Posts by j u n e

Even if Hana was the one who said that she'd stop responding after her last message, she couldn't help but pick up her phone immediately after she heard it vibrate against the table. She received an email, though was disappointed to find out that it wasn't from Alexandra. Instead, it was just some random advertisement from a clothing company. Honestly, the deal in the email was pretty decent though. But, that still wasn't enough to make her happy. What did make a smile return to her face was when she got another notification a few seconds after, this time from the person she actually wanted it to be from.

10:41: Sadly? I'm sure your sister can't be that bad

10:42 I get what you mean though, my brothers made me cook for them a lot. Siblings are so damn lazy sometimes.

10:42: I actually have to go finish up some work, but I'll be here to talk to you later. Now I'll actually go vanish.

10:43: Please don't stay up too late!

---

14:18: who are you

14:18: phones dead, using hanas

14:20: 20181509_59327.jpg attached

14:20: here is she

14:20: want to talk?

14:20: sorry, my english isn't well

From where she was sitting, Hana slowly leaned towards one of her best friends, Yuki, who was holding onto her phone. There was a grin on her face that made Hana feel a little bit suspicious. "Nani wo miteiru no (what're you looking at)?" she asked, leaning closer to see if she could get a better look. Yuki tilted the phone away. "Nani mo nai! (nothing)!" her friend responded with a chuckle. Hana set the chopsticks in her hand down and stood up from her seat. She walked over to where Yuki was and peered down at her phone, only to see the conversation she was having with Alexandra. Since Yuki wasn't doing anything harmful, Hana didn't take the phone away yet.

"Kanojo wa kurei (she's pretty)!" Before Hana could take her phone back from Yuki, it was snatched away, this time from her other friend. "Kawairashi on'nanako (a pretty girl)?" a male said. He soon chuckled. "Sou da (you're right)!" A few moments after, he began tapping against the phone.

14:24: Wow! You're very pretty! Do you live here? How do you know Hana?

14:24: I thought she would've told me about a pretty girl like you :)

14:25: I hope Hana hasn't been too dirty with her flirting. She can get naAJNbdsjaizo

Hana snatched her phone out of the male's hand and let out a huff. "Nandeyanen (what the hell)?! Bukimidearu koto o teishi (stop being creepy)!" Hana turned away from her friends with the phone tightly in her hands. She could hear them laughing behind her.

14:27: Sorry. My friends are assholes.

14:27: This is actually Hana now.

14:28: Please ignore that.

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

Now, the brunette was sitting back down in her original seat at the opposite side of the table. Hana's dark brown eyes were gazing down at the contact photo she set of Alexandra. It was the first picture that the German had sent her, with Alexandra hugging her happy-looking golden retriever. If she remembered correctly, the canine's name was Max. Around her, Hana could hear her friends continuing their conversation in Japanese.

"Hana, are you sure there isn't some weird internet creep?" her male friend, Kenji, piped in.

"But she has a dog, and all good people have dogs!" Yuki replied.

"Wouldn't a catfish want to make themselves seem good?"

"Do you think Hana would be dumb enough to fall for something like that?"

Hana wasn't quite sure where that logic come from. Regardless of whether or not Alexandra had a dog, Hana still thought she was a good person from what she knew of her. She looked back and forth between the two as they spoke before finally letting out a little fake cough. Her two friends got quiet to give Hana a chance to speak this time.

"You know how I mentioned a business project where we'd be getting pen pals?" Hana asked. She saw the two nod their head. Hana could see Yuki's eyebrows starting to furrow, which probably meant she knew what Hana was implying now. "Wait, so is this your partner from that?" Hana casually nodded her head without saying anything else. She lowered her hand down to pick up her black chopsticks and opened them up by maneuvering her fingers. She dipped the chopsticks into the bowl filled with broth and effortlessly managed to pick up the thick udon noodles within. She raised the wooden chopsticks to her lips and took the noodles from there, quickly eating and swallowing it down. Hana repeated the process until she was holding more noodles between the sticks.

