2025-08-18: A Safe City
- Log: A Safe City
- Cast: Myunghon Yeo, Ren Amamiya, So-young Park, Shinobu Shimizu
- Where: The Cardboard Dragon, Hirasaka Ward
- OOC Date: August 18, 2025
- IC Date: June 28, 2012
- Summary: Ren visits the Cardboard Dragon in search of the works of Maurice Leblanc, and to gauge whether Umie Akabane's information is correct while Shinobu, So-young and Myunghon convalesce and decompress from the Palace journey.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon has had a really difficult time as of late! Between getting exploded by Jin Shirato and receiving shrapnel on their body, and then getting pulled aside against their will by a racist cop and needing to be rescued by Reiko, delaying their actual treatment by a few hours, they were on their last emotional lifeline... but then Tsubasa and Lance came to the rescue!!
So they've rounded back up to feeling pretty good about themself. The shop's pretty devoid of customers at this afternoon hour given that most Kasu kids don't tend to view the Cardboard Dragon as a particularly *cool* place to hang out, which is... not new. It is, after all, that weird card store some two blocks down from Kasugayama High that you can't even find if you don't know what you're looking.
But to those who do know, the store has some pretty interesting rumours about it. Like Skill Cards and information from a rumourmonger.
Well, that's not here nor there -- right now, Myunghon is in their usual state of having transcended the human art of sitting, essentially morphed into a ball as they somehow, somehow still have full access of their laptop despite their knees being up against their face. Click-clackety-click, they're working on... something. They've changed out of the incredibly cursed Jack Frost t-shirt and has found a clean shirt and tie, and just has a normal black suit jacket slung over their shoulder since the coat is a cindered wreck on the coathanger.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's understandable that Kasugayama students don't frequent the Cardboard Dragon. Even having looked up the address online and used a navigation app, it still takes Ren some time to figure out exactly which alleyway to go down and which staircase he needs to ascend. There was an elevator, but it doesn't seem to be working.
He does make it eventually, though. He might be a bit of an odd sight: a Shujin Academy student, carrying a shoulder bag from which the black-and-white face of an adorable kitty-cat occasionally pops out, a smartphone in his right hand, with glasses and tousled hair and a slouch. He's probably not as odd as Myunghon, though, curled up in a ball and tapping at their laptop. He stares at them for a moment before looking around the store.
While the Cardboard Dragon might be popular for its games, Ren is honestly here for the books. (Well, he's here to check out the place and see if Umie's information was correct. But he's also here for the books.) He's been reading Arsène Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes when he can squeeze the time in (usually when there's a rare seat open on the train), and he's interested in more books by Maurice Leblanc. (Funny coincidence, that.) Ren enjoys reading, though, and this place looks to have a lot of very interesting books for sale.
Still, that's his start, and his excuse, so he looks back to Myunghon--not that he knows that's them. "Um... Excuse me?" he says, voice soft and quiet as it typically is these days, as he moves further into the store, out of the way of the entrance. "Do you carry any old French books here, translated into Japanese?"
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
Despite the exhaustion of her recent awakening, So-young has somehow managed to keep up her hectic schedule of bouncing back and forth between Tokyo and Sumaru - mostly by categorically refusing to show any weakness to her orchestral team while sleeping on trains a lot and skipping morning practice for a day. She still looks a little blitzed, but much better on the whole as she neatly sits with her legs crossed on a couch in the Cardboard Dragon, an instrument on the table in front of her.
She seems to be doing what could charitably be called 'music practice', but what it amounts to is this: being completely convinced that Myunghon would either love or hate her portable theremin. So-young's musical accompaniment for the store today is therefore a low, warbling, synthetic sound of creeping scales and alien notes, along with her biggest shit-eating grin yet.
(She has her violin, too, for more civilized times. But after you nearly got stabbed and shot several times in a row, amusing herself comes first.)
She looks up as Ren enters, and despite a complete lack of recognition on her part, nevertheless sweeps her hand near the theremin's needle to produce a suspenseful twang of noise. It's not personal - the gleam of mischief in her eyes suggests she'd do it for anyone who happened to enter the store right there and then. Still, this is recognizably one of the group present in Kaneshiro's mind.
"Good luck," she tilts her head towards the bookshelves with another lazy wave of her hand. She's actually quite good at controlling the sound from the bizarre instrument. "I mean, probably, but I've yet to figure out the filing system."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
The Cardboard Dragon doesn't get a lot of customers at this time of day... but Shinobu isn't a customer, really. She went her own way following the fight, but she can't help but be a little worried about Myunghon and So-young following it, given the treatment Jin had given both of them. And so, on the following day...
"Hey, boss." Shinobu greets, strolling through the door - except she realises, a moment later, that there is an actual customer here, who she was just about to bowl over if he hadn't moved out of the doorway. "Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there - you alright?"
