Japan Business Trip
First, I took the headband from Miyuki-san and turned it over in my hands, examining it from every angle for absolutely no reason.
“…What are you doing, ssu?”
“Nothing.”
Since I really was just turning it around for no reason, I gave a simple answer and put the headband on.
Hmm… it’s uncomfortable.
It pressed down on the top of my head like a headset, and while the outside was covered in soft fluffy fur, the inside was hard, giving it an unpleasant feel.
“Eek! Me-, meccha kawaii!!!”
Seeing that reaction, I’d honestly been worried that spending a mere ten seconds out of ten wishes felt a little too scummy — but I was relieved.
Whether this action was worth ten wishes, I couldn’t say, but in the end, the customer was satisfied, wasn’t she?
“Five, four, three—”
“Na, nani?! What are you counting, ssu?!”
“Hm? You’re the one who set the condition that I only wear it for ten seconds.”
“Ah… that’s right, ssu….”
In the rush of dopamine, she’d apparently forgotten the very condition she herself had set.
“Well then, shall we go?”
When the time passed, I pulled off the headband, set it back in its place, and turned around.
“Y-Yeonwoo-san…!”
“Yes?”
“Can’t I buy that headband, ssu…?”
“You can.”
“Really, ssu?!”
“Yes, but why are you asking me? It’s not like I’m the one taking it.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“…Weren’t you going to take it, Yeonwoo-san, ssu?”
“Didn’t you want it as a keepsake?”
“…Watashi thought I’d be happy if Yeonwoo-san took it, ssu.”
“Hmm, then let’s just go.”
I had no intention of adding another piece of pretty garbage that would sit unused at home.
The reason our house stays so clean despite my laziness-soaked personality is precisely because I don’t create garbage. If things piled up like this one by one, sooner or later it would become irreversible.
“Ah….”
“If you’re sad about it, then just take it yourself, Miyuki-san.”
“…Hai.”
So we browsed the rest of the goods shop — Miyuki-san seemed to buy this and that — but nothing really caught my eye, so I came out empty-handed.
“You’re not buying any merch, Yeonwoo-san, ssu?”
“No, nothing here really appeals to me.”
“What kind of thing would you have bought, ssu?”
“Hmm… a mochi cushion, maybe? Or something that could double as a punching bag?”
“Why a mochi cushion of all things…?”
“Ah, mochi cushions are all squishy, so they have great impact feedback when you hit them.”
Before the regression, whenever something stressed me out, I used to use a mochi cushion in the role of the rabbit doll from Crayon Shin-chan.
These days nothing stresses me out to that degree, and besides, I don’t have a cushion to hit, so I can’t do it anymore.
Well, other goods shops might have one, so I’ll give it some thought if I see one.
Anyway, between riding the other attractions and grabbing snacks here and there, the sky had begun to darken before we knew it.
“Hmm… shall we head back soon?”
Go back to the hotel now, shower, get all fresh and cozy, then drink the booze we bought yesterday? That sounds like it’d feel amazing.
“Eh, dame desu!”
“Why not?”
“Disneyland is really beautiful at night, ssu! If you go back to the hotel without seeing it, that would be a total life-loss, ssu!”
…Where on earth did she even learn the phrase life-loss?
“Is that so?”
“Hai!”
“Then let’s go a little later.”
“Yokatta desu, ssu!”
After that, we wandered around places we hadn’t visited yet and rode a few more attractions we hadn’t tried.
“Oh, it’s Pinocchio.”
As we roamed about, I spotted a person wearing a Pinocchio costume head.
“Yeonwoo-san! Th-, that photo!”
The moment I opened my mouth, she panicked and scrambled for her phone — so apparently Pinocchio was Miyuki-san’s favorite.
Hmm, hmm. Pinocchio is charming… is he?
It’s been way too long; I can’t remember the character or the story.
All I can recall is that his nose grows when he lies.
Well, whatever. I took Miyuki-san’s phone, opened the camera, and waited for our turn.
“Yeonwoo-san! Please take it prettily, ssu!”
“Sure.”
Click!
Hm, this looks pretty decent, doesn’t it?
“How is it?”
“…Heta kuso.”
…She said I photographed like garbage.
Look, I know a person like me is fundamentally at odds with photography, so I wasn’t expecting to be told I did well — but I hadn’t expected her to be quite that brutally direct….
“…Then you take one, Miyuki-san.”
Even when I claim I hate having my picture taken, a situation where my pride gets scratched is always the exception, no questions asked.
…Let’s see just how well this person can shoot, calling my photo garbage!
I handed the phone back to Miyuki-san and approached the costumed employee, looking into the camera and flashing a V-sign.
“Mister Pinocchio, scoot in a little clo—”
Ah, right. This is Japan.
Hmm… how am I supposed to say that here?
“Hey, come on.”
Out of ideas, I ended up resorting to body language, gesturing for him to come closer.
True to a language that works in every country, Pinocchio understood and shuffled over timidly.
Hmm… isn’t this still too far?
When Miyuki-san took hers with me earlier, it was practically at hug range….
I just stepped in myself and slung an arm around his shoulder.
And I could feel Pinocchio flinch in startlement.
Tch… it’s kind of sad when someone’s that scared of me….
