Chapter Text
You could get used to this.
Your first day on the job was even better than you imagined. You could see this was a really fun business, and even better, your boss was niice.
"Alright—there. Y'got it?"
"Wait a second... don't move, Mr.Reigen!”
Click! The flash of your camera illuminated the room for an instant, Reigen's straight pose didn't even waver. You turned the camera towards him to show him the last photo you'd taken. He came right at your side, inspecting it, and smiled contentedly.
"Wow, you really have a good eye. I even look like a pro." He pointed a finger at the small screen of your camera as turning his face to look at you. You laughed. "Aren't you supposed to be a pro already, Mr. Reigen?"
“Let’s just say it’s a complement to my already acclaimed professionalism. Come on, I’ll show you how the magic happens.” He patted your shoulder as he turned away, making you stumble slightly.
You followed your new boss to his desk. He sat down in his swivel office chair, and you stood right next to him, leaning forward and resting your hands on your knees.
Reigen slid his chair to the filing cabinet beside his desk, opening the metal drawer and rummaging through its contents. “Hmm, I left this around here the other day—aha!” Suddenly, he raised a victorious fist in the air, dangling what looked like a USB cable. Moving his swivel chair, he slid back to your side.
He pressed the power button on the computer on the desk and plugged the cable into the port. Turning to face you, he waved the other end of the connector toward you. “Now.” He gently handed you the connector. "Connect it to your camera."
You took the connector and plugged it into your camera's USB port, placing it on the desk next to his computer. Watching what was happening on his screen, you saw him open the folder with the photos you had just taken with your camera with a click. He didn't waste any time starting to edit them, moving the cursor incredibly fast and precisely. He clearly knew what he was doing and made it look so natural; it was impressive.
Meanwhile, Reigen felt his pride swell, glancing sideways at your surprised expression without a shred of shame. Ironically, he knew how to work even better under scrutiny and pressure.
It never hurts to show off a little, right? Besides, if you were going to stay and work in this office, the least he could do was make himrself known as the great person he obviously were and showcase his obvious many talents. Editing photos wasn't difficult at all; he had a good eye for design, and always enjoyed doing it anyways. What mattered most in a business was its advertising, wasn't it?
This flows completely naturally with him, a few taps on the keyboard, a few text boxes here and there, the really good photo you took of him... it seemed like you'd be quite useful. If you were an intern and he didn't have to pay you— it meant he had a good camera attached to a pretty face that would take good photos that could attract more clients without having to pay extra to some hack out there who would charge him too many yen out of his own pocket.
He glanced at you quickly out of the corner of his eye; you looked even more focused than he was. A small wrinkle formed between your eyebrows as your eyes were completely glued to the screen. Heh, even your lips were slightly pursed upwards in a small pout—
What on earth was he doing? Oh yeah, right, the poster.
"There, it turned out pretty good, don't you think?" A few more clicks and he send the format to the copier. Starting up and making a few mechanical noises, it began printing a bunch of ads. He slumped back in his chair, leaning slightly backward. You opened your eyes comically too wide and turned your head so fast it almost cracked. Your look of utter surprise made him stifle a laugh.
"whaaat, Mr. Reigen, you even have your own photocopier?! that's sooo epiiic." You stood so straight that he began to feel aware of his own casual posture, straightening up, he stood up from the chair and nodded towards the working machine. "yeah cool right? stick here an maybe I can show you some cool tricks."
The laugh you let out was enough to make him release the chuckle he'd been holding back. His shoulders trembled slightly from the laughter while he had his back to you as he took the papers fresh off the copier and straightened them, tapping them against the lid. What a contagious laugh you had. He was starting to think having another employee besides Shigeo wouldn't be so bad after all.
What is Mob doing right now?
"Hey, are those shoes of yours comfortable?" He turns to look at you with a raised eyebrow and a sly smile, which makes you lower your head and look down at your feet. You shift them slightly and reply, "Uh, well, bet they are." You look back at him without raising your head and smile.
✻✻✻
Reigen hadn't realized how much time had passed until you both left the building and the midday sun shone too brightly on his corneas, making him groan a little. Meanwhile, you, next to him, opened your arms and let the sunlight bathe you as you stretched, humming to yourself.
He cleared his throat as he separated half the ream of paper in his hands, handing you the other half just as you finished stretching. You took it in both hands, feeling its weight in your palms. "Where are we going to put them up, sir?" Your voice made him look up from the flyers in his hands and into your face.
"Let's see how far we get from here." Reigen scanned the sidewalk crowded with pedestrians, searching for an empty spot to place the first poster. You, following his gaze, began to do the same, squinting and locating several posts with a few posters affixed to them. Raising your hand, you pointed at one of them.