She steps to the side. She looks toward Myunghon briefly as Ren asks after books, first to judge their condition, before meeting their eyes with a look of 'do you want to help him or should I?'
And then her eyes stray toward So-young - and her portable theremin. A single, questioning eyebrow raises.
"...You seem like you're holding up alright. Good." She comments.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
They're working on that elevator, for Yanagi's sake!! It... it's just gonna take a bit more money. Money's tight. And-- honestly, right now, even though they're loathe to admit it, the fact that customers are forced to go the long way around and climb up the fire escape and thus buy them time to check the CCTV cameras is sorta comforting to them, in case it's someone they should be alarmed about. Like racist cops.
The books are definitely... interesting! For once, perhaps, actually relevant! Ren can easily spot that there's a mixture of both authentic French and other European-language books, and also there's a section where the same title has different copies; some are just Japanese annotated copies, others are whole localisations -- and sometimes, different localisations between different decades of time.
"Ah-- my apologies, I was transfixed on something," Myunghon gently says as they rise from their chair -- then steps down to the floor. They're pretty tall when they rise to full height, perhaps compared to how compact and ball-like they can be. They're still their strange bandaged self, but their eye catches the-- is that a cat from inside his bag? That's pretty cute...
That Ren is here for the books is exciting to them! "We do have a selection of French books from around the turn of the 20th century, in Japanese. Were you looking for any author in..."
wrrrrrrrrrrrrpp!!
"Nuna," Myunghon's expression goes flat and mildly irritated. "We have a customer, could you please turn the noise down a little?"
At that time, Shinobu strolls through the door, and Myunghon does light up considerably to see them. "Shinobu-ssi, welcome. Please, make yourself comfortable." The topic of concert tickets briefly flashes to their mind, but they haven't had a chance to ask what bands they might like...
Speaking of Identities, while Myunghon is one of the Will of Rebellion, they're still recognisable here, because their Cognitive self as Rumourmonger Merry doesn't include a complete disguise -- indeed, their form of rebellion is one of the revolutionary, rather than a trickster in the shadows.
"My apologies for my sister." Nuna. Sister. That's not a Japanese term, so that would likely make them... "I'm Myunghon Yeo, owner of the Cardboard Dragon. It's nice to meet you."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
The eerie notes of the theremin startle Ren, if the way his shoulders jump out of their slouch are any indication. He turns to stare wide-eyed at So-young and her mischievous grin, and he relaxes before giving her a slight bow of greeting.
"Oh," he starts to say of this apparently arcane filing system, but then someone almost barrels into him from behind. He moved out of the way just in time, and startles a second time, jumping back a little further. "I'm fine, you just startled me a little," he reassures her, putting on a smile and waving his phone-carrying hand. He tucks that away in his pocket as Myunghon rises and greets him, then looks again at the collected employees, this time more closely.
Yes. He only got a few glances at the other Persona Users who were in Kaneshiro's Palace the other day, but he does recognize So-young and Shinobu from that night. What's more, now that he gets a good look at Shinobu, he realizes he also recognizes her from Yusuke's portrait of the Persona Users he ran into in Sumaru City. Considering they're all in Sumaru right now, that tracks.
He doesn't recognize Myunghon, but that's because the Will of Rebellion goes both ways. They introduce themself in short order, and he bows again to them, pulse picking up. So this is them... He doesn't know Korean so he doesn't understand what a 'nuna' is, but he waves his now-free hand again. "It's okay, it's no problem. It's nice to meet you too, Yeo-san." He offers a bit of an awkward smile; he doesn't want to seem too eager to meet a total stranger. Based on the company they're keeping, it seems to Ren like Umie's info was on the money, but that's not what has them excited. "Yes, I'm looking for books by Maurice Leblanc."
Maurice Leblanc--in other words, the author of the Lupin series. Given the rising popularity of the Phantom Thieves and this kid's Shujin uniform, there's a conclusion that could be made there. ...That he's a fan of the Phantom Thieves and wants to get into more phantom thief-adjacent media! What other conclusion were you thinking?
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young's grin back to Shinobu is bright and wide - though there isn't just mischief in it but an element of some kind of fondness tucked beneath the clowning around: "Thanks entirely to your boss over there," she admits quietly, though she leaves her explanation at that given Ren's presence and instead perks back up. "I tried my best to make them eat, but I'm not an expert at it by any means yet."
wrp vrp wrp vrp wrp
So-young is batting her hand in and out of the theremin's radius, partially to see if she can spark the cat's attention with the motion but also because she's returning Myunghon's flat expression with one of her own. "It is not 'noise'. This is a venerable and traditional European instrument that I will definitely actually use for something at some point," she grumbles back, but she's smiling as she reaches for the switch. "Mind your ears," she adds as she flicks it, and with a final pop from the speakers the machine goes blissfully silent.
