As I sat in my chair, I observed the room. All of our chairs were arranged in rows, facing our makeshift stage. It reminded me of our open mic nights, but this was too different. There wasn't an atmosphere of playful calling to each other, joking, or even noise. Next to me sat Nguyen-san, and his wife was in the chair next to his. Behind me, there was a slight buzzing of people talking, but it was subdued. 

On the stage sat Ayane, Prin, Miyuki, Hiran, and finally Nikki. All of them would be speaking shortly about their experiences in the neighborhood for the past few weeks. They'd then open the floor to others' experiences. They'd ask what we should do, if anyone had any ideas. It was an impasse. There wasn't any real plan. We'd closed early for this, and most businesses had closed at 5PM anyway. It felt like lost business to me, the opposite of what they had planned. 

Most of all, it felt like a trial. That kind of air. A trial for one person. Inevitably, Gyeong-Wan's name would come up, and no doubt Nikki would talk about him just like he'd told Hanako. Even those who'd never met him would turn against him. Once he said that Gyeong-Wan was associated with the hotel, he was finished. That's all it would take. 

I hadn't been able to come up with anything. The only thing I could possibly say to defend him would be to name him as one of our community, and I'd never do that to him. Even then, they still probably wouldn't be convinced. There was only what Hiran had told me the other day going around in my head, that there were people who hated us, essentially calling me naïve. There was Nikki saying that he was scared. 

Yes, I understood all of that. I really did. They didn't know Gyeong-Wan like I did. They hadn't spoken with him or spent any real time with him. They didn't know he meant no harm. To them, he was little more than a stranger hanging around too much for comfort. Someone with ties to a known enemy. Someone who could bring harm. How could I defend him in the face of that? I only knew what I did, and it wasn't enough. They didn't have those good experiences to rely on. It was my word against thirty or more people in this room. 

I wished we were gathered for open mic night instead. Maybe Drag Bingo. Or maybe we could be gathered to have a community meal together, like we always did on New Year's for people who had nowhere to go. It made me incredibly sad, using this space for something instead so cruel. 

Gyeong-Wan had never known an inclusive community. That much was certain when he'd cried with me. He was all alone. He didn't feel safe. Here was a chance for him to have friends and feel safe. Here was a chance for him to find family. People who would support him and raise him up, love him. He was so kind. They had no idea how kind he is. And yet, they were about to give him a social death. They were about to cast him out when they didn't even know him. 

I hadn't seen him today. He never showed up to French Cup. I'd asked Yash if he'd seen him, but he told me no. It worried me. I needed to know if he was alright. Maybe Nikki had said something to him, or maybe he wasn't coming for another reason. Maybe work was too hectic right now. He was alone. 

The bell chimed over the door, and about thirty heads turned to it at once. My heart dropped, expecting to see him there. He often did come late at night, for me... But, instead. 

I jumped up out of my seat, and Nguyen-san next to me did, too. We dashed to the door, clinging to Yuko's elbows. She was slowly making her way inside. And...she didn't have a coat on. 

"Yuko, where's your coat? Did you leave it at your shop?" I asked her in a hushed way, worried for her.

"It's not too cold out," she chuckled to me in her usual manner, like I'd made a funny joke. 

It was freezing. Nine degrees centigrade, and dropping. I didn't want to let her know that. I shook my head, smiling with her. "I guess not. But, I'd feel better if you borrowed my coat when you go back, alright? I'll walk you back home after."

"You're crazy. I'm fine, I'm fine."

I laughed with her quietly, Nguyen-san and I helping her sit in the chair next to mine. Just to make sure, I took off my cable knit cardigan and draped it around her shoulders. "That's better, right?" I asked her, patting it down. "It suits you."

"This is a man's sweater." She looked pleased, though.

"Well, it's fashionable for women to wear them. They call it a 'boyfriend' sweater. You're a very fashionable girl right now. Maybe, you look twenty years old."

She chuckled softly to herself, so pleased. I sat next to her and took her hand, keeping it in between both of my own. It was freezing. 

"Ah, oh," she suddenly said, shuffling around in her chair. I held onto her hand a little tighter. She was still smiling kindly. Her other hand went into her pants pocket, fishing around. "I brought something for you. I hope it hasn't melted."

There was no way it could have melted. Yuko... My eyebrows creased, real worry there. Gyeong-Wan had told me he'd found her outside without a coat, too. 

"Ah, here it is," she said in a sing-song voice, so proud. Slowly, she brought the item out of her pocket, and my eyes widened, slight tears forming at the edges. She twirled a black cat sugar animal to me, making it dance. "I made him for you. Kuro."

