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One day he had enough of it.
He stormed up the stairs to his apartment. His forehead was drenched with sweat mingled with raindrops from the storm raging outside. He arrived home and slammed the door behind him. There was a loud yell from one of his neighbours, but he chose to ignore it.
Instead, he discarded his clothes in his room and headed to the bathroom for a shower, but the running water didn’t help to calm him down. All he could think of were his annoying colleagues who were making his life miserable. He couldn’t stand their talks or the constant conflicts. It was clear as day as night that he didn’t fit in and that no one took him seriously.
When he returned to his bedroom, he stared at the printed letter on the table. He had discarded several copies in the dust bin several days before but left one copy intact. For some reason, he couldn’t get rid of it.
There was only one thing on his mind.
“I should leave.”
His lips trembled.
Speaking the words out loud shocked him.
He had never talked about his situation about anyone or even to himself.
When the words came out, he felt a sense of relief. A realization that he made a decision that would change his life – for the better.
He bit his lip.
Still, for a moment, he thought about his colleagues and all the memories they had shared.
No matter what had happened, it hurt to resign from his current workplace.
Naru didn’t look up from his book when someone entered his office.
After all these years of working together he could tell those footsteps belonged to Yasuhara Osamu, his long-time worker who diligently did office duties and regularly assisted Naru in researching Japanese language materials.
Usually Yasuhara would come in, put any mail, books or files on the desk and then leave without a word as to not to disturb his focus, but there were times Yasuhara required his attention.
“Boss. It’s important.”
When Yasuhara said it was important, it was most definitely important.
Unlike Mai who deemed some trivial matters to be of equal worth.
A sheet of paper was placed on his desk.
Naru turned and looked at it. Judging by the handwriting, the letter belonged to Yasuhara himself. The man in question waited for him to read, rather than spell it out, so Naru placed his book aside and began to read the letter to the best of his ability.
After a while, he looked up at Yasuhara for a confirmation. His hands were hidden behind his back.
“You’re handing in a resignation letter.”
Yasuhara nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Naru sighed, leaning back against the chair.
“When will your last day be?”
Yasuhara smiled.
“The same as yours.”
Naru observed him, then spun the office chair sideways.
“I see,” he said. “Your job search is finalized, then?”
“Yes, I’ll start in April,” Yasuhara said, “but I’d like to properly wrap up my final months at university.”
Naru nodded.
“I suppose Lin told you there isn’t much left to do in this office after December.”
“Yes, Lin-san informed me about a month ago.”
“And Mai…”
“Well, Mai is…” Yasuhara took a moment to ponder. “She is still studying hard and doing well at university.”
“I see.”
“So… I’d like Mai to take over my duties as far as research is concerned. What do you think, boss?”
“I don’t mind.”
“You don’t mind?”
“You told me she’s doing well at university, so I trust her she has the basics down by now.”
Yasuhara laughed a little.
“Haha, that’s for sure. She really improved a lot on her own and I didn’t even have to help her that much.”
Naru smiled lightly.
“I’m glad you are doing well.”
“It’s thanks to you too. Many of the practical things she’d learned here were of use at her studies.”
“I see.” Naru pulled the book off the desk again. “What are your plans after this?”
Yasuhara blinked.
“Just me?”
“You and Mai.”
Yasuhara had married Mai about a year ago, while still doing his master’s program. They had started dating sometime after Mai graduated from high school.
“Hasn’t Mai told you?”
“She probably did… But I don’t recall.”
Mai may have told Naru at some point, but he had been too immersed in planning for the next year.
“After I’m settled in my new job and Mai graduates… We would like to start a family.”
“Isn’t it a bit early?”
“Well, it’s still a plan. Within five years if possible, but it mostly depends on our finances.”
“I see.”
Mai had always been vocal about wanting to start a family of her own, though she was still undecided about whether to adopt or not.
“And how about you?”
“Well, I’d love to be a dad. Of course!”
“That’s good.”
No matter how much a mother may have wanted children, there was nothing good about having a father who disliked being a father. So, hearing it from Yasuhara himself put Naru at ease.
He opened the book to continue where he left off, but Yasuhara remained unmoving at his spot.
