Chapter 2: The Seaside Town, Lykkore II

The door opens as the scent of lemon and laundry detergent hits Rio's face.

He expected the room to feel temporary, empty as a blank canvas. But... it already looks lived in.

Exactly as Nehna described, the keys to the room and the mailbox sit on the kitchen counter.

The space is more furnished than he was anticipating.

Rio places his bag on the counter before touring around the room.

The desk is solid and sturdy Alyssean-sourced wood. A Litme-brand television—a little budget for his taste, but it'll have to do for games and shows. The bed is only twin-size, but it's spacious enough for his long slumbers. The fridge hums quietly, which is all he needs to know.

Across the board, Rio has no complaints. But while he may not, his stomach rumbles.

He still hasn't eaten.

"Yeah, yeah, alright, I get it..."

Rio returns to his bag and digs out the handful of granola bars he tossed in. Plastered right on the front of the wrapper is the best before date—lo and behold, they just happen to be expired by—

Four years ago?!

His quick trip to the convenience store before he left the city led to grabbing whatever he liked off the shelves. He didn't check for expiries—obviously, neither did the staff.

If there was ever a time to hunt for food, it was now.

He grabs his keys from the counter and attaches them to his key ring, which was only holding the house key from his old apartment. On his way out, he locks the door and gives it a good nudge for reassurance.

Unlike before, there was nobody in the lobby, but that didn't stop Rio from cautiously glancing over the room before scurrying out the door.

But a realization dawns on him.

Wait... What even is there to eat here?

Names came to his head of fast food joints from the city, but Lykkore doesn't have the same endless variety the city does.

Pondering for a moment, he pulls out his trusty smartphone and slowly types "Good food to eat near me?" into the web search.

The result yields a number of local restaurants, but after digging through mixed reviews of noodle houses and burger joints, he found nothing that enticed him.

The convenience store is the golden path to guaranteed satisfaction.

***

Plastered at the top of the building is "Cocou," a self-serve corporate chain of corner stores across the country. It's a gold mine for people like Rio—no human interaction, regularly stocked bites to eat, and junk food galore.

To his comfort, one just happens to be stationed on the same block as the dorm, not that he noticed it before.

He's in and out, taking no time to browse.

The bag is stuffed with two helpings of seaweed crisps, a lobster roll, two egg salad sandwiches, and a reheatable bowl of beef noodles. Rio looks at his wallet in dismay, as he only took out enough cash to cover his train fare and enough to cover food in an emergency.

He sits on a concrete block in the parking lot outside, setting the bag beside him. After digging through it with the seriousness of a final judgement, he chooses the lobster roll first.

Peeling away the plastic, a fresh and fluffy yet sweet bun puffs out, a mayo-based sauce coating the lobster bites. His eyes close for a moment as his jaw almost protests the bite.

It perfectly hits the spot after his traveling on an empty stomach, only made better by the warm spring wind.

Life couldn't be any bett—

"Rio!"

Oh, heavens.

"Already getting familiar with the neighborhood, I see!"

The gentle voice of the lady from the dorm. She arrives only to see him stuffing his mouth.

"Hmh?! Whuh?!"

He freezes mid-bite as half of the lobster roll nearly launches from his mouth at terminal velocity.

"I'm sorry, you can finish your food first?! I didn't mean to scare you!"

The damage is already done. The lobster roll begins its glorious descent.

"Ah—!"

His hands reach out to the roll on the cement, but it was beyond saving.

I will remember you, beautiful lobster roll...

"It's... okay."

She giggles a little while walking over to him with a napkin taken from her purse to lift the roll from the ground.

"Don't you want some actual food, especially after a long train ride? Corner store stuff can only get so good, right?" Nehna pulls out her phone and taps away on the screen. Immediately finding what she searched for, she flips it around to show him.

"There's a family restaurant nearby that makes the best bowl of salmon poke in the world! Wanna give it a shot?" Nehna looks over to Rio, who has "You really want to drag me somewhere after that?" written all over his face.

Nehna sighs, "It's on me, how 'bout that?" She puts her hands at her side and puffs out her chest. "Consider it a housewarming gift from your senior!"

Rio stares mournfully at the feast he almost had.

But... I wanted to binge Rectify the Adamant while I ate all this...

As if he didn't have alone time all day to do so. But, reluctantly, he sighs and gets up from the cement block.

"It's on you...?" Rio glares at her.

Nehna pulls out her wallet to make sure she has the cash on hand to afford two poke bowls, as opposed to her typical one.

Barely enough, but it'd be worth it to her. "On the dorm! Or... wait, no, I'm the one paying... The dorm won't pay me back for this..."

***

Spices and the faint scent of beef hang in the air as Rio sits across from Nehna in a booth.

"Not sure if you fancy yourself a drink...? They've got non-alcoholic stuff too."

The two browse the two-pager menu for the place, though Rio isn't really sure what he's in for.

Rio peruses the menu of around fifteen unique alcohol-based drinks, with names like "Petal Dance," "Morning Flower," and "Cherry Blossom Spritz..."

"These are a little... on the nose, ain't they?"

Nehna giggles. "Well, the botanical part of town is what drives a lot of business now. Most places around here are like that."

A switch finally flicked in Rio's head.

"I actually have a request, if you don't mind humoring me..."

Rio keeps his eyes locked to the menu, though he isn't actually reading it at this point.