"Wait, so, you're texting her already? Didn't you just get this assignment?" Kenji asked with a raised brow. Since Hana was still eating, all she could do was nod her head. "Wow, I didn't expect you of all people to move onto that so quickly. I guess it makes sense though. You've known this girl for only a day and you're already way nicer to her than me." Even if there was no food stopping her from speaking this time, Hana still stayed silent. Since she knew that Kenji was just messing with her, all Hana did was roll her brown eyes before shoving more of the thick noodles into her mouth. Now that she was actually thinking about it though, Kenji wasn't wrong. She was a lot nicer to Alexandra, way more than she was to most people. Maybe because it was the fact she'd never actually seen her in person before? Who knew.

The sound of Yuki laughing made Hana glance at the shorter girl. "Well, I'm glad you found another friend so quickly! What is it called? A match made in heaven?" Hana quickly shook her head as an answer.

"No, I think people use that mostly for lovers."

"Oh."

---

About fifteen minutes passed before Hana actually finished her food. She sat at the table with her empty bowl in front of her. Her chopsticks were inside of the bowl too, leaning against the outer edge of it. The three were talking to each other until Hana's phone vibrated against the table once more. Before she could reach for it, Yuki beat her to it and quickly gazed at the notification displayed. A smug little smirk was on her face. "It's that girl again," she said in a teasing tone. Her eyes went to look at the name of the sender. "Al-ex-an-dra?" The way she said it was choppy and her accent was heavy, but it was still possible to tell what she said.

Hana extended a palm out towards Yuki. The other girl just glanced at her hand for a second, but still didn't give up the phone. "Please," Hana eventually said. She forced a little pout onto her face as she looked at Yuki. Her friend let out a little sigh and reluctantly gave Hana her own phone back. She unlocked her phone and read her texts, a smile quickly making way to her face.

14:44: My, you're awake pretty early. I hope you slept well?

14:44: Look who's being the charmer now. I appreciate the compliment and it's safe to say that I'm not hungover anymore.

14:45: I wouldn't call them nice. Just thirsty.

14:46: Are you up to anything? Why are you awake so early?

"Aww, Hana, you look so cute! I've never seen you smile so much," Yuki teased and giggled. Now that she mentioned it, Hana had subconsciously been smiling the entire time while reading and typing out her own texts. "You're even starting to blush now too!" Yuki added. Hana quickly reached her hands up and placed them over her face. She took a few moments to recollect herself and when she dropped her hands back down, her cheeks were back to their normal color.

"You know, you don't always have to try to embarrass me."

"I know, but it's fun!" Yuki replied cheerfully. "Now where should we go next? I really want to go to the shopping mall nearby. There were these cute shoes I need to check on."

Kenji huffed and shook his head. "No way. We should do something more fun! Hana, what do you think?"

Hana hummed slightly in thought for a few seconds, only to lower her gaze back down to her texts. She began typing away once more, much to her friend's dismay. "Really, Hana? What is up with you and this girl?" She ignored what they were saying for the time being.

14:48: Mind picking out a number between 1 and 15 for me?

14:48: I just need a little help with a decision

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

[ that's okay! no need to apologize for something like that ^^ ]

Hana felt soft hands gently grabbing at her own, and she tilted her head up slightly to look at Yuki. Considering she was a lot taller than her friend though, she only had to cast her gaze up a little bit. "Hana, let's just go! I know you like my idea more, right? Riiight?" Yuki winked with a playfully stupid grin on her face. She tried nudging Hana forward, but wasn't strong enough to even make her move a step away from where she was standing. Hana's phone vibrated in her hand a moment after and she looked down at it. Yuki curiously let go of Hana's hand and took a step to the side to peer down at the screen with her.

14:53: I'm sorry to hear that. Clingy exes can be the worst.

In reality, Hana didn't even know what it was like to have a clingy ex. She was just saying that off of stereotypes from various media, mostly random movies or shows with the clingy ex trope. She hadn't really dated much in her life, and when she did, most of the relationships were rather short-lived. It was hard to find people she'd even be willing to date in a generally conservative country. Most girls willing to date other girls usually stayed quiet about it, including Hana herself. That didn't necessarily mean she lied or avoided the topic of her own sexuality though. If someone asked her, she would be honest about it. Rather, Hana just didn't see the point in telling the entire world she played for the other team unless it was brought up.

14:54: If it makes you feel better, one of my exes vanished out of the country without even telling me. I think she's in Belgium now??

14:54: Not that I want you to pity me or anything. I think it's kinda funny now

14:55: Right now we're walking around the city.

