episode_0049

After a brief rest, they ventured out onto the streets. The sun was shining brightly, to the point where their skin would burn without sunscreen. Yuhee, feeling the heat, wore a straw hat with a black band around it for their travel.

“Where are we going?”

“Akihabara!”

They had heard a lot about it. Originally a mecca for electronics like Yongsan in Korea, it was now known as a holy place for otakus. One of their friends had expressed a desire to visit this place during high school. Perhaps they had already been there.

“It’s really expensive here.”

197 yen. Seeing that it amounted to about 2000 won, they realized once again that Korea was indeed a cheap country. Even though Korea had also increased to 1500 won, a 500 won difference still seemed like a significant amount.

“We should get off here now.”

They arrived quickly after just one stop, and upon exiting, they were greeted by a different array of shops compared to Yongsan. There were large department stores like the ones in Sindorim, and brightly lit billboards displaying 2D characters with revealing outfits. They were momentarily taken aback, but quickly averted their gaze without showing any signs of embarrassment.

“Wow…”

They couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight before them. Despite it being working hours, young people were strolling around the streets. It seemed like there were a lot of Korean people around, probably due to it being a tourist spot.

On another note, did Yuhee like anime?

“Look over there, honey!”

Yuhee tapped their shoulder and pointed excitedly. Their expression showed their enthusiasm. It seemed like they were either naturally excited due to their youth or had a keen interest in such things.

Upon looking at where Yuhee was pointing, they saw people dressed in cosplay gathered in one corner, posing for photos.

“Look at those people.”

“They’re really into cosplay.”

“Can we take a picture too?”

With blonde twin-tails, possibly blue contact lenses, and a dress with vibrant embroidery on a blue background that seemed to hint at revealing panties, they were attracting attention from onlookers. Despite the revealing attire, they maintained their pose without flinching, showing professionalism.

Moreover, since there were also Korean people gathered, Korean sounded more familiar than Japanese.

“Honey.”

“Yes?”

“You’re staring too much.”

“Oh… sorry…”

Yuhee gave a sheepish look and tugged at their sleeve. It seemed like they wanted to move on quickly, as if urging them not to be embarrassed.

Following Yuhee, they entered a red building.

“There are so many arcades here.”

“Yeah. It’s incomparable to Korea, right?”

Perhaps it was Shinchon. There was a place there where the entire building was an arcade, but compared to the small three-story place there, Akihabara had arcades filling the entire building from the first to the sixth floor.

The arcades here seemed to be more major entertainment venues. While in Korea, arcades were mostly managed by a few staff members for maintenance, here, there were even staff members guiding visitors, making it seem more sophisticated.

“They call this UFO Catcher here.”

“Ah~”

It was different from the crane games in Korea. Of course, there were similar ones, but there were many machines with a different way of playing. There were more character figures and various goods rather than just ordinary dolls.

They had been following Yuhee around, but they didn’t seem intent on playing any of the games. Were they looking for something?

“Yuhee, is there something you’re looking for?”

“Oh, that… you don’t have to know.”

“Why?”

“Because… no! Just play a game or something! I’ll be fine on my own!”

“What…?”

With that, Yuhee suddenly ran up to the upper floor. Following them, they found Yuhee already inserting money into a machine and playing.

“Yuhee wanted to be alone….”

Noticing that she didn’t realize I had come, she must be really focused. Still, just in case, I watched from afar and couldn’t help but try my luck by putting a 100 yen coin into the crane game machine.

A girl with long mint-colored twin tails. Even though I’m not interested in anime, I know this character. Actually, thanks to my classmate.

In the figure box lying below, there was a handle with a hole at the back. Probably used to insert the crane into the hole and pick something up.

“Tsk.”

I bravely tried but failed as expected. It ended up turning in a difficult direction. I thought it would be easy since it was halfway out and just needed to be dropped, but it turned out to be a challenge.

“I can’t lose.”

I’m not interested in figures, but I suddenly felt the urge to try my luck. I put in another 100 yen coin, and this time the crane went into the hole accurately.

