After arriving in Japan, Ryu-a carefully observed the actions of her sisters.
“It’s a maid café, unnie. It’s so amazing, right?”
“Maid… Yeah, it is.”
First to arrive at the maid café. As Ji-eun’s gaze lingered on the maid for a long time, Ji-yeon asked.
“Do you like maid cosplay? Maid outfits?”
“They look pretty, but they seem uncomfortable to wear with all those frills.”
“Really?”
Ji-yeon smiled meaningfully, as if to remember what was just said.
What did that ‘Really?’ mean? It didn’t seem like it was just a response to Ji-eun’s remark. Images began to form in Ryu-a’s mind.
Ji-yeon, enjoying putting her older sister in a maid outfit who couldn’t refuse, and Ji-yeon enjoying serving her older sister while she felt pressured in the maid outfit. The two of them working in the maid café in matching maid outfits…
As several scenes flashed through her mind, someone gently nudged her.
“Uh, huh?”
“Are you okay? Why are you spaced out like that? Are you feeling unwell?”
Ji-eun was looking at Ryu-a with a worried expression. Only then could Ryu-a properly observe the current situation.
Inside the café, the maids shouted delicious orders after bringing out the snacks that were ordered.
It’s an experience not often encountered, where a costumed employee brings food and cheers loudly.
While everyone else was enjoying this unique experience, Ryu-a alone was wearing a serious face.
“Unnie, are you okay? Shall we end the sightseeing here and go back to the accommodation to rest?”
Ji-yeon asked. She seemed just as worried about her unnie as Ryu-a was.
The triangular sensation rising in Ryu-a’s chest pierced her heart painfully as it spun fiercely.
‘What am I thinking, leaving such a good girl behind…’
The strange thoughts that had settled in Ryu-a’s mind since the departure from the airplane were still affecting her now.
Ji-yeon’s meaningful smile might have just been a cheerful smile, but maybe Ryu-a was forcing herself to interpret it that way.
Her mind was indeed filled with turmoil. If the one-eyed Mireuk Buddha monk had seen Ryu-a, he would have undoubtedly beaten out the chaos in her head.
“I’m fine, just thinking about something else for a moment…”
Ryu-a mumbled awkwardly with a smile. However, both sisters continued to look at Ryu-a without touching the desserts that were brought out.
In the meantime, Ji-eun reached out and touched Ryu-a’s forehead.
“There’s no fever…”
“Uh? Uh… I don’t have a fever. It’s not a cold, so why would I have a fever.”
“But why is your face so red? Your ears too.”
That’s because you suddenly put your hand on my forehead!
The cause was clear, but she couldn’t say it out loud. Saying her face turned red from just someone touching her forehead felt… too, too embarrassing.
In a flustered mood, she discreetly covered her hot face with her hand and looked around with her eyes. That’s when something caught Ryu-a’s eye.
“Oh…?”
It was Ji-yeon’s face. As Ji-eun’s gaze shifted to Ryu-a, Ji-yeon’s expression wiped away as Ryu-a covered her face.
From a smiling face to a blank one. In that quick change of expression, Ryu-a detected a subtle annoyance. That feeling was directed at Ryu-a herself.
‘Is it jealousy?’
Ji-yeon’s gaze then shifted to her unnie. More specifically, to Ji-eun’s hand that touched Ryu-a’s forehead. Ji-yeon’s eye momentarily flicked to that spot and then away.
Ryu-a lowered the hand that had been covering her face. Her once red face had calmed down significantly.
“Oh, you look better now?”
“Uh-huh…”
“That’s a relief. What shall we do for fun now?”
As Ji-yeon said this, her face shone with a bright smile as if nothing had happened.
That smile was so bright that Ryu-a momentarily thought she might have seen it wrong.
*
Travel is fun. A trip with like-minded people is even better.
I was feeling that in real-time.
After arriving in Japan, we visited a maid café and also dropped by a goods shop referred to as a sanctuary for otaku.
On the way, we stopped at a specialist restaurant known for its delicious pork cutlet and sushi. Thinking about it, this is a full course made up of things that otaku love.
There was a reason why Ryu-a was loved by otaku. Turns out, the code itself is similar.
And there was one piece of good news.
“Are we heading to the accommodation from now? Uh-huh… I want to rest quickly.”
“Yeah, the ryokan we reserved is about 30 minutes from here.”
“There’s an onsen too, right? There is?”
“Yes, there is…”
It seems like Ji-yeon and Ryu-a have become a bit closer on this trip. Their relationship wasn’t bad before, but today feels more intimate than usual.
It’s good news for me that the two around me have grown closer. It means I can still see them together in the future.
