Chapter Thirteen: Hostel Confession:

We all checked into the Seoulwise Guesthouse. Fifteen rooms total. Sappoto-san and I got a room together away from the drunk idiots. They are actually are amusing to be honest with you. Almost reminds me of the girls at TZA. Almost. At least the girls have a little class when they get drunk. A little…

Sappoto-san and I stayed in room 117. Not bad-looking. Reminds me of a dorm in college. Sappoto-san apparently has never been in a hostel before. She rushed all over the place with a wide smile.

“Wow!” she said to every single feature in the room. She rushed over to the window.

“I can see the ocean!” my naïve friend said. She raced into the bathroom.

“Look! The sink turns on by itself!” she cheered. I only smiled and shook my head as I sat on the bed. Something about her joy amuses me so much.

“Easy there,” I said. “We just got here. We’re not staying long.” Sappoto-san peeked from the bathroom at me.

“What do you mean?” she whimpered.

“We have to keep moving,” I said. “I don’t intend on stating in one place too long.” I happened to look and notice the hope drain from her little face. I sighed aloud. I did not sign up for baby-sitting on this trip!

“Look,” I said. “Summer will be over soon and I’ll have to get back to work and you’ll have to get back to your life in Tokyo.” Okay, that didn’t help at all. She wandered over to the bed drained over color and sat down next to me. She rested her head on my shoulder. I rolled my eyes.

“Oh stop, you big baby!” I said. She looked up at me with those big eyes.

“Don’t leave me!” she begged. I gave her an odd look.

“What?” I asked. Sappoto-san grabbed me by the hands.

“If you leave me,” she whimpered. “I’ll be all alone. Please don’t go back.” It didn’t occur to me until now. Sappoto has always been lovely. Her dad abused her growing up until child services took her to live with her grandma. Despite having Atticus and her kids in her live, she spends majority of her days alone, working to support them. Everyone always treats her like shit. She’s just sorely misunderstood. I forced myself to smile through her squeezing me.

“I won’t leave you,” I said. Sappoto-san looked at me with big eyes.

“You promise?” she asked. I nodded as I made myself to smile.

“Yes,” I said, nodding. Sappoto-san hugged on my tightly.

“Oh thank you!” she wailed. I smiled and shook my head.

“Yes, yes,” I said as I patted her on the back. “I promise.” I really hadn’t counted on baby-sitting on this trip, but now I have no choice. The moment was broken up with a knock on our door. We looked up at the sound.

“Yes?” I asked.

“We’re going to have dinner at local restaurant in town!” the leader yelled to us. “Want to come with us?” I turned to my friend.

“Shall we go, Sappoto-san?” I asked. She looked at me in silence.

“If it’s okay with you,” she said. I pressed my lips together. I’m gonna have to teach her to have a backbone. But right now…

I lowered my shoulders as I turned back to the door. “Sure! We’re coming!”

“Sweet! We’ll be waiting in the lobby!” he called. We listened as the footsteps disappeared down the hall. I turned to my pal.

“Ready to go?” I asked. Sappoto-san nodded at me.

“Okay,” she said in a whisper. We got up off of the bed and headed out of our room.

Sappoto-san stayed with me the whole time. I took the liberty in studying her every move. She doesn’t seem to trust other men and almost clung on my arm. The boys and us went out to a seafood restaurant near the beach. Classy place too. The inside looked like we walked into the bottom of the ocean. They had painted the walls dark blue with different sea creatures on it. Finishing nets hung over the ceiling. Anchors were decorated in the windows. Even the waitresses and waiters looked like mermaids and mermen. Our boys did most talking with the staff and we got tables near the biggest window on the second floor.

During dinner, I observed her the whole time. Sappoto-san didn’t make eye contact with the others at our booth. She didn’t even participate in the conversations around her. Sappoto-san really doesn’t know how to interact with people other than her husband or me. With each passing second, I made a list of things to help her fix with this. But at the moment, I reached under the table and held her hand. She turned her head and glanced at me. I gave her a calm smile.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “I’m here for you.” She pressed her lips together and nodded at me. Oh boy. I’m really going to have to work on her. She never says what’s really on her mind. Sappoto-san just orders what I get—no matter if she’s going to hate it or not. She tried to stomach the sweet barbequed eel and roasted seaweed salad with a smile on her face. I lowered my chopsticks and gave her a patient smile.

“You don’t have to finish it if you don’t want to,” I said. Sappoto-san shook her head at me.

“No,” she insisted. “It would be bad manners.” I patted her on the shoulder.

“It’ll be okay,” I said.

“But…” she said.

“It’s okay!” I insisted. Sappoto-san looked down at her chopsticks for a long moment. Then, she set down on her plate. I still forced myself to smile at her reluctance. She’s really like a little child. I sighed to myself in my head. I really didn’t want to be baby-sitting on this trip!

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