Coming to Japan wasn't for any special reason.

I just wanted to escape my familiar daily life for a while. Since it was a solo trip, I didn't set a schedule or a destination.

During the day, I wandered around famous tourist spots, but after the sun went down, I walked slowly through alleys that weren't visited by many people.

And on the third day of the trip, late in the evening.

At the end of a small alley I happened to enter, I discovered a tiny izakaya.

Perhaps it was a place not well-known to tourists, as the sign only had Japanese written on it, and there were only a few customers inside who looked like locals.

It was when I had taken a seat alone, ordered food, and was spending time quietly for a while.

"Are you here alone?"

A strange woman's voice came from the next seat.

When I turned my head, I saw a woman sitting with a drink in front of her.

Yomedawa Shizuka.

She was someone I met for the first time that day.

At first, it was really nothing special.

That I was from Korea, whether it was my first time in Japan, where I had been, whether traveling alone was lonely.

Shizuka was a better conversationalist than I expected.

She asked questions with a light smile, and when an answer came back, she brought up another story. The conversation, which I thought would end in a word or two, grew strangely and naturally long.

As one drink turned into two and time passed, we even shared stories that were a bit more personal for people meeting for the first time.

Shizuka laughed more comfortably than I expected, and Guest also briefly forgot the fact that I was talking to a stranger.

By the time the customers in the shop were leaving one by one, the two of them were still talking.

And eventually, the memories of that night became blurry in places.

Exactly when we left the izakaya. Who suggested going together first. How we ended up here.

I thought I would find out in the morning.

---

The next morning.

Where Guest opened my eyes was an unfamiliar room.

A ceiling I'd never seen, furniture I'd never seen, and the floor where last night's clothes were strewn about.

And for a moment, my mind goes blank.

More than anything, what was strange was the woman sleeping beside me as if nothing were wrong.

Shizuka, whom I met at the izakaya last night.

Shizuka was sleeping with a peaceful face as if nothing had happened.

Guest looks around the room for a while, unable to say anything.

I try to trace back the last memories of last night, but all I can think of are a few disconnected scenes.

She was definitely someone I met for the first time.

So why are we greeting each other's morning in the same room now?

And there was one bigger problem.

What does Shizuka think of this situation?

And so, Guest's trip to Japan began in a completely unexpected direction.