandfather passed away, Jae Sun dropped everything in Washington and moved to Korea to help his grandma run the farm," Keiko boasted pleasantly.

"What happened that you left the farm?" Mr. Saito asked.

"My grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer and she refused to seek treatment. She told me she wanted me to move on with my life after she passed away and sell the farm but I didn't want to. After my grandma died, my mother and I decided to rent out the farm out and I go back once a month to check on the farm and collect rent. Mom and I just didn't have the heart to sell it – me especially. I have fond memories of that farm growing up."

"I can understand that," one of the coworkers said. "When I was a girl I lived all the way out in Hokota. Are you familiar?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Is it a small town?" Jae Sun asked.

"It's grown quite a bit since I was a girl but it's definitely a smaller town. As I recall, the population is less than 50,000 people. It's north of Tokyo in the Ibaraki Prefecture."

"For what it's worth, that's still bigger than Forks where I grew up," Jae Sun smiled,. "Last I checked, Forks' population is up to…" Jae Sun had to think about it for a moment, "5000? Actually, it's less than that; closer to 4000. It's a really small town. It's about the same size as Yongin. My grandparents' farm was near Yongin village. It's about an hour south of Seoul."

"Where is Forks in relation to DC?" one person asked and Jae Sun gave him a strange look.

"DC's way on the other side of the country," Jae Sun started and then realized they were confusing Washington State with Washington D.C. "You're thinking of Washington D.C. That's the US capitol and it's on the East Coast. Washington State's on the West Coast and Seattle's the state capitol. Forks is about 2 hours west of Seattle and separated by the bay and Olympic National Park."

"Do you ever miss the country or do you like living in the big city?" Mr. Saito asked.

"I miss the country if I'm honest," Jae Sun admitted. "It's quieter out in the country and when it's nighttime, you can see the stars clear and bright. Out of everything, that's what I miss most about living in the country. My dad won't eat fish but he still loves fishing and when I was a kid, I'd go fishing with him, my Uncle Hailey and my grandparents – when you're going fishing you have to be up before dawn. The stars would be super bright and any time I saw a constellation, I'd make my dad look at it. Most of the time, though, I'd just fall asleep against my dad in the boat because I was bored."

"My father and I went fishing all the time when I was a child," another coworker said. "Now my son goes fishing with us."

"How old is your son?" Jae Sun asked.

"He's eight," the man answered.

"Do you have kids, Mr. Saito?" Jae Sun asked.

"Oh yes, I have three," Mr. Saito answered. "My eldest is my son Yosuke – he's 22 – then my daughter Himeko – she's 20 – and my youngest, Miyuki, is 17." Mr. Saito pressed the call button for the waitress and let everyone know to be prepared to order before asking Jae Sun, "So have you met Mr. and Mrs. Iwamoto?"

"Not formally, no," Jae Sun said. "I met Mr. and Mrs. Iwamoto when I was a little kid but I didn't really talk to them much."

"Make a point to meet them as soon as possible," Mr. Saito instructed. "I regret I haven't had the pleasure of meeting them but I hear remarkable things about them from Miss Iwamoto."

"Keiko's told me a lot about them; I look forward to meeting them when the time comes," Jae Sun smiled politely. Just then, Mr. Saito noticed Jae Sun didn't have any sake.

"岩本さん、お酒を出してください," (Iwamoto-san, o sake o dashite kudasai / Miss Iwamoto, serve the man some sake) Mr. Saito said and Keiko quickly grabbed the bottle nearest them and poured some in the tiny cup.

"Is this a bad time to admit I hate sake?" Jae Sun whispered to Keiko and she smiled.

"Endure one drink if only because I poured it for you," Keiko requested. Jae Sun chuckled gently and took back the sake in one go and tried his hardest not to squint.

"Soju's better," Jae Sun muttered once the taste was finally out of his mouth.