“Hey, kawaii?”
When I asked if he was scared, Pinocchio shook his head vigorously and pretended he was fine.
Hmm… shouldn’t his nose grow for telling a lie like that? For accuracy’s sake?
For a moment I wanted to mess with him, but then I told myself not to toy with someone on the clock and pulled myself together.
“Hey, smile.”
Ignoring the faint tremor in his arm that I could feel through the mascot head, I looked into the camera and threw up the V-sign again.
“Miyuki-san, hurry.”
“Hai, ssu!”
Click! Click! Click!
…Why on earth is she taking this many?
Only after hearing at least ten shutter clicks did she finally give me the signal that she was done.
“Hey, good good.”
I flashed a thumbs-up at Pinocchio for his hard work and walked over to Miyuki-san to check the photos.
Uh, hm… the results….
“…Yeonwoo-san looks like a sukeban, ssu.”
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
“A female delinquent gang leader, ssu….”
“Hmm….”
The sad part was that, judging by the photos alone, I couldn’t deny it.
Anyone who looked at them would conclude that I had told Pinocchio, “Oi, smile.”
I mean, yes, technically I did tell him to smile….
…I just hadn’t expected it to come through the mascot head like that.
Afterward, we deleted every photo we’d taken and went off to ride more attractions.
As we passed the time that way, the sound of parade music drifted over at some point.
“Oh, I think the parade’s starting?”
“Hai! At this hour it started a while ago, ssu!”
Thanks to the earlier incident, I’d told her we should watch from a distance so the staff could work in peace, so we didn’t bother grabbing a spot.
“Oh… a lot of characters from movies I used to love are in it.”
“Is that so, ssu?”
“Yeah.”
“Fufu! Aren’t you glad you stayed to watch, ssu?!”
“I suppose….”
It really would have been a shame to leave without seeing it….
And so, after the parade and even the fireworks, we made our way back to the hotel.
“Whew….”
Just as I’d imagined back at Disneyland, I washed up, got nice and refreshed, poured the VTuber booze into a glass, and took a sip.
“Oh.”
Not bad at all.
Personally, the nama beer I had at the izakaya yesterday suited my taste a bit better, but this wasn’t bad either.
Next time I come to Japan, I really need to visit a beer factory.
“Yum.”
I tore open one of the mountain of convenience store snacks I’d bought yesterday to munch on while I looked up how the members were doing on my phone.
Hmm, everyone seems to be doing fine.
And my channel’s viewers….
When’s Roze coming back…? When’s Roze coming back…? When’s Roze coming back…?
When’s Roze coming back…? When’s Roze coming back…? When’s Roze coming back…?
When’s Roze coming back…? When’s Roze coming back…? When’s Roze coming back…?
Yep, they’re perfectly fine.
Sipping away, I eventually finished both the booze and the snacks, and before I knew it I was lying down scrolling on my phone a little longer, then brushing my teeth and going to sleep.
The next day.
I agonized over — hard — what to have for my last meal in Japan.
And the winner, having triumphed over such illustrious rivals as udon, ramen, and tonkatsu, was…!
“Let’s go get conveyor belt sushi.”
Sushi it was.
And so the Manager and I headed to a conveyor belt sushi place with a high Google Maps rating.
“But why conveyor belt sushi instead of omakase…?”
“Hmm… just because.”
“I see.”
Watching anime, I’d always seen people skillfully feasting at conveyor belt sushi restaurants, so I’d wanted to try it at least once.
But explaining such a sordid little backstory to the Manager felt a bit much, so I just brushed it off with “just because.”
“Oh….”
Not bad.
The expensive stuff like tuna and eel certainly lived up to their price tags.
We enjoyed the meal, went back to the hotel, and packed our bags.
“By the way, Yeonwoo, what on earth did you do that Miyuki-san came to see you off after spending two whole days with her?”
“Sorry, what?”
“Ah, she told me not to mention that. Pretend you didn’t hear it.”
Thanks to the Manager, I had one fewer thing to be surprised about.
Not that I probably wouldn’t have been surprised anyway.
Anyway, when we arrived at the airport, I spotted Miyuki-san in the distance.
“Yeonwoo-san!”
“Oh, Miyuki-san.”
“Hehe! Were you surprised, ssu?!”
“A little, actually.”
“Fufu! Surprise successful, ssu!”
Hmm, well, she’s happy, so that’s what matters.
Somehow it makes me feel proud too.
“I’m really going to miss Yeonwoo-san, ssu….”
“Hmm….”
That much, huh? is what I wanted to say, but I know how to read the time and place like any decent person, so I held it in.
“I’m going to visit Korea to see Yeonwoo-san, ssu!”
“Ah, in that case, I’ll use one of my wishes right now.”
“Gasp! What wish are you going to make, ssu!”
“Don’t come to Korea just to see me.”
If I’m the destination, I’d be obliged to play tour guide, after all.
I’m a hardcore gamer nerd by birth — I wouldn’t know a good restaurant if it bit me.
“O-, okay…?”
Ah, I phrased that in a way that could be misread.
“I mean, don’t overdo it.”
“Ah! Understood, ssu!”
And with that farewell, our Japan business trip came to an end, and we headed back to Korea.