Theme #11 – Ice

Chapter 6: Yunta

Adam woke up the next morning with a blinding headache and the feeling that it was going to be a scorcher of a day. He had gone to bed naked but still found himself drenched with sweat even though the small AC and his table fan were on full blast. He stumbled to his feet to throw open the curtains allowing a flood of sunlight into his humble abode.

“Good morning, me,” he muttered, staring briefly towards the other buildings in the vicinity. He stared at Building 100A and towards the window which he was sure belonged to the crazy woman he had been with last night. Perhaps a part of him had assumed the whole incident had just been a dream – that he hadn’t actually spent the better part of a Saturday evening dealing with a petulant American woman who didn’t like him…and vice versa.

Snorting lightly, he shook his head and began to get ready for the day, reminding himself of plans to visit his parents’ house again to work on it for a few hours at least. He had managed to get half of the lawns and garden taken care of but interior work would have to begin some time later in the week. He still had his school notes and curriculum to get ready for the summer classes which was to begin on Tuesday. There would be a teacher’s meeting tomorrow, Monday, and then the students who hadn’t done so well during the school year would be given another chance to redeem themselves, staring on Tuesday. Adam found that he was actually looking forward to it this year. Many of the students in his class he was already familiar with, so there would be no need for extensive introductions.

A quick breakfast of miso and rice as well as his daily ritual of praying before the small shrine in honor of his deceased parents soon had Adam ready for the day. He greeted some of his neighbors, people he had known for over two years now and got ready to drive off on his bike. He swung a long leg to straddle the machine…only to blink in surprise at the undeniable figure of the very woman he had been thinking of this morning. Since he lived in Building 100C, they were practically neighbors – although he had neglected to mention that yesterday. Today, however, she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white shirt which showed off her slender and well-shaped figure to perfection. Her hair was still covered with the black hat she had been wearing yesterday but he could still make out the brown locks from the ponytail which kissed the nape of her neck. He was rather surprised to find her awake so early in the day. He had assumed she’d want to sleep off the long journey of the day before but he guessed he had underestimated her sleeping habits.

Not wanting to be seen for some reason unexplainable to even himself, he slipped the helmet over his head quickly and revved the engine. A part of him wanted to stop to ask how she was doing, to offer her breakfast or even to help her with furniture shopping, but yet another side of him wanted her to suffer a bit – to see that things weren’t always going to be so easy. To survive, she’d have to make it on her own. He had promised Seki he’d find a place for her to stay and he had done that. He really owed them nothing else. His job was done and that was that.

Satisfied with his reasoning, he sped out of the parking lot without a second glance at the woman who was now staring after him with a look of confusion on her visage.

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Aurora wasn’t hallucinating. She was sure it was Adam who had just driven away from that building across the street. Was he now stalking her? If so, he was a total and complete creep and she’d do well to steer clear away from him. Of course it hadn’t helped that she had spent most of the night tossing and turning, thanks to a rather vivid dream involving Adam, chocolate and sexy lingerie.

“Ohayo gozaimasu!”

She jumped at the exuberant greeting, managing a smile as the landlady – Sawada-sama – stood beside her with a large cup of water and ice cubes.

“Ohayo…” Aurora began in salutation but was cut off as the cup was shoved into her face. She blinked at the smiling woman’s visage and accepted it with a small nod of acknowledgement. Taking a sip, the cool liquid sent a tingling and not too unpleasant sensation of delight down to her stomach. Before she knew it, she had finished the entire thing and was amazed at how rejuvenated she felt.

“How are you feeling now?” Sawada-sama asked, still speaking carefully so as to make Aurora understand her.

“Much better thank you,” the girl replied, in halting Japanese, knowing she was probably messing up a few words, but still able to get her point across. She must have said the right thing because Sawada-sama beamed in pleasure.

“My son…my son speaks English. He will help you…take you to where you can buy some…” She spread out her hands to describe the furniture and Aurora couldn’t stop herself from yelping in delight.

“Oh thank you so much! You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I was so looking for someone to help me out and didn’t know what to do…”

But Sawada-sama wasn’t listening anymore. She was already hollering her son’s name – sounded eerily like Yunta – and before long, a lanky teenager of about sixteen came shuffling down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and looking quite put out at being disturbed from his sleep.