14:55: 20181509_34803.jpg attached

14:55: I think it's about to rain so we're deciding on a place to go

This time, Hana looked up from her phone when she felt a finger gently poking her. "Hana, have you decided yet? Or are you just stalling to talk to the girl?" Yuki teased. Hana shook her head and clicked the button along the side of her phone. The screen went black before she glanced over at Kenji, who had mostly stayed quiet from the sides during the whole ordeal.

"Kenji gets to choose."

The male's face seemed to light up in an instant. A grin made way to his face and he eagerly turned around and started walking. "Really? Are you only being nice to me because I called you mean earlier, Hana? Well, I'm not complaining. We're going to the arcade." The two girls started following behind him. Yuki let out a little huff and Hana raised her phone back up again.

14:57: Looks like we're going to an arcade. I might disappear for a bit now.

14:58: I hope you have fun with your siblings at the dog park :)

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

Hana's hand gently brushed against the wall for a few moments until she was finally able to feel the light switches, which she gently pressed her index finger against. There was a soft clicking noise coming from the switch before the light bulbs hanging from the kitchen's ceiling lit up, revealing the counters, the kitchen appliances, and all the other random decorations nearby. Hana reached into her pocket and slipped out her phone, clicking on the little button along the side of it to turn it on. Instead, the screen remained black for the most part, except for the flashing low battery symbol at the center of the screen. Hana let out a little sigh and placed her phone down on the counter before turning and heading out of the kitchen. She went into her bedroom, picking up her phone charger off the floor before returning to the kitchen. She plugged the charger into the wall and stuck the charger into her phone. Once the device was turned back on, all the notifications displayed on the screen, including the one from Alexandra.

Hana saw the video attached at the bottom of the message chain and was already wondering what Alexandra could've wanted to show her. Was she going to get to see Alexandra through the video again? Hana could feel her heartbeat already beginning to increase in speed, which made her feel a little bit embarrassed of herself. Why was she feeling this way about a girl she barely knew? Eagerly, Hana tapped on the video and smiled when she saw a familiar and very adorable golden retriever. It was always so cute to see the dog looking so happy. It was when the camera suddenly flipped to reveal Alexandra and her sister that Hana's brown eyes widened just slightly. Seeing Alex smile at the end of the video made Hana's face start feeling a little warm. She simply ignored it and started typing.

19:48: I'm so sorry for responding so late! I let my friend use my phone again. I didn't think she'd completely destroy my battery.

19:48: On the bright side, I at least won something at the arcade! I honestly just got it out of impulse because I thought it looked cute lol

19:49: 20181509_93216.jpg attached

19:49: About my ex, it was kind of depressing. It makes me wonder what the hell I did to make someone run away THAT far.

19:49: Thank you for showing me Max again! He's such a cute dog. ♡

19:50: Not to be intrusive or anything, but did you dress up for your ex or something? Nobody tries looking that pretty just to go to a dog park.

19:51: Are you up to anything? I just got back home so I'll be free to talk now. Hopefully. :)

Hana clicked the button against her phone and set it down against the counter. She turned towards her stove and reached up to pick up one of the pans hanging on the wall. Hana placed it down against the stove and turned one of the knobs to start up a little fire beneath it. While the pan was heating up, Hana walked over to the sink and reached up towards the wooden shelves hanging from the wall beside it. On it was her rather large and shameless collection of alcohol, considering it was completely visible for everyone to see. She picked up a bottle of sake and placed it down about a foot away from the heating pan.

It was shortly after that Momo padded into the kitchen. Miraculously, the feline was able to jump to the top of the counters despite it being a few feet taller than her. She sat down with her tail curled nearly around her paws. Her green eyes curiously stared up at Hana as she walked forward and gave the cat a gentle pet. Hana then reached over her phone and began typing again.

19:55: Oh, and if you do happen to see these texts sometime soon, sorry if I vanish here and there!

