onsen boys - sushi & bus things
Onsen Boys Chapter 3 - DAVID☁️
Welcome to Apple Hair!
Usually, in the CANON, I explore creating a fictional universe with the hopes that you’ll follow along with your own world. Every fourth week, I’m releasing an AU story or an exclusive with one of the members of Apple Hair. This time, we have the third chapter of Onsen Boys! We’re following David and Seiya on their trip to Japan.
Want to read Onsen Boys from the very beginning? You can start here!
If you’re new here, Apple Hair is a fictional, Asian American boy band from Hawaii. I’m Airen, and this particular short story draws on my experiences in Japan.
Welcome to the newsletter, and I’m excited to share this AU with you.
After Seiya bathes, we head out for some late-night sushi.
“It’s a little over a dollar a plate!” Seiya exclaims once we sit down and browse the virtual menu. “Shit. Don’t mind me going ham tonight.”
I blush for no reason and busy myself with filling our cups of tea. I pour a little bit of powder into the cups, reflecting on the little particles that Kaden would no doubt try to calculate, and then I fill them with hot water from a dispenser by the sushi belt. As we eat, I think about onsens and bathing, and even though I’m nineteen, it feels like I’m thirteen thinking about these things for the first time.
Seiya really does stuff himself, but I think I might eat almost as much as him? I count the plates, which we both crushed, and I count over thirty plates. We say thank you and goodbye in Japanese, and then we head back above the underground center, named Whity, and back to the hotel.
“Are you sure you don’t wanna bathe tonight?” Seiya says, teasing.
“No,” I say a bit too quickly. I wash up with the shower in our room. And then, the exhaustion of the flight takes over, and Seiya’s snores fill the room. I study the planes of his face, his effortless beauty and his gentle nose, and soon I can’t keep my eyes open.
The next day, we pack up our things and head to Osaka Umeda station, or rather Hankyu Sanban Gai, a shopping mall attached to the station. As we lug our things along, the unthinkable happens.
We get lost.
“I swore we just needed to follow the underground signs,” I say. Panic builds in my chest, blooming like an unwelcome poisonous flower. We only have thirty minutes to get there, or else the bus will leave without us.
“It’s confusing,” Seiya says. A load of people crowd around us, as if judging the fact that we can’t find our way, that our directional senses are clogged thanks to jetlag and the stunting unfamiliarity of the country.
“Let’s head aboveground,” I say. “Maybe then we can have a better sense of direction.”
We end up finding a sign that says Hankyu Sanban Gai, so we follow the stairs up. In fact… it must be a pretty big mall, because we just end up lost between shops with no bus station in sight.
Seiya may have panicked yesterday, but now it’s my turn. I thought that the anxieties we went through as trainees hardened me up a bit, but the disorientation of finding myself in Japan is too much to bear. I end up visibly shaking.
Seiya drops his things and wraps his arms around me. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. We have time.”
His steady heart and his unwavering hands cause me to see the light. It is going to be okay, just like how we got Merlin Kim to approve our debut.
I carry my things again, and we ask someone about the direction to the bus stop. We have to double back. But when we reach the station, we have ten minutes to spare, and the man in charge of the bus smiles and approves our spots on the bus.
Seiya lets out a long breath. “Maybe I’m not Japanese after all?”
“Don’t be silly,” I say.
As we load our luggage into the bottom of the bus, we head inside and find seats in the front. The bus driver starts exactly on time and goes through a few announcements. We head down the highway and down some express lanes, until we exit the more congested area of the city.
Seiya falls asleep. I decide to take a chance and put my hand in his. As we continue on our way, I open my BTS book and read again. Seiya snores, and a strand of his pink hair falls into my book. For a long time, I roll the strand of hair in my fingers, feeling a little bit like a creeper, like someone with the strangest desire.
When we reach Arima Onsen, the winter weather bites me immediately as the bus driver opens the door. Trying not to shiver too hard, I help Seiya with our luggage then face the possibility of getting lost once again.
“Are you Seiya Morimoto and David Cho?” someone asks.
I turn around to find a kind-looking lady in a kimono, with large eyes and a mouth that reminds me of a cute pink bow. “Yes,” I say, barely squeaking the word out thanks to not speaking for an hour.
She smiles. “Please come this way. You’re checking into the Tabby Apartment, am I right?”
“Yes,” I repeat. We follow her, and she insists on carrying both of our luggages even though Seiya looks like he wants to fight her.
She checks us in, letting us know the information about the gold and silver onsen pools—along with an option for a private onsen. We decline the offer for the—very—expensive dinner set, and then she comes back around the counter again and carries our luggage outside.
The quaint town of Arima Onsen is definitely a change from Osaka. Everything’s so nearby that we only have to walk thirty seconds before we climb the stairs to the apartment that we’re staying at for two days. I try to take in as much of the town as possible, including various small eateries, a store selling pickled items, and two-storied buildings creating a bit of a maze through the quiet, paved streets, painted in neutral colors like gray, white, and brown.
The Tabby Apartment only has two rooms, and our guide leads us to the higher floor, giving us the four numbers of our passcode. Upon entrance, Seiya and I admire the tatami room that’s separate from both the shower and bathroom. With windows that can be slid open to view the street, I immediately feel a sense of home and comfort.
The hotel worker leaves after making sure we’re settled, and Seiya collapses onto one of the two beds that rest on the floor. “Man. This is what I call living the life.”
“I heard that people soak in the onsen up to three times a day,” I say, regretting the words as soon as they leave my mouth.
Seiya wiggles his eyebrows. “Then are you ready?”
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As a monthly bonus for my paid subscribers, here is early access to the next chapter of Onsen Boys! This is from Seiya’s POV. Happy reading!