When the waitress returned, Mr. Saito ordered appetizers to have on the table and another round of drinks while everyone else ordered what they wanted. The group remained focused on Jae Sun until dinner came and they finally started talking amongst themselves leaving Jae Sun and Keiko alone at last.

"Mr. Saito seems to take your personal life very seriously," Jae Sun whispered to Keiko.

"He feels it's time I settled down and he's been trying to set me up," Keiko said and then lowered her voice even more to say, "Thank you again for saying you're my boyfriend. You're really doing me a huge favor."

Jae Sun did his best to smile and said, "It's no trouble." Jae Sun knew this wasn't the time. He would show her an amazing time he told himself and after that when they could really speak privately – maybe while he was walking her to the train station – then he would ask her on a date and make his intentions clear.

"Now, now, love birds, remember you're among friends," Mr. Saito said when Keiko and Jae Sun were really close together.

Keiko sat up straight staring at her plate of food she'd ordered but wasn't eating with a deep blush forming on her cheeks. Jae Sun tried his best not to laugh and stifled the reaction just a little by drinking some water. When it was finally 9:30, Jae Sun told Mr. Saito and the others he and Keiko were meeting his friends for Karaoke and they needed to leave. He asked Keiko about the people she'd previously invited and Keiko asked those coworkers if they still wanted to join them. They did as did several other previously uninterested coworkers. Everyone said goodnight to one another and those coming with Jae Sun and Keiko walked with them to the karaoke bar a few blocks away from the restaurant. When they made it to the bar, Maxwell, Hirohito, Louis and Eric were in the lobby waiting for them but they were clearly surprised when they saw how many people were accompanying Jae Sun.

"This turn into a company outing or something?" Eric asked Jae Sun.

"Yeah; pretty much," Jae Sun answered and then started introducing everyone to one another.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Keiko," Maxwell said to Keiko.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Keiko smiled and bowed.

They all paid for entry while Jae Sun paid for himself and for Keiko. She made a mental note to pay Jae Sun back later and they were given a room number by the person at the front desk that would fit the crowd of people. Once they made it to their room, the first thing everyone did was order a drink for themselves. Jae Sun, for one, ordered Soju for himself. One of the reasons he loved this place so much was the fact it sold Soju and their collection of songs to sing included Korean music he'd come to love since living in Korea, but they also had American and English music he, Eric, Louis and Maxwell loved.

"Alright everyone," Eric announced like he normally would when it was just them, "give me a chance to get some liquid courage in me and then I'll start us off."

"私は外国人とこのように出かけたことがありません. これは面白いはずです," (Watashi wa gaikoku hito toko no yō ni dekaketa koto ga arimasen. Kore wa omoshiroi hazudesu / I've never been out like this with foreigners; this should be interesting) one of Keiko's coworkers whispered to another coworker.

"I'll start," Hirohito announced and went to the machine to select a song.

"Out of all of us," Jae Sun said to Keiko, "he's the only one who's a really good singer."

Keiko smiled and turned her attention to Hirohito as he sang the song he'd selected. He picked something upbeat and waved his hand at everyone to sing along with them until everyone was singing and dancing. When a waiter came with their drinks, they had to maneuver around everyone to make sure everyone got their drinks. Once Jae Sun was handed a small glass and a bottle of Soju, he took back a shot and offered some to Keiko but she refused saying she was fine with water.

Once he had three beers in him, Eric finally took his turn singing and chose a song by Aerosmith. Louis was the first to pull out his lighter and sway it from side to side while Eric was singing and soon everyone in the group that had a lighter followed suit as part of the fun. Jae Sun took his turn after Eric and found a song in Korean and while no one could follow along with him, it was upbeat enough that everyone could dance. Keiko danced near him as Jae Sun was singing and once he was done, he encouraged Keiko to take a turn. She wasn't sure what to sing until she found a soft pop song she really liked and sang that.