Naru glanced to the side.
Curiously, Yasuhara’s hands were still hidden behind his back.
Naru sighed.
“Is there anything else…?”
“Well, there’s something I really want to do, but I know you won’t give it to me easily…”
Yasuhara leaned in, revealed his right hand, and placed a chess piece in front of Naru.
A black King.
“So… I’d like to challenge you to a game!”
Ayako folded her arms over her chest.
“I never thought you’d invite us to a year-end party after all this time.”
There was a smug grin on her face and Naru looked at it with disdain.
Things had never changed between him and Ayako.
“Well, our boss is not fond of sentimentality. Rather than a sad event, I thought it would be better to turn it into something more uplifting.”
Naru sighed at those words.
Yasuhara’s last request was to hold a farewell party, but Naru hated going to events that would just result into tears. When he declined to hold any, Yasuhara persisted by suggesting a forget-the-year party as was custom among co-workers and friends in Japan. However, Naru and Lin never saw the need for such a gathering, so he would thwart off any attempt at being involved in such an event. Eventually the others gave up… until this year, because Yasuhara had finally managed to defeat him at chess.
“Ohohoho, so you were the one who finally managed to convince him?” Ayako said. “Well done, Yasuhara-kun.”
“Uplifting?” The monk interrupted. “This is just a drinking party, right?”
“Yes, we can drink,” Yasuhara said, “Drink away the woes and troubles of the past!”
Mai cringed at her husband.
“This sounds like an excuse for a drinking contest…”
“Mai.”
“Yes?”
Mai stared at Naru who stood in the doorway. All the others had entered the room already.
Naru had reserved a private room in the restaurant that was just big enough for the entirety of SPR and its associates to fit in.
“I won’t be around this time when he gets dead drunk,” he said, glancing at Yasuhara.
“Ugh… Yeah, I know.”
Mai sighed.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Yasuhara got drunk enough that Mai required the assistance of another person to drag the body back to their apartment.
“Oh, I’ll help her!”
John looked up at them with a smile.
“I knew I could count on you!” Mai said. “But will you really be alright?”
“Don’t worry, Mai,” he said.
Naru smirked at them.
“Trust me. John will be fine.”
Mai frowned.
“Really… I never notice.”
“That’s because you’re even worse than Yasuhara when it comes to drinking.”
“Hey! He’s the one who goes overboard each time. I know when to stop.”
“I guess you forgot about that one time.”
Before she could react, Naru turned and headed to the table where Lin, Takigawa and Madoka were seated.
“That one time? What do you mean?”
Naru ignored her and let John answer her questions.
When he sat down next to Lin, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Naru-bou… Is there anything I can do for you after this?”
The monk looked at him with a serious gaze. A few seats away he could see Masako’s glance. Naru frowned. He couldn’t blame them for the curiosity about his future activities. He would answer them, but there nothing was set in stone.
“Nothing much,” he said. “Drink anything you like.”
Takigawa blinked.
“Anything?”
“Yes.”
He could see Masako visibly groan.
And so, the monk began to drink.
Predictably, a drinking competition ensued not even a half hour later.
"You've got to drink Boss. You've got the most to forget this year!"
That was how he found himself ordering a medium-sized jug of beer.
The crowd became more rowdy than usual as more drinks were consumed.
Naru found the whole happening utterly boring. He didn’t care for alcoholic drinks, but he didn’t hate the taste of alcohol either. There was quite a variety of drinks he enjoyed, ranging from beers, cocktails, and several hard liquors such as whiskey. The only ones he didn’t like were wines and the fruitier drinks. Other than that, he found the whole culture surrounding alcohol distasteful.
He remembered the first time he had a beer in Japan. Shortly after he had turned twenty, the others dragged him to a bar (That wasn’t his first time drinking alcohol. Martin poured him a glass of wine when he went home to England about a year earlier.) Lin had chaperoned him at that time, but he had turned utterly useless after a few drinks. Of course, the whole happening was repeated a year later, with Mai as the next victim. She turned out to be a light weight as well.
Naru turned to look at the man beside him. Lin barely had a sip, but his face was already turning bright red.
