Land of The Rich
(In Japanese)
"Chisa... I get that you want to go shopping in the mall. But isn't the main shopping district of Tokyo like an hour away?? And it is already kind of late in the afternoon, why don't we go tomorrow?", I asked
"Huh? What are you talking about Aki??", she answered confusedly
"Aki probably doesn't since she just arrived today. But there is a mall built inside the school.", said Misaki
"Wait what?! Are you serious?? Where?" , I asked with excitement in my voice
"Over there.", Hirame said softly while pointing at the gigantic Dome-like building right behind the school dorm.
Was that always there?? I must have been blind or something, to not have noticed such a prominent building right behind my dorm.
We quickened our steps and made our way to the mall in less than 5 minutes.
I took a step into the mall and just stared that the whole surrounding. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was not daydreaming.
The ENTIRE exterior of the mall was made out of clear transparent glass, the dome shape made it feel like an enclosed garden. Though it was made out of glass and the sun could penetrate easily, the atmosphere was not hot at all.
Hirame then told me that the glass was produced so that they would reflect about 90% of the Sun's heat energy back into space so we wouldn't feel hot in this air-conditioned mall.
As expected of the Hokanko University... Heat energy reflective glass...unbelievable...
Just when I thought I could not get more shocked that this, I looked straight and almost lost my marbles.
ARE YOU SERIOUS?! ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS?
A 120 FEET INDOOR WATERFALL?! WHAT IN THE WORLD!
I heard that Singapore had one too which was the world's tallest indoor waterfall at the height of 130 feet. But for a SCHOOL to have one that is 120 feet.
Water was falling from the ceiling of the mall to the bottom and inside the ground. The mall was designed so that the waterfall would be in the middle and the shops will be built around it.
JUST HOW RICH IS THIS SCHOOL?!
"An insect is going to fly into your mouth if you keep it open like that.", said Misaki as she pushed my jaw up to close my mouth.
The whole shopping mall had 6 floors.
1st floor having different well-known cafes and restaurants, like Starbucks, Hoshino Coffee, Ichiban Boshi, Astons, etc.
2nd to 5th floor being where all the shops are, and the top floor being the cinema level where people can watch movies.
I swear... Students won't even have to leave the school at all. This place has EVERYTHING.
Chisa continued to drag me along around the mall and as we went up higher and higher in the mall, the more out-of-place I felt.
The first shop I saw was Muji which was on the second floor, and may I add that it was already pretty darn expensive to buy clothes from there. But as we continued to go higher and higher up the levels, I started seeing shops like Gucci, Chanel, Luis Vuitton, Adidas, Fila...
I clearly don't belong here... This is way too extreme for me, this is the land of the rich I say, THE LAND OF THE RICH.
Since it was a week before school started, there was barely anyone in the mall, yet the shops were still opened for business. Workers here must get paid quite a hefty sum.
"Aki here here!", called out Chisa
I snapped out of my thoughts and walked over to the shop they were in, Superdry.
"Wait wait wait! what are we doing here?", I asked
"Getting you a new bag.", Misaki answered calmly
"Huh? Why?? Ah! Chisa!", I exclaimed as Chisa suddenly dragged me by my arm to the bags section.
"Guys, this is too much! I know yall probably have the money to afford this but I'll feel really bad for spending your money especially when we just met..."
Misaki placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "University is starting soon, you will definitely need a better quality bag than that haversack that you are carrying now. Hahaha. Don't need to feel bad, just take this shopping trip as a first-time-meeting present from all of us."
First-time-meeting present at the land of the rich, are they alright?
I mean... no matter how much I insist they won't listen to me... But I feel baddddddd
Arghhh I don't know anymore!!
I turned to look at them with a concern expression that read out "are you guys serious?"
And they just looked at me and smiled back with a look that said, "Oh yes we are!"
I just sighed at them and said, "Well... I'm all yours to dress up then." while raising my hand to surrender. Then those 3 just started clapping with thrill.
*sigh* what did I just get myself into?
SETSUI'S PERSPECTIVE
Hm? Isn't that the foreigner I just met a few hours ago? Aki Syan was it? What is she doing here?
(In Japanese)
"Sir, your coffee. Please enjoy.", said a waiter at Hoshino Coffee
"Thank you."
I sipped my drink as I watch Syan-san get dragged around the mall by, I assume they are, her friends.
Haha. Her reactions are so entertaining to watch, how adorable. She seems to be surprised about almost everything in this school, has she never seen an indoor waterfall before?
Haha look at how much her jaw dropped, what an unusual behavior for a girl.
How fun.
"Setsui-sama. Setsui-sama?"
"Huh? Oh, Tanaka-san.", I coughed slightly in embarrassment.
"Young master, did something good happen? You seem to be in a good mood today, laughing to yourself and all."
"No no, nothing of that sort. An... Anyways, what is my schedule for later?", I asked, changing the topic, still slightly embarrassed.
"Later this evening, you will be having a dinner meeting with the CEO of the JingHua Company. So from now until 6 pm, your schedule is free."
The JingHua Company... One of the best structural designer companies in the world stationed in China. They have designed countless numbers of well-known hotels and infrastructures like the Sea Aquarium and the Shangri-la hotel across the world.
Surely a company worth working together with.
However, I heard that they are extremely picky of their collaborators as their expectations from their Co-branding are extremely high. Only 1 out of 500 companies get to work with them every year. Definitely a challenge for others.
But not me.