"Okay, here we are. Looks like we got here just in time." Miyeon said to you and Jungwon, as she parked the car near the entrance of the airport's departure area, before the three of you exited the vehicle to grab your stuff.
"Thanks for driving us here today, noona. I'll be seeing you after four days." You said, before you gave her a hug.
"I'll be alright, Y/N. Have fun while you're there, okay? Also, don't forget to buy me some souvenirs!" She reminded you.
"Mhm. I'll make sure to forget that, no problem." You teased, earning you a light punch from her.
"Okay, I won't! Ugh, we'll get going now."
"I understand. Take care of him for me, Jungwon-ssi." Miyeon said in a somewhat commanding tone.
"Y-yes, ma'am. I'll make sure he doesn't get into trouble while we're there." Jungwon replied almost immediately, making you and your older sister chuckle.
You then waved goodbye to her just before you entered the airport, carrying your luggage together with Jungwon using a trolley.
"Jungwon-ah, are you sure that's all you need for the entire school trip? Your bag is much smaller than I expected." You asked him.
"Of course, Y/N. I made sure that I have everything that I need for four days packed inside this bag. That includes extra clothes, swimming attire, my other personal items and my camera. You don't need to worry about me." He assured you.
"Well if you say so. Oh look. Ms. Kwon and some of the other students are already here."
"Then let's go to them first. We need to check in together with our class, after all."
The two of you quickly went to where your homeroom teacher and the rest of your class is. Thanks to her, you were able to sort out all the necessary stuff to do before you board the plane. Once she tells everyone that you're going to wait for at least 45 minutes before you head to the boarding gate, Jungwon gestures for you to grab a seat beside him while waiting for the others to arrive.
"I thought that our good old friend Sunghoon will be here before we do, Y/N. I'm surprised to see that he's not here yet." He said.
"Yeah. At school, he's always the first one to grace us with his presence, and to flaunt himself before our school princess, naturally. It seems that for some reason, he wanted to arrive fashionably late this time."
"Heh. At least he isn't the first person we saw this morning, so thank goodness for that. I bet his assigned partner will cause him all sorts of trouble once we're in Japan." Jungwon said before he laughed a bit.
"I suppose that's bound to happen, especially during the third day. But despite him being so mean to us all the time, I hope Hyunseo won't make his trip that miserable. I'll still feel bad for him if it does turn out that way, you know."
"Wow. I certainly didn't expect you to say that, Y/N. Not after all the things he did to us. Then again, wishing for his misery doesn't make us better than him. I hope he enjoys his time there just like we will."
"That's right. I really am looking forward to this trip."
"Same here. Damn, I've never been to Okinawa, so I'm pretty much excited to be there! Just a few days ago, I looked up all the interesting places that we'll see there just in case. Afterwards, I thought that four days won't be enough for us to explore all of them, no kidding. There's Yonaha Beach, Kokusai-dori and the American Village just to name a few. It's definitely going to be awesome for sure!" He exclaimed, making the other students look towards where you two are seated.
"Calm down, Jungwon-ah. I get that you're excited right now, but it's better for you to save that energy once we have arrived. The trip won't be a long one after all."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I already made all sorts of plans both for us and for my new-"
To your surprise, Jungwon suddenly stopped talking, as you noticed him looking towards the direction of the airport entrance.
"Something wrong, Jungwon-ah?"
"Heads up, Y/N. We've got trouble. The Sinister Six are here."
You didn't immediately understand why he mentioned a pop culture reference from out of nowhere. However, once you saw the six familiar faces who were all smiles once they saw you, it became clear why he did.
"The Sinister Six, huh? Well it does seem fitting for them."
"I knew you'd get it, Y/N. Right now, you're caught up in their own little game, which I hope you'll be able to emerge victorious from. Good luck with that."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. By the way, if they hear you calling them with that name, I'm pretty sure they'll beat you to a pulp. Literally." You warned him.
"I-I'll be sure to remember that."
Just then, Hyunseo ran quickly to meet you, and you couldn't help but laugh as she made her way into the empty seat just beside you and Jungwon.
"Oppa, you're early today! Are you that excited?" She asked.
