Behind Watanabe

Stranger.

Slowly but surely, Junkyu began to get to know the Watanabe family better and deeper, in a sense of he was still unsure and cautious about many things, but he eventually got along with everyone in the house, not only Hanami. In Junkyu's eyes, each of the Watanabe family members had unique and special traits. Hanami's face was very similar to her father's, but the girl's personality was pure, cheerful, open, and friendly just like her mother. Meanwhile, Haruto was the exact opposite of Hanami. Whenever Junkyu looked at Haruto's face, his mother's persona was always painted on point on his, but his calm, reserved, mysterious, and hardworking nature was something Junkyu could see from Mr. Watanabe as well. Despite all those similarities, of course there were unique things that Junkyu found in each individual.

Summer had arrived and Junkyu wanted to invite Hanami to make the most of the sunshine and warm weather. However, Junkyu could not put the rules that had been applied by their parents aside. Possibly because she rarely played outside and didn't have many friends, Hanami was not allowed to play too far from their porch. Junkyu really regretted that matter, since the environment in their residence was naturally blessed. There were parks and clean beaches, farms and garden where they could pick strawberry from, the streets around there also looked safe and peaceful. There were a lot of things that Junkyu wanted to show Hanami, but there were also boundaries that he had to respect.

"I GOT YOU!" Junkyu shouted loudly and excitedly when he caught Hanami in his arms and Hanami immediately screamed, followed by laughter that sounded sweet to the ears. The two of them were seen playing in the backyard of the house, an activity that modern children might rarely do, especially children who lived on top of a skyscraper, an expensive apartment with limited space.

At least that would be the case in Seoul.

"Now I will be the villain and I will chase you!" Hanami said, of course, all the games they did were Hanami's idea. Junkyu could only follow the girl's wish, as long as it made Hanami happy.

They were running here and there, switching roles from time to time and sharing laughter between each other. The neighbours could possibly hear them being loud in the afternoon, but that genuinely made the atmosphere even better and more lively. As Junkyu first arrived at the Watanabe's, he thought the house was quite remote from other houses in the area, it was located at the end of the road, without direct neighbouring houses next to them. The image of living in a dull and boring space scared Junkyu, but that day, everything seemed more vibrant than usual.

"I got you!" Hanami hugged Junkyu by his waist, since she could only reach that high.

"Oh nooooo! I'm caught. I'm going to jail now."

Apparently, Hanami was entertained by Junkyu's bad acting skill all the time. He never failed in amusing Hanami, despite of the simplicity and limited equipment they included in their games.

 "Do you want to play another game?" Junkyu asked.

"Mmm, I'm hungry..." Hanami whined a little bit, but she didn't lose her smile. Yes, Junkyu could see how they were drained after a whole game session in the afternoon — though they found pleasure and relished the opportunity to get to know each other even better through the activity. Hanami was seen sweating all over her temple and neck, so Junkyu quickly got a glass of water for both of them.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine." Hanami put her glass on the bench nearby, where the family usually sat there just to have some small talks or do a reading session. "But I really want to eat instant noodle right now. I haven't eaten it for a while."

"Hanami, instant noodle is only allowed on weekends."

"I'm tired of home made food..." Then Hanami actually wailed and put on a sad face, begging Junkyu to let her eat the meal she wanted to have for the day. Of course, Junkyu stood in dilemma for immediate time. He saw that there was nothing wrong in eating instant noodle because there was a reason why instant noodle was sold massively throughout South Korea, he supposed Japan had the same phenomenon as well, as long as they knew when to stop consuming instant food. "Please, Junkyu? Can I have instant noodle?" Hanami leaned her back against Junkyu's arm and indulged, trying to persuade the caretaker to make her instant noodles.

Junkyu huffed. "All right, this will be the only time I'm making you instant noodle on weekdays. But we don't have instant noodle, I must buy it first."

"Okay, then buy it!"

"Ish, you are a cheeky, cheeky girl." Junkyu pinched Hanami's cheek gently. "Good, then you stay here and I will go to the shop and see what I can find there."

"Be careful, Junkyu!"

The girl obeyed Junkyu's orders and patiently waited for him at home, meanwhile, Junkyu went to a nearby shop to look for the instant noodles that Hanami asked for. Being there felt like a healing for Junkyu, the beautiful and enchanting nature, friendly people surrounding, even walking to a nearby destination became something fun because of the breathtaking scenery on both sides. Twenty-two years of Junkyu's life in the world, a big city full of crowds and busyness has always been his natural habitat, even when he moved to Germany, Junkyu was placed in the middle of a big city. 

Once at the convenient store, Junkyu put several types of instant noodles into the shopping cart, not only for Hanami, but also for himself. Who knew it could come in handy if he was hungry in the middle of the night? Junkyu also bought different kinds of side dishes that might go well to eat with instant noodles.

Right at the edge of his sight, there was someone staring at him across the corridor and Junkyu noticed right away, so so looked up to respond. The male stranger didn't speak a word, yet he couldn't stop staring at Junkyu while one of his hands was holding onto noodles shelf, standing firmly in his long sleeve, hippie-motif fashion. Clearly Junkyu was uncomfortable for being constantly stared by someone he didn't know and he could feel the fear creeped onto his neck, then reaching the top of his head that he was coerced to speak initially.

"May I help you?" Junkyu asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

The stranger looked young to him, though Junkyu didn't bother guessing the age. Still, no answer was given and Junkyu had to experience a secondhand embarrassment for talking by himself as his question was unreciprocated.

Kim Junkyu looked away and huffed. "Weird." He spoke loudly, so the young man over there would hear. As much as Junkyu wanted to act careless, he couldn't ignore the fact that he was continously being watched. Sensing something odd, Junkyu rushed to the cashier and checked out as quick as possible. Anyone could be anything, a stalker, a murderer, a psychopath, a freak, though Junkyu hated being prejudiced, but most of the case didn't end up well when someone was engaging with an obvious, socially incompentent person. And so he left, hoping to never encounter such peculiar persona again.

"That's fast!" Hanami welcomed Junkyu at the door.

"I only bought noodles, it wouldn't take long."

"So, can we eat noodle now?"

"I'll make one for you!" Junkyu smiled and when he turned around to close the door, he saw the same stranger from the store was already standing in front of their house, glaring at Junkyu in the same way he did in their first encounter. Junkyu's spine chilled and he almost fell onto his knees knowing there was somebody who was following him, which was a normal reaction for someone facing threat. He couldn't think clearly and slammed the door swiftly, panting in the suddenly thick air.

"Junkyu...? Are you all right?" Hanami asked him.

"Uh, yeah... I'm fine. It's suddenly really hot here." He touched his own neck. "Good, we should stay inside. Be a good girl and wait in the dining room, I'll come right away with your meal."

"Okay..."

Hanami was confused, but she was hesitant to ask more, even though she could detect something was not in the right place for Junkyu. The little girl then looked up and found his brother already standing behind the foyer fence on the second floor and both of them shared skeptical look within each other.

To be continued.