On the other side he found Madoka and the monk side-by-side. Both were surprisingly good at holding their drinks, but… they were sitting a little too close to each other. He didn’t want to know what was happening over there.
Naru sighed.
He wondered what his parents would think if they knew he was hanging out at a restaurant, drinking with his colleagues. Since Madoka was already here, Naru figured they already knew. His parents were naturally curious about what he was up to, especially regarding socializing with people. It was neither his strongest point, nor was he interested. So, his parents (or rather, Luella) would pester him about it occasionally.
Ayako, Taka and Chiaki got out of their seats. They were tipsy and giggly.
“Bathroom! Bathroom!” Ayako yelled.
“Hey grumpy face. Why you starin’ at us?” Taka laughed into his face.
Naru looked away and groaned.
Please, just leave me alone.
Hirota hung over his glass. His right elbow was on the table while his fingers supported his forehead.
A deep sigh left his lips.
“Hirota-kun! Are you listening?”
He didn’t respond.
And soon, there was a slap on his back – that was Saki – and his position nearly crumbled.
“Hirota-kun!”
“Stop that,” he muttered.
“Stop what?” Kurahashi said.
Hirota looked up from his glass and grimaced.
He didn’t want to make it more awkward between him and the boss.
“I meant, don’t do that. Saki’.”
“Awww. What’s wrong, Hirota-kun? Already hung over?”
He shook his head. It wasn’t the alcohol.
Over the years he learned to put up with it. But now, he was tired of it.
The table in the private room was occupied by Zero Unit.
His colleagues had been discussing the latest gossips circulating the other departments. All of it was very juicy, according to Saki, but Hirota couldn’t bother to care.
The Zero Unit had grown over the years, but only slightly.
A few fresh recruits had joined and each of them were quite as deplorable as Hirota. None of them had passed the bar examination on first try, so it truly hammered down the fact that their department – their work wasn’t being taken seriously. And that never really changed even up until now. One of the latest additions, a girl, was playing a game on their phone at the far end of the room, while a young man began to engage their boss Kurahashi in a silly karaoke competition.
And Saki was… Hirota looked up from the table. She wasn’t beside him anymore.
The karaoke music started to blare from the speakers.
“I knew it!” A voice shouted. “My ears didn’t fail me. It was them!”
Hirota frowned at Saki’s loud entrance in the room.
“Them?”
“Shibuya’s lot! They’re also here.”
“Who?” Miyuna looked up from her phone.
“That annoying brat,” Saki said.
Hirota could see her eyes flaring up.
“Oh right. Miyuna doesn’t know them, right?” Reiji said. “The one who said Nakai-san had highway hypnosis.”
“I didn’t have highway hypnosis!”
Miyuna frowned.
“What’s highway hypnosis?”
Her question launched an entire tirade by Saki which resulted in an entire rant about how annoying Shibuya and the ‘ghost hunters’ were, as well as a whole debate with Reiji about whether she did or did not have highway hypnosis. Reiji was about as insufferable as Saki when it came to arguing their points, and even more so because he was purely doing it out of fun. In other words, he was a troll. On the other hand, their latest recruit seemed to have lost interest and went back to gaming on her phone.
Hirota had given up on his colleagues a long time ago.
He drank the remainder of his glass.
“Hirota-san. Aren’t you drinking too much?”
Honestly, he had lost count as Reiji, Saki and Kurahashi continued their competition.
“I’m fi-fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
Hirota bit his lips. Even the gamer girl had taken pity on him.
“Oh my god. He’s wasted.”
Saki looked down at him.
“What the fuck,” A red-faced Reiji said. “He’s crying. Should we call his mom?”
Shut up you idiot, Hirota had wanted to say, you look none the better.
But none of it left his mouth.
Saki sighed.
“Come on, hopeless bonehead. You are in need of some fresh air.”
She dragged him out of the room.
Even if Hirota wanted to resist, he couldn’t, because his limbs felt so weak.
“Hirota-kun. I’m gonna call a taxi for you tonight.”
Hirota widened his eyes suddenly.
“No, not yet.”
“What do you mean by that?”
She turned to look at him. That was when he finally noticed a glass of beer, half-filled, in her hand.
