In the midst of feigned politeness, I didn't feel good. I've heard that the world of women can be scary. Yes, that's what a senior colleague from my previous workplace told me. I remembered that.
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{The Theatre of Life}
We were taking a short break at the smoking area with my senior colleague, enjoying the sunset while having a smoke.
"Listen up. As men, we just need to act like idiots," my senior colleague suddenly said, holding a cup of coffee.
"What do you mean?"
"The world of women has different rules than the world of men. If we don't follow them, we'll have to leave... that's what I think."
"I see..." My senior colleague sometimes brings up strange topics out of the blue.
"For example, Sato-san who joined midway recently. She's young, beautiful, and capable, isn't she?"
"Yes. She's a talented person who is too good for this crappy black company. I heard she's quitting soon, though."
"She's not liked by the local queen bee here," my senior colleague said.
"Oh, I see. She's probably not compatible with that old hag who tries to act young but is a vulgar, disgusting bitch."
My senior colleague murmured "yeah," took a sip of coffee, and continued.
"On the other hand, that bombshell who has a lot of hair down there likes me."
He must be talking about the section chief.
"Do you dislike that?"
That's part of it, I guess. I always stay in the shadows, without drawing attention to myself or causing any waves. Sometimes, I make a pathetic appeal, and then I quietly do the work that was assigned to me and take a breather when no one is watching. That's the trick to surviving in an organization.
In the world of women, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. For example, just being young and beautiful can make you disliked. Especially as a newcomer, you have to be a black sheep for the senior... the crappy assholes.
Boasting about having a boyfriend is out of the question. What a black sheep needs is a little bit of misfortune as a performance. This is essential.
The crappy assholes have a way of raising and dropping people with their cunning conversations. You must not fall into their traps by naively joining in the conversation and boasting about your private life being fulfilling.
That's a trap. The enemy is not outside the company; the real enemy is inside. That's what I learned in society.
The senior tilted his glasses and leaned coolly against the wall, his face showing signs of fatigue.
"I am at a loss for words that such a psychological warfare is taking place..."
"As my junior, what we discuss here must not be disclosed to others."
"Uh, okay," I swallowed nervously.
Of course, it goes without saying that divulging information about the clandestine meetings is strictly prohibited.
"In the world of women, there is something called a lunch meeting."
"A lunch meeting...?" Oh right, they tend to cluster together. Those guys are just a bunch of jerks.
"Ah, it's just another name for a festival of slander."
"Slander... festival?"
"There are factions that hold lunch meetings. There, jealousy, envy, resentment, and hatred swirl around... They engage in slander to strengthen their unity, which they call solidarity. This time, their target was Sato-san... That's all there was to it."
"But...that's terrible. After all, she's only just started working here."
"Because she's just started... That's why. They judge her as incompetent despite not teaching her the job properly. She's talented. That just makes it worse. That's why they're treating her harshly. They'll kick her out. She's a threat to their position."
"That's too cruel," I bit my lip.
"There's no room for emotions in the world of women. All that matters is how to suck up to others and get ahead. Even when they're older, they still want to be coddled. They're like brainless sweets in a flower garden. Any decent woman would either quit or go to a white workplace free of trash people. The queen bee here is just a piece of garbage. The cancerous queen bees that plague society may all be trash...but at least, the women in this company are nothing more than sweepings. For Sato-san, this is a good start."
The senior's eyes looked sad.
What on earth happened? How much evil has he witnessed? I had no idea what was on the other side of his gaze.
"Listen up. Be careful of the prickly atmosphere in the world of women. If you're not careful, you'll get burned by the flames of karma. It's one of the life skills I can teach you."
"..."
I fell silent. My senior was a master of survival skills, having used his wits to survive in black companies, and now he was my mentor. This world is impermanent. I was reminded of the prickling sensation of the female world once again.
"Okay, I understand. I'll be careful," I said.
______________________________________________________
This is what happened in my past life.
Maria and Komachi shook hands, both smiling, for over a minute. What's going on? I don't have the ability to read minds. Damn! I don't know what kind of liar game is going on. What is this tense atmosphere?
I opened my dry lips in fear. "Wh-what's... what's going on?" Damn it, I stuttered a little.
"Oh my, well. I'm terribly sorry about that," Maria said, breaking away and looking at me, clasping her hands.
"...You're Maria-senpai, right? Yes, nice to meet you," Komachi said, releasing her grip and bowing to Maria.
They introduced themselves with one word when they first met. Afterward, for some reason, when they shook hands, they got stuck like that. That's what happened a moment ago.
"Senpai... what is it?" Komachi called me out by name and led me away from the group.
"What is it?"
