Chapter 154 - Date (1/2)

Shun stood outside Satsuki's house with a cap over his head and a backpack on his shoulders. He was wearing a royal-blue polo shirt with white shorts, and a pair of black sneakers with ankle-length shorts.

He looked at the sky and saw a clear blue sky.

Shun: ”Hmm, the weather is not too hot today, and it seems it won't rain.”

The weather was good for a hot summer day, and Shun was thankful for that.

Shun raised his hand to look at his wrist-watch, but the moment he was about to read the time, he heard the door to the Momoi House open.

He turned to see a sight that mesmerized him.

At the door, Satsuki was wearing a white summer one-piece dress, a pair of matching sandals on her feet, a cream-colored brim hat on her head, her hair braided that hung over her shoulder, and a cloth handbag at her shoulder.

To Shun, she looked like a summer fairy.

Satsuki walked towards a stunned Shun. When she reached him, she waved her hand in front of his face and repeated the words that he had said to her a few days back.

Satsuki: ”Anyone, home?”

Shun: ”You look pretty.”

Satsuki smiled and twirled on the spot to show her dress to Shun.

Satsuki: ”Thank you. And, you too look well put together.”

Shun chuckled and asked.

Shun: ”Eh~ so I normally don't look put together.”

Satsuki nodded her head with a small grin and replied.

Satsuki: ”Normally, you roam around with a loose shirt on you, so of course, you look put together now.”

Shun crossed his hands and protected the honor of his favorite clothing.

Shun: ”But, they are so comfortable.”

Shun: ”Oh, so you wore them?”

Satsuki tucked her hair behind her ear to showcase the earrings.

Shun: ”Yes, they look good together with this outfit.”

She looked at Shun and asked.

Satsuki: ”So, what is the plan today?”

Shun gestured Satsuki to walk and spoke while they walked.

Shun: ”Well, today. We won't be doing anything strenuous. Today is a day to relax, and so nothing with moving around a lot.”

Shun glanced towards Satsuki and announced.

Shun: ”First up, we will be going to a bookstore.”

Shun lead Satsuki to the bookstore had found earlier.

Satsuki's eyes widened, and sparkles appeared in her eyes when she saw the size of the bookstore.

Satsuki: ”H-Huge!”

Shun nodded as he had felt the same thing when he had first entered the bookstore.

Shun: ”Yeah, think about the number of books you could find here. So, take your time and browse through the store, if you like something, buy it or bookmark it for later.”

Satsuki roamed the bookstore like an excited child while Shun followed with a smile on his face.

As Satsuki browsed through the books, she turned to Shun and asked.

Satsuki: ”Shun-kun, what kind of books do you like to read.”

Shun pulled out a book from a shelf and replied while reading the summary on the back of the book.

Shun: ”I am a storyline fanatic. I can't read anything that doesn't have a storyline. What about you?”

Satsuki looked thoughtful for a moment and then answered.

Satsuki: ”I can't read anything that is dark or has a heavy theme. I end up getting feeling so sad after reading that kind of book.”

Shun and Satsuki kept on talking while they browsed through the books.

Shun: ”Series or Stand-alone.”

Satsuki answered.

Satsuki: ”Series, I like to immerse myself in a long book, as it gives me a lot of time to relate with the characters.”

Shun smiled and added.

Shun: ”Same.”

It was Satsuki's turn to ask a question.

Satsuki: ”New books or re-reading.”

Shun smiled and immediately answered.

Shun: ”I prefer re-reading the book at least once before moving on to a new one, reading anything the second time ends up with me finding new things that I missed while reading the first time.”

Satsuki answered her own question.

Satsuki: ”I like to wait for a while before re-reading the book. I move on to a new book and come back to re-read the previous book after a while.”

Shun nodded and commented.

Shun: ”Reading with a fresh pair of eyes. A fresh perspective.”

Satsuki nodded and spoke.

Satsuki: ”Exactly.”

Once again, it was Shun's turn, and he asked.

Shun: ”Binge-reader, or a little every day.”

Satsuki dragged her finger across the spines of a line of books as she answered the question.

Satsuki: ”Reading a little just before going to bed. What about you?”

Shun leaned against a wall as he revealed his preference.

Shun: ”I like to follow a routine, so I don't do a marathon reading of a book, but if I pick up a book, then I will return to it every time I get a single bit of free time.”

-*-*-*-

Satsuki and Shun exited the bookstore when they were satisfied with the time they spent inside the book haven.

Neither Satsuki nor Shun bought anything, but both had plans to return to the bookstore in the future.