19:55: I'm cooking right now and I'm not really in the mood to set my apartment on fire

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

Now that Hana had the sake out on the counter, she moved on to get the rest of the ingredients needed for the dish. She walked over to a different counter a few feet away from the stove and pulled two bowls with plastic coverings, one with cut pieces of chicken and the other with slices of onion. She had already prepared the two ingredients needed way earlier in the day, before even going out with her friends. She removed the lid covering the bowl of onions and tossed it into the pan. She could hear the sound of them sizzling as she stepped back over to the two remaining bowls. With the empty one, Hana poured in a bit of sake, dashi stock, and soy sauce into it. She added a little bit of sugar to the bowl and pulled out a pair of metal chopsticks to mix it together. She could hear her phone vibrating against the counter, but ignored it for the time being to mix the ingredients until the sugar was dissolved. Once it was, she poured the mixture into the hot pan with the onions. Hana stirred the contents in the pan with the chopsticks before checking on her phone.

20:03: Ooh, look at you, trying to make him jealous. Thats quite the bold move. Just be careful or he might actually try clinging to you forever lol

20:03: Good luck to your brother though! He's really fortunate. I wish I could travel everywhere, even if it's for work

20:04: Please don't jinx it. I don't have enough money for repairs

20:04: Plus, I'm not that bad of a cook! I can tell when something is burning

20:04: One of my friends burned a salad. At least I'm not that

Speaking of which, Hana couldn't let her food burn now. Even if Alexandra wasn't physically with her at the moment, it still would be very situationally awkward if Hana burned something now. She dropped her phone down, quickly washing her hands before standing in front of the pan. She took the chicken bowl and uncovered it before pouring the meat into the pan. She used the chopsticks again to stir everything in it together. Then, Hana reached up to the wall and pulled one of the pot lids out from where it was hanging. She stirred the ingredients in the pan so they were evenly mixed before placing the lid down on it to let the food boil.

20:09: So, what did you do while you were out? Did you have a fun day?

20:09: I can't imagine that you were at the dog park the entire time

Hana set her phone back down and washed her hands. She checked on the chicken that was cooking, only to see that the meat was still a bit pink. Hana pulled out a new bowl and got a carton of eggs from where they were stored. She pulled out one of the eggs next to Momo, who let out a little mew before slightly tilting her head. Hana held the egg closer to the cat, who leaned forward to sniff it. A few seconds later, Hana moved the egg away to gently hit it against the edge of the counter. She raised it over the bowl and cracked the egg open. She used the chopsticks to beat the eggs before raising the lid and pouring the mixed egg into the pan. Then, Hana let out a little huff. Now to wait for it to cook a little.

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

Her hand lowered down to to the knob of the stove and she held it between her two fingers, twisting it so that the heat beneath the pan could lower. While the egg was left to cook, Hana grabbed some scallions from where they were stored and a knife from the wall. Before she actually cut them, she made sure to wash the onions thoroughly. After, she took out a cutting board and began chopping the vegetable into small slices. It was during this that Hana heard her phone vibrate against the counter. She began cutting a little bit faster and then poured the scallions over the mixture of food in the pan. She washed her hands before picking up her phone and reading the latest messages.

20:19: I'm glad you're feeling happier since your not so great morning!

20:19: And honestly? I have no idea. Why would it even be necessary to heat up a salad?

Now that the scallions were semi-cooked, Hana set down her phone and pulled out a new plate. On her way to where her rice cooker was, she turned the heat of the stove off. Hana took a big spoon and transferred some of the white rice into the bowl. Then, she went back to the stove. With the metal chopsticks, she put the chicken and eggs over the rice. She drizzled the excess mixture of soy sauce and sake over the white rice. She put the finished bowl of food onto the island, in front of one of the stools. Hana picked up her phone and began typing once more.

20:21: I was making oyakodon! It's basically chicken and egg over some rice. Soy sauce and some alcohol too, but I don't think it would actually make you tipsy or anything.

20:21: And hey! It might not be anything that special, but you're still eating a lot healthier than some people I know.

20:22: Do you cook for yourself at all? One of my brothers couldn't so he'd always make me do it for him, lol

20:22: Ill be honest though, I'm terrible at baking. I'm only decent if I have someone to help me

At the mention of her cat, Hana glanced up from her phone to look at Momo, who was still seated at the table across the counter. She tilted up her phone slightly and took a picture of the feline before sending it to Alex.

20:23: Here she is now! She likes hanging around the kitchen when I cook.