She looks back up as she pulls her instrument case onto her lap, intending to pack the themerin away. When she lifts the violin out she looks much more the part of musician, especially given the way she handles the instrument with, honestly, a lot more care than the goofy plastic box she's been screwing around with. "So-young Park. Musician and conductor," she makes a show of flicking a bit of her two-tone hair out.
Pausing, her eyebrows raise as something sparks a memory. "Oh, you've come quite a ways out. I don't recognize the emblem, but I do see a few in the crowd at some of the concerts. Tokyo, yes? Close to Shibuya?"
+ooc this is that meme from a while back where one character is holding their ears shut and the other is tromboning while being skewed in photoshop
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
...Poor Ren doesn't seem to be having the best of days, from the way he jumps not only at So-young's theremin, but her own sudden arrival. Shinobu massages the back of her neck. She feels a little bad about that, now.
"...Long as you're sure." She replies. He gets a good look at her and she looks back - but the recognition is only one-sided. To her, he's just another student. ...Even if one with a tiny passenger along for the ride.
She looks up, though, meeting Myunghon's greeting with a smile.
"Sure. If you need a hand, lemme know?" She replies. So-young's grin, meanwhile, is met with a nod.
"Yeah, I've owed 'em before, too. Glad they were able to help out." She smirks a little, then. "...Yeah, that don't surprise me. Good on you for trying."
She moves to find a place to take a seat to get out of Ren's way as he browses the shelves. Though, So-young's observation... She doesn't recognize the emblem, but Shinobu had right away. Shujin Academy... her own stint in that place had been short-lived. It's surprising to see a student from there here, though.
"This is the best place to find the classics." Shinobu comments. ...If only because the classics - or just the old - are pretty much all the Cardboard Dragon stocks, book-wise.
Myunghon and So-young have already introduced themselves, though, so it'd feel awkward not to join in.
"Oh, uh - Shinobu Shimizu. On-and-off employee." She adds.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon did run into Ren once during the Yongen-jaya festival, but it was a particularly brief encounter that didn't *greatly* leave an impression; still, something like familiarity tickles at the back of their mind. The thought is kind of disrupted when Ren's alarm at the theremin gets them annoyed, regardless, because he's a customer! There's a flinch that they can't successfully conceal when the theremin goes for a final *pop*, and an understated sigh of relief when it stops.
But Ren says it's no problem, so they don't dwell on it for very long -- and besides, there's a more interesting topic for them to latch onto. "Maurice Leblanc... yes, you've come to the right place. Over here," they step over to one of the bookshelves, on the third shelf. There's a collection of both compilations of short stories and standalone books -- and much like the others, there's options between originals, annotated copies, and translated versions. Jackpot! La Comtesse de Cagliostro, The Eight Strokes of the Clock, L'île aux trente cercueils... and there are other works too -- a collection of essays about Maurice Leblanc himself, as well as his non-Lupin works.
Myunghon's twitch at So-young is private as they wonder how they managed to share something like a passable moment between them and she's now back to just being -- being -- this. They can't complain that she'll run them out of business because there isn't *really* that much business, though.
"I was not hungry. That is all," Myunghon retorts gently to her -- the both of them, really -- in a way that So-young and definitely Shinobu's heard way too many times now. When are they ever hungry? So-young's observation does have Myunghon glancing, though... honestly, they're not entirely up on memorising random school emblems of schools much farther than Hirasaka.
... school emblems are only relevant when they become rumours to do with sequence killers.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It is a very interesting instrument, however eerie its music is. (Especially since its music is eerie.) Ren does look back at her as she plays (swats?) at it for a moment longer. The cat doesn't pop his head out of the bag for that, but there is an offended "mya!!" when the speakers pop. Ren grimaces a little too, but he was apparently more ready for it, thanks to So-young's warning.
"Nice to meet you too," he tells her, bowing his head in greeting, as So-young produces a violin with significantly more care. He's about to give his name in return when she recognizes his uniform. He looks down at himself, then up. "Yes, that's right. I attend Shujin Academy; it's a few train stops away from Shibuya," he replies. Shinobu introduces herself too, and he nods back. "Ren Amamiya."
He brightens when Myunghon confirms that there are some books by Leblanc here, and follows them to the appropriate bookshelf. He does not weigh in on Myunghon's eating habits or lack thereof--it's not his business--and he inspects the book spines for a moment, albeit while glancing at Myunghon every so often.
There is something that's familiar about them, though, and not in a Persona function... After a couple more circumspect glances, it hits him: the Yongen-Jaya fair, over at Umie's butler cafe stand. They were there too, weren't they? It had been only a momentary interaction so he hadn't remembered at first.
"You've got a lot here. I'm really lucky," he comments in an attempt to strike up a conversation that isn't 'hey don't I know you from a ten-second interaction in a totally different city?' "I'm new to Tokyo, so if there are stores like this over there, I haven't heard about them yet. There's another used book store over in Port Island that a friend told me about, and I found one of Mssr. Leblanc's books there, but I was hoping to find more."
