Sōrumeito (Soulmate #2)

Day 2: Shibuya

Shibuya, Tokyo

(08:32pm)

"Yuki," he called.

"Jin Yeong," I laughed, imitating his tone.

We were on our way to the famous Shibuya crossing, considered the busiest crossing in the world. It wouldn't be long now, probably only about twenty minutes of walking left.

He tsked. "'Oppa,'" he corrected, muttering under his breath.

Grinning, I called him, "Onii-chan."

He winced, making my grin to turn into a smirk.

It literally meant 'older brother' in Japanese, unlike the interchangeable 'Oppa' in Korean that could mean either 'older brother' or when you refer to your boyfriend.

"Don't be like this," he told me, hanging his head as he looked at me.

"Like what?" I asked him, batting my eyelashes and feigning innocence.

He gave me a straight face. "Jinjja?" Seriously?

I smiled sweetly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He sighed and looked away, before saying, "I was only giving you a reasonable advice. The best course of action with your problem is to be rational about this. At least, meet the guy first before –"

"I know," I deadpanned, not wanting to hear what I already knew. "And I told you, I'll meet him next week."

I realized I couldn't just ask Jin Yeong to rescue me or take me away. It was unfair for me to make him do that. There was no doubt that sooner or later, my father would find us. I was sure that he would kill Jin Yeong in front of me to keep me in line.

He was right. I was being irrational. I couldn't ask him to risk his life for me. It was stupid. I shouldn't have reacted that way. He was only being a good friend.

My facial expression softened, feeling guilty that I was angry at him when I had no right to be. I took a deep breath, and blurted out, "I'm sorry."

I kept my eyes to the front but I saw his face turned to me from my peripheral.

"Forget I said anything," I continued. "Let's just fill your body with as much Japanese food as we can," I added lightly, glancing at him with an apologetic smile.

The corners of his lips turned up as he started to grin. "As long as you eat, too."

I let out a laugh. "I will."

Neither of us spoke for a couple of minutes, walking side by side in silence.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Jin Yeong suddenly.

I decided whether or not to be honest, but then decided to hell with it.

"No," I admitted. In a determined voice, I added, "But don't worry. Worse comes to worst, I have a backup plan."

The amount of people walking with us along the street were increasing. We were getting really close to the crossing. My pace started to increase on its own from anticipation.

This was one of my favorite places in Tokyo. It always gave me a sense of rush, getting lost in the crowd. It didn't make me feel alone.

"What do you mean?" a confused voice asked from beside me.

"A childhood friend of mine offered to..." I trailed off, my eyes widening in realization.

Oh, my God. I was supposed to meet Mikihito tonight!