"I simply wanted to arrive on time, Hyunseo-ah. You know me, I'm always an early bird at school." You told her.
"He's right, Hyunseo. Y/N is a very responsible person, and that's why I often asked him to help me with the student council whenever he's free." Gaeul added, as she felt proud of what she had just said.
"True. But whenever he's there, you have a tendency to either doze off or write a random sentimental poem, unnie. Now that's what I call leadership." Yujin teased her, as Gaeul gestured for her to keep quiet about it.
"But Gaeul-unnie's poems are a masterpiece! I think she should write more of it whenever she's free." Rei defended her.
"I agree with Rei. Reading poems or novels while sipping your favorite tea is very relaxing." Wonyoung said to them.
"Indeed. Drinking tea provides you with enough levels of epigallocatechin gallate to help improve one's emotional condition and memory. All of us should make it a habit." Jiwon advised them.
Not long after, things became livelier like usual, as they all tend to behave like that whenever they get together. Granted, recently you rarely see them to be all in one place despite being friends, so looking at them talking to each other in front of you is a happy sight to behold.
"Umm, why don't we all take a picture right now? It'll be great if we do!" Yujin suggested, and everyone agreed.
"Well then, as a member of the Photography Club, I will be the one to do it. I don't mind." Jungwon said.
"Are you sure you don't want to be a part of it, Jungwon-ah?" You asked him.
"Nah, it's okay. Get ready, everyone."
As Jungwon holds his camera in place, you and the others gather for the picture. Once the first one was taken, all of you got into a wacky pose for the second, just for fun. Right after that, the teachers called each of their classes together before proceeding to the boarding gate.
A few more procedures were done and you are all ready to board the plane. You looked into your plane ticket to help you find your assigned seat, which you easily found. To your surprise, you are seated in the middle, which leaves you wondering who will sit beside you for the trip. Well, you didn't have to wait long to find out.
Once everyone is seated, you heard from the plane's intercom system that you will take off in just a few minutes. Then, the speaker started to explain all the necessary safety guidelines like usual. Meanwhile, your two seatmates, Yujin and Rei, don't seem to be listening at all, and you can see that the other students were instead busy with whatever they're talking about with their friends like they do at school. The teachers felt helpless and decided to just leave them be.
Not long after, the plane finally took off, and the two-hour and fifteen minute flight to Okinawa began.
About forty minutes into the flight, Yujin suddenly fell asleep on your shoulder, surprising you. Not wanting to disturb her, you simply let her be as you look to see what Rei is doing.
"Oh. So you still haven't finished playing that game, Rei-chan? I thought you already did." You said to her.
"I've cleared the main story. But when I play this series, I always make sure that I finish everything, including the post-game content and collecting all the legendaries. Gotta catch em' all, right?"
"Good point. I already finished everything myself, so let me know if you need some help."
"I appreciate it, Y/N. Umm, there's this quest which I found....."
With that, you and Rei spent the rest of the flight helping her with the game, which helped pass the time.
Eventually, the plane's captain informed all the passengers that the plane will be landing soon, as you saw a glimpse of the city below, making you feel more excited than ever.
Yujin and Rei are feeling the same, as the former began to talk about her own plans with you.
"Really? I never expected you to be so interested in shrines, Yujin-ah."
"Surprised? Well now you know, Y/N. With Rei as my partner, I won't have any trouble when it comes to communicating with the locals." Yujin said in a very confident manner.
"Right. Thankfully, Wonyoung and I can speak a little, so I think we'll be fine, and that also goes for Sunghoon and Hyunseo. But as for Gaeul and Jiwon though....."
"I wouldn't worry about them, Y/N. With Jiwon's expertise in almost everything, I'm pretty sure that speaking Japanese will be a trivial thing for her to do. They'll be fine." Rei assured you.
"I see. I guess I worried for nothing. Now I can't wait to walk around Okinawa city later this afternoon."
"Oooh, that's a great idea! Let me know if you have any plans after lunch, as the teacher already told us that today's activities will be just the bus tour."
"All right, Yujin-ah. This'll be an exciting trip for sure."