Hirota pointed at the glass. “Why are you taking this with you?”
“Huh? Ah, you’re right!”
For whatever reason Saki made a turn, then slipped and bumped into a passer-by with a red pouch.
“Hey. Watch it!” A shrill voice said.
The contents of the glass spilled all over the other woman.
“Um, hi. Hirota-san. How are you?”
Hirota looked to the side to see a familiar girl. Her cheeks were red. She waved a hand up and down with a sheepish smile.
“Taniyama-san?”
He had been waiting for Saki outside in the hall.
“I heard from Taka-san that Ayako ran into you,” Mai said, “And Saki-san.”
He sighed. Saki had spilled beer over the woman’s purse and heels. She had been lucky it wasn’t Ayako’s dress.
“You came to fetch Matsuzaki-san?”
“No, I just wanted to take a walk down the corridor.”
A high-pitched laughter came from the direction of the bathroom.
Ayako and Saki walked out, arm in arm, talking and laughing about something. Hirota made a face. That combination was a terrible sight.
“Oi! You’re still here?” Saki said when she saw her colleague. “What happened to getting some fresh air?”
“You were the one who suggested it.” Hirota said. “And why are you so chummy with…”
“I’m going to ditch our party for Ayako-san.”
Mai puffed her red cheeks and stepped over to the women.
“Ayako~! Don’t you dare leave us this early.”
Ayako shrugged.
“I’ll go have a chat with this lady and then go to a fancier bar.”
“No, you’re not. It’s a farewell party!” Mai pulled at Ayako’s sleeve. “At least stay here until it’s done.”
“Whose farewell party?” Hirota asked.
Ayako let out a deep sigh.
“Yasuhara-san and Shibuya-san.”
“That Shibuya is leaving?”
Saki put a hand against her gaping mouth.
“Yes!” Ayako waved her purse. “The thorn is finally out of my eye! Off to England with that brat!”
The duo walked off, laughing out loud in celebration, leaving Hirota and Mai in the corridor.
“So… Yasuhara-san is leaving too?”
Mai smiled.
“Well, he’s about to graduate after all.”
It turned out that Yasuhara had been accepted for a starter position at a well-known law firm in Tokyo. Hirota was impressed. The young man had a bright future ahead of him.
He should be happy for him, but something about it made his stomach turn a little.
“That’s amazing,” he said, expressing a weak smile, “No wonder he’s leaving.”
“Well, SPR will be on low activity after this year. It will just be me, Lin-san and Madoka-san.”
“Madoka-san is taking over?”
“For the time being,” Mai said, “Naru will spend at least a few years in the UK at the university in his hometown.”
“I see…” Hirota said. “How about you, Taniyama-san?”
“Well, life is going as usual. University is pretty tough but fun.”
“What were you studying again?”
“Social psychology.”
“And that is…”
“Well, basically I study how individual and group behaviour is influenced by the social environment.”
It rolled off her tongue so easily, but Hirota wasn’t sure if he understood that.
“…It sounds like everything’s going well for you and your husband.”
“Yeah… I guess so!”
“You’re really lucky.”
Mai tilted her head.
“And Hirota-san?”
He shut his mouth tightly.
What should he say?
“Well, I’m not that… lucky.”
“Eh?”
Hirota turned his head from her and waved a hand.
“Never mind.”
He didn’t want to talk to Mai about his troubles.
“You mean in the love department…?”
He sighed.
“That hasn’t been going well for years.”
"What are you talking about? Someone like Hirota should easily find a marriage partner.”
“You’re entirely mistaken!”
“What about Saki?"
His jaw dropped.
"Definitely not her. Impossible."
Hirota unintentionally looked at Saki in the distance. She was still locking arms with Ayako.
Mai continued.
“Ehhhh?!” She paused. “...So, it's someone else?"
"What are you talking about? I'm not-"
She leaned forward.
"No, NO. Listen to me. You should elope!"
"Elope?!"
Mai puffed her rosy cheeks.
"Yes, elope! Like in the movies!"
"Why should I..."
She started slapping his shoulder.
"Marry the one you love, Hirota-san! You'll be so much happier."
Hirota snorted.
"You’re drunk, aren’t you!"