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young's gaze flicks back over Shinobu as well, checking the other woman over for any injuries - except she's too new to trying to be a suave supernatural agent and has very little in the way of decent first aid knowledge, so all that she can really pick out is that Shinobu is at least walking, and that's probably a good sign. She tried her best. "I suppose we haven't properly met up until now," she notes brightly. "I'm planning some events around Sumaru, so I'll probably end up taking up Myunghon's couch somewhat often. That, and we've both still got a great deal to catch up on."
Maybe So-young's basically like a dog where you've just got to let her run the energy off every so often. At least when she holds her hands up in surrender to Myunghon's explanation it's with an easier smile. "Where do you even find a stock like that, anyway?" she wonders thoughtfully. "I at least know how hard some of those reproductions can be to find, let alone originals." Thankfully, the violin doesn't stay out - she packs everything carefully away before setting the case on her lap and extracting a few sheets of staff paper and a pen, humming a few bars softly under her breath.
Ren's confirmation makes her smile widen, and she tilts her head in a nod of recognition. "Mm, I thought so! I run some of the weekday Bunkamura concerts. There's a trio of girls from your academy who have managed to worm their way into the front row of a lot of my performances - one of them is the best sort of listener, where their eyes close and their hands start following the music instead. It's a nostalgic kind of feeling seeing someone else do it," she adds as if she didn't just do that on the train to Sumaru two hours ago.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
...Yup, there it is - that insistence that they weren't hungry. Shinobu was waiting for that, and the look Shinobu sends them suggests as much. She won't press them any further on it, though.
"Amamiya." Shinobu repeats with a nod. "Nice to meet you."
When So-young looks back to Shinobu, she'll see that she seems to be doing just fine. The fight had been rough, but Jin's focus had mostly been on her - and, by extension, Myunghon. Shinobu's been more worried about them than herself.
...Of course, the same could probably be said even if she was injured.
"Yeah, there's always been somethin' going on. Nice meeting you properly." She replies to So-young with a nod. "Yeah? Then I guess I'll see you around. I stop by every so often to take shifts or check on the boss."
She glances back toward Ren. He's new to Tokyo, huh? If he goes to Shujin, then it must be a recent move.
"...Always rough, moving to a new place. Especially one as big as Tokyo." Shinobu comments. "Hang in there."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon does spare another glance at the cat, maybe because Tsubasa's successfully convinced them that they can have animals in their life without it ending horribly, so they should take some interest. "Shujin Academy... ah, you've come quite a ways out, Amamiya-kun," Myunghon does sound just a bit surprised. Is that suspicious? Is it too suspicious? "Then again... I have had students from Tatsumi Port Island visit as well. Somehow, this store is more popular with those who live further out."
Now that their memory is a bit jogged, Myunghon remembers Ren as the one who essentially was there with that other brown-haired boy, the way they kind of played a cat-and-mouse game with each other. Akechi, not that they know the name, at present. ... it's hard to remember much of that day, because they had spent the last twenty kilometres on foot and were dehydrated.
"Mmm.... well, it has been a few years since I last lived in Tokyo, but I often frequented Jinbocho for older books. That said, I did still have to call around and inquire online," Myunghon does advise, answering both Ren and So-young's ponderance on how they got their collection in the first place. "I can look up if some of my suppliers have branches in Tokyo for you as well, Amamiya-kun."
Their smile gets more pleasant as they continue, "If there is any particular title you are after that we don't have, I can always order it for you -- or mail it, if you prefer." The used bookstore over at Port Island... "Is that so...? I can understand how far you have to travel sometimes to find just the book you want."
Fortunately, by this time, Myunghon has had time to remove that shrapnel and get themself bandaged -- and even clean the store, because they have so much disinfectant. No blood traces here, Shinobu! But, indeed, Myunghon is completely the type to worry over others even when they're bleeding out, that much, Shinobu has them pinned right.
"Now, when I said you could take the couch last night, I did not mean all the time, nuna," Myunghon pouts gently at So-young. But... huh, so So-young's performances get students to listen too? They kind of assumed it'd be for rich, older clientele... ... they sense danger in voicing this, though, so they stick to complaining about the couch instead.
There's a moment while they let Ren browse -- because hovering over your customer is impolite -- and Myunghon turns to Shinobu. Their voice is a little bit gentler. "Regarding yesterday, I was unexpectedly... I had some trouble." A pause. "Reiko-san helped me yesterday," they choose to use instead, not wanting to make Ren worry about the police, not remembering that Reiko *was* there and he has full context that she is a police officer. Well, that's their active thought, but they didn't want to bring back bad memories too.
"That was why I couldn't return your texts for a bit, because I didn't have my phone. But, if you're looking for another job, I do have an easy one, Shinobu-ssi. We weren't there when the new card stock was delivered, so we just need to fetch it from the depot."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren shrugs at Shinobu's comment about new places. She's not wrong, but... "I actually like it." He gives her a small smile. "But thanks. I will."
