…
Another quiet and normal workday. This routine, I can't tell if I still dislike it. I am quite delighted that I got the opportunity to be busy with something, rather than rotting in my apartment or being sent to some unknown universe, that's for sure. Between the meetings with customers, Ogawa and I took the opportunity to drink a cup of coffee and engage in rather philosophical disputes.
"Modern music is nothing but disappointment."
"Hey, don't say it like that… it's too subjective."
"No, it's not. Modern music is literally beep and boop, nothing less, nothing more. When I listen to modern music, I feel endless emptiness inside me."
Every music is a beep and boop!
"I disagree! Music is a way someone expresses himself, it's just that there are new genres which not everyone likes. The artists still express themselves with their music."
"With the beeps and boops?"
"Yes, the beeps and boops still go along with the lyrics, you know?"
"Lyrics that propagate immorality?"
"Furuya… stop being a hypocrite!"
"I am not being one" — he looked at me irritated.
"Have you read Lolita?"
"Erh… yes, of course."
"Did you like it?"
Ogawa looked away.
"Answer me!"
"Uhm…" — he nodded.
"Ha! There it is! So you have nothing against books that contain immoral ideas, but meanwhile you criticize music for propagating immorality!"
"I-it's not the same!" — he turned to me, with a flushed face.
"These stories depict our inner human struggles and tragedies, of course, something considered immoral could appear in the story once or twice…"
Sigh
"Just accept the fact that you dislike the modern music genres, that's all."
ptui, ptui
"It's so bitter!" — Nakamura took a sip of his cup and started spitting it.
Don't spit the coffee! Show some respect! Moreover, coffee is supposed to be bitter, especially espresso. What did you expect? You could add sugar at least.
Did he not lie when he told us he never drank coffee before? Impressive, how did he survive all those years? I wouldn't last a day without coffee or energy drink in school.
"Please, leave this place immediately" — Ogawa slowly turned his dead serious face and looked at Nakamura.
"Your presence here is a disgrace to our company. You have no right to be 5 meters near coffee beans."
Oi! Don't you think you're too harsh on him, Ogawa?!
Nakamura fell down on the ground and made a perfect
"I sincerely apologize!"
"…"
Wow… very impressive. Only professionals can repeat it, professionals that worked for over 20 years as office clerks.
Ogawa stared at him upside down and sighed.
"Fine, just don't waste coffee anymore. Hand it over to me."
"Thanks you!"
Stop screaming at the floor… you can stand up already, you know?
"Senior Ogawa, why do you like coffee so much? It's not tasty at all!" — Nakamura asked.
I would be more careful with such statements in your place… except if you want to repeat the dogeza.
Ogawa sighed, and coughed twice before starting his lecture.
"Coffee, much like life itself, is a bitter and complex experience. It's a companion in solitude, a silent confidant that understands the struggles and disillusionment that permeate our mere existence. The dark brew mirrors the shadows within us, yet it provides a comforting warmth to someone's soul, a fleeting respite from the harsh realities of the world. In that bitter cup, I find solace and an ally in navigating the enigmatic journey of life. The bitterness of coffee resonates with the bitter truths we encounter, and its richness reflects the depth of our emotions. In each sip, I discover a momentary escape from the chaotic symphony of existence, a brief pause to ponder the complexities that define our fleeting time on this ephemeral stage."
"…"
"…"
"What? I told you how I feel about coffee."
"You know what? Give me that cup, Nakamura. He had enough coffee today."
In an instance, Furuya stood up between me and Nakamura, with his arms stretched up, as if he was protecting Nakamura from some danger.
"Taking my coffee equals taking a piece of my soul!"
"…"
Whatever…
"Few…" — Ogawa released a breath of relief — "I am glad you understand me."
No, I don't…
Ogawa turned his head to take Nakamura's cup, only to find him pouring coffee into the sink.
"Oi! What are you doing to it?!"
"Hm?" — Inu tilted his head.
"Don't hm me! Argh… the poor espresso… you killed it" — Ogawa fell down on the ground.
Inumaru started scratching his head, being in total confusion and standing in front of a collapsed man, collapsed physically and mentally.
"Let's wrap it up, it's time for us to head back."
"Mhm…"
…
"Do you understand what you have done?! You imbecile! God dammit! Just how?"
As we approached our desks, we heard Yamazaki's screams. Damn, who is the lucky one this time? Huh? Saru?
"Argh! Screw you! You should have been beaten up right here, but you are not worth it, getting my hands dirty because of you, you incompetent excuse of a human being."
"I…"
"Shut the fuck up. You should just shut up at this moment. You did everything you could to piss me off. Have you lost your brain somewhere?" — Yamazaki started walking in circles — "No wonder you work here, you are such an imbecile that couldn't be useful anywhere in the outside world. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! We are fucked! Because. Of. Your. Damn. Idiocy. And. Incompetence."
Yamazaki held his head with both of his hands, still waking in cycles. It continued for almost a minute.
"What was I talking about?" — he suddenly stopped and looked at me.
"We are fucked"
"Right. We are fucked!"
Yamazaki scratched his head and then looked at Saru.
"Begone, I don't wish to see you here any more today."
Saru stood up, with his head down and staring at the ground. He took his bag and without saying a word, headed to the corridor.
"Tsk, argh! Come back" — the team manager waved his hand.
Yamazaki changed his mind.
Again, without raising his head up and saying a word, Saru returned and sat down.