Some of her female coworkers rushed up after she finished her first song, picked another song by a girl group and they all sang together while the others drank. Jae Sun stuck with the one bottle of Soju so he wouldn't be drunk. Keiko eventually had a shot of sake offered to her by one of her female coworkers but she didn't hide the look of disgust on her face as the flavor coated her tongue. When that song ended, they all stumbled away from the machine trying to get back to their seats pushing Keiko along the way. Keiko was trying to stay stable despite her coworkers' movements but she wound up falling when she was closer to the large seat. Jae Sun managed to catch and her brought her onto the long chair so she was seated comfortably.

"Are you okay?" Jae Sun asked while another coworker rushed up to the machine to sing.

"Yeah," Keiko said as she blushed and averted her eyes. "Everyone's starting to get a little wild."

"Did you want to get going?" Jae Sun asked.

"I think I should," Keiko said, "I shouldn't be out too late. My parents are returning tomorrow and I should be home before they are."

"I guess it is really late," Jae Sun said and searched the room until he found a clock. The clock read 12:56 – nearly Sunday morning. "Shit; it's almost 1 in the morning."

"I definitely need to go home," Keiko said and sat up on the chair.

"Guys?" Jae Sun said but Eric and Louis were the only ones that looked at him. "I'm taking Keiko home. I'll talk to you guys later."

"Have fun!" they called out while Keiko was already walking to the door. Jae Sun gave them a dirty look but didn't say anything and went after Keiko. Once they were outside, Keiko was already rummaging through her purse.

"How much was entry again? ¥250 right?"

"You don't have to pay me back," Jae Sun replied and Keiko's gaze shot up to look at him. "It's only right I'd pay for our date, right?"

"You don't have to pay just because I was too cowardly to admit to my coworkers they were mistaken about our relationship," Keiko said. "I really should pay you back."

"Please, Keiko, you don't have to," Jae Sun insisted and placed his hand on his wrist to stop her from pulling her wallet out of her purse. "I should admit when I asked you to come to the karaoke bar with me on Monday I had intended it to be as a date. Then you suggested bringing people with and I was worried I'd made you uncomfortable or something."

"君は," (Kimi wa / You) Keiko began as she stared at him a moment and then looked away at a loss for words. She started thinking how juvenile she must have seemed to him when she'd suggested people join them for a date. "You didn't make me uncomfortable," Keiko finally said.

"That's a relief," Jae Sun smiled and glanced at his hand still on her wrist. He eventually took it away when she still wasn't looking at him. "I'm sorry if I'm being too forward. When you'd told me what you'd said to your coworkers, I got excited."

"You did?" Keiko asked and finally looked up at him.

"Yeah," Jae Sun smiled affectionately. "Can I walk you back home?"

"Jae Sun, it'll take an hour to get back to my home," Keiko tried to reason but Jae Sun's smile broadened a little.

"That's fine," he said. "I'd like to spend more time with you." After looking at him a moment, Keiko finally smiled and fluttered her eyelashes bashfully a moment.

"I'd like that too," she said and the two of them began the walk to the train station.

"So out of curiosity, does your father work?" Jae Sun asked.

"No," Keiko said. "He hasn't worked since Unit 731 fell. My father inherited his father's estate and my maternal grandfather's estates after they died, he sold those assets off and makes investments through the Tokyo Stock Exchange so we've lived comfortably thanks to all that. After I was born, my father turned into a bit of an Eagle Dad – that is the term right?"

"A parent that hovers and never gives you a moment's peace? Yeah, that's an Eagle Mom or Dad. My mom was more of a Tiger Mom," Jae Sun chuckled gently. "Mom was a stay at home mom and she was really strict."

"I guarantee your mother was not as strict as my father," Keiko smiled. "My childhood was consumed with schedules. I told you that didn't I?"

"Yes, you told me," Jae Sun said. "I agree my mom was more laid back than your dad was but she was still a spitfire. That woman's tough as nails and she doesn't put up with nonsense or tomfoolery. From the moment we could walk, she'd make us clean our own dishes, she was teaching all of us how to cook from a young age too. She expected us to take school seriously and expected good grades."