20:24: Not to steal the food or anything. She just likes smelling everything for some reason? It's kind of weird, but I don't know. I kinda like having her company

20:25: So what're you doing right now? Anything special?

20:25: Im probably going to have to do some work after I finish eating since I've been gone all day.

Hana set her phone down next to her on the island. She muttered something quietly to herself before picking up the chopsticks, using them to pick up a little portion of some chicken and rice. With her free hand, she took her phone once again and typed slowly with her left thumb.

20:27: Oh, also, I totally forgot because of how much I've enjoyed talking to you, but we probably need to discuss the assignment question at some point too. :)

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

Hana's thumb gently pressed down against the home button of her phone, exiting out of her messages, before she raised her finger to open up a different app. She spent the next couple of minutes scrolling through it as she ate until she finally finished the bowl of food. She set her phone down so the screen was against the table and got up from the stool. Just as she did so, she heard her phone vibrate against the counter. As much as she wanted to check the recent notification, Hana knew that she would probably get distracted from it. She released a little sigh before turning and heading over to the sink. She began cleaning all the different bowls she used while and after cooking, as well as the pan. Hana placed all of them back in their original spots before going back to the island. She grabbed her phone from the top of it and headed to her bedroom, quickly seating down against it before unlocking her phone.

Upon reading the couple of messages sent to her, Hana's thoughts came to a stop when she read a certain phrase. "I can't wait to meet her one day." Did that mean that Alexandra actually wanted to visit at some point? Perhaps Hana didn't really know the German that well, but she honestly wouldn't mind the thought of that. In general, Hana was just a little bit surprised, but also pleased to read something like that. It was nice knowing that Alexandra thought of her as more than just someone working with her for an assignment.

20:46: I'd like to think that I'm so bad at baking because I've never actually had an oven, but that's probably not actually the case lol

20:46: For Momo it kind of depends, actually. She's chill most of the time, but on other days she doesn't like people.

20:47: She's very moody for a cat
20:47: I wouldn't mind calling you though! Do you have a Skype? I think it would be easiest to talk there!

20:48: If you do, my username is sumeragi.hana

20:48: Creative, I know.

Even though Hana said she didn't mind calling, she was honestly still already getting a little bit anxious. She wasn't entirely sure why either because she usually didn't have a problem at all communicating with others. Generally, she wasn't really the shy type. Hana only realized now that Alexandra hadn't actually heard her voice. What if it sounded bad to the German? Hana shook her head slightly in attempt to try to stop thinking of such trivial matters. For one, it wasn't like she could do anything about her own voice, and it also wasn't like she could go back now. After all, she already sent the blonde her username. While letting out a little huff of air, Hana put her phone down on the bed and stood up to go grab her laptop from where she left it in the living room.

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

Hana took a little turn into the living room, where she saw her laptop set down on the small table in front of one of the couches. Laying against one of the sofa cushions was Momo, who lifted her head up with curiously perked ears when the Japanese woman walked by. Hana leaned down and picked up her laptop, standing straight up before turning against her heels and walking back to her room. She heard the noise of her cat hopping down onto the wooden floor behind her before the sound of the incoming Skype call rang in the air from her bedroom. Surely, that had to be Alexandra. Hana knew she couldn't leave the German waiting for long, so she began to quicken her footsteps. The ringtone got louder each step she took closer to the room, until she finally made it back to her bed.

Hana hastily set her laptop down and then grabbed her phone from the sheets. Displayed on the screen was Alexandra's profile picture and username, along with two buttons - one green and one red - at the bottom of the screen. Her thumb hovered over the green button, and she paused for a quick second to let out a gentle sigh. Well, this was it. The brunette tapped on the green button. The call took a moment to connect before she heard Alexandra's voice coming from her phone speakers. "Hey, Hana!"

Hana swore she could feel her heartbeat stopping for a brief second. Her voice sounded really pretty. Hana had never heard her own name spoken in that sort of accent before. It was probably weird, but she kind of liked it. After realizing that she was silent for good few seconds now, Hana quickly blinked before finally speaking. "Oh, uhm, hi Alex!" Hana greeted. Her voice wasn't high in pitch as she spoke, nor was it that low. There was a very slight rasp to it, however. A noticeable accent was present, although it wasn't at all strong enough to make her unintelligible. "Sorry. I was... thinking about something." Wow. Very smooth of you, Hana. It wasn't really a lie though, was it? "Is it okay if I call you Alex?" the brunette then asked. It was a bit of an odd question, considering Hana already called her that, but she didn't want to make the German uncomfortable. Some people only liked being called nicknames by those they were close to. But, at the same time, it wasn't like "Alex" wasn't a part of the blonde's damn Skype username. She needed to stop worrying so much.