Mai huffed.
“Take a look in the mirror yourself, Hirota-san.”
He groaned. There was no need for him to do that when he perfectly knew his face flushed red after a couple of drinks.
Hirota didn’t want to blow his fuse at her, so he wisely took the initiative of leaving the scene.
“Well then, I’ll take some fresh air. Taniyama-san.”
Without waiting for an answer, he staggered off, leaving the girl in the corridor.
A deep frown settled on Hirota’s face, when he found a familiar young man standing outside with a book in hand.
“Shibuya-kun…”
The young man moved his gaze, observing Hirota for a moment, then returned his attention to his book.
“Are you going to ignore me?”
Naru let out a deep sigh.
“What business do you have with me?”
“…None,” he said, “Except you don’t seem at ease with your current situation.”
He snapped his book shut.
“What is it to you?”
Hirota smirked.
“So, you admit it, then?”
Naru let out another sigh.
“I don’t see any cause for you to interrogate me while clearly being drunk,” he said, then pointed a finger to the other side of the street, “I suggest you bark up the lamppost over there instead.”
“You really don’t want to talk to me, huh.”
“I’m not one for small talks.”
“Then, can you at least tell me why you are leaving Japan. You don’t like it here?”
Naru paused for a moment, then lowered the book in his hand.
“I decline to state my private reasons, but academics is taking me back to the UK.”
“Really?”
His eyes narrowed at Hirota.
“Hirota-san… You seem to be projecting your situation onto mine.”
“I’m not!”
“On top of being sleep-deprived, you’re drunk, and now you are looking for other people who are as miserable as you are.”
Hirota froze into place, biting his lip.
The young man was right. Hirota was miserable. To the point that he wanted to get up and leave the life he had been living up until now. Deep inside he hated how Mai and Yasuhara had everything going for them. From having great job prospects to having a married life.
“Maybe… I am, miserable.”
Naru merely watched him. He didn’t say anything to that statement, so Hirota took to looking down at the pavement. It was drab with wet snow.
“And I don’t see any light ahead.” Hirota breathed out, putting a hand on his chest. His fingers scratched the breast pocket nervously. “But why would anyone be interested in my troubles? And why should you be interested?”
“I’m not,” Naru said, “but go on if you like.”
Hirota had no idea if the young man cared at all, but having at least one ear hearing him out, would take the burden out for one night.
All the small irritations, every big trouble he had encountered over the past year, summarized in a five-minute monologue, Hirota spilled out to Naru. Everything about his department: the latest incident with his boss Kurahashi, the meddling Saki and his annoying younger colleagues. He wondered what Naru thought about him as he continued to speak, obviously like an idiot as he did from the moment they met. But Hirota no longer cared about appearances. That brat would leave anyway.
As the words left his mouth, one by one, he started to feel better.
He looked up at Naru, expecting him to be reading his book, but he found the young man watching with a slight look of surprise.
“So stubborn…”
“What?”
Naru frowned at him.
“Even after all of that trouble, and no changes in your situation, you’re still there?”
“It’s not that easy to leave!”
“I will.” Naru moved his gaze to the door of the restaurant. “And Yasuhara-san will too. So why can’t you? Why don’t you move on?”
“That’s because both of you got great things going for you, unlike—”
A voice interrupted them.
“Do you think it is easy for me to leave, Hirota-san?”
Hirota turned to find Yasuhara standing there. He couldn’t really read the expression on his face, whether there was any bad intention behind it.
“You’ve been listening?”
“About a minute.” Yasuhara looked at Naru. “Just to make sure if Shibuya-san needs a hand.”
The young boss shrugged.
“I do.”
Naru moved past Hirota while prodding a finger at the officer’s left pocket.
“Yasuhara-san. This ghost doesn’t seem capable of moving on. I leave this up to you.”
Hirota twitched his eyebrow.
“You!!”
Naru ignored him and left through the entrance.
Yasuhara coughed lightly.
“Well, this is a first,” he said. “Never been put in charge of exorcism before.”
Hirota rolled his eyes. “I wish he’d stop mocking me.”
Yasuhara looked at him with a serious expression.