As expected, the plane landed at Okinawa precisely on time. Once you and the others began walking at the airport, a feeling of enthusiasm filled your mind. You're now in a different country, free to see and experience the sights and sounds it has to offer, which you are very happy about.
The teachers wasted no time to make sure that everyone was already there, just before guiding each of their assigned classes towards the exit, where the tourist buses were waiting.
In an organized manner, all of you boarded the bus, with all your luggage placed on the vehicle's trunk for convenience. Once everyone was ready, a Japanese tour guide began to greet everyone in Korean just as the bus began to move, which surprised you.
Thus, the bus tour had started, with the purpose of helping you get to know more about Okinawa and its wondrous history. She also reminded you all that you will get the chance to see each of the attractions the next day, which will be something to look forward to.
It took almost an hour and a half for the tour to conclude, as the bus finally arrived at the hotel where everyone would be staying.
"I hope you'll all be able to have fun here in Okinawa, and that you'll appreciate how beautiful this part of our country truly is. Ashita o ai shimashou!" (See you tomorrow!)
She then bids goodbye to you and your classmates, as you all exited the bus in an orderly fashion.
At the hotel lobby, everyone is busy looking for a partner to be their roommate. You and Jungwon had pretty much agreed to be roommates for the entire trip, so picking one wasn't a problem for you anymore.
Ms. Kwon gave each pair the keys for each of their respective rooms right after everyone had checked in. You smiled when you saw that your assigned room is located in the 8th floor, which means that you'll be able to see a spectacular view of the city from the balcony.
True enough, it would appear that is the case the moment you saw how it looked.
"Damn, this is much fancier than I thought! Do all the rooms in this hotel look like this?" Jungwon asked, as he quickly dropped his luggage before he started checking everything out for his own amusement.
"I think they all do, Jungwon-ah. But you're right. It's like our school had rented suites for each of us here. There's two large beds, a spacious bathroom with a tub, and let's not forget the balcony over there."
Amazed by this, you went to check out the balcony area while Jungwon was busy reading the room service menu that was placed on a desk near the television.
Just as you expected, the view from up there was incredibly beautiful. You can see the vast shores of Okinawa from there, which made you realize that you'll also be able to see the sunset later in the afternoon, which is sure to be quite a sight. Surely, this place has already captivated you, despite the fact that it's only been just a couple of hours since you got there.
"Y/N, Ms. Kwon told us that she expects everyone to be at the restaurant on the ground floor in thirty minutes. Should we unpack now?"
"We can do that later, Jungwon-ah. Just get whatever you need from your bag before we head down."
"All right then. Then I guess we should talk about what we're going to do for the rest of today. Since we only have the bus tour, this is pretty much a free day for us to spend, which is nice. Do you have any plans to go with the others after lunch?"
"Well, I want to go somewhere after we have our meal, but I don't have any plans yet. I was about to ask you if you already have an itinerary in mind. Also, Yujin and the others would like to go with us, if possible." You told him, and this gave Jungwon an idea.
"That's great. I told you that I already looked up all the best places we can visit that's near the vicinity of this hotel, so let's start with those. First choice will be Yonaha Beach, which is obviously the nearest place to go from here. I'm in the mood to do a little swimming myself, so if you're okay with that, then let's head there today.
The second one would be for us to head into the city, and that means heading to Kokusai-dori, the shopping centre. If we're going there, then it would be a good idea to do some souvenir shopping for your sister before you forget it.
Finally, there's the Kaiyohaku park, where we can relax while checking out the gardens and an aquarium there, if you feel like it.
"Wow, looks like you really spent some time reading about all those places, Jungwon-ah. I'm impressed."
"Yah, it's no big deal. As a budding photographer, having a firsthand knowledge of where you're going makes it easy for me to sort out the best places for taking pictures. But enough about that. Which one will you choose?"
"It's a tough choice, but I will have to choose....."
A. Head to Yonaha Beach and have fun swimming.
B. Go to Kokusai-dori to have fun and buy some souvenirs.
C. Visit the Kaiyohaku Park to rest and relax with nature.
It's been a while since I wrote a chapter with a choice at the end. You all know the drill. Put your choice in the comments and thank you for reading.