Hana paused for a moment to brush her slender fingers through her silky locks of hair before dragging her laptop closer. She took hold of the lid and opened it up. The sound of her rapidly typing in her password could be heard through the call, with clicking noises following after. She opened up her email and scrolled down through it until she found the pen pal assignment question for the week. Hana quickly read over the contents of the email before speaking. "Well, I have the assignment up now. We should go ahead and finish it first."

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

[ sorry this is kinda short, i'm just rlly excited to get to the other stuff ]

Although there was no possible way for Alex to have seen it, Hana nodded her head slightly in response to Alexandra's question. Her eyes scanned over the question in the email again and her eyebrows began to furrow slightly when she came across a certain word with the meaning unbeknownst to her. Oh well, she could figure that out in a bit. Hana parted her lips to speak, but was quick to shut her mouth when she heard another feminine voice in the call coming from afar. Hana listened curiously to the two sisters speak German in their hushed tones, though she had absolutely no idea what they were saying. The brunette did catch the mention of a few names however, one being Otto, and the other being her own. Hana wasn't exactly sure how to describe it, but the German language sounded a lot stronger than her native one. It was such an interesting thing to hear, especially considering it was completely different compared to the Japanese she was used to hearing. Still, even if Hana was completely clueless about what the two were talking about, she didn't find the language any less pretty to listen to.

While the two spoke, Hana took the opportunity to copy the unknown word and paste it into the search bar. By now, there were a few moments filled with silence since Alexandra finished speaking. Hana quickly read over the definition and other examples that appeared on the screen before she spoke. "Well, I think it's something about entrepreneurial culture, but in fancier wording? It's asking to describe its impact on the economy for our countries and general things like that." Hana clicked back to her tab with the email and scrolled down. She clicked on a link at the bottom that led to a different site, where she was supposed to input a response to the question. "It doesn't seem like anything that difficult once you actually decipher what the hell all those big words mean."

Hana opened up a new tab and began typing more things into the search bar - things related to what they would soon discuss. Even though she had an idea of how to answer her part of the question already, using the internet always made her seem like she genuinely knew what she was talking about. "Was that your sister?" Hana asked suddenly, although it was entirely off topic. She continued scrolling down the list of sites on her laptop screen. "If she can hear me, I hope she knows I'm still sorry about waking her up the other day." Despite the fact Hana knew they were talking in German a couple of seconds ago, she knew that Adelaide was able to understand her. If she remembered correctly, the younger girl had sent her a text in English. Hana chuckled slightly before continuing. "Anyway, would you like to start with the answer, or should I explain first?"

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

[ dw about it, i'm just going to keep my posts relatively shitty until we timeskip ]

The corners of Hana's lips tugged into a little smile when she heard the teenager's response. It took a few more seconds until Alexandra responded to her question, which made Hana quietly hum in thought. Maybe she shouldn't have described it as something not difficult to understand earlier. "Wellll, alright," Hana answered in a somewhat sing-song tone. "How about I start us off? I'm sure you'll understand it a bit easier that way." She paused for a few seconds after glancing down at her keyboard. She began to quickly type in a little sentence into the response box before starting her explanation, practically without waiting for an answer from the German.

"I guess you could say that it's a little bit hard for entrepreneurs to get started in Japan? At least, compared to some other places. You might not be able to make a business off of what you enjoy doing here. For example, if you decided to make ramen shop solely because you like ramen, you're probably going to fail because of all the other similar businesses out there," Hana began rather bluntly. "You're better off trying to solve an existing problem with your business rather than doing something you genuinely enjoy." She paused after her rambling to finally take in a little breath of air. Before Hana decided to speak again, she began to type more words into the response box. The clicking noise of the keys could be heard through the call once more until it came to a stop.