"I'll figure out how we can take care of it. And you… you dare repeat this mistake, and I'll grill you alive on a stake."
"…"
After this, Yamazaki left in a hustle.
…
A truly miserable, silent picture. Saru was really down after Yamazaki's scolding. I don't know what he has done, but I don't think anyone deserves to be in his position right now. This dead, unusual silence, would be a pleasure for me normally, but not at the cost of someone's depressed state.
Sigh
Should I cheer him up?
"Hey, Masaru."
"…"
Dead silence.
"Uh… oh! There is a cake in the kitchen, apparently the bald guy has his birthday today."
"…"
"Erh… it's a chocolate cake! Like the one you love. Should I bring you a piece?"
"…"
Saru slightly nodded.
Great! First step done. I headed up to the kitchen. A coworker stood next to the cake, holding a plate. I went to take a plate for myself. I turned myself to the table and… crap, that was the last piece?
"Hey! Wait!"
"Hm?"
"…"
No, I can't ask him that…
"What's the matter, lad?"
Cough, cough
"I… you see… I have a friend and I wanted to give him a piece of cake…"
"Wow, cool, whatever."
"Wait!"
"Ye-e-e-e-s?"
I hate myself…
"You see… today is his birthday. He shared with us that in his past life, he never had a birthday party or received any present or a cake to eat. His life was miserable, he never felt love or happiness… This is why, please, can you hand me over that last piece of cake that could cure a poor wounded soul?"
I am sorry, Saru, but I am doing it for you.
"Oh… it's indeed very unfortunate. Hm, let me think… no. You better go buy your friend an entire cake, if you care so much about him" — he smirked and blinked.
Screw you… It's time for the heavy artillery.
Swoop
That was the noise of me opening my wallet.
"How much do you want for that damn piece of cake?"
"…"
The man seemed not to understand what was happening right now.
"Faster, faster!"
"I don't know… maybe for $50 I would think about it…"
You greedy bastard.
Tsk
How kindhearted I am.
"Take it" — I took the plate by force and replaced it with a banknote of $50.
"Wow, you really want that cake, do you?"
"Shut it and disappear" — I have bigger problems than you right now.
"Alright, alright, thank you for the money!" — he swung the banknote and then left.
I returned to Saru, he was still the same upset as when I left him for the cake.
"Here, a piece for you."
A piece that cost me a fortune.
He let it untouched for the first couple of minutes, but then, the monkey finally took the fork, made a cut and put it in its mouth, slowly chewing it and eventually swallowing it.
His face slowly returned to its usual appearance, but only slightly. You could still tell he was upset. For real, what the hell did he do wrong to get scolded by The Devil like that?
I thought my question would upset him once again, and therefore waited a bit. After an hour, I finally asked him.
"Masaru, so… what happened earlier?"
I doubt it was something that serious, that perverted devil probably overreacted.
"Uhm… I sold a contract."
Well, that's certainly not a reason to be mad at you.
"And?"
"Well… the candidate is slightly not suitable for the task in the end…" — Saru looked away.
"Huh, how much is slightly?"
"Erh… look for yourself…" — he turned his monitor to my side.
Let's see… eh? What sort of request is it? A magician… huh.
"And what's wrong with it? Just a standard request."
"I thought the same and sold our customer a magician, or rather call him an illusionist."
Don't tell me…
"But our customer meant magician quite literally…"
"…"
"Apparently, the customer wants him to… solve some sort of demon attack problem in that world of his. He should exterminate all the demons, or at least a significant amount of them…"
"…"
"So… yes, I did fuck everything up…"
Do you tell me that you sent a dude to a certain death?! Oi! This is not a normal 'fucked up', this is 'I basically killed someone' 'fucked up!'. Shit… Yamazaki's rage was justified, very much justified. Dammit.
I was about to unintentionally insult him, but when I looked at Saru's face, I saw tears appearing in his eyes.
Sigh
You already paid for your sins.
"Why does that moron God need someone to solve this kind of thing anyway? He could just use his divine power?"
"Erh, apparently, that God does not interfere in the world's progress. He rarely uses his divine powers there."
"What bullshit…"
***
The next day, Saru looked slightly better, but still upset. I wonder if it will be a topic we will discuss in our department meeting…
…
Clap
"You idiot! How could you allow something like that to happen?!"
Right in front of our eyes, our team manager was hit in his face by our branch manager.
"This is fucked up! Totally. Fucked. Up."
"I wholeheartedly agree with you, sir" — said Yamazaki, looking down on the desk.
"You should be! But do you know what else you should have done? Prevent such things from happening!" — the branch manager was screaming at Yamazaki, spitting his drool on his face.
Although watching this kind of scene should make me happy, it certainly didn't. Moreover, I felt pity for Yamazaki. His patience is very commendable, though.
"It's all your fault! And you should take responsibility!"
Saru, next to me, was staring down at the desk, trembling entirely. It's only natural, he would be easily at Yamazaki's place right now, but the manager chose his prey.
The pig manager sat down on his chair, straightened his back and covered his face with his hands.
"Did you call the customer?"
"I did… the entire day, but he was not available."
"Crap…" — the manager put down his hand and pointed at Yamazaki — "You should go and bring that man back" — then pointed at me — "and you will go with him. I can't trust him alone there."
Huh?! Why me… Oi! I don't want to!
Great…
There is no point in trying to dodge it. Now I have to clean Saru's mess.