"I know exactly how you feel," Keiko said. "My father would never put up with me getting bad grades."

"Yeah, I can picture your dad being pretty intense about that," Jae Sun said. "Now my dad on the other hand was more concerned with us behaving. So long as we behaved and didn't get into trouble, he was happy."

"Your father sounds like my mother," Keiko giggled. "My father was the disciplinarian, he was my teacher in fighting and he was my biggest critic – but whenever I accomplished anything like really good grades on an exam or when I got into a good college, when I got my first job my father was prouder than anyone else on Earth and he told me so. For how tough father was, he never let me forget how proud he is of me."

"Mom's the same way," Jae Sun said as he smiled pleasantly. "Mom's tough but she's proud of it and announces it to anyone who'll listen. After my grandpa died and I'd told grandma I would move to Korea to help her, she told people how proud she was that I'd taken initiative and put my life aside to help my grandma."

"I would be too," Keiko said. "So are any of your siblings married? Any nieces or nephews?"

"No, we're all either single or, in my little sisters' cases they're still in school – they're too young to worry about that," Jae Sun said. "They only just got their driver's licenses."

"That's exciting," Keiko said. "My father taught me to drive but I never have a need for it. I just take the train and walk."

"Yeah, since moving to Korea I can count the number of times I drove a year on one hand," Jae Sun said. "Hell, I don't even have a license to drive in Korea and frankly, I'm sure my American Driver's License is long expired. I guess I should work on that but what's the point when I'm hardly in the states anymore, right?"

"Are you planning to become a Japanese citizen?" Keiko asked. "Or did you already make yourself a Korean citizen?"

"No," Jae Sun said, "If I took citizenship anywhere, it would be dual citizenship. I don't want to relinquish my American citizenship and I would have to if I wanted to become a Korean citizen."

"I see," Keiko said. "I admit I've never looked into it so I'm not familiar with it."

"I already checked," Jae Sun said, "and it's the same thing as Korea: I can either be an American Citizen living in Japan or I have to give up US citizenship. So I'm staying a foreigner in Japan regardless of how long I live here."

"Are you planning to leave Japan and return to Korea?"

"No," Jae Sun answered. "I love living in the countryside of Korea but South Korea has a lot of growing left to do. I'll just leave it at that. The highest likelihood is I'll just stay in Japan indefinitely. I'd love to return to Washington someday but I will admit I like it here."

"Japan has its own charm," Keiko smiled.

"You said you've been to China before right?"

"Yes, but I've only been to Hong Kong," Keiko said. "Father says when you leave the city and just enjoy China, there's nothing quite like it. Except Japan of course." Keiko smiled lightly thinking of how her father spoke of China – at least what little he would tell her of his time there.

"Your dad strikes me as the type that really clings to the 'Land of the Rising Sun' sentiment," Jae Sun said.

"You have no idea," Keiko said.

They finally made it to the train station and waited on the platform for a train going west to arrive. Once the right train stopped, they got on and stood near the doors together. All the while, they talked. Jae Sun never wanted it to end. Once the train made it to Keiko's stop, Jae Sun got off with her and walked with her through the neighborhood taking everything in.

"I haven't seen this place in 17 years," Jae Sun mumbled absently as he looked around. "It looks so different."

"It's gotten more modern," Keiko agreed. "With Tokyo continuing to expand its border, every surrounding town that was once farmland is being turned into a city. Seoul is doing the same isn't it?"

"Oh yeah," Jae Sun said. "There's too many of us Doomers. South Korea's discouraged people of my generation from having kids but I can tell you right now that's going to backfire royally. It's all well and good not to have kids when you're young and have nothing to worry about but we'll see how everyone's fairing when they're old and there aren't enough twenty somethings to take care of them."

Keiko giggled a little, "You said like my boss."

"Hey, if he's said something to that effect than he's not wrong."

"I assume that means you want kids?"

"Of course," Jae Sun said and then he looked at Keiko. "What about you?"