"There are also some cultural problems with entrepreneurship too. A lot of companies here have life-time employment, so you basically keep the same job until you retire. The wage system is based on seniority, so the more time you spend working, the more money you get. Entrepreneurship can be kind of driven away because of this too, since it's more stable to just get a life-time employment. If someone does continue to make their own business and fails, then it's hard to get a new job. Failure is shameful in our society."

Hana took another break yet again to type more into the response box onto her screen. Now, she had about a paragraph and a half written up. There was still a little bit more that she wanted to say though, and then she had to of course type out what Germany's business culture was like after. She hadn't really thought about it much until now, but the stuff she was saying was a little bit grim. Hana wanted to make things seem at least a little bit harsh.

"Startups are getting more popular though!" Hana added in a more cheerful tone. "In the 90s there were some governmental regulations that deterred startups, but they realized it was hurting more than helping the economy. We definitely don't have a Silicon Valley or anything, but... it's getting better." There was another small pause before Hana let out a little laugh. "Sorry for the rambling. Were you able to catch everything?"

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

[ thanks for blessing my eyes, i think i'm somehow even gayer than before ]

Hana was in the middle of typing up her last few sentences when she heard the final thing the German uttered. The sound of her typing through the call completely stopped, and Hana sat there, frozen for a few moments. It wasn't that she was disgusted by the statement (although she was positive others of her culture would've been), but rather surprised. Something like that was the last thing the brunette expected to hear, especially from someone she perceived as innocent. Well, that didn't quite seem to be the case anymore. "Well, I, uhm... thank you?" Hana said in an uncertain tone. This truly had to be the most unusual compliment she ever received. Luckily, it was clear that the Japanese woman wasn't offended when she began to laugh. "I'm sorry, I just don't think I've ever received such a bold compliment. Nobody here would say something like that." With a smile on her face, Hana moved her fingers back against the keyboard to scroll down.

Her voice lowered in tone just a little bit as she hummed in an almost teasing fashion before Hana spoke again. "I think you might want to get your ears checked though, Alex. It's just... a friendly recommendation." Even if she was acting all modest about her voice now, Hana couldn't deny that the blonde's statement did make her feel a bit more confident talking to her in person. "Let's just finish up our work first, okay? And then you're free to say whatever you want about my voice."

[ hnng i've never made a post this small in forever, i almost feel a little bit shameful ]

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

[ tbh i'm not even surprised that both of the krieger siblings are fine ]

19:03: Sorry, I just woke up.

19:04: I think that explains how my day has been so far.

Hana was sitting up on her bed with the blankets still covering her legs. Her phone was grasped in her right hand and beside her was Momo's furry body, which was curled up into a tight ball. The feline was still asleep while Hana, as she typed in her texts, had just woken up, despite it already being late in the afternoon. Truthfully, until now, she hadn't slept in over a day because of all the work she had to do - both for her job and for various school assignments. It was partially because of this that she hadn't been able to talk to Alex the day before, or to most of her other friends. She let out a little huff before raising her fingers up and brushing them through her hair, which she could tell was messy, even without a mirror. She could feel the little tangles in her locks of black hair, although they wouldn't be anything that difficult to remove. Slowly, she tilted her head to look back down at her phone.

19:06: I hope your flight was alright! I know they can be kinda uncomfortable sometimes

19:07: Have fun

Hana released a little yawn before slowly standing up from her bed. To be honest, she was still exhausted and wanted to go right back to sleep. As much as she desired to do so, she knew she still had some work to finish up. She picked up her phone with one hand and turned to pick up her black glasses from the table beside her bed. Hana slipped them on and walked over to the door, which she slid open. She headed over to the kitchen and set down her phone on the counter before reaching over and pulling her coffee machine closer. She was positive that without a little bit of caffeine, she was probably going to fall asleep again. She spent the next few minutes brewing some coffee until she was seated down on the island with a mug of it in front of her. Once it was cooled down a little, Hana raised up the coffee and took a little sip of it. She set the white mug back down and glanced at the phone in her hands when she saw a new notification pop up on her screen. It was a text from her friend, Yuki.

"I found your girl," was written in hiragana on the screen.

After reading the vague text, Hana's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Her girl? All she did was blink as she thought before her fingers eventually moved to tap against the screen. "What're you talking about?" Hana replied.

