"Jae-sung! Miyuki! Come downstairs!"
Miyuki and Jae-sung were interrupted by Tsukiko screaming excitedly from downstairs. They shared a look before making their way downstairs.
Somehow, Miyuki left Jae-sung behind on the stairs and reached the ground floor. Jae-sung who'd almost gotten there himself heard three things:
Miyuki screaming Tsukiko screaming Miyuki and Tsukiko screaming
Afterwards, he'd learnt that the excited shouts of two teenage girls were able to make people trip and fall down the stairs.
Rubbing his sore back, Jae-sung was finally downstairs. He noticed his mom first, who wore a smug-looking expression on her face.
Jae-sung knew that face. He also knew that it meant she'd bought something crazy, but not for herself. Instead, as a gift.
It all sounds extremely specific, but that was how his mother was with her expressions. Most people couldn't notice the subtle differences, but Jae-sung wasn't most people. This was his mother after all, it'd be weirder if he wasn't able to.
The second thing he noticed were piles upon piles of cloth racks, shopping bags, among others.
"…", Jae-sung commented in silence.
Tsukiko caught notice of him and walked to Jae-sung.
Her eyes were sparkling at the number of things that Jae-sung's mom had gotten, especially since it was all for them.
Now, Tsukiko wasn't poor in anyway due to her family's status as one of the most important leading families in the Kurosawa family. However, ever since the disappearance of her parents, Hirano had been given full rights to the family's wealth and assets. Instead of foolishly spending it all, he took what would be needed for the maintenance of the house and kept the rest, away from the thieving eyes of jealous family members [as little as they were in number]
So, while Tsukiko lived in a beautiful, fairy tale looking house and dressed nicely, she'd never exactly experienced the 'rich girl' lifestyle. Even her parents were pretty strict and never spoiled them excessively, only giving them what they needed most of the time.
Jae-sung's mom was pretty much the same—but not always.
Jae-sung, being an only child was of course given mountains of gifts and presents as a child. As he grew up and started developing a personality, he realized that he didn't really like receiving things for no reason. It made him feel uneasy.
So, Mrs. Kim was forced to stop giving Jae-sung presents, which is why she switched to other targets. Anyone, usually around Jae-sung's age that could be described as 'adorable' would suddenly have mountains of presents given to them. Miyuki could also attest to this.
Ever since she'd been introduced to Tsukiko, the gift-giving never ceased. Unfortunately, Tsukiko was similar to Jae-sung which meant she couldn't keep giving her presents for no reason.
Which is why she resorted to another method.
Long story short, never mess with Ma Jae-sung. Ever.
"Look, aunty got us all this for our trip to Yuganda Yume!", said Tsukiko.
Jae-sung sweat dropped as he thought, "Isn't this a bit excessive mum…"
Almost like she could hear him, Mrs. Kim responded, "You'll be away for the whole summer, so it's better to be a little more prepared. Don't worry, Miyuki's parents and Tsukiko's brother are okay with it"
Jae-sung didn't buy it for a second. All she really wanted was to get stuff for them in a way that they couldn't reject nor return it—and it worked.
However, Tsukiko and Miyuki were so happy that they wouldn't have rejected it either way. They were both just thinking of what clothes they would wear. Uniforms were of course a bad fit so the fashionable, stylish, but surprisingly mobile outfits Mrs. Kim had bought were perfect.
The three thanked Mrs. Kim before diving into the mayhem that was a result of her holding back from giving someone a present for a week.
To be more detailed about all the stuff she'd gotten, we'd have to compile it all into a list. Which is exactly what's going to be done.
THINGS THAT MRS. KIM GOT FOR THE SQUAD'S TRIP
1. Ten sets of outfits for each of them.
2. Shoes for every occasion.
3. A portable and functional bag for each of them.
4. Accessories that also matched.
5. Suitcases that came up to Tsukiko's chest [yikes]
6. Food and snacks for days [I don't mean food that'll only last a few days]
7. Skin and hair products [yes, for all of them]
In hindsight, this appeared to be a lot of things. But at the same time, they would be gone for a little over six months. If they were going to be away for that long, she'd might as well send them off in a fashionable way.
Tsukiko was still in awe over the number of outfits she'd been given. They were all so well-made and detailed that she had to ask more concerning them.
"Aunty, what shopping mall did you go to? All the outfits and bags are so pretty!", she asked.
Mrs. Kim chuckled, not answering her. Instead, she turned her face towards Jae-sung and gave him a look. He successfully translated the meaning behind it and cleared his throat.
"She designed most of these", he said bluntly.
Tsukiko was dumb struck by this and her eyes widened.
She now had an expression that said, "what do you mean she designed them??"
Jae-sung added, "My mom's a designer"
Yeah, that definitely explained things.
Mrs. Kim seemed to have been satisfied with Tsukiko's reaction as she now diverted the topic.
"Let's go eat some lunch now kids", she said.
Tsukiko recovered quickly and gave a silent cheer for food. Jae-sung saw her and smiled, this time, it didn't fade away nor did it turn into a frown.
Miyuki was right, his problems can't be solved by pushing people away, he had to welcome them.
A few days later, the squad was all packed up and ready to go. They'd spent the previous day with Hirano and Caspian [who Tsukiko was extremely excited to finally meet]. There was a festival that a nearby [and normal] school had arranged so they went there. They took pictures, ate a lot of food, played games and overall made some really good memories.
Jae-sung even had a one-on-one moment with Hirano telling him about how torn he'd felt but would honor his promise without any regrets now.
They could've talked more but Caspian practically dragged Hirano to check out some game saying it was "the most inventive thing he'd ever seen"
They'd all returned to their respective homes and rested for the next day's travel. And now, they'd have to go.
Hirano and Tsukiko talked about everything on the way to the meeting point the school had arranged for them. She'd miss her brother terribly, and he'd miss her just as much. Hirano was worried but knew that his little sister would make him proud.
They'd finally gotten to the meeting point and were greeted by Miyuki and her parents—a nice looking couple who undoubtedly shared their daughter's passion for invention. Mrs. Kim, who was in the middle of telling Jae-sung to take care of himself and the girls, practically flew over at the sight of Tsukiko and bear hugged her.
Jae-sung tried to drag her away but only got furious looks. Hirano didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Soon, Miss Akihiko came, and it was time to leave. Everyone hugged their goodbyes, tears were shed, it was a whole saga.
They all loaded their suitcases into the huge tour bus and came back outside for final hugs or back slaps in Jae-sung's case and waved goodbye.
This isn't just a summer program, it's the beginning of a chapter of their lives that could answer their questions—and possibly kill them in the process.
Perhaps they don't fully realize it just yet.
Perhaps it's for the best.
Perhaps they'll abandon this entire thing.
Okay, maybe not that last one.
Still, whatever they do, they'll do it with all their heart and strength, no matter how many monsters or angry ancestors come after them.
The journey will be filled with many trials but really:
The first step to bravery, is cowardice.