"Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me!"
The man sitting in front of me kept tsk-ing, with crossed arms on his chest and a terrifying grimace on his face.
I understand your anger! It is 100% justified, but show me mercy! I can't feel my legs…
I slightly raised my head and looked at the mad customer.
"How can I repay…?"
The man's eyebrow raised, his eye twitched.
"Ho~, you want to repay?" — he asked with a smirk.
I don't like his reaction…
"How about you run naked through the corridors of each floor, hm? Sounds good to me."
Oi! How in the hell is that a compensation?! You just want me to lose my dignity!
"C-can't we think of a better solution? How about a financial compensation?"
Running naked would be fine for Saru, but never for me.
"Money, hah?!"
What is this reaction…
"You are one of those brats that think money can solve all problems? I see… good."
Oh, so we have an agreement?
"Pay me $1,000,000 then."
"…"
Hah?! Hold on a minute! Who do you think I am? I wouldn't work here if I had so much money!
"Oi, oi, you said you can offer me a financial compensation? You said that while not having a penny? Tsk, tsk. There is nothing we can do" — he shrugged and made a smirk.
What came to your mind now?
"Take off your clothes, let me take a look at your body."
"Huh?!"
"There are a lot of desperate older women outside, you know?"
Oi! What the hell?!
clap-clap
Suddenly, I heard someone clapping his hands behind me. It was Yamazaki. His face looked rather entertained.
Does the situation amuse you, you sadist?!
"Well, well, kind sir. I respect your anger, but your demands are rather uncivilized, don't you think?"
Hearing it out of your mouth makes me doubt the ethics and morals of this world.
"What are you doing here, Yamazaki?"
"How rude. I am here to help, you know?"
He released a sigh.
"I saw you running away and asked Saru-chan what happened" — Yamazaki put his hand on my shoulder — "these sorts of things happen time to time, don't worry."
"Oi, are you done yet? How long should I wait for my compensation?"
"Sure-sure" — Yamazaki rolled his eyes.
The Office Pervert approached the mad candidate and stretched out his hand over his shoulder.
"I think we can come to a conclusion" — Yamazaki waved his hand — "you can leave now."
What… huh. Whatever, I guess I can trust him?
Saru… I owe you a meal.
I want to go home… screw it. I'll go home. The world is not going to collapse because I skipped the last hour, right?
I couldn't wait for the bus or train, so I took a taxi and got home faster. After taking a quick shower, I felt better and could finally relax. I buried my face into the pillow. It was too early to sleep, I intended to rest a bit and then stand up, but eventually fell asleep.
***
Mhm… My head is dizzy… Uh? Did I fall asleep? Crap. It's still dark outside, what time is it?
I reached for my phone and looked at it.
[03:19]
Uh, damn it. Should I sleep further? Nah, I'll feel ever worse in the morning.
I stood up, washed my face and made me a coffee.
Actually, I don't regret waking up. It's still a bit early for work, but… I can walk to the company. By the time I arrive, it will be 8 o'clock, probably. I don't think it's a bad idea at all.
I put my shoes on and went out.
There was not a single soul outside yet. Only my footsteps disturbed the absolute silence of the streets. There is something charming in it. Your mind and thoughts become clear. No negative emotions, just appreciation for the very moment you are walking. A perfect setting for rethinking your life choices, and I definitely had a couple of wrong ones.
The silhouette of our company's building appeared on the horizon, just a couple of minutes, and I'm already there.
***
I looked at the inside, the receptionist was already there, means I can come in as well.
Thankfully, the recruiting department is back to work today, I am released from the tournament of a recruiter's life.
I went up to our floor and sat next to the window. Life on the streets is slowly coming back. Just after ten minutes, I saw the first cars approaching our building.
I made myself a coffee and turned my PC on.
The first step, each one of us does, is to check for new emails in our postbox. One colleague, a different one every day, is sorting it. Is there a response, let's say, to one of my emails? Then the email is marked blue. This way we can immediately see which email belongs to whom. If there are new requests, they are being marked and forwarded to the respective colleague.
When a customer places an order, the order is automatically assigned a personal number. Only after receiving the email, we mark it with our team's code number "7/1", so our colleagues from other teams know we already accepted the request. Thereafter, one of us is assigned to the request. Mostly, the assignment is a random event. Not everyone makes sure the request fits the consultant.
Apparently, today was my turn to sort the postbox. Luckily, I had enough time to check everything without a hurry.
I took a sip of my coffee and gave a look at the postbox. Huh, surprisingly, there were a few emails… a few dozens.
After 10 minutes, I was done with sorting the responses, time to take care of the new requests. I assigned a few colleagues to certain requests, the ones I didn't like I forwarded to another team.
…
"Oh! Good morning, senior!"
It's already time? I wish I had my peace for 10 more minutes.
Saru sat next to me. He put a plastic cup on his desk.
"Huh? A milkshake this early?"
"Yeah, why? I like it!"
You like diarrhea too, as far as I can tell.
I could see sparkles in his eyes for some reason.
"Now tell me, how much was that candidate pissed off?"
This is the reason…
"Senior! Don't ignore me! You are so mean! If not for me, you'd have let him wait there the entire day."