“Rather than mocking you, I think he admitted that he’s not quite sure how to express what he wants to say.”
Hirota frowned.
“Really?”
“It’s scary for all of us. To leave behind what’s familiar, and move to other places, not knowing what it’s like or whether it will be better for any of us. Honestly, I’m scared too,” Yasuhara said, “My new job might sound great on paper, but the reality of the workplace might not. Surely you understand.”
That made… sense. If anything it was the reality Hirota had lived.
He nodded, so Yasuhara continued.
“Hirota-san, it sounds like you’re waiting for your situation to get better.”
“…I suppose I am.”
“But is it getting better?”
“No.”
“That’s your answer right there.”
Hirota watched Yasuhara, but then the door behind him opened.
Naru had returned.
“I called a taxi,” he announced to the other men.
“You’re leaving already?” Hirota said. “Isn’t it your farewell party?”
Naru shrugged.
“It’s Yasuhara-san’s farewell party. I can leave whenever I want.” The young boss looked down at his watch. “The taxi will arrive in ten minutes. If you want to save car fare, you’d better make it quick.”
Then he pointed at Hirota’s breast. A crumbled beige envelope was half-sticking out of the pocket. Hirota had completely forgotten it was there.
“That’s your resignation letter, isn’t it?”
Yasuhara wasn’t sure whether it was okay to let Hirota return to the room in that drunken state. Somehow, he felt responsible for whatever was going to happen next. Judging by the serious expression on his face, Hirota seemed determined to put his desire into action.
Hirota stepped back into the noisy room, which was filled with smoke and the smell of beer and sweat, while Yasuhara waited just outside the door. He peeked in and saw some familiar faces. Two women, Saki and Ayako, were sitting by a small table drinking wine and smoking cigarettes. Somehow, they had hit it off really well. They were also the first to notice Hirota’s return.
“Oh, you’re back. What did you talk about with Shibuya?” Saki slurred. “I saw you outside with that brat.”
Hirota muttered something, inaudible to Yasuhara’s ears.
Ayako’s ears perked up at the mention of Naru and sharply stared at Hirota. It seemed her eyes had found the envelope in his hand. Saki saw it too.
“What’s that? Don’t give a lady a crumpled letter like that.”
Hirota moved his hand away.
“It’s not for you, Saki.”
Saki got up.
“Don’t tell me that’s…”
Hirota shrugged.
“I’ve had enough.”
He turned and slapped the letter on Kurahashi’s table.
His superior blinked and looked half-dazed at the envelope. It took a few seconds to sink in what was written on it. “…You’re resigning?" He opened the envelope and began to read it.
Saki pulled at Hirota’s shirt.
“This is so sudden. You can’t just get up and leave like that.”
Hirota looked down at her with a small smirk.
“I can.”
"But it sounded like you were taking real interest in what we were doing."
He sighed.
“It wasn't something I wanted in the first place."
Saki observed him for a short moment.
"Then what will you do? Do you have another job lined up?"
"I don’t know... I intend to restart my life elsewhere."
"What... Where will you go?"
Hirota shook his head. "I can't tell you."
"...Why not? In another city?"
Hirota remained silent.
"Don’t tell me you’re going abroad like that brat."
He sighed loudly. No way he would.
"It’s not that. I'm sorry, I just..."
Saki pressed her lips together, then sighed.
"You're not telling me? I don't understand. If you are going to leave, then let’s at least keep contact," she said, looking up at her colleague intently, but he didn’t say a word. “I thought you and I were starting to get along.”
Hirota closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head.
“It's not about that. I just need… a clean slate.”
Saki blinked.
"A clean slate? Why?” She threw up her hands. “I thought we had something! Camaraderie, or even friendship!"
Hirota pulled a chair and sat down.
"I just told you it’s not that. I’m just so tired of everything. Don't you understand it's really hard for me to do this! Even if I want to stay, I would never be happy."
She put her hands on her hips.
"I didn’t know. I would have supported you.”
"You never noticed!"
Saki frowned. "You could have told us! We can still work things out.”
"I didn't want to! And it’s not just you, it’s—" He vaguely gestured at the other occupants in the room.
