The Train, Part 2: Terror.
Packed train.
REALLY packed.
Harumi was squished between an old lady with shopping bags and a man who clearly had never heard of deodorant.
Mei was seated.
Takeru stood, holding onto the strap.
Izumi was on her phone with absurd skill despite having zero space.
That's when Harumi saw her.
A woman.
Big belly.
Tired face.
Hand resting on the pole.
Harumi's eyes widened.
Hero mode activated.
— Miss! You can take my seat!
The woman turned.
Way too sweet of a smile.
— Ah… thank you…
Harumi stood up, full of pride.
Mei smiled.
Takeru observed.
Izumi raised an eyebrow.
The woman moved to sit.
And then—
WHISTLE.
An ABSURD whistle.
— HEY! STOP HER!— THE FAKE PREGNANT THIEF!— GRAB HER!
Police appeared OUT OF NOWHERE.
People started shouting.
Someone pulled someone.
The "pregnant" woman threw her fake belly to the ground.
It was a pillow.
— I KNEW IT — Takeru muttered.
Chaos.
A human wave.
Pushing.
Running.
Screaming.
Harumi tried to understand.
— WHAT IS HAPPENING?!
Someone bumped into her.
Another shoved her.
Izumi got pulled by the crowd.
Mei grabbed Takeru.
Takeru tried to grab everyone.
— HARUMI!— I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!
More whistles.
More shouting.
A police officer yelling:
— MAKE WAY!
And when they realized…
They were outside the train.
On the platform.
The doors closed.
The train left.
Silence.
The four of them stood there.
Blinking.
— …— …— …
Harumi scratched her head.
— I just wanted to be polite.
There was NO ONE in the station.
They stood still.
Izumi looked around.
— Okay. Now what?
There was a huge map literally behind them.
Colorful.
With "YOU ARE HERE."
They ignored it.
Izumi pointed.
— Look. A guard!
The guard was huge. Massive arms. Perfect posture.
She walked up to him.
Poked him.
He turned.
And everything went into slow motion.
— …wow…!
But not because of him.
Behind him…
A Korean guy.
Slim.
A bit lost.
The guard was clearly helping him.
Izumi froze.
Harumi, back there, trying to untangle Mei's shirt from a metal hook on a pillar—
— Stop spinning, Mei, you've become part of the station!
Takeru helped silently.
Izumi kept staring, completely enchanted by the guy.
Harumi shouted:
— Is it about the guard?!
— No. — Izumi said, without blinking. — Him…
She pointed.
Now the Korean guy was clearly visible.
Harumi looked.
— Oh… he's kinda different…
Izumi whispered:
— He's Korean.
Harumi's eyes widened.
— A DRAMA?! 2PM ON A MONDAY?!
Izumi was already walking.
She stopped in front of him.
Took a deep breath.
Protagonist mode.
— Do you… need help? — with extra charm.
The device the guy was using for translation picked it up.
Even with Izumi's very strong countryside accent.
The guard looked at her.
— Miss, I am helping him.
Izumi smiled confidently.
— Relax. Leave it to me, Mr. Guard!
The guard crossed his arms.
— Just what I needed…
Silence.
The Korean guy was understanding everything through his device.
"You're the ones who need help…"
That was the guard's thought.
And he was absolutely right.
— Okay, come here to the map, I'll show you.
Summary of the situation:
The Korean guy wanted to go to the main street.They wanted to go to the main street.No one actually knew how to get there.
The guard explained.
Pointed at the map.
The Korean guy wrote EVERYTHING on his hand.
Nodding.
Harumi pretended to pay attention, but was clearly thinking about her bank account.
Mei stared at the guard's arm.
— He's so big…
Izumi, next to the Korean guy, kept bumping into him "by accident" just to use the little Korean she knew:
— Sorry!— Thank you!— Hi.— You're welcome.
She kept repeating the same four words.
Takeru was actually paying attention.
The only one.
Well, him and the Korean guy.
Main Street (Strategic Mistake):
They arrived.
And there were people.
A LOT of people.
Noise.
Bags.
Crowds.
Izumi spoke quietly:
— Better hold hands…
Harumi looked suspicious.
— You're never this sensible.
But they held hands.
The Korean guy too.
Izumi almost floated.
— Wow… already in the first episode…
Takeru sighed.
They started walking.
Five minutes later.
— …
THEY LOST THE KOREAN GUY.
— WHERE IS HE?! — Izumi lost it.
She let go of everyone.
Disappeared into the crowd.
— IZUMI! — Harumi shouted.
Takeru held onto Mei.
— I knew this would happen.
Harumi took a deep breath.
— Okay. Focus. Clothes. Store.
— That's all there is here, Harumi.
Harumi made the face of an abandoned puppy.
— Don't make me more nervous…
Time passed.
And NOTHING.
No specific store like the one in Harumi's head:
Good price,Sells everything,Big, but not big enough to get lost…
They were almost giving up.
Harumi was sweating.
Even though it was cold.
Takeru asked:
— What kind of store are you looking for?
Harumi answered dramatically:
— That one… that has everything.
— …That makes it harder.
They looked ahead.
Silence.
There it was.
Six floors.
Massive.
Huge name:
"Everything For You."
Mei poked her.
— Haru… I think we found it.
Harumi got emotional.
Izumi reappeared out of nowhere with the Korean guy, who—even without speaking—was CLEARLY asking for help.
— PHOTO!
— You hate photos. — Harumi said.
— Not today.
They took a picture of the five of them — including the Korean guy.
Then two more of just her and him.
He clearly didn't understand anything.
But smiled politely.
— YOOOCHI!!! LET'S SPEND MONEYYY!!!
— Be careful what you wish for, Harumi… — Izumi said.
They went in.