---

From where Yuki was sitting in her seat, she occasionally quickly glanced at the two blondes sitting at the table only a few feet away from her own. Normally, it wouldn't have been strange to take quick glances at foreigners, but the amount of times Yuki had done it by now was a little bit concerning. Normally, she wouldn't have paid as much attention to some random foreigners, but the thing was, they weren't entirely random. Or at least, the blonde girl wasn't. She recognized the girl as the one Hana had been talking to. She looked exactly like the contact photo, so if Yuki was incorrect about what she suspected... well, it would be awkward.

She attempted to covertly tilt her phone towards the German with the camera app open, which of course was very creepy. But, they said that a picture was worth more than words or something like that, right? She wasn't entirely sure if that was the correct phrase or not, but it didn't stop Yuki from gently pressing her thumb against the phone screen to snap a picture. There was the noise effect of the camera shuttering through the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant, and Yuki could immediately feel a sinking feeling. Well, shit.

It wasn't like she was able to play off something like that. She wouldn't be able to say she was trying to take a picture of her food, which was already partially eaten, when her phone was pointing to everything but that. She wasn't sure if she'd even be able to say that in English to them anyway. Yuki quickly shot up from her seat towards the two blondes and apologetically bowed. "Sorry, sorry!" Her accent was evident as she spoke and strong, but still understandable. With a flustered look on her face, she slowly raised a finger to point to herself. "I, uhm, Hana. I am Hana's friend. Sorry."

[ i imagine yuki to look something like this for reference ^^ ]

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —

Yuki hoped it wasn't obvious that she wasn't entirely sure what the German was saying. If she did know, she probably would've been shocked or even laughed at how accurate the blonde was. All the Japanese girl did was blink with her lips in a little smile for a few seconds before she nodded her head. She did catch on to a few words here and there however, one of them conveniently being "voice call" and the other being the German woman's final question. "Me? I am Yuki," she answered with a bright smile. She looked back down at her phone and without saying anything else, she opened up one of her apps. Considering Hana's name was one of the closest to the top on he list of recent contacts, Yuki didn't need to scroll down to find her name. She tapped on the screen and when the option came up, Yuki pressed on the one labelled "video call".

---

Hana was only about a fourth of the way done with her coffee when her screen turned to one shown during an incoming voice call. She was honestly a tiny bit annoyed considering she was in the middle of reading something, only to be interrupted. Her eyes trailed over the name of her friend shown on the screen, which made Hana let out a little sigh before she eventually went ahead and accepted the call. Yuki's face soon filled the screen with Hana's own shown in the corner. She still looked kind of tired and disheveled, and was aware of it herself, but didn't really care since it was just her friend seeing her right now. "Hi Yuki," she spoke in Japanese. Hana then glanced at the background behind her friend, which she didn't think she recognized. "Where are you?" she asked in a curious tone. The other Japanese girl chuckled before she answered. "A restaurant!" Yuki replied back in a cheerful tone. "Some of the stuff here looks really good, too. Here, I'll show you!" Yuki began to pan the camera to the side.

"Wait! If it's something like last time, I don't want-"

Hana jaw quickly clamped shut when a familiar blonde female's face popped up onto the screen. All Hana did was silently stare with a blank expression before she finally blinked. It was probably expected of her to appear way more shocked. On the outside, she seemed a bit indifferent, but she was actually just too surprised to have a normal reaction. "Uhm... Alex? What're you doing in Osaka?" Hana asked, now in English. So this was what Yuki meant by "your girl"? She was kind of impressed her friend managed to even remember Alex's face.

Hana took a quick glance at the corner of her screen, where she could see herself. Realizing she still looked kind of messy, she quickly brushed a hand through her hair and pushed her glasses up with her index finger. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming here? I could've let you stay with me instead of spending on a hotel," Hana said. Thinking back about it, it suddenly made sense that Alexandra's flight was eleven hours away now. Had the German kept it a secret for a reason? What if Alex had purposely been trying to avoid her? Or did Hana not know simply because she hadn't asked? Of all things, Hana hoped it was the last.

"How's the restaurant? Did you find something you could eat?" Hana asked with a slightly tilted head. "You always have to be careful with them. Even if there's no meat actually present, they still use a lot of fish and chicken bases and sometimes don't tell you that."

GOT ALL THESE HEARTS IN LINE —