Ride on Time

Chapter 102

Mitsuo decided to get himself a cup of bubble tea on the way to the bus stop. It was the same shop he went to in Old Town, only it was an outlet in PJ State instead. He had to walk a little way through a string of shops before getting to it but Mitsuo thought it was worth it. After all, it was his last night in Petaling Jaya and a nice cup of bubble tea wouldn't hurt.
He then made his way to the bus stop and waited for the PJ City Bus, the free bus arranged by the local council. It would stop a little way from Asia Jaya, in Section 8, and he would have to walk the rest of the way.
Mitsuo didn't mind. The weather was nice and cool and there were many pedestrians there too, mostly foreigners like himself who stayed at the nearby hotels.
He plugged earphones into his ears and played music in low volume so that he would still be aware of his surroundings. This time, Mitsuo was listening to Mari Iijima's instrumental version of the single Cecile no Amagasa. He still wondered how this version sounded so much more different than the one released in the Kimono Stereo album, though the lyrics were the exact same, only the music was different.
Mitsuo was lost in the music, murmuring the chorus under his breath when a loud honk suddenly jolted him. He quickly turned around to see a Toyota Camry pulling up beside him. He wasn't sure if it was white or silver since it was quite dark, the sky a dark shade of blue as sun sank into the horizon.
Of course, Mitsuo's first instinct was to run, seeing how a car was pursuing him.
"Mr. Tadao!" A voice suddenly called. "Tadao-san!"
Mitsuo stopped upon hearing his name and took his earphones off. He was still in defensive mode, pointing his bubble tea at the car as if it can defend him. The passenger side window rolled down and the voice called his name again, prompting Mitsuo to go take a look, keeping distance in case of an ambush.
"Who are you?" Mitsuo asked, crouching slightly to have a look at the driver.
To his surprise, it was Jonathan. A very enthusiastic Jonathan. "Hi, Tadao-san!"
"Oh, it's you..." Mitsuo relaxed slightly. "Are you trying to kill me for leaving a bad review?"
"How, especially since you left me a five-star rating, Tadao-san?" Jonathan bowed slightly. "Please, get in. I'll give you a lift."
"It's fine, I prefer walking because it's free," Mitsuo cuttingly rejected. "Besides, the hotel's right here." He pointed to the tall Sheralbon building in the distance. "You should know, you picked me up yesterday."
"Yes, and that's why I'm offering to drop you, Tadao-san," Jonathan pointed out. "And don't worry, I won't charge you. Consider it an apology for disgracing your book yesterday."
Mitsuo considered the situation and eventually got in beside him, clutching at his bubble tea. "Fine, I'll take it. Thanks, by the way."
"Don't mention it," Jonathan smiled as he started driving again. "By the way, I really like your book. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm really enjoying it."
Mitsuo smiled, playing with his necklace. "Thanks. I appreciate you reading my work."
"Please, your book is really good," Jonathan generously added. "I'm sorry for what happened yesterday."
'Your parents better apologise too,' Mitsuo thought to himself before speaking, letting go of the Manji. "I actually visited your family for the Lunar New Year, if you remember."
Jonathan looked surprised. "You did?"
Mitsuo nodded smugly. "Yeah. I came with Nika and her family. You know, your parents' Indian friends whom you visit for Deepavali too?"
"You're friends with them?" Jonathan was surprised yet again. "Oh wait, never mind. You were with that Nika girl yesterday."
The car ascended the ramp leading to Sheralbon. "Yes, I'm her friend. I came to Malaysia for a holiday, am leaving tomorrow."
"You're leaving already?" Jonathan seemed almost dismayed. "Aww, but I wanted to get to know you better."
The car stopped in front of Sheralbon's lobby and Mitsuo quickly fumbled for the handle. To his dismay, the car was still locked.
"Jonathan, do you mind unlocking the door?"
"Not yet," Jonathan said, unlocking his seatbelt.
Mitsuo was taken aback when he suddenly knelt on his seat to search around the backseat. He was sure the other man was planning to hold him for ransom.
But to his surprise, Jonathan returned, his copy of Timeless Love in his hand.
"Can you sign this for me?" Jonathan politely asked, handing the book to him together with a ballpoint pen. "An autographed book would be great."
Mitsuo sighed and took the book and pen, scribbling his signature onto the first blank page of the book before handing it back to him.
"Thank you, Tadao-san," Jonathan bowed. Mitsuo returned a nod. "You're a very modest person."
Mitsuo nodded. "Thanks. Can I leave now?"
Jonathan immediately unlocked the car and Mitsuo promptly got out. He bowed to Jonathan and ran off without looking back once.