"Oh, really?" Ren's smile warms at So-young as she describes her Shujin fans. "That's nice to hear." Most of his fellow Shujin students won't give him the time of day, so it genuinely is nice to hear about them being decent people with normal lives instead of gossiping about him or whatever the hot topic of the day is. He wonders if he knows any of the people she's talking about. "Where exactly do you perform? I'd like to check it out sometime if I can."
Maybe one of these weekends after he's changed the heart of a man who's out to ruin his life and the lives of his friends. (So what else is new?)
He's curious about the Cardboard Dragon's stock too, so he looks at Myunghon after So-young asks about it. As it happens, they answer while telling him about some spots in Tokyo where he can get good, old books. Jinbocho... And possibly branches of the Cardboard Dragon's retailers. Ren brightens as he stands up straighter. He's been playing up the 'shy, quiet boy' mask while he's been here, but he really is excited at the prospect of good book store referrals. "Really? That would be great, Yeo-san!"
This is also an opportunity. He produces his phone. There is bad news on that front, but he pushes forward anyway: "Would it be too forward to ask if we can exchange phone numbers? Unless you still don't have your phone... Sorry to listening to your other conversation." He glances at the others, then continues, "The friend who referred me to Bookworms is someone I met at the Sumaru Hyakumanzeki Festival earlier this month. She's not from Tokyo either, so I'm sure she'll appreciate the referrals too."
The fact that they met in Sumaru might well explain why he came here after Bookworms. It isn't the real reason why, but for someone who's willing to make that assumption, it might!
"I have to say, the neighborhood around here doesn't seem nearly as scary as people make it out to be," Ren adds--chattier than normal, and sharing more than normal, but it's for a good cause--as he browses. "Hirasaka Ward has a bad reputation, but maybe people are just paranoid. I've even heard rumors about students getting targeted by scammers right in Shibuya, too, but Tokyo's supposed to be a safe city. Right?"
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"At some point you may have to do some extensive cover for us both," So-young continues to smile brightly, but there's suddenly some teeth in it - not towards Shinobu or anyone else present, at least. "Sometime soon we will both have to roll up to our dear mother and politely ask her why the hell it took a good couple of decades to learn about each other's existence, and we may not survive the encounter without at least a few weeks worth of familial trauma and maybe a concussion along the way." She sighs in an aggrieved manner, because that's not even the worst question they're going to need to ask when that time comes.
"'Every so often'... ah, that sort of thing," she muses. She's no stranger from hopping from one job to the next, especially given the way she's trying out all manner of things in the local scene in Shibuya - from helping man little art shows to getting in good with idol groups who need a patron or a manager. "If you ever need it in passing, I have a pleasant enough couch at home, too."
Her brow clearly furrows as she looks over at Myunghon recounting her run-in with the police, looking up from the composition she's laid out on the case on her lap, the page filled with annotations and edits. There's a dangerous light in her eyes, like she might do something real stupid should the police come knocking on false pretenses again. At least she keeps quiet on that front. "Should you need it, I can be persuaded to pick things up and ferry them down. I certainly don't mind poking my nose through an interesting old store or two."
So-young is spectacularly lacking in guile, and she positively beams at being able to talk about her performances. "Oh, if you're new to Tokyo, I suppose the name won't mean much. The Bunkamaru is right in the middle of Shibuya - from the crossing, go past the Donki and it's the big building where the road splits afterwards," she rattles off. That's... certainly... a very down-to-earth set of landmarks.
"Come to think of it--" she perks up, fishing in the purse on the seat next to her. "Hm, hm, I knew it would be a good idea to lean on the director again. There!" With a flourish, she's pulled out a small sheaf of papers that look like boarding passes - pre-stamped tickets - and separated one off. "Consider it a bonus for shopping at the Cardboard Dragon," she winks. "Just remember your student ID."
It's probably a good job that completely derailed her from thinking about the state of affairs in Sumaru or Shibuya.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu winces sympathetically as So-young comments on the situation with their mother.
"So it's like that, huh? Eesh. Uh... Good luck, you two." Shinobu replies. She knows what dealing with her own mother is like. So, she's not exactly wishing that conversation on anyone. She nods, though.
"Yeah. I do a little bit of everything, whenever I can get it." Shinobu confirms with a nod. She smirks, though, and shakes her head appreciatively.
"Probably won't need to. I've got a place. ...Thanks, though." She replies.
Ren likes Tokyo, huh? Shinobu nods.
"Glad to hear it, then. Best-case scenario, right there." She replies.
She's relieved that Myunghon is looking alright, too. That means she can put her worries aside for a moment and just relax, now that she's sure they aren't pushing themself too hard. ...But it seems like things aren't completely alright. They had trouble...