"Kuro!" I gasped, smiling for her. "My favorite! Thank you, Yuko!" I took it from her, holding her other hand surely with mine still. She wasn't going to get out of my grasp. The more I thought about it, the more foreboding I felt. I needed to grab her and not let her go. That was my feeling. 

"I'm glad you like it," she grinned, her wrinkles so prominent. Her happy face. "Please eat it, okay?" 

I gave her a slight bow to show my respect. "I will right now."

Her smile widened. My eyes went to the little cat on a stick wrapped in cellophane in my hand. Even one of the ears was clipped half off, this tiny detail really making him Kuro. I wanted to cry. I could imagine her making this, making cure to clip the ear to really make it him. That painstaking process, nothing overlooked. It made me vow to myself to visit her more often. I had to. I'd visit her every day from now on.

Just then, the mic turned on with a squeal. Nikki was standing there, holding the mic stand like he was about to do one of his stand up routines as Nikki the Mouth, but he wasn't dressed like a queen. It felt wrong. He was called the Mouth, because he was the mouthpiece of the neighborhood. Always the loudest one, always with something to say. It had been natural at the drag bar to find that name for him. But, now he was using this gift for something horribly wrong.

"Welcome, everyone," he began. I wanted him to keep going. Say, Hello, I'm Nikki the Mouth, what are you doing in my house? Or whatever other one-liner he'd have after introducing himself in his comedy act. Please, make this fake. Let it not be real. But, he continued. 

"As you know, we've had some real problems lately in the neighborhood, and we're here to discuss this. You'll all get your turn, but I'd like our elders to go first. We've all had some pretty disturbing experiences ever since the hotel opened. We're gathered here to try to find solutions. The only thing we know is that this will not stop. So, we have to come up with ideas in order to bear it, cope with it, or anything with it. What are some strategies we can use in order to peacefully deal with this problem? Prin, would you like to start?" Nikki took the microphone off the stand and the long cord trailed with him closer to Prin. Prin stood up and took the mic. 

He dove right into it. "Well, to start." He cleared his throat. "Would you say my store's name is misleading? Historically, it was a book store. We still sell books, but we've never sold the general variety. We have always been an erotic, gay book store. That's how we started forty years ago. Guests from the hotel have been coming in. Our windows, as you know, are covered with colorful paper. It's difficult to know what's inside. However, there is no other clue that it might not be a regular book store. However, adding to our store's sign, saying what we are, isn't...what is the word...correct...for us. This has been the number one complaint from them. They take one step inside and practically have a heart attack. They've brought their children inside. They said we should only be open at night time. This is a dramatic change in customers for us. We absolutely do not want children coming into our store. We don't know how to solve this problem. Does anyone have any ideas?"

Hands went up behind me as I looked around quickly, nervous at this conversation. Yuko squeezed my hand as I did this, and I remembered the tiny Kuro in my other one. Gently, I let go of her hand. My crinkling cellophane masked the voices now behind me, offering suggestions. The sweet sugar touched my tongue, and I tried to forget where I was.

The conversation went on for what seemed like a long time. Prin was nodding, listening intently. The conversation had shifted, going into similar complaints in general. Even Nguyen-san, usually so seldom spoken, was bringing up good points. He said that people were coming into his store, wanting to buy a little of this and that, but they'd always been more of a supply store. He said it was difficult for most customers from other Asian countries to find ingredients for their familiar dishes, so he preferred to sell them in bulk for them. It was a niche market, and he was filling it. However, guests from the hotel had started to come in and were upset that they couldn't find a meal for a single person, or something in snack form. 

"There is a young man," he was saying now, "who comes in very frequently. He told us he is Korean, and was looking for snack foods from that country. He wanted to buy a small bag, but we only have Nongshim chips in large, family sized bags. He wanted to know where else he could go to find them, and I will never suggest another store. It would drive away my business to do so."

My ears perked up just like the tiny cat's on the stick in my hand. Oh no... Nikki stood up, and doom filled my heart. He took the microphone kindly from Prin and cleared his throat.

This soon? They were going to talk about him this soon into the conversation? We'd been here for what, thirty minutes? Part of me wanted to stand up and protest. Defend him in any way I could. But, I was frozen. I had no defense, no way to comfort their minds. I'd gone over it, over and over, but there was nothing I could say-

"Many of you may have noticed a man about my age coming into your shops," Nikki said with authority, but also concern in his voice. "He's usually wearing a suit and tie. He might ask you where to buy things that are similar to what you're selling. Nguyen-san's story is just one of many that we've heard about him. He's about six feet tall, he has wavy hair. He's from the-"

Rushing movement next to me made me jump, alarmed. My hands went up immediately, knowing before I did what was happening. Before I could react, my hand was on Yuko's arm as she stood up quickly, my cardigan falling off her shoulders, making her look that much smaller. At this, the room fell silent. She was grinning, though. 

