Author's note: This is a lesbian love story that started with Karina mistaking Juri for a sex worker, so she forced herself on her. This is NOT a non-consent story. It's a simply mistake that both parties come to understand. There are also instances that refer to characters race, but no racial or hateful statements are made in this story. I hope you enjoy the journey of this slow-burn love story! Big thanks to Chief Hal for helping me edit!
Chapter 2
After a series of poor decisions, I was now face-to-face with the non-English speaking woman that I had basically assaulted. My heart was pounding, my skin crawled, and my face was bright red... and
I
was the one that had forced
her
into sexual acts! I could only imagine how she must have felt!
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!
I screamed in my head, as I watched her practically squirming before me.
Should I just run away... or will that make me a fugitive?!
There was no way I could leave Japan and give her the impression that I attacked her on purpose, before escaping the country. I could only imagine the damage that would have done to her. It was a thousand times worse than my little issue, which now seemed completely irrelevant.
I tapped the man that I had just encountered on the shoulder and begged him to translate for me. "Pretty please... will you explain to her that I'm sorry about yesterday... and that I got this place confused with a dirty massage parlor... Not that she looks like one of those kinds of workers... I mean, she's way too gorgeous to work there, but I didn't know any better..."
Before I could completely overwhelm the man, who had already explained that his English wasn't that great, he began talking to the employee I had wronged the previous day. I just hoped that he was able to express my message in a more delicate way than my onslaught of babbling.
Though the woman was still blushing, and she still appeared quite uncomfortable, she smiled and nodded in my direction. "She said she understands the miscommunication," the man began to explain. "She also apologizes for the misunderstanding."
"Huh?! Apologize?!"
"Yes... because if she spoke English, she would have been able to help you reach your true destination."
There was just no way this was happening. Not only was this woman expressing that she didn't hold a grudge against me, but she was also apologizing, like she did something wrong?! It just couldn't have been true.
There was no way any human could easily forgive someone, who did something as horrendous as I did. However, as I looked into her eyes and witnessed the cute, yet nervous, smile she was giving me, her intentions seemed pure. Still, there was no way I could just let her go on, after what I did. What if she was just hiding how much this traumatized her? I couldn't let that eat away at my conscience.
"Please explain to her that she is a beautiful and wonderful person!" I begged the makeshift translator. "And also, let her know that if there's anything I could ever do for her... she can just name it and I'll take care of her!"
Surprisingly, despite the blush remaining on her cheeks, her smile grew larger, as the man translated for me. There was a sparkle in her eyes, almost as if something excited her.
"She wants to know if you live in America."
"Yes, I do! I'm just here on a work trip. I'll be heading back in a couple of days."
"She would like to go to America," the man translated, after receiving the message from the woman, who had seemingly grown even more excited. "She wants to know if she can live with you?"
"Live with me?" I asked, scratching my head at his terrible translations. "Oh, you mean she needs a place to stay, if she visits? Yeah, sure... I guess she can stay at my place... instead of getting a hotel..."
The man seemed a bit confused. I guess he was having trouble translating, since his English wasn't great. Still, he managed to communicate my answer, well enough to please the woman that I was now supposedly, going to host someday.
If I'm being completely honest, I didn't really like the idea of having someone I couldn't communicate with at my condo. It was kind of my private space, and I didn't consider myself a good host. However, after what I had done to this poor woman, I certainly owed her a favor, so it wasn't like I could complain about having her stay with me, if she visited America.
Unfortunately, the kind man who was nice enough to volunteer his time, needed to get going, so we wrapped things up quickly. I gave her my business card and even wrote my home address on it, in case she really decided to visit. She then strangely asked to see my flight information, I'm guessing because she wanted to know which airport she would be hypothetically traveling to, if she ever actually came.
It was all wrapped up, and we quickly said our goodbyes. I even did that bowing thing, I suppose, because I saw them do it and I didn't know how else to respond.
Before I walked away, I turned back quickly, because there was a very important question I had forgotten to ask... her name. I begged the man one last time, and he asked for me. That's when she looked at me, and for the first time, spoke directly towards me.
"Juri." That was her name... Juri.
She smiled at me, and I smiled back. "Karina," I responded, pointing at myself.
As she repeated my name, I couldn't help but appreciate our first time speaking directly with each other. Even though it was just our names, we had actually communicated with each other effectively... and it warmed my heart, considering what a disaster this could have been.
***
After an excruciatingly long flight, I found myself back in California, ready to resume my normal life. Despite the jet lag I was suffering, I only took a single day of rest, before getting back to work. The hardworking, independent woman mentality that I had wouldn't allow me to take any further time off. I was ready to get back to the office, and prove what a badass I was, to all my inferior employees.
Things couldn't have started any better. Much to my surprise, my office seemed to have been quite productive without me. I figured they would be a bit lackluster with me in Japan, but I guess I was such a great supervisor, that they all worked like a machine despite my absence.
There was a smile on my face as I shut the door behind me after walking into my office. I wanted a moment to myself, so I could get readjusted. I even put my feet up on the desk and relaxed in my chair, so I could bask in the glory of my own accomplishments.