Shinobu frowns, massaging the back of her neck.
"Geez, are you alright?" She asks, concerned... but, thankfully, Reiko was there to help them. Once again, Shinobu looks relieved. "...Oh, good. That's Reiko-chan for you... Glad she was there to help out."
Myunghon does have a job for her, though, because of it. She certainly isn't going to turn down some easy work.
"Oh yeah? Sure, I can help with that. The kei all fueled up?" Shinobu replies with a nod. Ren was listening in, though - and Shinobu shakes her head casually as he apologises.
"Nah, don't worry about it." Shinobu replies. They're the ones talking while there's a customer in the shop. They can hardly blame him for just using his ears. Hirasaka, though... She frowns thoughtfully.
"...It's not wrong that Hirasaka's a little rough, but it has a lot of character, too. You just gotta respect it, is all. It and the people. Don't go running around like you're better than everyone and don't show off like a rich asshole, and you'll usually be fine." Shinobu replies. ...She pauses, and then looks Myunghon's way apologetically for swearing in front of a customer. Shibuya, though... It doesn't take long for Shinobu to connect the dots to what he might mean. She nods. "...Yeah. You gotta be careful everywhere. Kid like you, especially."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Yes, it's no problem at all," Myunghon answers easily enough on the topic of bookstore referrals, as they draw their phone out. Ren apologises for listening in, but they shake their head to reassure, "No, no, if it was truly private, I would have stepped out with Shinobu-ssi. You didn't do anything wrong. I did get my phone back."
There is a pause as Myunghon pays extra attention to not let the shakiness return to their voice, but it's kind of hard right now. "I just... have some trouble with a certain police officer sometime, that is all." They do nod at Shinobu when she asks if they're all right, but they're familiar enough with Myunghon that the encounter's left them quite rattled. "If you see her before me, tell her thank you for me again, would you?"
That admission *might* put just the teensiest bit of a damper on Ren's observation that Hirasaka isn't as scary as he heard it is, but Myunghon seems to agree wholeheartedly, allowing them to shake off the fear creeping up. "A lot of people just see the older buildings and streets and assume the worst," Myunghon explains. "But I myself am quite fond of this Ward and the people in it. I certainly would like to see it thrive..."
Merry said as much, at Kaneshiro's Palace. That they're doing this for the people of Hirasaka.
But on the topic of scammers? "Mm. I suppose my sister would know a bit more about Shibuya scams, but--" But So-young is more interested in handing tickets. A little sigh. Are they just piggybacking off off their store to hand out fliers?! It might as well be, at this point.
"But both of you are right. Tokyo is supposed to be a safe city, and yet... we did have someone from Tokyo try to harrass us recently," Myunghon finds themself also chattier than usual, since Ren brought up the topic of scammers, reminded off Shinobu's mention of a 'rich asshole'. "Waved his money and goons around and threatened to buy up this building and the school nearby and drive us out. It didn't come to violence here, but..."
A pause, as they shake their head. "My apologies. I shouldn't be weighing you down with troubles like this, Amamiya-kun." But that sure does sound like Kaneshiro, doesn't it? If Shinobu connected the dots, Myunghon might've stumbled into them by accident.
Back to business. They exchange phone numbers in short enough order. "I'll get you a list when I get back to my laptop, Amamiya-kun." And he speaks of how he met someone at the Sumaru Hyakumanzeki Festival... so he was there? ... hopefully he didn't notice that they were the person who got fished out of the river by Ulala. "If you went all the way to this Bookworms store, then perhaps I should make the trip myself. I myself am always looking out for more old books. Thank you for the recommendation."
So-young's mention of how Shinobu might have to cover for the both of them because they'll be off to grill their mother has Myunghon sighing again, but not at their sister. They've been carefully compartmentialising that because mother is absent enough she isn't as much of a hot potato as, say, Kaneshiro, but she is ultimately right: they do deserve the truth. "I think you turned out all right, though, nuna."
"Ah... I'm not certain. I think it should have at least half a tank, but I'll give you some money upfront for fuel if you need it," Myunghon tries to recall on the state of their little truck. It'll never give up!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Wow. So-young and Myunghon have something really intense going on with their mom. Ren browses the Leblanc books a little harder, but it's hard not to overhear. Complicated family situations are something he's familiar with too, though, so he does his best to at least pretend. Same goes for Shinobu's couch-surfing situation... Kaneshiro's Palace is going well so far, but after what happened with Strega, it's not impossible things could go sideways real fast. He might end up having to do some couch-surfing himself.
That's actually really anxiety-inducing to think about, and now that the thought's wormed into his head, it's not going to get out so easily. Ren's going to have stress nightmares for sure tonight...
