Chapter 68 – Travel to Japan. (2)

“Thank you!”
“Yes~”

I went to a cafe for two hours, walked around the park, and arrived at the photo studio on time.

They told me to come back in two hours, but it actually took 30 minutes longer, perhaps because there were a lot of people behind me.

“There’s less than an hour left.”
“Oh my god?”
“Well… There’s no need to go today.”

It’s not like you won’t be able to make the flight on time just because you’re going a day late anyway, so there’s no need to rush like this.

“I don’t feel like doing it tomorrow…”
“I know.”

The problem is that my brother and sister are both lazy among lazy people, so we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.

If you keep putting it off because you oversleep or don’t want to go out, you may end up not meeting the deadline and the trip itself may be cancelled.

Since this trip is to find my sister’s whereabouts, it absolutely cannot be cancelled.

“Let’s run quickly first.”
“Huh.”

Only about 40 minutes until business at the district office ends.

If you think it takes 10 minutes to ride the bus, it actually takes 30 minutes.

Since it is peak season, there is no guarantee that there will be no line, so you should go as early as possible.

“There it is.”
“Huh…!”

As soon as I got off the bus stop, I sprinted all the way to the district office.

Fortunately, the door was open to allow people in, and perhaps because there were a lot of passport complaints, there was even a friendly sign posted.

“Are you here?”
“I think so.”

A place with a little crowd of people.

It was clear where passports were issued.

“You brought a photo and your sister’s ID, right?”
“Huh.”
“Phew…”

Fortunately, our turn came quickly.

To be honest, I thought they would tell me to go back since it was after 6 o’clock, but I was a little surprised by their unexpected flexibility.

“I came to apply for a passport.”
“Give me your photo and ID~”

I submitted the warm passport photo I received earlier and my ID card.

“There are 5-year and 10-year options. Which one would you like to get?”
“Wouldn’t 10 years be good?”
“Huh.”
“Give it 10 years.”
“Yes, but I got a new passport this time.”
“New?”

Where the staff member pointed, there was a familiar green passport and a blue passport that I had never seen before.

“Wow, it’s pretty.”
“Is there a price difference between the two?”
“Yes… From now on, these passports will be issued in blue, but the green one is a leftover stock from our district office, so we are giving it to you at a low price.”
“Aha.”

They say it’s been a while since it came out, but since I wasn’t interested in traveling abroad, how would I know?

“I like blue.”
“Then I’ll take blue.”
“Yes, I understand. Are you coming to pick it up yourself?”
“Yes. I will come pick it up myself. How long will it take?”
“There are a lot of people getting their passports issued these days, so they will be issued in two weeks at the earliest.”
“As expected… I understand, thank you.”

These bad rumors are definitely true.

Still, I should be thankful that I made a reservation today.

“What should I do now?”
“You have to wait. Until the passport comes out.”
“Can’t Minwoo bring mine too?”
“Of course you can’t do that, you idiot. You need an ID card and yourself.”

Actually, there is a proxy pick-up service, but the authentication method is cumbersome and you have to fill out documents, so unless there are unavoidable circumstances, it is better to go pick it up yourself.

In my sister’s case, it’s because she’s annoying, so she should go herself.

“Right…”
“Let’s make travel plans.”
“Huh.”

Of course, because I didn’t know anything, I couldn’t come up with a single proper plan.

『

“I’m sleepy…”
“If you want to sleep, sleep on the subway.”
“Huh…”
“No, you don’t sleep while walking, you sleep on the subway…”
“Huh…”
“Ha…”

We had to get to the airport at least two hours in advance for a 9 o’clock flight, so we woke up at 5 o’clock.

Maybe that’s why my sister’s condition is so bad.

“I should have looked into it from yesterday when you said you couldn’t sleep because you were looking forward to it…”
“Yes…?”
“No, just take a card.”

As soon as I finally got on the subway, I fell asleep.

[This station is Gimpo, Gimpo Airport. The door you get off at is…]

As soon as the broadcast came on, my eyes opened.

“…Sister. Wake up. You have to get down.”
“It’s already Japan…?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? It’s the airport.”

I finally entered the airport with my older sister, who I was sure had boarded the plane in her dream.

It’s already very difficult since I’m taking out the carrier as well.

“What should I do now… Oh.”

After arriving at the airport, I continued to follow the departure signs and automatically came to the area where I could load my luggage.

“Everyone is unmanned these days.”
“What’s this?”
“Put it in here and load it up.”
“Oh~”

I’ve heard of automatic immigration screening, but I didn’t know that even this was automatic.

“Look over there. Ours is passing by.”
“Oh…”
“It doesn’t look like it’s caught, so let’s go.”

After loading your luggage, if you go to the side, there is a camera that can check your luggage. If you see your luggage and don’t say anything, you can go.

The world has gotten so much better.

Beep─

“Huh…?”

The section you must pass through to board a plane, the security checkpoint.

There is a dedicated security checkpoint for employees, so checking passengers’ items is essential.

However, I passed safely, but my sister got caught.

“Uh…?”
“Sir. Do you have anything in your pocket?”
“Ah, that’s you…”
“Ha…”

In the end, I went to my sister and explained the whole story.

When I told him to take everything out of his pockets, he forgot and didn’t.

