“Yo, Yato, we’re about to land,” Jameis Burton said, nudging his friend Hayato — Yato to everyone who knew him.
Yato woke up groggy, looked around to get his bearings, and nodded before yawning.
“I can’t believe you convinced Angelica and me to come with you just to pick up a camera.”
“Um, I didn’t. I showed you the concerts and the food spots I was hitting, and you both said, ‘Can we come?’”
Jameis rolled his eyes but smiled as they departed the plane and headed to the hotel.
Yato let Jameis and Angelica settle in while he slipped out to the camera shop he’d scoped ahead of time. His destination: a special edition gold Panasonic LUMIX S9 with lens kit — his white whale, and the real reason for this trip.
He arrived to find the owner already watching the door. She had a punk aesthetic and an unhurried confidence.
“Welcome to Cyclops Store and Lounge. I’m the owner, Suyu Kim.”
“Hayato,” he replied with a nod.
“What are you looking for?”
Yato scanned the shop, then his eyes locked onto it. “I want that,” he said, pointing.
There it was — the special edition LUMIX S9 in gold. Suyu glanced at the display case, then back at him, and smiled.
“I knew you had good taste,” she said.
“I try.” He laughed a little.
Suyu retrieved the camera and set it on the counter. He was mid-checkout when the door opened.
Tzuyu had been feeling restless that afternoon — the particular kind of bored that needed either attention or something new. Chaeyoung had mentioned a camera shop called Cyclops, so she went there.
She arrived in a bucket hat and mask, which turned exactly zero heads. The owner and the man at the counter glanced at the door and turned back to their business. Tzuyu approached, and it was the man’s camera bag that caught her eye first — a striking burgundy. Up close, she was surprised to find he wasn’t Korean.
He noticed her and said, “Um, can I help you?” The Korean was sloppy and rudimentary, but functional.
Tzuyu nodded and pointed to his bag. “Your bag is really pretty. Where did you get it?”
“Custom order from Wandrd — it’s their 6L Rogue sling.”
She nodded, then noticed the camera he was buying. “Ooh, so cute.”
Yato rolled his eyes but finished the transaction before walking Tzuyu through the ins and outs of the LUMIX S9. Suyu watched them from behind the counter with a quiet smile, then retrieved what she called her “married couple camera,” snapped a photo of the two mid-conversation, and sent it to her display frame via Bluetooth. Neither of them noticed.
By the time they came up for air, Tzuyu had made up her mind.
“Can I get the same camera as my friend?” she asked Suyu.
Suyu’s smile turned knowing. She checked the back and returned with a teal one — the last gold had gone to Yato.
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