A Psychic's Psyche | yuwin

familiarity

Ramen shops sometimes referred to as Ramen-ya or Ramen-ten. they covet popular business in Japan, Ramen is a signature part of Japanese cuisine. And today, Ramen was a uniting force.

It was cold, so cold. Sicheng felt like he was in a world he'd never been to before, but spent his life missing. He remembered vague fuzzy memories of his childhood, flooding back to him like a dream he couldn't quite grasp, places he doesn't remember but logically knows he's been to before, it was Jamais Vu again.

He made himself comfortable when he arrived, setting his coat to the side on a chair next to him, he no longer needed it due to the warmth from the heater inside the establishment.

He took a moment to adjust to his surroundings, puzzling the feeling that came to him when he arrived, it was an out-of-body experience. The line between familiar and unfamiliar was blurred, Sicheng tried to remember what hadn't happened.

Yuta was already seated at his arrival, though Sicheng didn't notice at first, seeing him again was refreshing, even though they barely knew each other, Yuta felt like Sicheng's own inner voice, like the conscious that protected him all those years.

"You know, I just realized I never asked for your name." Yuta said, causing Sicheng to snap back into a state of reality, "really? I felt like I told you before. My name is Sicheng, but most people just call me WinWin."

Sicheng grabbed a menu and looked at the options displayed, trying to decide despite his mind running wild. "So, you must be a foreigner?" Yuta asked with a smile.

That smile, that smile, it feels familiar. He thought he disregarded it quickly because he knew he needed to focus on reality, the present. "I'm from China, my family are all business tycoons in Wenzhou."

His eyes scanned from side to side, reading the menu took more concentration out of him than Yuta, no matter how hard he studied or how much he learned, reading Japanese would never be the same as reading Mandarin for him. He knew so many Kanji, yet his brain would always be more naturally acquainted with Mandarin.

"I'm gonna get the Tonkotsu Ramen," Sicheng told Yuta, his finger pointed towards the item on the menu out of habit. "Ok, they make that well here. I'll get what you're having." He gave a slight grin.

"So you're from China? That's a coincidence actually, my roommate is from Hong Kong, he hasn't lived there in years though, not since he was a kid. What brought you to Osaka?" he raised his eyebrows slightly, leaning his face into his palm.

"When I was younger, my parents came here with me on a business trip. I fell in love with Japan immediately, it felt like home to me, as soon as I got old enough I applied for a student visa, once I get out of university I'll find a job and get a worker's Visa."

Sicheng's eyes freely expressed his emotions. His passion was evident, he felt that this place held such high importance to him. His ambition came from his desire to stay, whether he recognized it or not, his happiness came from the country where he felt destined to be.

"You seem to be-" Yuta was suddenly interrupted by the sound of crashing plates and silverware, "I'm so sorry, I was rushing around and I guess I just tripped. I promise it won't happen again!" Yuta and Sicheng overheard the nervous waiter explain away his clumsiness. Yuta peaked his head back behind his seat to look at the mess he just heard go down a minute ago.

The uncoordinated server picked up a sea of broken dishes as fast as he could and rushed to take care of the mess he caused and throw away the broken shards of porcelain plates that had fallen to the ground.

Within a few minutes, their waiter arrived at the table, and by some luck, or lack of depending on how you look at it, the person serving them also happened to be the same clumsy waiter from earlier.

"Good morning! I'm Ten, I'll be your server for today. What will you be having today?" the young man brightly smiled, as he held a pen and paper in hand. "I'll have the Tonkotsu ramen, and so will my friend here," Yuta said, his hand gesturing towards Sicheng as he came to mention.

"Alright, we'll have that right out for you. Would you like anything else, gentlemen?" The waiter kindly asks, "No that's it." Yuta smiled, Ten walking away shortly after.

Sicheng looked out the window they'd sat by, as he saw the white snowfall, he let out a small gasp. "Yuta, look!" he said as the older boy pondered a bit before actually looking out the window, although he knew the snow would fall, Yuta still held surprise somewhere in his heart.

The snow looked so pure and full of wonder, like the heart of a child, and when Sicheng saw it, Yuta noticed that he presented the same qualities of the snow. That glimmer in his eye, just like the white of the snow.

You're beautiful... Yuta thought, which was the first thought that Sicheng actually heard throughout the entirety of their date, his cheeks reddened slightly, although he tried to hide it to the best of his abilities to avoid suspicion.

The waiter arrived back at their table, once again making a slight interruption to their current situation, with two bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen. "here you go, and if you need anything else just let me know." Ten politely smiled.

Sicheng slurped his soup, greatly enjoying it, as well as Yuta. "You wanna get out of here and enjoy the snow after this?" Yuta asked, to which Sicheng delightfully nodded.

Shortly after, both boys had finished their food. "I'll get the check." Yuta said, rest assured that he would not pass up the opportunity to provide for the truest form of beauty embodied.

Not only in this situation where food wasn't of big cost would he be the one to pay, but in any. Though neither were bound by the restraints of currency, and neither had a strong financial advantage over one and other. Yuta felt it was his place to care for Sicheng in any situation, Sicheng's presence was a gift to him that was more precious than any object.

As they got up from their seats, Yuta helped Sicheng with his jacket, although the younger didn't feel he needed to. And they made their way outside, a sweet smile glowing from Sicheng's mouth that was infectious. Someone like Sicheng who is more guarded and in his head in social situations would not often be seen by this, it seemed almost out of character.

Like students on the first day of winter break, they played in the snow joyously. Throwing snow balls at each other and laughing, making up stupid games full of pop culture references, it was so simply pleasant.

"Hey, do you wanna build a snow man?" Yuta got up off of the ground to approach Sicheng when asking. Sicheng let out a chuckle "no go away!" He said in a higher voice, as a joking reference. "Actually, that sounds perfect." He lead with a follow up response, smiling sweetly to Yuta.

Yuta helped Sicheng roll out the biggest ball of snow for the bottom, Sicheng himself made the torso, and Yuta made the head. "What do we do for eyes?" Yuta asked, tilting his head with his hands on his hips while looking at the empty canvas of a snowman. "I have an extra button in my jacket pocket, but there's only one." Sicheng let out with slight disappointment. "Oh! I know, I have one too, let's put them together."

The two scrounged in their pockets to get the eyes for their creation, each boy diligently applying them in the appropriate place. Though the cold snow touched their gloveless hands, they didn't pay any mind to it as everything else was irrelevant in that moment. Background noise muted the in the moments they spent together.

"It's alive!" Yuta said dramatically, arching his back and raising his palms like a cartoon villain. Sicheng just stared at their creation for a moment, to fully appreciate what would soon become a fond memory and revel in something that wasn't just his own. "Our snow boy..." he uttered lowly.

Yuta drew his eyes to Sicheng, his eyes deep and soulful. "Can I... Can I hug you?" He asked the younger boy, to which he widened his eyes slightly. Just giving a faint nod in response.

Yuta inched closer, burying his arms around Sicheng, he hugged him deep and heartfelt. Though it seemed like a small action, it meant a lot to Sicheng. Though he hadn't known the older that long, he felt he could fully trust him.