After walking a bit as a trio, we arrived at our destination.
The exterior of the building was distinctly Japanese, resembling a traditional structure, yet the interior was surprisingly modern. It felt like a hotel lobby.
Ryu-a processed the reservation for the ryokan at the entrance.
She could speak enough Japanese to communicate at a certain level, though not at the level of a local.
To be honest, she had been worried about this part but it worked out well. Although she could speak English if necessary, it’s more convenient to travel with someone who knows the local language.
“Okay, now we can go in.”
After finishing the procedure, Ryu-a stepped inside. Following the guide to our room.
“Wow…”
Ji-yeon let out a small exclamation beside her. She seemed quite surprised. I didn’t make a sound, but I shared a similar sentiment.
A neatly decorated tatami room. There was a table and wooden chairs, and there were sliding doors throughout the room. Sunlight streamed in through a window that offered a view of the cityscape outside.
Even though we hadn’t done anything since entering, just being in this room felt healing.
Is this why people go on trips?
— Nodding —
After the guide finished the tour with a smile and bowed before leaving, we eagerly began to look around the room.
“There are clothes here.”
“It’s a yukata. It looks like there are different sizes.”
As she opened the sliding doors, a number of identical outfits were neatly folded in layers. From the back, Ryu-a gave a brief explanation, saying it was a traditional Japanese garment.
I remembered seeing something like this somewhere. Not in real life, but on the internet. Seeing it in person, the impression was unique.
“To get in the mood, should we change into these?”
“Change into these?”
“They should be clean since they’ve already been washed. I wonder if Ji-eun’s size is small like mine.”
Ryu-a’s hand led me to hold a yukata.
Are we just putting it on like an outer garment? In that case, wouldn’t it be fine to put it over the clothes I’m wearing now?
With that thought, I began to put on the yukata.
However, contrary to what I thought would simply be a gown, there was surprisingly a level of difficulty involved in wearing it, which was quite troublesome. It didn’t seem to be just me; Ryu-a was also struggling a bit beside me.
While I fumbled with my clothing, Ji-yeon said,
“I’ll help you, unnie.”
Ji-yeon approached and started to adjust my clothing slowly. The incorrectly tied knot was loosened, and as the fabric shifted, everything fitted properly.
Does Ji-yeon think of me as an incapable older sister who can’t dress herself? How is she so skillful at handling a yukata? Did she learn this at school?
Ji-yeon was helping me get dressed right in front of me. I slightly turned my head to the side so our faces wouldn’t bump.
Because we were so close, I could smell Ji-yeon’s shampoo as she was working.
“But unnie, are you going to wear it like this?”
“Like this?”
“I thought it would be more comfortable to wear lighter clothes underneath.”
That might be true. I mean, we’d be moving around only inside the ryokan. The building itself is warm anyway.
Ji-yeon’s words made sense, so I grabbed a thin t-shirt and shorts from my travel bag.
Then, as I was going to change in the opposite room, Ji-yeon came in carrying a yukata.
“You should also go change into a yukata, Ji-yeon. They have so many sizes.”
“I’ll help you first, then I’ll change. Just change into the inner clothes for now.”
How annoying; I feel like I’m being viewed as a little kid who needs to be dressed by her sister.
I wouldn’t have realized this in the past, but now it would be a refusal. I don’t mind if Ji-yeon helps to dress me; I had already experienced similar stuff many times in Eun-ha’s clothing store, so I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable about it now.
“I roughly learned how to do it by watching you just now. You can do it yourself, so go and change too.”
There wasn’t any particular reason for it. Recently, I decided to recognize myself as a member of Ji-eun’s family.
And that meant I couldn’t maintain the same attitude as before.
I am ‘Ji-eun’, and I am Ji-yeon’s unnie. An older sister should not be the one always receiving care from her younger sibling. That wasn’t the ideal image of an older sister that I have in mind.
Traditionally, the elder sibling, specifically the older sister, should show a dependable side that the younger can rely on.
Since I defined it that way for myself, I planned to gradually change from now on. This was just the starting point.
“Uh? No, I’ll help you change. It’s not that much trouble. So quickly help me and I’ll-.”
“I’ll change by myself. Ji-yeon, let’s do it this way. Okay?”
Ji-yeon seemed shocked, as if she never expected me to respond so firmly.
But still not giving up, she hung around insistently wanting to dress me until finally, realizing that I wouldn’t change my attitude, she turned to leave the room.
“Unnie has changed…”
She murmured such words.
Yes, I have changed. Unnie must change, too. How long can I live like this? A real unnie should not be like this.
I nodded with a satisfied smile.
And then I struggled with the yukata alone in the room for almost 10 minutes.