Saki huffed, gazing around the room. The others hardly paid any attention to their conversation. Kurahashi was fanning his red face with the letter in his hand. The younger colleagues were either focused on the television in the corner or playing a game on their phone.
The only one who bothered to listen was Ayako of all people. Her eyes were glistening. Yasuhara wryly smiled. The miko seemed intent to relay the juicy happenings in this room to the others.
Saki sat down too, having also realized what her colleague meant.
"Alright... then what do you want to do after this?”
"As I said, I don't know,” he said, looking down at the floor, “I still need to figure it out."
"Well, you should have done this a long, long time ago," Saki said, “Here I was, thinking you were putting up just fine.”
"I wasn’t.”
She sighed loudly.
"You blockhead, then just go."
Hirota looked up at her.
"Saki..."
She put a foot down.
"Just go! Leave this room. If you're not happy with this, then do whatever you like better. I hate to see you miserable."
Hirota rose from his seat.
"I'm sorry... and thank you for everything, Saki."
Saki huffed again and turned her face away. She was pouting and on the verge of tears.
He walked over to his superior who drunkenly observed him.
"You're finally leaving," Kurahashi said. “You did well as part of this unit, but Nakai is right. Don’t be too stubborn.”
Hirota bowed deeply for a moment, then straightened up. He walked over to the exit and took one last look at the entire room. Everyone was looking at him. Even Miyuna and Reiji, who blinked at him in their surprise at the sudden farewell. He bowed deeply again for a long time. Then he slid the door shut.
Yasuhara clapped lightly.
“It’s nothing,” Hirota said, narrowing his eyes at the other man. “Is Shibuya-kun still there?”
“The taxi has arrived, but Shibuya-san is still waiting.”
Hirota nodded.
“Then I’ll leave,” he said, “and thank you for everything, Yasuhara-san. Good luck with your new job.”
“Same to you. Off you go.”
Yasuhara watched the man leave through the staircase.
“Well, I hope he’ll be fine…”
“Osamu!”
He turned to find Mai running into his direction.
“Where did Naru go?”
“I’m sorry, he’s about to leave…”
Mai blinked.
“Huh?”
He looked out the window, and Mai did too. They were just in time to see Naru stepping into the taxi.
“He’s leaving just like that?”
“Shibuya…” Yasuhara said, “I mean, Naru hates saying goodbye, so he wanted to do it like this.”
Mai pouted.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I promised him I would at least give him this…”
“Typical.”
They stared at the taxi for a moment.
"Well, now that he’s leaving. Do you want to stick around or shall we go—"
“Wait! Isn’t that Hirota?”
She pointed at the man who was sprinting to the taxi.
Yasuhara nodded.
“Yes, Naru offered to share the same taxi…”
For some reason Mai became impatient.
"He’s eloping!" She yelled out.
Yasuhara widened his eyes. The hallway started murmuring.
"Eloping? Who's eloping?!"
Mai didn’t answer.
"Open the windows!"
Hirota was still wobbling to the taxi when Naru opened the door of the backseat and stepped in. He was about to get in the car, but a shrill voice from above attracted their attention.
Naru and Hirota looked up at the windows of the restaurant.
"Hirota-kun! I had no idea!"
Saki waved her arms out of the window. Mai stood next to her with a big smile on her rose-coloured face.
"You should have told me!"
Hirota frowned at his ex-colleague.
"What are you going on about?"
"Why didn’t you tell me you’re getting married!"
"Married?!”
Saki pointed at the girl next to her.
"I don't know, but she told me you're eloping.”
He glared at Mai.
“Taniyama-san...! You’re giving everyone the wrong idea!”
Mai shrugged.
Naru looked at Hirota with an air of impatience.
“Are you getting in or not?”
“I’m getting in!”
Saki shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Hirota-kun! Call me, okay?"
He smirked.
“Don’t count on it.”
Saki booed loudly, but he ignored her and stepped into the car.
He pulled the door of the backseat, then looked at his fellow passenger.
“Let’s go.”
Naru nodded and gave directions to the taxi driver.
They sat in silence for a while before Naru gave into his curiosity.
"Who are you eloping with?"
Hirota sank back into the seat.
"I haven't the faintest clue."