"I don't know," Keiko eventually said. "I would love a child but I know when I get married, I'll be expected to stop working and be a housewife. Any man Mr. Saito's tried to set me up with would certainly have that expectation. Even if he didn't, my employer will end up making that decision for me. All the women I work with that have kids have kids that are in school. None of them have really young kids."

"So you want kids but not at the expense of your career," Jae Sun added.

"Exactly," Keiko said. "It's a lot to expect a man to be alright with a working wife when he grew up with a stay at home mom."

"I mean," Jae Sun began as he thought about what she said, "I won't act like having a stay at home mom didn't have its advantages but times are different than they used to be. I wouldn't expect the woman I marry to give up a carrier for the sake of us having kids. I'd rather we had the luxury of both worlds honestly."

"So would I," Keiko agreed. "If I could keep working after getting married and having kids, that would make me happy." Jae Sun smiled at her and was tempted to hold her hand but he held back for now. "My parents aren't chomping at the bit for me to get married and have kids. I think Mr. Saito cares more about my marital status than my parents do. What about your parents?"

"Dad's of the opinion it'll happen when it happens," Jae Sun said, "and mom doesn't say anything but I think she's starting to get impatient. At least with me. I'm almost 30 but I'm still not married meanwhile most of the people I grew up with have gotten married and had kids already."

"Are you getting impatient?" Keiko asked.

Answering truthfully but not looking at Keiko, Jae Sun said, "I admit I've started to. I'm getting to a point in my life where I feel like I'm ready to finally get married and start a family. It's just a matter of finding the right woman." Jae Sun finally looked at Keiko and smiled at her. She blushed and smiled but still averted her eyes shyly. "I had a really good time tonight."

"Even if you had to spend most of it with my coworkers?"

Jae Sun chuckled gently and answered, "Yes."

"I'm glad," Keiko said, "I know I sprung all this on you."

"It's fine; I had a great time," Jae Sun said and, in an act of boldness, reached out and finally took her hand in his and when he did, Keiko seemed surprised and looked at their hands. Then she looked up at Jae Sun. "Maybe doing anything would be too much but I'd like it if we could do something together again soon."

"I would too," Keiko said. "Perhaps we could do something next Sunday."

"That would be great," Jae Sun agreed. "How about we meet in Shinjuku at the train station around 12 and we'll go from there?"

"Sure," Keiko replied and never tried to take her hand away until they finally made it to her house. "Thank you again for tonight."

"It was my pleasure," Jae Sun said. He was about to say something else, but the front door of the house slid open and Keiko turned to see her father standing in the doorway looking extremely displeased.

"お父ちゃん! あなたは日曜日に戻ってくると思いました!" (Otōchan! Anata wa nichiyōbi ni modotte kuru to omoimashita! / Daddy! I thought you were coming back Sunday!) Keiko said in shock.

"それは日曜日です," (Sore wa nichiyōbidesu / It is Sunday) Keiko's father, Sojiro, replied. "こんなに遅く帰宅するのはどこに行ったの?" (Kon'nani osoku kitaku suru no wa doko ni itta no? / Where have you been that you're returning home so late?) Then Sojiro looked at Jae Sun, instantly critical of the young man, "これは誰ですか?" (Kore wa daredesu ka? / Who is this?). What took Jae Sun by surprise when their eyes met was the man didn't appear phased or shocked by Jae Sun's height. The man was remarkably stoic.

"同僚と夕食に行き、その後カラオケバーに行きました," (Dōryō to yūshoku ni iki, sonogo karaokebā ni ikimashita / I went to dinner with my coworkers and after that we all went to a karaoke bar) Keiko answered and then looked at Jae Sun briefly then back at Sojiro, "ジェ・サン・ダウアーです. 彼は今日本に住んでいます. 私たちは月曜日に電車の中で会い、私と私の同僚と夕食をとるように彼を招待しました. 彼は親切にも私を家に連れて行ってくれました." (Je san dauādesu. Kare wa ima Nihon ni sunde imasu. Watashitachi wa getsuyōbi ni densha no naka de ai, watashi to watashi no dōryō to yūshoku o toru yō ni kare o shōtai shimashita. Kare wa shinsetsu ni mo watashi o ie ni tsureteitte kuremashita / This is Jae Sun Dauer. He's living in Japan now. We met on the train on Monday and I invited him to have dinner with me and my coworkers. He was kind enough to walk me home.)

