Meeting His Friends

The game shop was big, split into several areas, mainly visited by young folks. Even though Hana didn't recognize games from forty years later, she headed directly to the section with classic games. She was more interested in these than the crowded section with the newest popular games.

Not many people were in this part. Just two young men, around their twenties, were by a display wall, deeply into their discussion about a game. Each game had a short description, and you could play one for free for fifteen minutes if it caught your interest. After listening to them and getting interested in the game they were discussing, Hana waited for a break in their talk to ask, "That game seems interesting. What's its name?"

They both looked over when she spoke. One of them said, "Desolate Planet." But then, he looked shocked, looking behind Hana and stammered, "Mr... Sato Sensei..."

Seeing this, the other man, who hadn't noticed Jun before, looked just as surprised and whispered, "Sato Sensei."

The two, who were just talking excitedly about games, now looked shy and nervous. Meeting a teacher in a game shop, even a nice one like Jun who didn't get mad, was a lot to handle.

It was Hana's first time hearing someone call Jun "Sato Sensei." She knew him when he was finishing his advanced studies, aiming for even higher education. She was laid-back about school, but Jun always wanted to do his best. Her learning he became a teacher didn't shock her.

Seeing the young men's nervousness, Jun smiled warmly at them and said hello. Then, he moved to a quiet spot to let them be at ease. He adjusted his glasses and looked at a game poster, giving Hana time to pick a game.

With Jun away, the young men looked more relaxed. Seeing this, Hana joked, "Considering how nice Sato Sensei is, why are you so scared of him?"

Both seemed a little embarrassed. "Sato Sensei is really calm and never shouts, but students just don't raise their voices around him. It's how you act around someone you look up to."

Hana didn't say anything, thinking they were making a big deal out of it.

One young man, looking a bit shy, glanced at Jun and said, "To be honest, I'm not really Sato Sensei's student. I went with my girlfriend to some of his public lectures. Her academic guide was once Sato Sensei's student and holds him in high regard."

One of the guys looked at Hana with curiosity. "Are you Sato Sensei's granddaughter? It's sweet of him to be here with you to pick out games. He seems so out of place in this setting. I was really surprised when I saw him."

Glancing at her older husband, engrossed in a game poster about robots, Hana felt a tickle of amusement. She replied casually, "I'm not his granddaughter. I'm his wife."

She was almost certain they wouldn't believe her.

Sure enough, they both laughed out loud, "That's a good joke, miss!"

"Interested in this game? We can give you some pointers~"

Deciding not to discuss her connection to Sato Sensei any further, Hana took their game advice to heart. Once she chose a game, she added both of their LINE details.

That made Hana wonder, how's LINE still popular after all these years? It had grown, merging features from other apps like Facebook and Twitter.

Having selected a game, the couple, one visibly older and the other young, headed out to shop for daily goods and apparel. Hana picked out items nonchalantly, adding them to the cart, while Jun trailed, occasionally inspecting the ingredients of the snacks she'd chosen. She added quite a few unhealthy snacks, convinced that such treats were vital for happiness, useful to uplift spirits during hard times.

Jun didn't say much. But he did mention, pointing to a bright red bag of crisps, "This one has a lot of artificial polyunsaturated fats. It's not that great. Maybe try the one next to it; they have similar components."

Hana responded, "Sure, since you're the one paying." She swapped for the one he suggested.

Shopping for clothes was a breeze. Hana simply grabbed items in her size, opting for cozy wear. At one point, Jun stopped her at a store entrance, "I'll wait out here. You go on and shop."

Hana, puzzled, asked, "Which store? Why won't you come with?"

Walking in, she found herself in a lingerie boutique. Looking back, she saw Jun, glancing upwards at the mall ceiling. It might be uncomfortable for a 65-year-old man to join his 28-year-old wife in a lingerie shop.

They shopped a lot that day. But home delivery made things easy. Once home, they found a mountain of packages waiting. Unpacking and arranging took them quite some time.

That evening, Hana was by herself in the guest room, thinking about the day's simple events. Even with the surprising changes in her world, everything seemed okay to handle—even seeing her husband looking so much older. With Jun around, her new and wild life felt a bit more settled, and she felt a lot calmer than the previous night.

Hana was laid out on the bed, deeply into the game she got earlier on her PT. There was no doubt; future games from forty years ahead were way more fun than the ones she remembered, just like the ads said they would be. She was so into her game that she only noticed how late it was when Jun knocked on her door.

From the hallway, Jun said, "You should sleep. Stop the game for now. Play more tomorrow."

Hana looked at the shut door, thinking back to the younger version of Jun. Even with his busy school work, he always made time for her.

He loved books, so video games weren't his thing. But sometimes, on days off when she was deep in a game, he'd watch closely. He'd wish she'd notice him more but never said it. Wanting to join her fun, he asked her to teach him. But the super-smart Jun wasn't good at games at all. He even made her top gaming account drop two levels, which made other players make fun of him.

She remembered how she stepped in, beating those rude players until they quit the game.

Hana had to smile, thinking of that. But her smile went away soon after. Feeling a bit lonely, she turned off her game, saying out loud, "Time for bed."

She didn't hear anything outside. Wondering if he had gone, Hana quietly opened the door a little later. No one was in the hall.

Downstairs, Jun, or "Sato Sensei", was on the phone.

"Sorry for calling so late. Can we talk?"

The other person laughed, "You sound so official, Sensei. Sure, what's up?"

Jun said, "I want to change the will I made last year."

The guy sounded interested, "What are you thinking of changing?"

Jun answered, "Who gets my stuff when I'm gone."

...

Sleep didn't come easy for Hana that night. So when she got woken up in the morning, her head hurt a lot. Rubbing her eyes, she saw an older woman, dressed really nice, with tears in her eyes, looking super excited to see her.

Even though people called her an elderly woman, she didn't look that old because she took good care of herself and had hair dyed black. But when you first saw her, the word 'old' still popped into your head because of her age.

At first, Hana was confused, not knowing who she was. But soon, she saw something familiar in the older woman's face.

The woman stared at her, full of excitement, and shouted, "Hana Chan!"

Hana's eyes got big, "Airi Chan?"

The older lady nodded her head fast, her eyes full of tears, "Yes, it's me!"

The person who had woken her up was Airi, her best friend. They'd been in the same class since they were little, all the way through high school. They were so close that when one got married, the other was always the bridesmaid.

Pulling the crying woman into a hug, Hana said, "Gosh, I thought you were gone!"

Airi shot back, "Hey, I'm only sixty-eight! I've got lots of time left!"

Compared to how she was with her husband, with Airi, her best friend, Hana felt like everything was normal. "Airi, you look so different..."

Both laughing and crying, Airi said through her tears, "Well, yeah! It's been forty years! But you look just like you did."

Worried about how her friend was feeling, especially because she was older, Hana asked, "You're okay, right? Crying this much isn't good for you."

Airi said, "... I have a little diabetes..."

Hana quickly said, "Then you really need to stop crying."

They looked at each other, and then they both started laughing. Even now, Airi was still the same – always caring about how she looked and always ready to cry.

And there was even a bubble from her crying nose.

Hana gave her a tissue and watched as Airi, not embarrassed at all, said, "I got Jun's text yesterday and came back from another country as fast as I could. My husband's here too. I wanted to bring my sons and grandkids, but they had work. And I just couldn't wait."

"You know, when Jun told me you were here, I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe he was joking." And then Airi started crying again, messing up her face.

Hana said, "... "... Seriously, you put on makeup just to rush and see me??"