"What was your graduation subject, Hana-chan?" Mari asked while opening a can of iced tea.
"Economics and Management, majoring in accounting. Why?" Hana replied.
"Ah.... Accounting? Not Insurance?" Said Yuuto, thoughtfully. "That's why then... "
Hana didn't really know why her major of study was so important.
The four of them were sitting at the same table; with Mari and Hana on one side, and Ren and Yuuto on the other. Ren was sitting in front of Mari, and Hana in front of Yuuto.
"The way we're sitting, it looks like a goukon (1)! " Yuuto laughed, "A meeting between singles, and we're just the right number! "
"With you, Yuuto-kun? " Mari asked while raising an eyebrow. Then she burst out laughing while frantically clapping her hands on her legs. " That' s such a great joke! "
Yuuto glared at her before slightly tilting his head back and snorting loudly.
"Ha! As if I would go with you! "He laughed proudly. "I only date girls younger than me! "
Ren gave a sharp and quick slap on the back of Yuuto's head. And the latter suddenly turned back to Ren, a stern look on his face and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Hey what was that for?! "
Ren, not the least bit impressed, answered him without even glancing at him.
"A mosquito. "
Yuuto massaged the back of his head for a moment, then turned his attention back to Hana, sitting right in front of him.
"But tell me Shinohara-chan, have you ever been to many goukon? "He asked. "Considering how pretty you are, I'm sure you've had quite a few opportunities to meet people! "
Hana stirred slightly in her seat. The small neighborhood restaurant they were in was crowded at this hour, and the small room was already completely filled with people chatting loudly while eating or waiting for their orders.
Their little group was positioned against a wall, which limited the frequent passage near their table. But that didn't stop Hana from being suspicious of every coming and going, casting discreet glances to the right and to the left.
Yuuto's unexpected question had also made her a little more anxious.
"I... I've never been to one... " she confessed.
" Oh my! "Mari said. "That's quite a shocker! Especially for a young lady as cute as you Hana-chan! "
The compliment unnerved Hana, who was not used to being the center of attention either. But she didn't let herself be thrown off.
"I didn't have time... I guess? " She answered with embarrassment.
It wasn't entirely a lie either. She hadn't really had time, these past five years. And before that... Well...
"In that case, why don't you catch up with us? " Yuuto offered, all smiles. "I know! We could go to karaoke after work! "
"No. Thanks. "Mari answered firmly. Then, leaning towards Hana, she added in a whisper: "Never go out alone with him. Never. "
Was this a warning? Was this guy so problematic that Mari bothered to warn her?
"Hey! What was that?! " Yuuto complained. He then took a serious face. "I'm a responsible adult! Just like everyone else around this table! And Shinohara-chan is one too, huh! "
"No one said anything about you being immature, Yamamoto-san. " Said Ren while massaging his temples.
The turn the discussion was taking was giving him a headache. Yuuto and his absolute lack of consistency and seriousness was really getting on his nerves.
"What? Are you jealous because I'm in front of Shinohara-chan and if it was really a goukon I would be paired with her? " Yuuto scoffed with a sneer.
"I'm not. "Ren replied.
Well he would really have to flip the discussion back to its starting point himself, otherwise he was going to lose some brain cells there.
"Besides, that's not the point," Ren argued. "It's not important to worry about everyone's seating arrangements. Everyone can sit wherever they want after all. "
"There he goes again, talking like an old man... " Mari sighed.
A vein almost twitched on Ren's forehead, but he kept his composure. What a superb demonstration of self-control. He was definitely annoyed by this comment, but his good manners forbade him to answer anything to this woman.
This was not the case with Yuuto, who had drawn the line for himself even before the man/woman distinction. He was just disrespectful to everyone.
So this was how their group interacted?
"But why? Is it really an old man's thing, not caring about what seats everyone occupies? " Yuuto asked innocently, "I don't care either, and I'm not an old man! "
"Maybe you were already an old man from the cradle," Mari teased him. "That's why you still haven't noticed that you are one, even now! "
"I think it applies more to Ito-san," Yuuto retorted with a sniff. "I reckon he's the one who's been like that since birth: skinny with a neat appearance, and berating his parents because his diapers aren't hypoallergenic ones! "
"Please don't comment on my diapers, or about anything related to personal hygiene while we're eating," Ren scolded him, clearly annoyed.
Ah yes, that was definitely their group dynamic.
Mari teasing to death a silly kohai, and a serious senpai who was not to be trifled with.
Ren trying to turn the conversation that was going in all directions to keep them all away from the nonsense Yuuto was spouting.
And Yuuto... being himself?
This made Hana smile a little and relieved her of all the stress she had accumulated since this morning.
It was rather... refreshing.
"Well, while we're waiting for our orders, how about we explain to Shinohara-chan what's going on on the ninth floor? "Yuuto confidently proposed.
Surprisingly, it was the disturbing element of the group that brought the conversation back to a serious topic.
"Tell me Hana-chan, you do know what the ninth floor specializes in, right?" Mari asked.
Of course she knew. She'd been able to find out which Department she was going to join, during her training days; but also before that, when she'd received all the documents about her future assignment.
"The Department of Natural Disasters," Hana replied confidently.
"In that case, you know very well that our department is special and important. " Said Mari. "Because natural disasters represent a daily and expanding risk both in frequency and intensity. "
"Nearly 20 percent of all major earthquakes occur in Japan," Ren explained. "And in our country, the most frequent disasters are storms, earthquakes and floods. In that order. "
Ren apparently knew his subject by heart. But he also knew how to make his explanations concise and easy to understand.