“Ha… I’m glad. There’s nothing special.”
“Sorry…”
“Okay. You should feel sorry. What if you don’t listen to me and get rejected even after going to Japan?”
“Huh…”
“Let’s go over there.”

To divert the attention of my slightly sulky sister, I came to the automatic immigration screening area.

It seems that everyone over the age of 18 is automatically registered, so there is no need to apply separately.

This time, I completed all the procedures without incident.

“Have you ever been on a plane?”
“I think there is… But I don’t remember.”
“Then I understand that you have to take off your shoes on the plane.”
“You fool. You know it’s a lie, right?”
“Tsk.”
“I know the basics too.”

The prank of conversion failed, and I simply satisfied my hunger.

After the boarding process took longer than expected, it was soon time to board the plane.

“Ugh… I’m sleepy.”
“I can sleep now.”
“Huh…”

My older sister, who was sitting by the window, naturally leaned on my shoulder and gave off her nice scent.

“Sister. As soon as I leave──”
“Kuu…”

My sister must have been sleepy and fell asleep as soon as she sat down.

In the end, I wrote all the necessary papers.

“…”
“Sir, would you like to eat?”
“Yes…? Ah, yes.”
“Is the person next to you eating it too?”
“Yes. Orange juice for both of us, please.”
“Okay~”

I suddenly came to my senses when I heard a voice, and before I knew it, the in-flight meal had arrived.

“Sister… Wake up… The in-flight meal has been served.”
“Yes?”

I definitely remember writing it, but I can’t remember after that because I fell asleep.

I wanted to know what it felt like to take off…

“Wow…”
“Looks delicious.”

The in-flight meal consisted of a rice bowl with cooked shrimp, peas, other vegetables, and sauce, along with water, nuts, and pineapple slices.

I was quite surprised by the quality and taste, which was better than I expected.

“…Are you a kid?”
“What.”
“Why do you only eat the shrimp and not the rest?”
“Because I don’t like it.”
“…”

Not even an elementary school student, but an older sister who skipped out on everything she liked.

At the same time, they are complaining that the amount is small.

Of course, I don’t like nuts that much, so I didn’t eat them.

[Hello passengers, how are you? This plane is scheduled to land at Osaka, Kansai International Airport soon… ]

“What, have we arrived already?”
“That’s right. It came sooner than I expected.”

I had heard a lot of people say it would take about two hours, so I thought it would take a little longer, but when I looked at the remaining time, I saw that there was only about 20 minutes left.

I think it’s because it’s a little further west than Tokyo.

“Minwoo, look outside.”
“And.”

The plane passes over a white floor made of clouds and gradually decreases in altitude.

Outside the window, I could see the blue sea and farmland growing in full green.

It had been a long time since I had seen something from such a high place, so I was filled with admiration.

“So this is why you sit by the window…”
“I want to sit by the window when I come back!”
“…Sure.”

After a while, the sign to fasten your seat belt came on, and the plane began to shake violently.

Vibration felt with a loud sound.

When I looked out the window, I saw it was running on the runway.

[Passengers, our plane has now arrived at Kansai International Airport in Osaka. Thank you for coming on board. Have a nice trip.]

“Sister. You got everything, right?”
“Yes. I took it.”

This is an unfamiliar land that I step on for the first time after getting off the plane.

Although there were a lot of people from our country, it still felt like it was a different country.

“There is also Hangul?”
“I know.”

In the country right next door, there are a lot of tourists, so you can see a lot of Hangul.

It was great to see you in an unfamiliar land.

“Hoteru! Hoteru!”

The view you see while waiting in line.

The old man, who appeared to be an employee, kept pointing at the paper and saying “Hoteru.”

Looking at the paper he was holding, it seemed like it was referring to a hotel.

“I don’t understand at all…”
“I know…”

I came here believing that everything was possible with Arigato Gozaimasu and Sumimasen, but when I actually came, the language barrier was higher than I thought.

Japan seemed to be similar to Korea, so they even registered their fingerprints and photos on the way there.

“Whoa…”
“Ha…”

Fortunately, the immigration process went through without any problems, and we finally entered the airport.

“Ugh… I was really nervous.”
“I can’t understand a single English pronunciation…”
“You can find our hotel easily, right…?”
“We have to rely on a translator…”

The moment I came out to the airport lobby, I felt a little dizzy due to the overwhelming amount of Japanese.

I managed to get to the subway station by following the signs written in Korean, but my anxiety grew as I saw the Korean language gradually decreasing.

“Ticket… Ticket machine…”
“Oh! Minwoo, do you know how to read Japanese?”
“Little.”
“First of all, it looks like there is a transportation card here too, so let’s take that out first.”
“Huh.”

Since I had no plans to take a luxury train like the Shinkansen, I decided to get a transportation card first, thinking I would use the subway.

Like T-money in Korea, this place seemed to use a card called ICOCA.

“Luckily there is a language option.”

Immediately click the Korean button on the initial screen.

Feeling grateful that I could see Korean at every moment, I pressed the ticket issuing button.

[Please enter the amount.]

“…Money?”
“Yes why?”
“Sister… Did we exchange money?”
“No?”
“Did we take out cash?”
“…No.”
“We’re in big trouble.”

From the first day of my trip, I wanted to go home right away.