Tsk
Apart from milkshake, you love to annoy people.
"Yes, yes, thank you."
"Oi! That's all?!"
Tsk
"I'll buy you a milkshake."
Let me provide you with some diarrhea…
"That's the senior I know!" — he turned back to his monitor, singing a song out of happiness.
"Oi! That's all?!" — should have been your reaction again, Saru… how simple you are.
Suddenly, the chair next to Saru started twitching. It was Ogawa, who once again appeared out of nowhere.
"Good morning" — he greeted us.
We both, still in a state of small shock, nodded and responded — "Uhm, good morning."
When am I going to get used to it…
***
I have noticed one thing, long ago, but I never trusted myself to ask him. This thing is getting more and more annoying by time. At one point, I must ask him.
I pulled my chair back.
"Ogawa?"
"Yes?" — he responded, without taking his eyes off the monitor.
"Why don't you mark your emails yourself when you get them?"
It's annoying to mark it every time for you, and it's not even that difficult for you to do… I'd appreciate some support, you know?
"Why?"
Why, my ass. Maybe because you should? It's easier to distinguish which email belongs to whom.
"I memorize which number is mine anyway."
"But we don't know it's yours…"
"And why does it concern you?"
Ogawa kept looking at his monitor.
What do you mean "why"…
"Senior tries to say that the postbox looks like a mess! If we mark our emails, then we can see which requests are free and which not right ahead!"
Masaru crossed his arms and raised his chin. A common phenomenon of a proud monkey moment.
"It's bothersome… I memorize it and it should be enough."
"No!" — Saru pointed his finger at Ogawa — "you must do it like every one else does! That is the right way!"
Is he really lecturing Ogawa?!
Furuya scratched his head and finally released a sigh.
"Alright, I'll try to mark my emails from now on."
The monkey turned back to me and showed me a thumbs up.
Saru working cleaner than Ogawa is a thing I struggle to accept. Everything in this sentence is just wrong.
At one point, Yamazaki was walking by. He noticed us and came to greet us.
"Good morning, you all! Have a productive day ahead!"
He looked at me and waved his hand twice, telling me I should follow him.
"You owe me one, you know?"
"…"
It's this… well… yes.
"Do you need me for something?"
"Hey! Where is your gratitude?!"
"…"
My face scrunched up, I couldn't feel my lips.
"Th-thanks…"
"Few… your face ruined everything. Alright, alright, go back to work."
Sigh
I came back to my desk. Oh? Ogawa marked his new emails! I am so proud of him!
"Hm? What is it, a proud mommy?"
"Shut up Saru."
beep-beep-beep
Who is calling me? Nakamura? Wait, where is he?! It's already 9 o'clock!
"Senior! We are going to be late to work, come out already"
"…"
Nakamura…
"I am already at work…"
"…"
Hm? He hung up…
…
Nakamura came to us in half hour. He greeted everyone, but me.
"Finally, you came-"
"Tsk."
"…?"
His face contorted, showing obvious hostility. The usual loyal puppy sat next to Ogawa, further away from me and not behind me, like usually.
Did I just lose his loyalty and respect…?
The day passed, and he kept ignoring me. I honestly don't know what to do about it. I tried to approach him a few times, but failed.
Later, Yamazaki called him and Ogawa and they both disappeared for the rest of the day, but leaving their bags at their desks.
I should have expected him to wait for me today, and it's at some point my mistake. If it were for Saru, I'd ignore the matter, he would have forgotten about everything in just a couple of hours. When he returns, I'll try to apologize. Should I treat him to a dinner? Yes, that should be fine.
[16:47]
"…"
Yamazaki, what are you doing to my junior?! I am starting to be genuinely worried about him.
Right when I was about to call Ogawa, I saw him and Nakamura coming out of the corridor. Both seemed to be extremely exhausted. Especially Ogawa, who looked like a walking corpse.
…
Pervertzaki did not sell them instead of me to that lunatic from yesterday, did he?
"What happened?" — I asked them both.
Furuya shook his head.
"It's nothing. I want to go home… see you both tomorrow…"
"Uhm, bye."
He took his bag and left us.
"Senior?"
Oh, right, Nakamura. After seeing Ogawa, I forgot him…
"Why are you still here?"
"Erh… Sorry for this morning."
Inumaru tilted his head, confused.
"See…" — I scratched the back of my head — "do you want to join me for a dinner? I pay."
"You waited for me to ask me that?"
My face flushed, I looked away and nodded.
His eyes started sparkling. I even saw an illusion of a waving tail behind his back…
Did I make a mistake for placing him above Saru…? Nevertheless, I am happy he accepted my apology.
…
While we were searching for a restaurant outside, I tried to ask him about the task Yamazaki gave them, but every time he simply shook his head and said — "it's nothing, don't worry about it."
You say that, but you both looked terrible just a couple of minutes ago…
I don't understand why Nakamura waited for me so long today. I mean, okay, we can walk together to work occasionally, but you even risked coming late to work and eventually came too late to it. This obsession he has with me is starting to concern me a bit. Maybe I'll find out something new about him this evening?