Shun looked at Satsuki and said.

Shun: ”We should exchange books. I might not have a huge collection of books like you, but I do have a decent collection.”

Satsuki clapped once at the idea and agreed.

Satsuki: ”That is a great idea. We should totally do that! Then we can talk about books, that will be so fun.”

Satsuki walked in front of Shun, and while walking backward, she asked.

Satsuki: ”Where are we going next?”

Shun smiled and announced the next location.

Shun: ”Next, we will be going painting.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Shun and Satsuki arrived at a painting studio, and Shun opened the door for Satsuki.

Shun: ”Milady.”

Satsuki giggled and entered the building, Shun followed after.

Shun approached the reception and asked the receptionist.

Shun: ”Hello, I have a booking under the name Kageyama.”

The receptionist greeted the pair with a smile and replied.

Receptionist: ”Welcome, please wait as I check the booking.”

Shun nodded and said.

Shun: ”Yes.”

He turned to Satsuki and said.

Shun: ”This studio gives a lot of types of painting lessons. I chose the single class that a lot of people choose for fun.”

The reception had checked the booking and answered.

Reception: ”Yes, we have a booking for two under the name Kageyama.”

The receptionist stood up and gestured.

Receptionist: ”Please follow me, I will lead you to the room.”

The receptionist led Shun and Satsuki to the class.

-*-*-*-

Shun fetched two aprons and two pairs of gloves for him and Satsuki and handed her one.

Shun: ”Here you go, put these on. We don't want the paint to get on our clothes.”

Satsuki received the apron and gloves.

Satsuki: ”Thank you.”

Satsuki and Shun put the apron and gloves on, and Satsuki asked.

Satsuki: ”Okay, tell me what are we going to do here.”

Shun tied the up his apron and said.

Shun: ”Well, we are going to spend time painting, but we aren't going to paint on a canvas.”

Satsuki tilted her head and asked.

Satsuki: ”Eh? Then what are we going to paint?”

Shun smiled and replied.

Shun: ”We are going to paint ceramics.”

Satsuki questioned.

Satsuki: ”You mean ceramic utensils?”

Shun nodded and added.

Shun: ”Yeah, we will have the options to choose from a lot of ceramics.

Like Coffee Mugs, Japanese Tea-cups, Western Tea-cups, your own dinner set, Kettles, among other things.

And, of course, you get to take them home.”

-*-*-*-

Other people who had signed up for the class joined.

The instructor of the class instructed the attendees to pick a set of ceramics.

Satsuki and Shun headed towards a wall of the room, where the unpainted ceramics were lined for picking.

Satsuki glanced at Shun and inquired.

Satsuki: ”What are you going to choose?”

Shun held his chin and answered.

Shun: ”I think I will go for a dinner-set. We don't drink coffee at my house, and my parents have their own personal tea-cups.

So, I think I would just paint a dinner-set for myself.

What about you?”

Satsuki tapped her chin with her index finger and replied.

Satsuki: ”I think I would go with a tea-set.”

Shun nodded and picked up a dinner set with one soup bowl, one rice bowl, one big plate, one small plate, and a little condiment holder.

Satsuki chose a Japanese Tea set. It had a round kettle, four cups, and a tray to hold the individual components.

Satsuki and Shun then spent their time in the studio by painting their ceramics.

By the time they were finished with their ceramics, it was time for lunch.

Shun submitted their painted goods to the studio and staff and got ready to leave.

Satsuki seeing that, asked.

Satsuki: ”Eh? We aren't going to take them home?”

Shun: ”We need to give them time to dry. I will collect them later and bring them to your house later.”

Satsuki understood and nodded.

The pair left the studio to have lunch.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Shun and Satsuki sat in the restaurant that Shun had chosen.

Shun looked at the girl in front of him and asked.

Shun: ”So, have you ever been to a Korean restaurant?”

Satsuki looked at the grill pit built in the middle of the table and shook her head.

Satsuki: ”No, it is my first team.”

She looked at the pipe falling from the ceiling, above the grill, and questioned.

Satsuki: ”What is this?”

Shun glanced at the hanging pipe and answered.

Shun: ”The food would be grilled right in front of us, and it would cause smoke to rise. The pipe will act as a chimney to suck the smoke to keep the area smoke-free.”

Satsuki looked worried and said.

Satsuki: ”But, I don't know how to grill meat.”

Shun smiled and waved his hand to ease her worries.

Shun: ”Even I don't know how to grill meat, but we don't need to cook the food, the restaurant staff would do it for us.”

Satsuki sighed in relief, and Shun ordered the food.