"So you're not gonna share?" Vasu asked, watching his sister eat a whole tub of durian ice cream herself with Scorpion by Meiko Nakahara playing on the television.
Shree stabbed her spoon into the tub and stuffed a large scoop into her mouth.
"Darn..." Vasu shook his head.
"He's leaving tomorrow and he isn't even replying to my texts," Shree sounded like she was about to cry. "Is he trying to forget me?"
"Akka, why are you thinking that way?" Vasu sighed. "You made his holiday better than he expected."
"But he seemed upset yesterday," Shree pointed out. "What if he found that he doesn't like me? What if I overwhelmed him?"
"What did you even do for him to not like you? Why overwhelmed?"
"Maybe when I bullied that Jonathan feller?"
"Jonathan ah?" Vasu repeated the name in confusion. "Who lah?"
"Sherry's son," Shree sobbed, spooning more ice cream into her mouth. "He Grape driver, remember?"
Vasu nodded. "I see. You bullied him, right? What did Mitsuo say for that?"
"He played along. Mitsuo bullied him too, even threatening to give him a bad rating."
Vasu snorted. "Then why you worrying?"
Shree shrugged. "He seemed very upset when leaving."
Before Vasu could answer to that, Shree's phone started ringing. She quickly paused the song and put her ice cream down before picking up her phone. To her surprise, Mitsuo's profile picture filled the screen.
"It's Mitsuo!" Shree gasped, quickly wiping off her tears before answering the call in speaker mode. "Hello?"
"Nika?" Mitsuo's voice came.
"Mitsu!" Shree called. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, just packed most of my things. Anyway, how are you? I'm sorry about last night, I'm not sure why I was upset, but it wasn't about you."
Vasu gave his sister a knowing look, as if to say 'See? I told you.' Shree turned back to the phone.
"Are you okay now?" Shree asked. "It wasn't anything I did, right?"
"No. I assure you, it wasn't you that upset me. It's... something else. I don't know how to explain it, but it wasn't you."
"Oh..." Shree nodded. "Anyway, you need a ride to the airport? We can drop you off at KLIA if you want. It's no trouble at all."
"That's fine, Nika, I'm taking the train since it's easier, taking a car is expensive. LRT and KLIA Transit is a lot cheaper."
"We can drop you for free if you want," Vasu added without warning.
"Vasu?" Mitsuo said in surprise. "Am I on speaker?"
"Yes, Mitsu," Shree sheepishly stated. "Sorry..."
"No, no it's fine," Mitsuo quickly said. "Darn, now I feel bad for not acknowledging Vasu..."
"Nah, it's fine," Vasu chuckled. "But yeah we can drop you, if you want."
There was silence on the other end before Mitsuo finally spoke again. "Thank you, both of you. You and your whole family made my trip here so much better. I feel like it isn't fair if I ask for more, so please, let me take the train to KLIA myself."
"Oh come on, Mitsu," Shree chuckled. "It's nothing."
Another pause on the other end. "Thanks, Nika... but it's fine, really. I don't know how to repay you guys, I don't wish to add more to the list."
"Mitsuo..." Shree sighed.
"Nika, please..." Mitsuo sighed but then continued in a cheerier voice. "Anyway, I was walking around near the stop before Asia Jaya since the green bus only went that far."
"You mean Thrifty?" Shree asked.
"Thrifty?" Mitsuo repeated in surprise. "No... I don't know, but it's before the Asia Jaya stop, near a row of restaurants."
"That's Thrifty..." Shree pointed out.
"Alright, I was walking there when a car suddenly honked. I turned to see a Camry and turns out it was that Jonathan guy again. He offered to drop me, but I declined."
"Then?" The siblings said at once, prompting him to continue.
"I begrudgingly did since he insisted that it would be free. He talked a lot and kept calling me 'Tadao-san' for some reason. That felt kinda strange since you only address someone by their surname in formal situations or if you have immense respect towards the person, like a celebrity or your boss."
"Okay?"
"Yeah so he stopped in front of the lobby but didn't want to unlock the door, he started digging for something in the backseat, turns out it was my book. He wanted me to sign it, apparently. He didn't let me out until I did so."
The siblings drank in this story.
"What is he doing in PJ so late?" Vasu piped up. "Thing is, he lives far, in Subang. At this rate, it would be nine by the time he reach home because of traffic."
"Yes, the highway was jammed," Mitsuo agreed. "I had a peek during the journey. But yeah. He is suspicious. I'm just saying keep an eye out, he might be spying on you guys to obtain information for his parents or something."
The siblings burst into laughter.
"Yeah, his parents may actually be spies hired to pry on our family," Shree chuckled. "Thanks for the tip, by the way."
They spoke a little more before hanging up, bidding Mitsuo a farewell.

Also, the Thrifty place that Shree mentioned is in Section 8. It used to be a thriving department store back in the day, but it fell. A local grocery chain then operated in the same building at one point, but that closed too. The building still stands as well as its name, which is Wisma Thrifty. Wisma means building, like a building fully-owned by someone. Thrifty once owned the whole building and that's why the name still stands. Also, it's an important landmark for the locals since there's a big bus stop right in front of it.