Mother and son exchanged a few words and Aurora didn’t need to understand everything to know that they were definitely not having a loving conversation. Apparently, Yunta didn’t think he ought to spend his day following some woman around and mother wasn’t having any of it. The last threat Aurora managed to decipher was that she was going to kick him out of the apartment if he didn’t obey her. That seemed to straighten the teen up in a flash. Still sulking…

(Aurora couldn’t help noticing that he had rather cute pink, pouting lips.)

…he finally looked at her for the first time. He had deep set black eyes to match his hair…although there were streaks of green in them somewhere. He was pretty, if you liked your boys that way and his slender frame didn’t help to make him look any more masculine. He was dressed in an oversized white sweatshirt with a gold necklace around his neck. His black jeans looked like they were ready to fall off his hips as well. They were that low-riding. Aurora struggled to hold back a giggle as he reminded her so much of the teens back home. They always tried their best to look cool but ended up looking like major dorks anyway. She had had her share of wannabe bad boys and Yunta looked like he was trying his best to get there.

“You’re cute,” he suddenly said, causing Aurora to blink in surprise at the bold statement. She managed a small smile, noticing the familiar look of interest filling his eyes. Geez. Men.

“Thanks,” she replied shortly. His English was fairly good and it was good enough for her. “Ready whenever you are, Yunta-kun.”

His smile grew wider as he nodded and gave her a wink. “Give me a second. I’ll be right back.”

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Half an hour later and they were strolling down the main streets of Kappabashi. To Aurora’s growing irritation, Yunta had been on his cell phone for the better part of the time, talking to all his friends about the new babe he was hanging out with. She had to bite back a retort whenever he winked at her and he had even tried to hug her – got as far as wrapping an arm around her waist – when she had shoved him away with a warning glare.

“You’re no fun,” he grumbled. “I thought American girls were supposed to be fun.”

They stopped before a thrift store where the prices for futons and some large floor pillows looked reasonable.

“For your information, Yunta,” she replied tightly as she picked up several silk fabrics on display. They would do very well for curtains. “I’m older than you and secondly, I don’t hang out with boys.”

“Hey, I’m man enough for you. You should give me a chance.”

“Like hell,” she muttered beneath her breath. His cell phone rang (and it had a rather annoying ring tone) for the one-millionth time and she had to suffer through another ‘WHAAZZZUPP!’ before rolling her eyes and walking further into the store. She was glad she wasn’t the only foreigner around as she spotted a few Europeans and some Indians shopping as well. The store was rather packed for a Sunday, but she could see why. This was a one-stop shopping for anyone hoping to get cheap furniture or décor and she guessed that Yunta could be useful when he put his mind to it. He had been the one to suggest this place anyway.

As she appraised the low coffee tables, wincing at how scratched and dusty some of them were, she remembered the obligatory phone calls she had made once she woke up. Her father was the first and he had spent a long hour asking her questions and wondering if she was doing all right. She had to finally convince him that there was no one attacking or planning to rape her any time soon. The money issue had come up again but Aurora had vehemently refused to accept anything…for now at least.

“Get that one,” Yunta was saying, still with the cell phone to his ear but with his attention focused on a round solid oak table which still looked relatively good.

“You think I should? It’s kind of pricey…” But she was talking to the air because Yunta was already busy talking to his friend again. All but stomping her feet in exasperation, she decided to get it all the same. It really was a good buy and she couldn’t pass it up.

The next call had been to Eden and she had listened through the regular gossip of L.A and its rich and famous. Eden had gotten a phone call from a Hollywood producer who wanted her to appear in a cameo role in a big budget movie! Aurora was genuinely happy for her – since she knew Eden’s passion for acting – but her thoughts had also been on getting something to eat while only managing to salvage some cream crackers from her suitcase. Tony was still sulking about her trip, according to Eden and was actually talking of coming down here.

“Like he’ll find me,” she had replied. But Eden had said that Tony had his ways and even Aurora had to believe that. The guy’s father owned a fucking airline; it was possible rlineden had said that Tony had his ways and even Aurora had to believe that. the re.

ovie! Aurora was genuinthat Tony could pinpoint any location on the map. Well, she was through with him and he needn’t bother looking for her anymore.

