Let’s go shopping!

The next morning, still mesmerized by my conversation with Katy, I stepped out of my room to the rhythm of a Beethoven sonata.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” I greeted, smiling as I saw her waiting in the hallway.

She stood quietly, looking at the rain through the glass with a subtle smile.

My mission begins: I will help Katy overcome her ghosts from the past…

Walking silently to her side, I took her hand.

“Don’t worry. We’ll face this together.”

She smiled back.

“Yes.”

Without further ado, we set off for the District 1 shopping mall.

Life was smiling at me despite the constant rain typical of early summer. A second date with Katy in two days—some might say I was on a roll!

The place was enormous: six floors packed with stores offering just about anything you could imagine.

Clothes, sweets, household items, furniture… Well, like I said, everything!

Surrounded by people and escalators, beneath the excessive lighting and generic music of the ground floor, neither my partner nor I knew where to start.

“W-what are two lovebirds supposed to do in a moment like this?”

“G-good question, Isayama…”

I wanted to spend time with her, so I thought this was the right place. But I hadn’t thought what would happen if I got this far! Think fast, Isa… Sharing a milkshake with two straws, beds, wedding dresses!

Everywhere I looked betrayed me.

Calm down!

“Is there anything you want to look at?” I asked, tense.

“Hmm, how about some weekend clothes?”

“Perfect!” I exclaimed in relief. “Let’s start with clothes. We have all the time in the world to figure out what couples do in places like this… Look at that sign—it says women’s clothing is on the third floor.”

I offered her my hand.

“May I escort you there?”

“Of course.” She smiled, playing along.

Together, we went to the third floor.

To my horror, it was bigger and more crowded than I imagined. There must have been at least twenty stores.

Pulling my arm, Katy dragged me from store to store. Like the lovebirds we were, my first mission was to rate the outfits she showed me from one to ten.

The torture dragged on for dozens of blouses, jeans, sweaters, and shops. On the brink of collapse and starvation, I made the mistake of checking my hologram’s clock.

An hour and a half. Just. For. This.

Ninety minutes…

Drowning in despair, I found a distraction as we passed a chocolate shop. Aware that my survival depended on it, I convinced Katy to step inside.

“Hmm, could I get a small white chocolate milkshake and a white chocolate truffle as well?” My companion inspected the display carefully.

The shopkeeper nodded, then turned to me.

“I’ll have an orange juice and two chocolate macarons, please.”

“I’ll bring them right over. You two can take any free table.”

“Thanks.”

Soon, we found a table by the interior window.

“What’s wrong, Isayama? You seem off…”

“Well, it’s been a long morning…”

“Long? It’s only eleven,” she said, tilting her head.

This girl is going to wear me out!

“Here you go.” The shopkeeper brought over our order.

“Thank you!” we replied.

“You’re welcome, lovebirds.”

Lovebirds…

“White chocolate with white chocolate, huh. How boring…” I teased, glancing at her tray.

“Don’t judge me. I like what I like…” She sipped her milkshake.

That milkshake isn’t so small after all…

“If you paid more attention, you’d notice I have very specific tastes—not just with chocolate,” she added.

“Oh, you mean how all the clothes you tried on were white, black, or gray? I already noticed you don’t like bright colors…” I played the smart guy.

“Exactly. So that shirt you’re wearing? Wrong.” She pointed at me.

Sure enough, it was green and yellow.

For one day I don’t wear a dress shirt…

“Alright, alright, I’ll try to change…”

“No, you’ll change right now. Once we’re done, we’ll spend two hours picking out clothes for you. You’re not a kid anymore. You’re an investigator for a major multinational—you need to dress like it.”

“Understood, Captain…”

“Look.” She pointed with her straw at holographic ads projected from the floor. “There are even Cellos ads here…”

“Let me see… Huh?”

Sure enough, there were ads for Cellos and Luminous. What was odd was seeing two hooded men approach them and start smashing the projectors of the holograms with hammers.

“Yeah, that’s not normal…” Katy said as alarms blared.

“Nope…” Watching the chaos unfold, we saw the activists spray graffiti on the floor before being subdued by security guards.

“Hope they throw them out soon…” she muttered.

Shouting “No implants, corporate killers,” the hooded figures struggled as they were pinned to the ground.

Seconds later, they were detained.

Wait…

As they were escorted toward the escalators, the guards pulled off their hoods.

As if he knew I was there, the activist in the back looked directly at me and smiled.

Meeting his gaze from a distance sent a chill through me. I felt it even in the implant of my hand.

What is he doing here?

I recognized the young man, his eyes never leaving mine as he was dragged away by the guards.

…

Though the image lingered in my mind, the morning continued as if nothing had happened.

Now it was my turn to suffer.

Katy had only been my girlfriend for a few hours, so going against her wishes wasn’t an option. If she wanted to help me pick out clothes, so be it.

After much effort, I managed to survive…

“Are you listening to me?”

“Huh? Yeah…” We were descending an escalator.

“What I was saying was serious.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I know I told you that even if I lost all my memories, I’d fall in love with you again…”

I can’t keep up with her… How is she still so energetic?

We continued descending toward the ground floor. Laden with shopping bags, I prayed for the moment of rest to come soon.

“But the same goes for you. If you lose your memory, I’ll come and bother you every day. You’d better fall in love with me again…”

“Yeah, yeah…” 

“Rookie investigator…” she murmured.

She joined just one minute before me! Wait…

As we reached the ground floor, I heard a familiar sound.

Katy’s face lit up as well.

“I can’t believe it! Let’s get closer!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

Despite her excessive enthusiasm, I had to admit I was drawn to the sweet sound too.

Surrounded by a crowd in the middle of the ground floor, a woman in a red dress was playing the piano. Specifically, Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu.

Entranced by the magic of the music, Katy and I joined the crowd in awe.

I glanced around, happy.

It feels like the world is finding itself again…

In a world driven by technology and a deadly virus, I never imagined so many people would stop to listen to the notes of that instrument.

Hand in hand with my partner, I smiled at my earlier ignorance, realizing that perhaps my battle wasn’t so lost after all…