“….”

Unlike before, it didn’t move even 1mm. I thought something was stuck, but the handle just shook weakly without any progress. After a few more tries, I wasted 1000 yen in no time.

“My ten thousand….”

I underestimated the 100 yen coins, thinking they were cheap like in Korea. But no matter what, they have a value of over 1000 won.

“Wait…!”

I looked around and couldn’t see Yuhee. Even though the pocket Wi-Fi was still connected, indicating she was inside the building, not seeing her made me anxious.

Moreover, the music from the rhythm game machines was distracting. What should I do….

“Jagiya!”

Fortunately, Yuhee called me from her direction. She was holding something like a shopping bag in one hand.

“Phew… I thought you disappeared.”

“Why would I disappear~ Were you playing the crane game too?”

“Yeah. But it’s not going well….”

“How did you play?”

“I put it in the hole….”

“That’s why it’s not working!”

“….”

After handing me the shopping bag, Yuhee stood in front of the machine with a determined expression. She was leaning forward in concentration, and her clothes rode up a bit, revealing lace panties, so I stood behind her to cover it up.

Whirring… Eeeng. Thud.

“….!”

She managed to pick up the figure that I couldn’t get even after spending 1000 yen with just 300 yen. Instead of putting it in the hole, she pulled the protruding handle, dragged the figure box down twice, and finally just hit the crane to drop the box.

“How’s that~”

“You’re really good….”

Even though it was probably her first time playing this kind of game, I was impressed by Yuhee’s amazing skills.

Yuhee handed me a plastic bag to put the figure in.

“I still have more to pick up… What about you?”

“I….”

I knew how to do it, but honestly, I felt like it was too much money for my skills. And I wasn’t particularly interested in anything.

“Ah….”

I saw a blanket in the distance. If I picked that up, I could prevent others from seeing Yuhee’s underwear peeking out from her white half-bellied tee. I was the only one who could see Yuhee’s underwear.

“I’ll play a little more.”

And I spent 2400 yen to pick up that blanket.

~~~

“Where could Yuhee be….”

I went up the escalator to find Yuhee, and the slight smell of cigarettes made my head spin. Is smoking allowed in Japanese arcades…?

“Phew….”

Since I already picked up the blanket for Yuhee, I decided to wait downstairs. I’d rather be in a hot place than a place smelling of cigarettes. I worried that Yuhee might be in such a place.

After leaving a message for Yuhee, I picked up a 140 yen ice cream from the arcade and went outside.

“It’s almost like a sacred place.”

Food spots are abundant, and there are a lot of people. While Yongsan has become somewhat neglected these days, Akihabara remains bustling. That being said, it’s still manageable.

“There are students here too.”

Even though it’s August and probably summer vacation here as well, many students in school uniforms were visible. Unlike in our country where school uniforms are more flexible (in principle, it’s not allowed in our country either), the pants were loose and the fit of the clothes was not flattering.

Whether it was due to school regulations or the hope of “our child will grow into it!”, some deliberately bought oversized clothes… I don’t recall ever seeing someone actually grow into those clothes.

However, my thoughts quickly changed as I observed other students.

“That’s quite…”

Whether the boys lacked the intention to look stylish or if only those students looked stylish, aside from the lack of school badges, there was no difference between our country’s female students. And the thought of Yuhee wearing that uniform got me a bit excited.

“If she starts acting like this already…”

Yuhee told me to endure until tonight, so I must endure as much as possible. I turned my head to regain my composure.

*Swoosh*

“Why is the wind suddenly blowing so hard~”

“Your panties were showing, you know?”

“No way! (Really!?)”

I didn’t see it. Even if I did, I didn’t see it. It’s only proper to deny it. I can’t say it was a bright pink background with small red flower patterns.

It seems like they didn’t notice, but I pretended to cough unnecessarily and turned my gaze away. I hope Yuhee comes out soon…

“Panties… panties… panties…”

I wish the night would come quickly…