“Hey, Aurora!” Yunta called out from the other end of the shop. “Hurry up! I’m starving!”

Blushing to the roots of her hair as the customers turned to look at her, she gave Yunta (oblivious as always) an icy smile and vowed to smack him soundly for being such a jackass.

__

Yunta slurped on his orange soda noisily as Aurora continued to stir the ice cubes in the tall glass of lemon-lime soda. She stared at the frozen chunks of water absently, now feeling lazy and tired after all that walk and the slightly heavy meal of soba. It was her first unofficial Japanese meal and she had barely finished a bowl. Yunta had teased her about it, saying that American women didn’t know how to eat well but a light cuff on his head had shut him up quickly with a sullen pout.

“You’re like the kid brother I never wanted,” she suddenly said causing him to lift his head with a ready retort on his lips. But seeing the small smile on her visage, he grinned instead.

“And you’re like my annoying big sister. She’s married though. Good riddance to her.”

“You have an older sister?” she asked with interest. Since she was the only child, she guessed a part of her had always wanted to know what it was like to have a sibling. “I bet she’s way better than you.”

Yunta choked on his drink and shook his head rapidly, his long black hair falling into his eyes as he did so. “No way! She’s evil re-incarnated! She never lets me have any fun.”

“No one ever lets you have any fun,” she observed dryly. Still curious, she asked again. “Do you go to school?”

He glowered and looked insulted. “Of course I go to school. What? You think every kid in Japan doesn’t go to school?”

She held up a hand to pacify him. “No, you hyperactive homo-sapien. I’m actually here to be a teacher – a volunteer teacher for an elementary school.”

She wasn’t sure of what she was expecting as his reaction but she definitely hadn’t thought that Yunta would spit out his drink in surprise…and spray the orange liquid all over her white shirt! She gasped and had to control herself from screaming, but he was already leaning over the table with a napkin to dab at the stained cloth…or rather her breasts.

“Get away from me!” she yelled, pushing his hand away even though he kept apologizing for his mistake and looking anything but sorry. The proprietor of the restaurant had, by this time, rushed out to see what the commotion was about while the few diners were given a good side entertainment to go along with their meals.

Aurora had never felt so humiliated in her life as she all but dragged Yunta by his ear all the way back home. She was now wearing his sweatshirt, leaving him in only a white sleeveless shirt he had been wearing underneath. The owners of the noodle shop had apologized for the inconvenience and promised her a free meal the next time she visited. She doubted she would, but they seemed nice enough.

“I said I was sorry,” Yunta was saying as they approached the bus stop. “I was just surprised that you would want to be a teacher.”

“And what’s wrong with being a teacher? Geez, every time I tell people that, no one thinks or believes me!”

She released Yunta with a soft sigh, suddenly feeling rather dejected about the whole thing. Noticing the shift of mood, Yunta rubbed his stinging ear and said quietly. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being a teacher. It’s a pretty cool job to do. You’re helping people you know.”

She said nothing and continued to stare at the ticket in her hand. Her furniture would be arriving tomorrow evening as arranged. She’d have to be home to accept it…

“I guess you just don’t look like the teacher type…”

“And just what is a teacher type?” she snapped irritably, now wishing he’d just stop talking…forever. She was beginning to feel a chill creep into her bones, as if thin chunks of ice were being sewn into her flesh.

Wincing at the sharp tone, Yunta shrugged lightly. “I don’t know. You’re just too…pretty I guess.”

He frowned as if the word he had used wasn’t the exact thing he had been looking for. However, Aurora raised a brow in disbelief. She would have laughed if she wasn’t already feeling pissed off with everything in general at the moment, so she settled for shaking her head slowly as the bus pulled up to the curb.

“I’ll show everyone,” she muttered. “I’ll show everyone I can be the best teacher they’ve ever seen.”

The teen watched her determined expression with a small smile tugging the corner of his lips. And as they stepped into the bus together, he couldn’t help thinking that this was going to be one of the most interesting summers of his young life.

nta (oblivous