Aden's fingers hovered over his keyboard, the rhythmic tapping filling the otherwise dull office. He was ostensibly typing out notes, but in truth, his fingers were just dancing across the keys without any coherent purpose. His mind was a muddled fog, the weight of the upcoming week pressing heavily on him.
"Have you scheduled the meeting with the client?" his manager, Tanaka, asked, standing by his desk with a clipboard in hand.
"Yes, manager," Aden replied mechanically.
'You've already asked me this a hundred times.'
Tanaka adjusted his glasses with a practiced motion, his sharp eyes scanning through the clipboard. "Are you sure it's the correct date this time? We cannot afford another incident like last time."
'That was because of you,' Aden thought but held his tongue. Instead, he simply said, "Yes, manager."
"Good," Tanaka replied curtly. Then, as though the thought had just occurred to him, he added, "Regarding your request for a leave of absence this Friday…"
The mention of his request immediately pulled Aden's attention away from his screen. He turned his head to face his manager. "Yes, manager?" he asked, a hint of hope in his voice.
"I heard it's your birthday on Friday as well," Tanaka said, his tone casual yet slightly probing. "Does that have any correlation as to why you're requesting time off?"
Reluctantly, Aden nodded. "Yes. I was hoping to go out of town with my sister for the first time. Since I've completed all my tasks scheduled for Friday ahead of time, I thought it would be a good opportunity."
Tanaka's lips curled into a smile, though it was one that barely reached his eyes. "How old are you turning again?"
'Why does that matter?' Aden wondered, suppressing a sigh. "I'm turning twenty-five, sir."
"And you still don't have a girlfriend?" The question made Aden flinch inwardly. It was a question he'd been asked countless times—a needle pricking at his self-esteem each time it was posed.
He forced a smile. "No, sir. I can't seem to find the time."
Tanaka chuckled, leaning back slightly. "You should keep trying. It's not like you're overwhelmed with work, considering you're only a copywriter. Look at me, I'm a manager, and I still have time for my wife and my girlfriend." He laughed at his own words, slapping his desk as if he'd delivered a punchline worthy of a comedy show.
'That's not something to be proud of,' Aden thought. Nevertheless, he forced out a polite chuckle, the hollow sound blending into the background noise of the office. 'I'm laughing at your joke; now just tell me if my leave is approved.'
Tanaka cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "Anyway, happy birthday in advance. I won't be coming to work on Friday, so I'll greet you now."
"Oh, thank you, manager," Aden said, bowing slightly. His mind raced with confusion. 'He's also taking Friday off? Then what's the problem with my leave?'
"You're welcome," Tanaka said, his tone shifting. "Now, about your request for leave this Friday…"
Aden's heart leaped with anticipation. 'Here it comes. This is it.' He leaned forward slightly, his eyes wide with expectation.
"It has been denied."
The words hit Aden like a slap to the face. "Excuse me?" he said, his voice unsteady, "did I hear you correctly? My request was denied?"
Tanaka nodded, his expression remaining neutral. "That's correct. We need someone here to handle any emergencies that might arise. And since I'll be out of the office, that someone has to be you."
Aden's chest tightened. 'So it's because you want to go on vacation,' he thought bitterly. For a moment, he wanted to argue, to point out the unfairness of the situation. But he knew better. He simply nodded.
"Understood, manager."
As the day dragged on, Aden's mood soured further. The faint buzz of office chatter around him only grated on his nerves more. When the clock finally struck six, he let out a deep breath and began packing up his belongings. He moved slowly, stuffing his laptop into his bag and tidying up his desk as if to delay the inevitable trudge home.
'Fucking Tanaka.'
He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way to the elevator. The ride down to the ground floor felt longer than usual, the air inside the small space stifling. When the doors opened, he was met with the chill of the early evening air, a sharp contrast to the stale atmosphere of the office.
'I bet his vacation is with his girlfriend instead of his wife and kids...God, I should have told his wife about his affair when I had the chance.'
Outside, the city buzzed with life. Cars honked, people chatted, and the distant hum of machinery filled the air. Aden adjusted his bag strap and started walking toward the train station, his footsteps echoing faintly on the pavement.
'Kaz will be so disa—oh.'
His phone buzzed in his pocket, breaking him out of his thoughts. He fished it out and glanced at the screen, seeing his sister's name flash across it.
'Speaking of the devil.' With a resigned sigh, he answered. "Hey, Kaz."
"Hey, Bro! Are you on your way home?" her cheerful voice chirped through the speaker.
"Yeah," he replied, weaving through the sparse crowd on the sidewalk. His tone was neutral, but his exhaustion seeped through.
"Great! Can you grab some snacks on your way? Oh, and don't forget coffeeI'm pulling an all-nighter tonight."
Aden rolled his eyes but smiled faintly. "Sure, sure. Anything else, Your Highness?"
Kaz giggled. "Nope, that's all. By the way, did your leave get approved? I've been planning our trip all week, and I'm so excited!"
Aden's heart sank. He tightened his grip on his phone. "Uh… about that…"
He hesitated, struggling to find the right words as he approached the busy crosswalk. The pedestrian light flashed green, and the crowd around him began moving forward. Aden followed, his focus split between his sister's voice and the rush of people around him.
"My leave was…" he started, his voice trailing off as he stepped onto the street. The distant rumble of an engine grew louder, but his mind was elsewhere.
A loud honk shattered his thoughts. His head snapped up, eyes wide as the headlights bore down on him, their blinding intensity freezing him in place.
"Aden!" Kaz's voice screamed through the phone. Time seemed to slow as he gasped, his body unable to move fast enough. The car's horn blared again, a deafening roar that drowned out all other sounds.
The impact came hard and fast. Pain radiated through his body as he was thrown onto the pavement. His phone clattered out of his hand, Kaz's frantic screams echoing faintly in the background.
"Aden! Bro? What happened?!"
Darkness began to creep in at the edges of his vision. The cacophony of gasps and panicked voices from bystanders grew distant. Kaz's cries seemed to morph into something else, a voice unfamiliar yet strangely soothing.
"Your Highness, wake up!"