Nehna puts down her menu to give him her undivided attention. "Sure, fire away."

Putting down the menu, he adjusts his glasses.

"Around seven years ago, I used to live here."

Nehna's brows lift before looking at him like he just confessed to being lost in his own home.

Nonetheless, she gets it.

"Huh, really?!"

Once again, her words struck his heart like thorns.

"That's sarcasm, isn't it..."

Nehna giggles.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice you circle around the dorm like... four or five times?"

A sigh escapes Rio from the embarrassment, his head dropping.

"Yeah... I was about fourteen when I left, and navigation sucks here." He takes a breath before continuing.

"Anyway, as I was saying, when the train was crossing the water on my way into town..."

He puts his finger to the stock photos of the town that were printed on the menu. "The town looked like this, but it didn't before. It was barren."

Nehna now looks at him confused, the point he's making lost on her.

"It's beautiful now, isn't it? Though, we sometimes have too many tourists, which makes it hard to get around some days..."

"Yeah, I can understand that. But why the change? Is there a history to it?" Rio puts his hands together and rests his chin on them.

Nehna puts her finger to her head and tries to dig out any information she could remember about it.

"I'm... a little hazy on it," and she flips the menu to the backside of the menu, which puts on display the skyline of Lykkore.

"See all the greenhouses? They were built by a pair of sisters under their business Blossom Moment."

Rio looks to where she pointed, not that he didn't see the skyline earlier.

"What about the festivals? There's more than just summer and national stuff now, right?"

"Ah... those started maybe four years ago." She rubs her temples trying to recollect the details.

"If my memory serves me right, the sisters started this whole push to make Lykkore greener..."

Nehna looks away for a brief moment.

"The festivals were pretty barren in the beginning, but I think it picked up attention because some online influencers talked about it."

Nehna sticks her hand out to call over a staff member from the restaurant. "Other than that, I don't really know much else. I've never met the sisters, but, they do attend our university and host their own club."

The staff member rushes over, clearly stacked with orders from the overwhelming amount of patrons. "Two salmon poke bowls, extra mayo in one, and a Morning Flower, please!"

I didn't agree to extra mayo.

The man writes down the order in his notebook, a quick "Copy that!" before rushing away.

"If you want, I can give you a tour of the campus tomorrow. I can't promise that the sisters' club will be open if that interests you, but I know where it is, at the very least."

Nehna picks up her chopsticks, already prepared for the moment the food comes.

Should I even bother? It'd be easier to go on my own, at my own pace.

But the fact that Nehna pointed out he circled around the same block a handful of times tells him he'd be better off with company. He sighs.

"I guess I have no choice but to take you up on that."

Nehna's face brightens as she remembers something.
"Oh! I forgot to ask," her head tilts.

"What program are you in?"

His expression turns to reluctance as he hesitates.

"I, uh..."

"...Music?"

Nehna blinks twice.

"Why did you answer like you don't know?"

***

Full from the salmon poke, Rio and Nehna make their way back to the dorm, both exhausted from the loud crowd and the restaurant's overbearing heat.

Nehna pats her stomach, releasing a small hiccup that doesn't bother Rio at all.

"Ahh, they never fail to satisfy!"

Rio struggles to walk with his back straight.

"It was... a little too good for being free..."

"Huh?! It wasn't free! It was out-of-pocket for your senior!"

She gives Rio a good pout before they're already back at the entrance to the dorms.

"Regardless, at least you had some good food from a local joint, rather than those mass-produced made-without-love snacks."

Rio giggles gently as though not to disturb his stomach that is full to the brim.

"I'd be lying if I said that today would have been as eventful from my room."

Rio stops at the door and puts out his hand for a handshake.

"Thank you for the food, Nehna."

Nehna grins smugly and returns the handshake with pride.

"I can't do it often, so look back on today fondly, okay?" After pulling her hand back, Nehna snaps her fingers as she realizes she forgot something.

"I never told you what room I'm in, did I?"

Rio thought about it but realizes that she, in fact, did not tell him.

"No, I don't believe you did...?"

"Well, if you ever need me, I'm in room 308! Which means..." Nehna crouches to the ground, looking like she's about to explode.

"We're neighbors~!"

Nehna jumps high into the air with her arms reaching for the sky.

Rio takes a step back, shocked from the sudden explosion of energy.

"I guess so...??"

His face grew a warm smile. "We're neighbors, then."

The two make their way back inside and up to their floor.

"How does... 9:00am sound for tomorrow?"

Nehna gets one last question before heading in for the night. Rio didn't particularly look at his timetable, so he pulled out his phone to find it.

"One second, let me check..."

His first class—a basic music theory class—starts at 8:45, so 9:00 obviously won't work.

"How about 7:45? I have a class around 9." Rio returns his phone to his pocket.

Nehna nods. "I usually wake up at 7 anyway. So it's a plan!"

Rio nods in return. "It's a plan."

With that, the two return to their rooms, and Rio looks to the clock on the far wall of his room as he walks in. It's a few minutes off from his phone, but close enough to tell him it's around six.

Taking off his shoes and cardigan, hanging it on the coat hangers in the foyer, he goes to sit on the bed and wind down for the night. But as he was about to sit down on the bed, he realized he forgot one crucial thing while he was out:

He has no bedding to sleep with.