"Of these three major hazards, earthquakes alone accounts for nearly 90 percent of the fatalities, and nearly 83 percent of the economic problems impacting victims," Ren continued. "And of the Average Annual Economic Losses, earthquakes account for approximately 43% of those losses, to only 24.5% for storms. "
Ren took a sip of his iced tea before continuing his explanation in more detail.
"From 2009 to 2018, the average cost of damage caused by natural disasters in our country was 350 billion Yen per year. These costs having been far exceeded in 2016, with almost 1,755 billion Yen, and in 2011 during the Tohoku Earthquake, with almost 6,419 billion Yen. " Ren explained while resting his cup on the table, and wiping his thin and delicate hands on his napkin. "Yet, specific insurance for earthquakes is optional, unlike fire insurance, which is mandatory and systematic. And earthquake insurance can only be purchased while fire insurance is valid. "
This time, Mari cut him off in his explanation by quickly extending a hand towards him. Hana sighed despite herself.
"Ah, wait Ito-san, you are going to lose her with all these numbers! " rushed to say Mari.
The older woman then lowered her arm, and turned to her right, and thus to Hana.
"What Ren was trying to explain to you is that our department is dedicated to the prevention of natural disasters, and thus to raising customer awareness of these particular risks. And the Sales department does just that. It markets the insurance policies and ensures that the clients pay their premiums and that the insurer pays a part of the compensation. The rest is taken care of by the government. "Says Mari. "But because of these particular roles, we are also on the front lines for clients. So it's relatively intense at times, like today. "
"And when there's a disaster, sometimes it takes a while for the government to announce which prefectures are accounted for and the order in which they will be compensated. And this morning, there were precisely those announcements. "
Hana was beginning to understand a little bit about the tasks that fell to the ninth floor, and this particular department. And it definitely looked very intense.
At first, she'd been thrilled to be in the same department as "him". As if it was fate. But then, she had quickly realized that the work was quite important in terms of quantity and deadlines. And she didn't even dare to imagine what the day itself - when a natural disaster occurred - might look like.
"But luckily, it's not like this every day," Mari smiled with a sigh. "Although for today, it's like you were thrown straight into the deep fryer, right? "
Hana nodded her head in agreement. She was rather relieved to hear those reassuring words. And even more so to see their orders arrive.
A waitress placed a bowl of ramen with different toppings in front of each of them, along with a few small plates of side dishes.
"Ah, I've already processed at least twenty cases this morning," Yuuto complained, biting his chopsticks. "Lots of broken windows, fallen trees, and even a flooded car... "
"Wah, already twenty??? " Mari let out, surprised. "I really can't keep up with you! "
She added some furikake (2) in her bowl, and mixed it all together.
"I would have done a lot more than that if I didn't have an entire warehouse claim to deal with. Landslides are really terrifying... "Ren added, shaking his head.
Yuuto smirked, satisfied to show how competent and fast he was at his job. His speed and precision in his work was indeed quite amazing; especially if his colleagues were singing his praises. Or at least how they recognized his efforts.
However, talk to him about anything that wasn't work-related...
"Have you ever been caught in one? " Yuuto asked innocently.
"In what?" Ren asked in turn.
"A landslide," elaborated Yuuto.
....And he wouldn't be able to read the mood or use common sense.
Ren looked at him, stunned. He didn't even answer the ridiculous question, having had enough of the candid idiot at his side.
He then turned his attention back to the only two sane people facing him on the other side of the table. And he seemed ready to go fishing for information.
"By the way, Shinohara-san," Ren began. "This is quite unusual... "
"What is?" Hana asked.
The older man seemed to ponder his next words for a bit, before speaking again.
"Working in the insurance business can sometimes be tiring and extreme; and even more so in our Department," Ren said. "So, I'm really curious as to why someone who didn't study the subject of insurance was hired at our company. Or even, why that person would have been a candidate for hire with us in the first place. "
"Aww, Ito-san, stop pestering her, you'll scare her off! " Yuuto contested while elbowing his table neighbor. Said neighbor didn't even flinch, remaining unperturbed and immobile.
"I'm just stating the facts. Any other department, or even company, would have been an easier and more logical choice for a first employment contract. Yet you chose our company... " Ren explained, his piercing eyes directed at Hana, "As if... working here wasn't your main reason... "
"Ito-saaaaan... " Yuuto began.
"No, wait. Shut up Yuuto-kun," Mari cut him off abruptly. "Ren has a point there. "
Hana fidgeted nervously on her chair, not knowing who she should look at, since all three had their eyes on her. She was even a little relieved to have Yuuto directly in front of her instead of Ren, who was facing Mari. Because right now, Ren was giving her a suspicious and distrustful look. But she couldn't blame him. She had applied with ulterior motives, after all.
"Also, I noticed that you kept looking at Chief Kobayashi," Ren added.
He wasn't saying this with a mean tone, or to scare her. But he was rather curious. And also smart enough to have a fair and accurate view of the situation. It was even a little scary, the way he could guess things correctly.
He was the king of gossip and rumors, after all. So in a way he was the king of information.
Hana even caught herself thinking that he would have been perfect as a spy.
Was he that observant? Had he already guessed much more than he said?
But as if to prove this very point, Ren crossed his arms, and added in a neutral tone, as if announcing an established fact:
"It seems that you're very interested in our Chief, isn't it?"