"Oh, that boy!" She gasped. "I know him!" She looked at me, smiling, then back up at Nikki. "I met him the other day." Even her eyes were smiling, adoring him. "He's the nicest young man. He asked me to go inside, because I was outside trying to sell some sweet breads I'd made."

Nikki's loud mouth swung open and I wanted to smack it closed. He didn't get to start.

"My, he bought all of my sweet breads. They were shaped like bunnies, you see. He said he wanted to buy them so that I could go back inside, because it was so cold. The cold didn't bother me, but he did look cold! So, I went inside with him and he sat with me all afternoon. I told him all about the yuzu jelly and sweet white bean cream I'd made. He wanted to try everything, so we ate together. Oh, he was the nicest young man." She smiled at me again, then back at Nikki. "He bought almost everything in my shop that day, and I do mean almost everything! I had six sweet white bean cream breads left. That's all! He bought almost everything in my showcase, he loved them all that much. I do hope he comes back! I want to tell him my stories." She turned to me again, looking so fragile. "Do you think he'll like my stories?"

It was my turn to stand up. My eyes were filled with tears. I nodded to her so hard. "He'll love them. His name is Gyeong-Wan."

"Oh, I'm so glad to know his name!" She gasped, so happy to know this. It filled my heart with such gladness that I could not describe. Nikki was staring at me like I'd grown two more heads.

"I've gotten to know him over the past week or so," I said, directly to Nikki, but everyone in the room could hear. That was my intent. "He's nothing that you think you know. He works at the hotel, yes, but he's nothing like them. In fact, I bet a lot of the people who work at the hotel are nice." My mind was brought back to the two girls that had stood on either side of him at the desk when I'd visited. How they were spacing out, probably not even wanting to be there themselves. "It's the guests we have a problem with. Let's not get confused. It's only been the guests. I know what you're about to say. You're all about to say that you think he's a spy for the hotel, trying to gather information to direct guests away from us. Well, if he was, isn't that what you want anyway? But..." I turned as much as I could while still holding onto Yuko, stabilizing her in her position, but facing the rest of the audience of my peers. "What if he isn't a spy? What if he just wants to be friends? I know for a fact that he's visiting our businesses to try to make friends. He genuinely likes us." My head turned back to Nikki, and his mouth was open. I was about to yell at him, but...

"He keeps coming to visit me." A familiar, urgent voice, but so small. Not like her at all. I turned again, and at the back, under a large Impressionist painting of a garden, was Charlotte. There was no way Nikki would talk over Charlotte. Not after today. "He keeps asking how I'm doing. He noticed I don't have a lot of customers. He's um...really kind. He keeps asking me what I'm going to show next. I think he's um...shy? I kept asking him to come see something, but then Kazu brought him. He really enjoyed himself. He loved the movie I showed. It was a gay movie. All of three of us, him, Kazu, and I, um...we talked about the movie afterwards. He was so fascinated by it. He said he didn't know much about LGBTQ life, but he genuinely wanted to know more about it. So I think..."

Wow, Charlotte was so close to the truth. The tears in my eyes were threatening to spill over. I tried so hard to blink them away.

She went on, and my heart flew over the sun. "I think he's an ally. I really do. I don't think he's our enemy. I want to be his friend. I don't think he's a threat to us. So, whatever it is you have to say, I don't think he's a threat. That's um...that's all I have to say."

Charlotte. I wanted to hug her for a million years. Nikki was standing there, mic in hand, for once silenced. I took this as my cue.

"Have you ever thought that maybe he could be a spy for us?" I jumped in. "I've been in the hotel. Have any of you been in there?" I turned back to the audience, and saw a bunch of shaking heads. "Well, I have. It's a whole different world. I can see now why the guests are mad at us. They're expecting a level of care that we won't provide. But, I think if we get to know Gyeong-Wan, all of us, that he will give us very valuable information. He can tell us things about the guests in advance. We can expect what's coming, instead of it being a surprise. We can prepare ourselves. Isn't that better than what we have now? At least we'll know what's coming."

It was a sea of thoughtful faces now. Every one of them was listening to me. Maybe coming up with plans. But all I knew was that I'd just made him probably about thirty friends. Maybe they now had ulterior motives for wanting to know him, but it was better than before. Maybe they'd get to know him, and really want to. Just like Yuko, me, and Charlotte. Ah, Charlotte...I wanted them to become friends so much. There was so much she could teach him.

My face went back to the stage, and it was met with very different people than had just been there seconds before. In fact, Nikki was smiling now. 

With that, I knew I'd done my job. Before, I hadn't known what to say. I'd felt helpless, probably like in some resemblance to what Gyeong-Wan does. But now, this power running through me. It was the best feeling in the world.