"hmm...what do you think of that spot?" You started walking before he could answer, so he quickly followed. You stood right in front of the tall post like a police dog awaiting instructions. He rolled his eyes with amusement, reaching into the right pocket of his jacket and pulling out...
adhesive tape!
This is Reigen's secret technique: he wraps the adhesive tape around the flyer and the entire concrete post so that no one can remove it.
He tore the tape with his teeth and put the roll back in his pocket, taking a few steps back and admiring his...masterpiece.
...Yeah, damn it, that's what I'm talking about!
"This is sure to attract a lot of customers, you'll see!" Reigen spoke to you over his shoulder, his wide smile growing ever larger in his voice. When he noticed your absence, he turned around, raising an eyebrow, realizing you weren't there. Where did you go? he turned to the other side and—
"AH—WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU! Where have you been?!" You appeared out of nowhere beside him, making him jump in fright in a really comical way, and you tried not to laugh, you waved the camera that was now hanging around your neck. "ohmygodsorry I didin't meant to scare you! I went to the office to get my camera; I had forgotten it. hehe You never know when an opportunity might present!"
Your face didn't reflect any malice, just an attempt to suppress a shit-eating grin, and your eyebrows seemed to be trembling. Damn, were you mocking him?! Yeah, well, thank your lucky stars there wasn't a payment to cut off. ha-ha .ha.
Reigen brought a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, averting his gaze and standing as straight as possible. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, there are still a lot of flyers to put up, so there's no time to lose!"
𓂃 ོ☼𓂃
The sun was beginning to set and shine warmly. Was it already 3 p.m.? You'd been out for a few hours, and there were still plenty of flyers to put up. You'd already put some up at bus stops, on shop walls, and on some community bulletin boards. Where else would be available? Hmm, maybe downtown. Reigen led you through the crowd, and you followed behind. His legs were longer, which made you pick up the pace. You stopped at certain places to put up flyers and he leaned back whatever was at his side while you talked. He noticed you were a very positive and cheerful person. You made funny comments as if it were the most natural thing in the world, which made him roll his eyes and chuckle. He felt very comfortable talking to you, almost as if you'd known each other for a long time. He wondered if you were like that with everyone.
The sound of a familiar voice among the people made him look up and away from you. He squinted, scanning the place and trying to pay attention. When he heard it again, he couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Master!" A head covered in bowl-cut black hair emerged from the crowd, the right arm held close to the body raised in a salute. Reigen also raised a hand, greeting him as the boy approached you both. You turned your head to look in the direction of the voice that had just spoken. When he reached your side, Reigen placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, then turned to look at you.
"Mob, guess what?" Glancing at him sideways with a wide grin, Reigen patted him on the shoulder again. The boy swayed, looking bewildered. "We have a new coworker!" He introduced you to Shigeo, who bowed to you. You bowed back.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss... my name is Shigeo Tageyama, but uh, you can call me Mob." His tone of voice sounded almost monotonous, but the tender smile on his lips said otherwise. Reigen crouched down and whispered into his ear, a hand covering his mouth, "Oh, it's such a shame. I think I'll have to cut your salary a bit. You have to learn how to share, Mob. That's the lesson of the week alright?."
A drop of sweat appeared on Mob's cheek.
"Uh... well—"
"—DON'T DISOBEY MY ORDERS, MOB! Hurry up and help us with this!"
Reigen dropped the ream of flyers into Mob's barely open arms, who quickly caught them before they fell to the sidewalk.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
The sun was already at its zenith; by this point, you had finally finished. You had begged to keep the last flyer as a memento of your first day, and even Mob supported your request. It turned out Reigen only needed a few compliments on his extensive advertising design skills to agree. You had folded it with extreme care and tucked it into your jacket pocket.
Now you were standing in front of the river, Mob and you against the railing that separated the bridge from the cliff.
"Hmm... I spy with my little eye... a water strider!." Mob points his finger at the tinged orange, crystal-clear, sparkling water, turning his head to look at you with a slight smile.
"Seriously?! uuh Where—"
...It was the reflection of Reigen's distorted butt.
The reflection of your boss's undulating backside looked back at you on the water and you couldn't help but burst out laughing, hugging your stomach.
Reigen was leaning against the bridge railing, taking a call, while the two of you continued talking. When the call ended and he closed his phone, putting it in his front pocket, he looked up to watch you two interact.
You pointing your camera at Mob as he poses as if he's holding the setting sun in his hands.
Mob seemed to enjoy making someone laugh, his smile becoming tenderly a little more genuine.
they looked happy and seems to be having a good time.
He could get used to this.