No Strings Attached

Chapter Nine

Getting up from the ground, Lisa scrunched up her face and used all her might to pull Jennie’s legs so that the latter would slide off the bed. All those years of whisking the batter had built up her arm muscles. After battling for fifteen minutes, Jennie conceded defeat. She was sitting on the floor, her hair was in a big mess and had only the blanket to cover her modesty.

Left with no choice, Jennie reluctantly got up from the floor and headed for the bathroom to wash up.

~*~*~*~

“It had better be good, else your head will roll,” Jennie hissed as both of them stepped out into the bright morning sun and headed for the train station. Sleep was precious to her since she often worked long hours.

About an hour later, the women arrived at a bustling fish market.

“This is the famous Tsukiji fish market! This is the place that should be experienced by all who visit Japan. A lot of top-notch Japanese restaurants buy their fresh seafood from here. There’s an auction that happens every morning before the sun rises but I didn’t managed to get a ticket for it. We can always shop along the market and stores.” Lisa pointed to a large sign that stated the name of the market.

“Do you want me to take a photo of you as a souvenir since it’s your first time here?” Lisa offered.

Jennie glared at Lisa and the latter merely had a wide smile plastered across her face and was busy looking around. Jennie couldn’t understand why someone could be to hyperactive early in the morning.

“Do I look like I’m in the best of moods to take a photo now?” Jennie growled, her face as black as charcoal.

Lisa gulped and decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being. Getting Jennie to go out with her was a challenge and she didn’t want to spoil the opportunity.

The wholesale area consisted of hundreds of small stands in a large, crowded hall, where buyers and sellers hurried along narrow lanes with their carts and trucks.

“Ack, this place stinks!” Jennie pinched her nose as they stood at the entrance of the fish market.

“Darling, this is a fish market, obviously it would reek of seafood. You won’t regret when you get to taste the freshest seafood later on,” Lisa said calmly, patting Jennie’s arm. Knowing that it was Jennie’s first visit to the market, she slid her hand into Jennie’s and held it tightly. She didn’t want to lose her in the vast and crowded market. Jennie had no choice but to relent and follow Lisa closely since she was already there. Using her other free hand, she covered her nose with a piece of tissue paper as she followed Lisa.

They weaved through the masses of people, stopping by at random stores. There were octopus, fish, lobster, squid, shrimp, shellfish and many more varieties of seafood on display. The workers were working intently at the stores at lightning speed; sorting fish, selling fish, cutting slabs of fish and deftly filleting fish. Lisa pointed out the names of several variety of seafood and even went on to explain the different cuts of a Salmon, a fish which was commonly used for sushi and sashimi.

“Did you know that Tsukiji means ‘built land’? It’s a reference to the fact that it was placed in a district built on reclaimed land. The current site is now two kilometres away from its initial site,” Lisa explained.

Jennie shook her head in reply to Taeyeon’s question. She was secretly impressed by Lisa’s wide general knowledge.

Soon, they headed out to the outer market where rows of small retail shops and restaurants packed the crowded small lanes. They had a difficult time trying to decide what to eat as the choices were so varied. Almost every restaurant had a long queue as many people wanted to try the fresh sashimi. They finally settled on a Japanese don store where there were at least ten types of sashimi dons to choose from.