"Jae Sun Dauer?" Sojiro asked and looked at Jae Sun more closely. "I thought you looked familiar."

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Iwamoto," Jae Sun said and bowed respectfully. "I apologize for keeping Keiko out so late. It was my idea for everyone to go to the karaoke bar after dinner."

"I suppose it's fine since it's Sunday," Sojiro replied and then looked at Keiko again. "彼は友達ですか?" (Kare wa tomodachidesu ka? / He's a friend?)

"はい," (Hai / yes) Keiko answered and bowed gently. Jae Sun stayed quiet figuring she was speaking to ensure she appeased her father. Keiko turned to face Jae Sun and said as she bowed, "家まで歩いてくれてありがとう." (Ie made aruite kurete arigatō / Thank you again for walking me home)

"問題ありません. お役に立ててうれしいです. おやすみなさい、恵子ちゃん," (Mondai arimasen. O yakunitatete ureshīdesu. Oyasuminasai, Keiko-chan / It's no trouble. I'm happy to have been of assistance. Good night, Keiko-chan) Jae Sun answered Keiko with a bow and then said to Sojiro just as respectfully, "おはようございます、岩本さん." (Ohayōgozaimasu, Iwamoto-san / Have a good morning, Mr. Iwamoto.)

"おはようございます," (Ohayōgozaimasu / Have a good morning) Sojiro replied and Keiko finally stepped inside.

Behind Sojiro, Zihao had watched the exchange closely. When Sojiro opened the door, Zihao saw Keiko first but quickly noticed a glow that was stronger than usual. When he looked down, there was the red string only he could see. She'd always had that string around her ankle. Everyone does, but normally people's red strings were faint. Keiko's, however, had always been bright, thick and clear as day to him since she was young. His eyes followed and he quickly realized the string around Keiko's ankle was secured to the young man's at the door. He smiled and glanced at his mate Daiyu – a pale woman with skin that still had the tint of tan from when she was human and her hair was silver as it had been before he'd changed her. He glanced down at the string around their ankles that secured them by destiny and looked into her eyes again.

"Our little niece has finally found her destiny," Zihao whispered to Daiyu in Cantonese – his mate's native tongue. Before Keiko stepped inside and Sojiro had closed the door, Daiyu got a good look at the young man and smiled.

"You shouldn't have been out so late," Sojiro said once Keiko was inside and he'd closed the door. "Your mother and I were worried sick."

"Your father was worried," Hanako said affectionately. "I told him it was Saturday after work and you were probably out with friends."

"Until 2 in the morning?" Sojiro demanded.

"Don't be so hard on her, Sojiro-哥哥(gē-gē / big brother)" Zihao said pleasantly. "I'm sure she's exhausted so let her go to bed."

"Thank you, Mr. Chen," Keiko said and bowed her head before running off to her room to get ready for bed.

Once she was finally in her pajamas, had her futon unfolded and was lying down to sleep, she kept thinking about Jae Sun. Thinking of him even now made her blush. In spite of all the sudden changes to their plans, he'd taken them all in stride and they'd had a wonderful time. She snuggled under her blanket thinking of what they might do on Sunday and very much looking forward to it. She felt bad for calling him a friend in front of her father, but she wasn't ready to tell her parents anything until…..she wasn't sure how to phrase it: until things were official maybe. She also didn't want her parents thinking they were moving too fast. Regardless of the brief scolding she'd received, she was happy she and Jae Sun had spent this time together and would be counting the days until next Sunday.