Lost Handbag
Lost Handbag
Three days had passed since they began their trip to Fukuoka.
After that, A-ra kept visiting card shops,
collecting expensive cards, and once about 1 million yen in cash remained,
she started swiping her card freely.
She said they should leave at least a bit of cash, right?
Well, they could always withdraw dollars with a card and exchange them, but still...
And whether it was the shop clerk's scheme or not, she only realized once they were back at the hotel that a first-generation Secret Rare Blue-Eyes—the card collectors call it 'Secret Blue'—priced at 3.5 million yen, had been charged along with everything else.
Well... it was a bit expensive, but considering A-ra's income,
telling her not to buy it felt harsh, and since the shop would probably reject a refund with some strange excuse,
he decided to just stay quiet about it.
It was money she earned herself, after all.
And while he was at it, he bought her a few gifts as well.
With the remaining time after shopping, A-ra thoroughly explored every recommended sightseeing spot—starting from Hakata, then Tenjin, Nakasu, Canal City, and more—and finally arrived at the last tourist destination, Momochi Beach.
The scenery, which seemed to blend the sensibilities of Europe and Hawaii in harmony,
was more than enough to draw cheers from the tourists who arrived by bus.
A massive tower was visible behind them—
that was the famous Fukuoka Tower,
renowned alongside Momochi Beach as a destination for newlyweds.
"I was a little sad because tomorrow is the last day, but I feel refreshed now, you know?"
A-ra smiled softly and rubbed her face against his arm.
So even though she wasn't showing it,
she had been feeling down about tomorrow being their last day.
It seemed A-ra had been having quite a lot of fun, too.
He gently stroked her hair.
"Let's come again next time. We can travel during winter break, too."
At his words, A-ra's eyes lit up,
and she began chattering away rapidly.
She seemed to want to go somewhere else since she had already seen all of Fukuoka.
"Let's go to Osaka, not Fukuoka. I want to go to Osaka."
"Not Tokyo?"
"Why Tokyo?"
A-ra tilted her head.
A card collector, and yet she didn't want to go to Tokyo.
He would have to drag her there somehow.
"Akihabara is in Tokyo, you know."
"Oh? It is?"
Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Ginza, Akihabara—
all of them were administrative districts located in Tokyo.
Maybe because they were so famous, many people mistakenly thought they were separate places,
but they were all connected to each other one way or another.
It was similar to how bustling Seoul districts like Jongno, Apgujeong, and Myeongdong
were also surprisingly close together.
"Then of course we have to go to Tokyo!"
"There will be even more to see in Tokyo."
"Ah, I'm already starting to look forward to it..."
A-ra, who had been resting her head on his shoulder while gazing out at the distant sea,
reached out and held his hand.
The cool, salty breeze blowing in
made it clear why this place had become a famous date spot.
"Well then, shall we have lunch?"
"I found a good place earlier. It's a seafood specialty restaurant."
"As expected, you have to eat seafood when you're near the ocean. Let's go!"
A-ra, whose mood had sharply improved, suddenly stood up
and began walking, pulling him along by the hand.
He couldn't help but give a wry smile.
"Do you know where it is?"
"Oops."
***
By the time he arrived at the seafood specialty restaurant and came back from washing his hands,
A-ra was gone.
She had clearly placed her handbag on the table, so it was a bit strange that it was missing.
Had she gone to order the food?
From what he'd heard, the server was supposed to come to you once you sat down.
For now, he decided to sit quietly and wait for A-ra.
Some time passed.
A-ra, having apparently finished her business in the restroom,
came out wiping her hands with a paper towel.
"You went to the restroom?"
"Yeah, I had to go a little. Huh?"
She looked around here and there,
checked under the table and behind him,
and then suddenly ran back to the restroom.
No way.
It couldn't be, right?
She probably just forgot it and left it in there.
A-ra wasn't that scatterbrained.
And about ten minutes later.
A-ra emerged from the restroom, her face pale.
She wore a sorrowful expression he had never seen on her before.
"Noona... don't tell me your bag was stolen...?"
"I... I think so..."
"What was in the bag? Your phone? Wallet?"
A-ra put her hands into the pockets of her skirt
and pulled out her wallet and phone.
She had apparently been carrying those on her, after all.
"I'm holding onto the passport, so that's a relief...
What was stolen was one action cam... and... what else was in the handbag?"
"Cosmetics and snacks..."
"That's it?"
"Yeah, I put all my collections into the carrier."
So no valuables had been stolen at all?
That was a relief, but...
"Ah, I had put the cash in the handbag..."
"About how much was in there?"
"I put everything that was left in there... there was probably a bit more than 1 million yen."
"Phew... then the total loss isn't that much."
"W... well..."
A-ra wore an expression that said this was a bit hard to say,
and grabbed his sleeve.
