Turning his head, Randolph looked at the man who had spoken.
He was a fairly tall youngster, near the same age as Randolph. Despite his height though, he was frail and skinny, but his eyes were sunken a bit too far into his head along with his sparse eyebrows. It gave him a dangerous air, but it would be broken whenever he opened his mouth and spoke.
"I don't remember asking for your opinion Trevor. Why the hell did you tag along anyway if you hate Randolph so much?"
"Don't be so rude, I'm just offering some genuine advice from one poor laborer and hard worker to another. We on the lower class have to stick together as hard workers, unlike some people." As the thin man spoke, he shot a glance at Randolph.
This man was Trevor Brut, a greedy, petty, and spiteful man. He was the grandson of the previous owner of the factory, the same man who had promoted Randolph to supervisor. The man, ever since his inception to the company under Randolph's supervision, had always been at odds with him.
"I don't want your advice. Are you just here to gloat?"
"Maybe. So what if I am? We all know the rumours, that you've gotten involved with the underworld because of your debts. Hahahaha!" Trevor spoke in a loud tone, laughing gleefully. "Just one look at your face is enough to tell me what happened!"
He did so on purpose, to attract attention from the other workers in an attempt to shame Randolph.
"What did you spend the money on? Your cheaply earned money? Drinking and gambling? It fits a lowlife like you."
"…"
The man continued mocking Randolph, but he wasn't worth a glance to him. He had been granted a position as assistant supervisor upon his inception into the factory, but held a grudge towards Randolph because he didn't believe that he should have been lower than him.
Trevor's grandfather had given him the position on purpose, hoping he'd learn from Randolph, but he only seemed to think that Randolph had obtained his position out of pity. For some strange reason – perhaps out of his grudge – he seemed to firmly believe that Randolph made an absolutely massive amount of money as a supervisor.
That wasn't the case in general though, and it especially wasn't the case in Randolph's situation.
Despite being a supervisor, it wasn't as if he was paid any more than the regular workers. This was because he had signed an agreement with the company to revoke his paygrade, in exchange for completely flexible working hours. Meaning that he could work when he wanted to, with no set hours.
This was because Randolph used to attend nightly cram school. He did so in an attempt to gain enough credits for a high school diploma at least, thinking towards his future. The agreement had only been possible because the young man was not only extremely competent at his job, but also because he was the link of all the workers here.
Randolph couldn't bother explaining it to Trevor though. It was a misunderstanding born out of the man's own desire, so he saw no need to correct it. His cram school attendance was also one of the reasons that Trevor looked down on him, the man believing himself superior due to his advanced education.
It was fortunate for him that his provocations never exceeded verbal form, and that he was the son of the current factory owner, or Randolph would have sent a punch his way long ago without fear of being fired.
"You fucker…" Seeing Randolph ignore him, the thin man grew enraged. "Wasting away in debt, he'll probably run away with your money after gambling it all away. It's probably what his father did."
Upon finishing his sentence though, he lunged backwards, narrowly avoiding Randolph's hand that had come grabbing in his direction. He would have failed entirely had Felix not been holding him back, preventing the young man from reaching him.
"Calm down bro, it's not worth it."
"Let me go, Felix. I'll teach him a lesson for the both of us."
"Do you seriously wanna get fired? Or even deal with the police?"
"I'll be gone after today, so here's the best opportunity I'll ever have to shut his mouth up for once."
As the two scuffled though, Trevor had slipped away, taking advantage of the opportunity. He had been scared off, and seeing this, Randolph decided not to waste what precious and limited time he had left on the matter.
"Gone? Huh? Wait, where? You're seriously leaving?" Shocked, Felix stared at Randolph straight on.
"…Yeah, I am."
"You wanna stay at my place for a bit?"
"Nah, this is a much longer leave, probably permanently. Besides, he's right. It's dangerous."
"You mean the rumours are true?"
"They are, but don't worry. I have a plan. I'll keep in touch through my number."
"…" Looking down in though for a while, Felix stepped back.
He realized that Randolph didn't want to implicate him with the underworld, and he really couldn't afford to provoke such a dangerous group. Perhaps if he was alone he could, but he had a little sister waiting at for him at home and depending on him.
"Alright, I guess… Just remember to keep in touch, brother."
"Will do. But I need to go, I don't have much time."
