Chapter 112 – Travel in Japan – Day 1 (3)

After arriving at the imperial palace inside the imperial palace and taking pictures, my younger brother asked me while looking at the building that still had the feeling of the old days but with modern features.

“Is the real emperor living there? Your family too?”
“Hmm… Well? I’m not sure about that. My family goes to school, but I wonder if they go to school here…”
“Are you in here right now?”
“… Shall I ask?”

As my brother asked, I was curious as to whether the Emperor really lives inside the Imperial Palace, so I approached the elderly guard grandfather standing in front of the Emperor’s Palace and carefully asked in Japanese, as if asking the guards for directions or about the building at a tourist spot.

“Hello, you are having a hard time.”
“Do you have any business… ?”

But when I asked the question, the guard grandfather spoke in a very stiff tone… It should be said that there is something angular, but he said it like a robot, and then turned to me, stamping his feet with a thud.
Feeling a bit awkward, I pointed my finger at the imperial palace and asked.

“Maybe over there… Is the emperor really living there?”
“How rude! Where are you pointing your finger!”

But he suddenly shouted loudly and blocked my fingers with his hand, which surprised me, and my younger brother was also surprised and came to my side and hugged me and said, wary of my grandfather.

“What do you mean? Why are you like that?”
“Uh? That, that…”

The guard grandfather, who had been looking at me with such a younger brother, looked at me with a frown on his face, and then looked at his younger brother and me alternately and said in a calmer voice.

“Aren’t you Japanese?”
“Ah yes. I am on tour.”
“… In Japan, when talking about a high-ranking person, you must speak in a high-level way. That’s polite I’m sorry for yelling at you. It reminds me of young guys these days.”
“Uh? Ah…”

When I heard the guard grandfather’s words, I thought that Japan had an Abdominal Law and that pointing at the Imperial Palace with my finger would have been very rude from the grandfather’s point of view.
Apart from what I personally think is nothing, it must be a very important and proud thing for the guard grandfather, so there were definitely things I did wrong, and I apologized to my brother, tapping the arm that wrapped around me, and tapping the arm wrapped around me.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m not used to Japanese yet, so I made a mistake.”
“Are you Korean? The young lady is very polite. These days, Koreans certainly remember the old etiquette better than young Japanese. It’s a big deal.”

… It felt like I was suddenly getting into a taxi and listening to the driver chat, so I smiled awkwardly and listened.

“Excuse me for the young couple. Is it a honeymoon?”
“Yes?! That, it seems… ?”
“As I get older, there are things I can see. You know just by looking at each other’s eyes. I think you’re Korean, but that’s a good idea. Korea has a long history and there is no place where the energy of heaven remains, so getting energy from a place like this will be of great help to your married life.”
“Ah… Yes…”

As a Korean, it was a very complicated statement considering the reason why there were no such dwellings…
I just nodded my head, thinking that I had heard a good word, thinking that there was no reason to waste time and there was no need to have a conversation that would hurt each other.

“I’m sorry, as I get older, the only thing I’ve noticed is around words… His Majesty is not in the Imperial Palace right now. You went out.”
“Uh? Are you going to work?”
“That kind of thing is not supposed to be said to outsiders. Especially for foreigners. If you stay at night, pray at least once before you go. Don’t throw anything into the water, but let His Majesty live quietly and the energy formed will have a good effect…”
“Oh yes! Thank you. I’ll pray and go. Thank you~”

Thinking that I would have a hard time if I stayed longer, I bowed my head and took a step back.
My younger brother seemed to be scolded, but then suddenly became kinder and talked a lot. I kept wondering if I didn’t understand… After I ran away and fell far away, he asked me.

“… What do you mean?”
“Ah… He got angry because I said I was the emperor instead of the emperor.”
“… These people are the emperor, but we are not, right?”
“That’s true, but in Japan, there’s a polite way to talk to someone based on whether he or she is a high-ranking person, so maybe that’s why you got angry? Because culture and etiquette differ from country to country…”

As I walked as if I was running away, I saw that the sun was going down, so I headed for the exit, thinking of taking my younger brother out of the palace.
I took all the pictures… I saw things to see, and now I’m hungry, so I looked at the map and answered with the thought that I should go to dinner.

“But why do you talk about that for so long?”
“Uh? Oh no… Talking about something else…”
“What about the couple and their honeymoon?”
“Yes? That, how do you know… ?”
“The pronunciation is similar, so it’s roughly… ? Why did that suddenly come out?”

I said it because I misunderstood the relationship between her sister and me… I didn’t feel bad, I was just a little shy, and when my brother brought out the answer, my face became hot and I was embarrassed, but I said in a small voice.

“That is… The newlyweds… I asked if you were on your honeymoon.”
“… Didn’t Westerners also talk about marriage earlier?”
“Big, as a couple… I can see it.”

