It Comes and Goes, You Know?

And I Thought He Wasn't That Bad...

Warning: implied mentions of rape

February 1938

It's been only a month since the incident, and he thinks he can just pretend it didn't happen? Unbelievable.

My father, brother, and I were invited to dinner along with some other Asian countries. Guess who invited us? Japanese Empire. The telegram he sent stated, "It's a way for us to settle things, no hostility." Yeah, right. That's downright bullshit. I stood there, on the doorstep, not wanting to go inside. My father was half-heartedly greeting J.E. in the house, while I stood farther back thinking of ways to buy time. After gathering my courage, I finally took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"Ah, look who is here. ようこそ!"

I looked away, avoiding his eyes."您好..." I reluctantly responded, after receiving a warning glance from my father.

J.E. smirked at me and whispered something to my father. My father laughed, but after seeing my expression he stopped immediately. I tried to pass off as relaxed, but my eyes landed on a small girl hiding behind J.E. She had the same flag as J.E., just with the absence of rays and with the addition of cat ears. She peeked at me from behind him, and locked eyes with me, causing her to squeak and hide behind him again. J.E. noticed what happened, and started introducing her. "Oh, you noticed her? She's my daughter, Japan. She's a bit shy." he gave an unsettling smile.

I glanced at Japan once more before walking further into the house. "Can you direct me to the restroom?" I asked, longing for a chance to get away from J.E.

It was R.O.C. who replied, dismissively saying "It's down the right hallway in the second door to the right." I gave him a questioning look before heading the direction he sent me. I went into the room and locked the door, turning around and staring into the mirror. Keep it together and stay calm, it's only for an hour. I said to myself, trying to calm myself as panic was slowly rising. I splashed water on my face to cool myself down and unlocked the door. I waited for a second, preparing myself to dive back into the constant stress I felt in the presence of J.E.

Just as I was about to open the door, J.E. opened it and walked in. "Excuse me? What do you think you are doing?" I asked, trying to keep my cool. He said nothing but slowly inched towards me. "Wha- stay away!" I said anxiously, keeping an eye on his hands. He moved towards my wrist, but I wasn't going to tolerate this. "Hey!" I yelled, pushing his hand away. "Don't you know anything about consent?! This is the second time!". "Aw, just one more time!" J.E. said with hunger in his eyes. I pushed away as I gave him a death glare. "The answer was no and it still is. Fuck off." I growled, as I shouldered past him and headed towards the dining room to join the Philippines and the three Koreans.

I tried to sit down and stay quiet at the table, keeping my mouth shut and not uttering a word. But J.E. always tried to make a conversation with me, and I had to respond or else my father glared at me. I faked a smile and tried to make a friendly conversation with him, killing me each time I spoke. I noticed that Japan kept staring at me from across the table, looking away every time I looked at her. I sat through dinner anxiously, making small chat with some of the other countries to pass off as "relaxed". This was all to please my father and set an example for my brother.

As soon as I was able to leave the table, I left for the front door to get some fresh air. I sat on the doorstep, looking up at the stars. I decided to just walk home since I didn't have a purpose of being there. I wanted to escape the looks that J.E. kept giving during his conversation with my father. I stood up and started walking back to my house. Luckily for me, it wasn't a very far distance away.