Patting Felix on the shoulder, Randolph gave him a deep look before turning away. After greeting the other few that had come to see him, he continued onwards towards the office.
Randolph's own supervisor's office was right next to Ryan's office, so he knew the path well. Entering the room, he closed the door shut behind him. Despite doing so though, he could still hear the loud buzz of machinery and yelling in the distance, albeit slightly more muffled.
"Randolph. You mother fucker, you're finally back! Do you realize how hard it was to keep the operations continue smoothly while you were away? Trevor even kept asking me to rescind your post. The asshole wanted the supervisor's position so badly."
The middle-aged man was boisterous, as foul-mouthed as Randolph had remembered.
"Sorry, alright? I know this is a bit of a hard time to say this bu-"
"I didn't give the position to him of course. Teased him with it, but there's no way in hell I'm working with that greedy little worm right next to me. That baboon was eyeing your office after a mere week, it's insane!"
"Well I'm glad you didn't but it really doesn't matter becau-"
"Boy am I glad you're back. Now I can kick back and relax. I bought a Nintendo the other day, you know? The switch one with the uhh, the game with the little, small animals. I've barely had time to customize my house!"
"…"
"Huh? Why aren't you saying anything? Speak up you asshole."
"…" Randolph was stone-faced as he glared at the man, causing him to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Err, I've done I again haven't I. Sorry about that, you were saying?" Restraining himself from speaking, the man gestured for Randolph to go on.
"I'm resigning Ryan. I came here to quit."
"…Huh?"
"I have to." Randolph shook his head.
"…I see."
Sitting up in his seat, Ryan straightened his back as he looked at Randolph. His gaze was firm, and any hint of humour was thrown out the window.
"I'd ask you if you're sure, but you don't seem to have a choice."
"Yep. I came here to inform you as my long-time good boss and friend."
"Heh." Waving away Randolph's cheap words, the middle-aged man chuckled slightly. "You don't have to beat around the bush Randolph. I know you're here to see how much you're entitled to."
Randolph could only give him a dry look in return.
It was indeed pretty obvious, but Ryan understood fully. He had in fact slightly expected such an outcome even despite his hopes for it not to be the case. Just one look at the young man's battered appearance and anyone could tell that he was in some sort of trouble.
Turning around, Ryan opened drawer before pulling out a small check book. After typing away at his computer for a few short minutes, he turned back to Randolph before ripping one of the pages out from the book. Quickly scribbling a few details on it, he handed it to Randolph.
"This is…" The number on the check shocked Randolph, and his gaze turned towards Ryan in curiosity.
On the check was a clear $5.1k in cash, signed by Ryan himself.
"Don't be surprised, it's only to be expected after all the work you've done for the factory. Besides, I'm the general manager, nobody can complain to me aside from Mister Brut. Even if he did, I'm sure he'd agree. If you ever need a place to come back to then our good treatment wouldn't have been a waste, we really do need a talent like yours after all."
"…Thanks, Ryan. I'll remember this."
"Don't mention it old buddy. It's two month's in advance as severance pay, but I took the liberty of chocking it up to a full-time job's 40 hours a week. It's a nice sum, even though it's based on minimum wage, but it'll probably go down by a fat lump after taxes are deducted."
Randolph nodded, letting out a sigh. The sigh wasn't because of the money deducted, but rather because he was finally leaving his comfort zone for the first time in a long, long time.
One would expect him to be ecstatic upon receiving such a large sum, but he only had mixed feelings. After working so long for the factory, it was… the bare minimum, to say the least. This didn't mean that he wasn't grateful though.
"Right, you need that in hard cash don't you? I forgot that you don't have an account. Come with me, I'll exchange it for you and just accept the check in its place." Standing up, the greying man took his coat off of the back of his seat.
Randolph's eyes turned downcast as he unconsciously let out another sigh. While it may have been a simple to Ryan, it was a large deal for Randolph. This was the first time in a long time that he had accepted help from anybody, further putting down his pride, but he had no choice but to accept it. The only thing he could do now was resolve himself to pay the man back in the future.
Seeing Randolph like that though, Ryan only chuckled as he patted him on the back. His eyes turning firm, Randolph decided to not be wishy-washy about it, standing up to accept the favour in stride.
Both of the men left the left the office, their steps firm as they walked.