At least Shinobu and the others don't mind that he's listening in. He gives her and Myunghon a sheepish look, but nods once when they both say it's fine. So-young meanwhile tells him where the Bunkamaru is--very close to the heart of Shibuya, it sounds like. "Thanks," he says, and then when she presents him with a ticket, he looks down at it in wonder and repeats, "Thanks! I'll do that." Free tickets is very cool. It might be just one, but he can stand to go somewhere on his own once in a while.
The name Reiko means nothing to him in a vacuum. He's literally met her, but Reiko is a common enough name--and he isn't generally in the business of memorizing the names of cops, unless they have Personas--that it misses him entirely. He instead gives Myunghon a sympathetic look at the mention of trouble with the police (a specific police, but still), which might strike them as unusual for what would seem to be a normal Japanese youth.
He listens to Shinobu and Myunghon as they talk to him about Hirasaka, and nods when they're both done. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm not interested in trouble," he tells Shinobu. His eyes shade harder into concern at what Myunghon says about someone from Tokyo who harrassed them recently with threats of buy-outs. "I'm sorry that happened... That sounds scary."
Scary, and like Kaneshiro. Ren hadn't known he had an interest in bullying store owners too, but that checks out what Umie had told him too. Then that must be why Myunghon and their friends were at the Palace--to save their business. For a moment, he's tempted to reassure them that it's going to be fine... but he refrains. They already have a good idea of that, after all. (Thankfully, he did not notice Myunghon's river misadventure. Sometimes someone else helps someone in need before you ever get a chance to learn there was a problem, and that's a good thing.)
He shakes his head at their apology, but lets the topic change. "Thank you. And you're welcome, Yeo-san. There's an elderly couple that runs that store--they're nice, and they had a lot of other good books, so I'm sure you'll have plenty to talk about."
Browsing, through. Browsing. Ren turns back towards the shelf, running a fingertip along titles. He settles on a Japanese translation of La Comtesse de Cagliostro. They made a movie out of this one, and he's keenly interested in reading the original.
Morgana pops out of the bag and leans his paws on Ren's shoulders. "Ren," he whispers, too low for the others to hear--and with them both facing the shelves, they won't see his mouth move, either. "About those three..."
"Yeah. I know," he murmurs. "Later."
He brings the book to the register nonchalantly, and never mind that his cat is now leaning on his shoulder. Morgana does not speak further, though he does look closely at Myunghon, So-young and Shinobu. Obviously just a kitty hankering for a treat, and never mind that no treats have been produced lately. "I'll take this one for now, please," Ren says.
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young frowns in thought when Shinobu mentions she does a little bit of everything. "... I might have some work for you closer to home, depending. I'm trying my best to get some time carved out to let me use Aoba Park for some local performances, but this is entirely on my own initiative. I'll need to put together some kind of stage crew to be able to get things set up and torn down... this is really a concern for much later in the process, I'm just mentioning it while I remember."
She does at least catch Myunghon's sigh, and smiles with genuine pride as she wags the little ticket book at her. "I'd love to give you one as well, but these are explicitly for students. 'It's not cost-effective for you to pass out full price tickets, So-young'," she abruptly pitches her voice into a nasally twang with ease. "'Now, what if we charge people _more_? That will definitely get them into the arts.' Idiots. I should drag the whole concert out into the streets."
Put side by side, that may reveal a lot about her plans for Aoba Park and its open air stage. "It'll be valid for any single show in the next month," So-young smiles to Ren's thanks. "After that, it's a thousand yen for a student ticket. It's still more than I'd like it to be, but so it goes."
"There are people who would very much disagree with you," she snickers back to her sibling as she sits back down, but this time her smile is gracious. "But, thank you. You really didn't do too badly either - look at you, helping educate students and looking after the area and running a business and all. I'll fight her for your sake," So-young adds, somehow convinced that her fiery nature won't instantly wither in front of The Mother and The Mother Stare in particular. Maybe she's just running high on the feeling of being the Elder Sister.
Her gaze catches that of the cats, and they hold for a moment. "... vrp wrp vrp," So-young vocalizes, wiggling her fingers at the cat. Is this woman really in her late twenties, let alone a professional and well-regarded conductor on top?
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
So-young might actually have work! Shinobu listens with interest.
"Stage crew, huh...?" Shinobu thinks it over for a moment. "...Yeah, I should be able to swing that. I'm handy enough. Just let me know ahead of time when you've got everything sorted, and we'll figure it out."
Shinobu can tell Myunghon's trying hard to stay level right now, but the encounter has left them shaken. A 'certain police officer'...
"Ugh. Bastard." Shinobu spits, shaking her head. "Yeah, I'll be sure to tell her."
Ren says he's not looking for trouble, and Shinobu nods.
"Then you should be fine." She replies. She looks toward Myunghon as they offer their own views of Hirasaka. She nods. "...Yeah. I feel the same way."
Myunghon brings up Kaneshiro's visit, though. Shinobu nods.
"Yeah. It was, uh, rough." She agrees. She still feels bad for the kids who had their day thrown off, all for the sake of one man and his endless hunt for More.