"Well... why are you taking him with you?" Komachi asked, looking at Maria.
"Why are you leaving me out?"
She had a smile on her face.
"Oh, right. I'm having him teach me, and I wanted to have a discussion about it," Maria said.
"I see. That's... lovely. Please go ahead."
"Please? Here and now?"
"Yes... but..." Komachi stuttered, looking at me with a slight glare.
What the hell? Why is she glaring at me like that?
"So? Are you doing what I told you to do every day?"
I decided to dodge the question.
"So? Are you doing it for real?"
"It's impossible. Doing 100,000 practice swings every day is impossible."
"How many can you do now?"
"About 10,000."
"How long does it take?"
"About five hours."
"That's not even close."
Not even close. It's just a practice swing. Even if you do one practice swing per second, you can do it in less than three hours.
"You're always doing that, aren't you? You're doing some running too, right?"
"It's impossible! It's crazy! It's always just that. We should have a match or a real fight..."
Komachi was blushing with anger.
"Oh my, Homura-san is asking Amachi-san for advice, isn't he?" Maria interrupted our conversation.
"Um, yes, that's right, but..." I responded.
"Why aren't you doing what Amachi-san advised you to do? Isn't it because you're too inexperienced to ask for his advice?" Maria asked.
"What?" I exclaimed.
Maria turned to me and said, "Amachi-san, it seems you have taken Hojo-san as your disciple, but this is not good. Like father, like son. I suggest you both learn from a suitable master."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"It means that it would be beneficial for both of you to learn from a more appropriate master," Maria replied.
"Eh?" Komachi and I said in unison.
"Firstly, Homura-san's attitude is inappropriate. Amachi-san is a very busy person. Well, Homura-san may not know that," Maria continued, smiling at Komachi.
"Huh?" Komachi's face twisted as if she understood that she was being ridiculed.
"Amachi-san is taking the time to help you. You should have a more respectful attitude. And yet, because of your own inexperience, you blame Amachi-san for your own shortcomings. You are not worthy of Amachi-san. Don't you see that Amachi-san is also troubled?" Maria said.
"Oh, that's quite harsh," I thought, and I nodded in agreement.
"T-That's right..." I said, slightly convinced.
"Not 'that's right'!" Komachi hit me in the side with her elbow.
"Hey, hey," I dodged and circled behind Komachi and flicked her on the back of the head.
"Ouch!" Komachi turned around.
"You still have a long way to go. Practice your reflexes and movements until they become ingrained in your body. Be adaptable in any situation. Also, train your stamina by running. Then you'll be able to stand at the starting line," I said.
"Damn it! That's easier said than done," Komachi complained.
"..." Maria watched us with a smile.
The tiles at our feet had a slight burn mark.
"What's wrong, Maria-san?" I asked with a twitching cheek.
"Your relationship is quite good, isn't it..."
"I don't think so."
"We are technically in a master-disciple relationship. I am still inexperienced, as Maria-senpai pointed out. However, please go easy on me with warm eyes."
"Just self-proclaimed."
"It's not just self-proclaimed!"
"Well, I'm just training her a little bit until she can fight decently."
I'm not defending Komachi, but I explain to Maria.
"Oh my, is that so? You are so kind. As expected of you."
"Uh, yeah."
I managed to agree somehow. I'm scared.
"Oh yeah, Amachi-san. It's fate that we met here. How about some tea or something after this? Homura-san, please continue your training as instructed. I'll leave you to it. Well then, good luck."
"What do you think? Would you like to go, Amachi-san?"
"Uh, sure."
Komachi seems unusually cold to me.
"Huh?"
Komachi is a tough girl. She raised her eyebrows and looked at me as if to say, "What is this guy saying all of a sudden?"
"Um, it's a really nice proposal, but would you like to go with the three of us?"
I propose to Maria, Komachi is on the verge of erupting.
"Oh..."
I regret saying that.
These two don't seem to get along well. They're both on edge. Why don't they like each other so much at their first meeting... Especially Maria is being harsh on Komachi. Please spare me. Let's get along.
"Yes, I see. Well then, Homura-san...!"
She is smiling, but her eyes are not.
"Oh, no, that..."
Komachi doesn't seem to be interested in Maria's offer.
In response, Maria speaks in a slightly aggressive tone.
"I see. It seems you don't want to go. Well then,"
Maria turns towards me and smiles.
"I'll go!"
Komachi keeps smiling nervously, her cheeks twitching.
"Well, well..."
My coping mechanism, "well, well," is activated.
Um... Can I skip this one? I don't want to go. I can't say it anymore, though.
At the same time, my stomach is a little bit upset.