In Deep Kimchi by Imari Jade

toward them and then accepted.
    Yori lowered his sunglasses, looked over at her, and then pushed the glasses up and pretended disinterest.
    * * * *
    “Would you like to join us for dinner?” Masaaki asked everyone at the table once they’d given up dancing and were all nursing sore feet. He’d just returned after receiving a phone call.
    Harper looked around to see if everyone was in agreement. Heads nodded up and down furiously.
    “Good. I’m starved and my head hurts from the noise.”
    Shaundra found his bluntness comical.
    Masaaki pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. “Tell the boys we are leaving for dinner.” He hung up and rose, signaling to one of the guards. The guard leaned over and said something to Yori, who, in turn, told the other three. The four young men rose and walked around the dance floor until they arrived at the table with the authors. “We’re all going out to dinner,” Masaaki announced. He turned and everyone followed him out of the club.
    “Where are we going?” Riley asked Harper as Masaaki began to walk.
    “I have no idea. Since they’re Japanese, I think it’s safe to say that we’re going to a Japanese restaurant.”
    The idea both delighted and frightened Shaundra. To eat authentic Japanese food would be fun and interesting. She just hoped she wasn’t required to use chopsticks. She’d hate to waste anything on her dress.
    Shaundra and Harper caught up with Masaaki. “Where are the limousines?” Harper asked.
    “I sent them ahead to the restaurant parking lot. Too much traffic.”
    They stood on a busy sidewalk near the club and waited for the others to catch up. Bumper to bumper traffic passed on the street before them.
    “So, how are we supposed to get there?” Harper asked.
    “Walk,” Masaaki answered him. “It’s just three blocks away.”
    The announcement was met with several groans from the Americans. Shaundra looked down at her heels. Had she known, she would have opted for different shoes.
    “Shibuya is beautiful by night,” Masaaki explained as they began walking again down Dogenzaka. They had enough people with them to be considered a tour group. The only problem they had was moving quickly amongst the hundreds of people out walking with them.
    “What is this area called?” Jackson asked as he looked around like a kid.
    “Center Gai,” Masaaki explained. They walked through a narrow street, which had a Starbucks. “It is the birthplace of many fashion trends.” They passed by a busy pedestrian zone lined with stores, boutiques, nightclubs and restaurants. He took them pass Tuntanna Silver Shop, a small café and a Sapporo ramen restaurant. “Over there is Shibuya Station,” Masaaki continued to explain. He pointed. People exited it as he spoke.
    Shaundra looked up. There were three huge televisions screens attached to the sides of three buildings. As if by magic, they all three began playing the same announcement simultaneously.
    “Look, it’s our commercial,” Takumijo said to Yori and the others.
    Everyone stopped and watched the promotion for Aomori’s upcoming concerts at the Tokyo Dome. It featured a couple of clips from their previous concerts. Harper told them that they were all going to attend. She didn’t like the idea at first, but the promotion had peaked her interest, especially when she’d seen Aomori in costume.
    They started walking again once the commercial ended, stopping at a corner. Traffic came to a complete stop from every direction to allow for the massive crowd of walkers to cross the streets safely. This would never happen back home , she mused as she walked alongside Dorothy. Drivers weren’t that courteous. She looked back. Aomori had stopped and were looking through a big glass window. They spoke to each other rapidly in Japanese.
    “Arcade,” Masaaki explained. “They’re still just boys at heart.”
    Aomori rejoined them shortly. Yori ended up at her left with Satoshi at her right while the others