Does it look different in the eyes of others? When I thought about it, the words the guard grandfather said, “I can feel it in the eyes,” Popped into my head, and I averted my gaze in shame.
Then her sister seemed to look down at me, and she suddenly released her hand from her hold and put it on her shoulder, hugging her like a real lover and walking away.

“Want to kiss.”
“Yes, yes… ?”
“Is there nowhere to kiss…”
“Yes?!”

… Actually, my brother continued to look around the alleys on the way to the famous ramen restaurant he had been looking for for dinner, and unfortunately or fortunately, there was no place to hide in the crowded city of Tokyo, so he arrived at the ramen restaurant a little early in the evening. I did it.
I searched in Japanese and found a ramen restaurant that locals go to without many tourists. I pulled out a ticket and waited to eat ramen with my younger brother.
I put a lot of bean sprouts on miso ramen, and my brother ordered chashu, garlic, and asparagus, and I sat down and waited with my brother.

“Are you newlyweds?”
“Yes?! Uh?”

I was startled by the words I don’t know how many times I’ve heard it today, and my brother memorized the Japanese word for newlyweds and looked at me quietly and said, “Newlyweds…” She said softly.
I blushed and asked the boss in Japanese why he thought that.

“Excuse me… Why do you think so?”
“Like wearing a backpack, you are a tourist, right? I’ve been in business for several years… You can tell just by looking at the aura.”
“Aww… ?”
“It’s like energy… Hmm~! Well, from ramen to something a little ah~ you need some energy tonight… What? Her husband thought, just by looking at her appearance, that she was a foreigner or that she was of mixed race… Can’t you speak Japanese?”
“Ah, yes… I only speak Japanese.”
“Your body is very good. I work out too, but are you a martial artist? Hey… I want you to be happy. Here, this is my gift. The service provided by the wife is so pretty~”

The boss, who thinks my younger brother and I are newlyweds, seemed to think I got it right after seeing my reaction, so he was happy and served me a soft-boiled egg.
Then, suddenly, she lowered her head and said in a slightly louder voice, as if she was secretly saying that even though she knew that her sister couldn’t understand Japanese, she had no intention of hiding it at all.

“Eggs are really good at night. I remember when I was newly married and her wife was so pretty, so I’m giving her to cheer up. Because her husband looks really strong…”
“Uh? That, that…”
“I’ll also put some more bamboo shoots on her husband. Bamboo shoots are also good for men~ Instead, the two of you take pictures at the store and do some internet promotion. I think the advertising effect will be good.”
“Oh, thank you…”

My face turned red and aura… I was thinking about what an aura was, and suddenly, the phrase her guard grandfather said, “The look in your eyes that you can feel love for each other,” Came to mind.
Is it so obvious?! I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t make eye contact with my younger brother, so the boss smiled and went to another customer.

“They say they look like newlyweds?”
“Yes, yes… Shi, it’s amazing…”
“Hmm…”

… For some reason, I felt very good.
After eating deliciously before the ramen was blown, her sister and I took pictures in the store as the store owner requested.
The boss suddenly came up to me and said he would take a picture and took a picture of me holding a bowl of ramen that I had finished drinking, and as soon as my younger brother came out of the store… After the sun had set that new year, I looked at the darkened streets, looked around, and suddenly hugged me.
I was about to kiss him, so I was startled and covered my mouth.

“Oh no…”
“Why?”
“It’s a road…”
“We’re newlyweds, so what’s up?”
“Ra, it smells like ramen!”
“I just ate too.”
“I really can’t… I am dying of shame!”

Really, when I desperately asked for forgiveness for that, my younger brother felt sorry for me and let go of my arms.
Somehow… It should be said that it seems like they are playing with the prey they have been desperately chasing in their mouths, but when they hear that they are a newlywed couple, they are not at all shy, and on the contrary, they seem to be very happy… It was really my share of shame.

My younger brother and I walked along to see the city of Tokyo to digest food, and gradually walked upward toward Akihabara.
Taking pictures before crossing the crosswalk… I saw takoyaki being sold while passing by the street, and we bought and ate together, and ate yakisoba… I felt like I ate all of the representative Japanese food in one day.
When she arrived in Akihabara, which is not that far from Tokyo, her sister threw her head back and opened her mouth as she looked at the cartoons all around her.

“… Why are you here?”
“Today I will sleep over here. And tomorrow morning~ I’m going to eat gyudon at the famous gyudon shop over there…”

I didn’t tell my brother about this trip plan at all, and because I was planning it like a little surprise, my brother only followed me to where I was going, so I didn’t know where I was going in the future.
Because of that, the younger brother seemed really surprised while looking at the buildings full of cartoon drawings, and even though the night was getting late, the younger brother looked at the street full of people and said without energy as if he was really distracted.

“… It feels like real Japan here.”