"The cosmetics were on the expensive side... so about 1.5 times that...?"
"That would be about 15 million won, then. First, let's go to the police box."
"Uh... huh? You're not going to tell the restaurant?"
"In Japan, reporting to the police first is the most important thing."
After leaving the restaurant,
they opened the map app on their phone to find the nearest police box.
"Momochihama Police Box... it's here."
The police box was next to an elementary school.
Normally, that would be something to boast about in terms of rock-solid public safety,
but a theft targeting foreigners in broad daylight.
They crossed the last crosswalk,
arrived in front of the police box, opened the door, and went inside.
* "Yes, what is the purpose of your visit?"
* "My wife's handbag was stolen. We came to file a theft report."
* "Ah, you must be foreigners. I was quite surprised by how proficient you are. Please wait a moment."
The police officer, the very picture of kindness and courtesy, smiled
and invited them to sit at the civil service desk.
* "I apologize that you've had this uncomfortable experience during your travels.
If you could leave your passport number, detailed information, and the location where the theft occurred on this paper,
we will contact you as soon as possible."
"Seong-hwan-a, Seong-hwan-a."
"Yes?"
"We can leave the contact information for the agency."
"Ah..."
Now that he thought about it, the agency had lawyers
and staff who handled international matters.
* "Would it be alright to write down the number of our company in Korea?"
* "Yes, that is perfectly fine."
So they would call via international call to notify them...
They were kind even to foreigners.
He was almost moved for a moment.
He nearly forgot that A-ra's handbag had been stolen.
* "In case it may not be recovered, I would recommend processing your traveler's insurance claim."
* "Hmm... considering the amount... it's probably around 2 million yen in total..."
* "Pardon...? May I confirm exactly what was stolen?"
He nodded and held out the paper he had been filling out.
On it, in meticulous detail, were the names of A-ra's luxury handbag and cosmetics, along with the cash of just over 1 million yen.
The police officer's expression began to darken as he read it.
After all, who was Song A-ra?
Wasn't she a superstar?
What would happen if someone like that returned to her home country
and, during a program or an interview, said,
'Haha, my handbag was stolen and they just told me to leave my phone number and details and go on my way.'
Even if the police had simply followed procedure,
controversy would be unavoidable.
And beyond that, the amount was significant.
If it had just been items that were stolen, that would be one thing, but since cash was also stolen,
the culprit was likely a very nasty individual.
A half-hearted response could cause the situation to escalate.
* "We will most certainly contact you as soon as possible."
* "Thank you..."
He felt a little sorry, but
what could he do?
They were the victims, after all.
After leaving the police box,
they sat down on a bench nearby.
He bought a drink from the vending machine next to them and handed it to A-ra.
The yen he had on him was still perfectly intact, after all.
"Drink this and let's go have a meal."
"That's right... we left without eating, didn't we."
"You were so flustered you even forgot you were hungry, right?"
When a gurgling sound came from his stomach, A-ra smiled brightly.
Earlier, it had been A-ra's stomach growling,
and now it was his own.
"Is our Seong-hwan really hungry?"
As if she were dealing with a child, A-ra smiled and stroked his head.
He blushed and quietly nodded his head up and down.
"Just a moment ago, Seong-hwan was so reliable and dependable,
and now in an instant, he's become a little boy acting cute."
"I... I was dependable?"
"Yeah, you were incredibly dependable, like an older man.
It was my first time having something stolen overseas,
so my mind went completely blank.
But because you took action first, I think I was able to pull myself together."
That made sense.
When her bag had been lost earlier, A-ra
had been terribly flustered in the moment, and as she grabbed and tugged at his sleeve,
she had been in a state close to a panic attack.
She must have momentarily been seized by the thought that her wallet, phone, and passport had all been stolen too,
and forgot what she had put in her pockets as she searched for her bag.
"Well, men are naturally more meticulous about taking care of things, aren't they?"
"Yeah... you're right... This morning, you told me to put the passport inside the carrier,
and I wondered why, but it really is a relief, such a relief..."
He couldn't remember why he had done that either.
He had suddenly felt uneasy and considered carrying the passport himself, but...
by thinking the opposite way and putting it into the carrier instead,
they had avoided the worst-case scenario.
If the passport had been stolen too, they would have had to file a passport loss report at the police box,
go to the consulate, and it would have taken about four days just to get a temporary passport issued.
Then A-ra's schedule would have been completely shattered,
and an enormous amount of damages would have occurred...
"Seong-hwan, I really think it was such a blessing that you're my husband."
"Hearing you say that... makes me really happy."
It was a quiet, deserted spot,
but having missed the timing to make an issue out of A-ra kissing him on the cheek,
he simply kept his head bowed, his face flushed.