Hopefully they'll figure something out about that soon. They didn't find anything useful last time... but if Strega and the Joker Killer showed up, they have to be getting close to somewhere someone doesn't want them to see.
Myunghon isn't certain, but at least half a tank... Shinobu nods.
"Alright. The depot isn't far, so I probably won't need much for a round trip." She 'hm's thoughtfully to herself - and then So-young's strange mouth noises(she doesn't realise she's trying to imitate the theremin until a moment later) draw her attention toward the cat in Ren's bag. Well, if So-young has already drawn attention to him...
"Cute cat." Shinobu compliments, nodding toward Ren.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
There's definitely more than one person who's having stress nightmares tonight, at least. Myunghon themself isn't sure they've completely grappled the idea not only the Joker Killer was present, but he has Strega backing him up and he also has knowledge about Palaces and how to enter them, but it's the kind of encounter that's left them tearing out large chunks of their conspiracy corkboard and now they have to pin the red old fashioned pig-tailed girl next to the fry guys and draw a whole-ass circle around them, and they're still not sure how the purple monster relates to all this. They also had to pin a hamburger burglar on the map, to represent the Phantoms.
I'm sorry, Joker, you're the Hamburglar in Myunghon's mental map at present.
Myunghon does catch that sympathetic look from Ren, though -- and that is kind of nice to get, because the usual Japanese youth they've encountered definitely will make a face and turn cold and want to retreat when they mention that they're in trouble with the police, because their default assumption is that it's *your* fault.
And Shinobu's anger does console them -- as they're starting to realise the importance of people taht you can lean on in a time of trouble, even if they get really worked up on self-sacrifice and trying to not make people worry.
There's a part of Myunghon that gets riled up and wants to fight So-young's sympathetic admission that they didn't do too badly -- but the rational part of their brain catches up and knows where she's coming from. "I'd really rather put it off..." Myunghon admits quietly to So-young. "But you're right."
"That's all right," Myunghon shakes their head as Ren expresses concern about Kaneshiro's buy-outs. "I have a feeling it'll turn out okay." Ren might not be able to vocalise it, but Myunghon will -- because they have to believe it'll work out, or they'll all be in even more dire straits. There's a nod and a smile as they already imagine Bookworms. "That's the best kind of little store... to think I missed a gem like that."
But Ren finally picks out what he wants, and brings it to the counter. "Absolutely," Myunghon turns to ring up the purchase in short enough order. It's almost weird to see them have to play with the barcode scanner and be a normal shopkeeper for a few seconds, even though that's ostensibly their job.
There is a pause, as they look at the cat on their shoulder for a moment too long. Those blue eyes are cute. "Your cat's really endearing, Amamiya-kun. What's his name? And ah, here you go. I hope you enjoy. I'll be in touch with those recommendations. Thank you very much for coming to the Cardboard Dragon today."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
So-young's mini-rant about what is clearly a specific person gets her a nervous smile. "Sounds tough," Ren says, and he does mean it. He nods at her breakdown of when the ticket's good for and the prices thereafter, then tucks the ticket into his pocket with care. It would suck to lose it, especially after just learning about a new location in Shibuya he can visit. A thousand yen isn't too bad... Maybe he can bring someone with him after all. "Thanks," he adds again.
He smiles a bit at Shinobu as she agrees with Myunghon's sentiments about Hirasaka. "Sounds like you both care about this ward a lot," he observes. The fact that there are people who care about the place only helps recommend it in his eyes. That smile turns into a grimace at her commentary on Kaneshiro. I bet, he thinks.
But Myunghon does indeed express their faith that things will turn out, and Ren smiles. "Good. I'm glad."
He watches them check their book out as, meanwhile, So-young tries to get Morgana's attention. He looks at her with those shockingly blue eyes, but... he reaches out a paw to touch her fingers--and then push them down, while maintaining eye contact. Ren fails to hold back a snort of laughter.
Shinobu, who did not hurt Morgana's ears with a theremin pop, is more successful. He sparkles, tail undulating, when she calls him cute. It might not look like he's sparkling, but rest assured, Ren can tell.
"His name's Morgana," Ren tells Myunghon, meanwhile, circumspectly saying nothing of the C-word. (Morgana begrudgingly allows Myunghon to call him a cat, but he does retreat back into the bag over it...) He accepts his purchase too and gives them a slight but sincere smile. He didn't get a chance to ask them about their pronouns and what that implies, but there was just no good way to bring that up. Maybe another day. "Thank you very much." He offers the others one last bow, and then turns to leave the store.
Once he's on the street again, Morgana pops his head out again. "I'm not a cat," he grumbles.
"I know," Ren says mildly, slipping his new book into his bag with him. Morgana moves his feet so it can lie flat on the bottom. "Let's talk about Yeo-san and the others more with everyone later..."