Chapter Text
Kenjiro rubbed his face, cursing under his breath. His whole day had been horrific. He barely got any sleep because of his damned insomnia, he didn't have any breakfast and even his car broke down. He came to work just in time for that stupid meeting, just to make a fool out of himself. It was all too much for him.
Now he's in the janitor's closet feeling bad for himself. He’s leaning against the wall while quietly fidgeting with the end of his tie. “I'm such an idiot” Kenjiro muttered out loud. He was now pacing around the small room, his eyes fixed on his hands, which were still fidgeting.
He looked up when he heard the door creak open, his mind raced. Great, now they're going to think I'm weird for hiding here! But to his surprise, it wasn't anyone from the meeting. Though that didn't make it any better.
“Oh, excuse me!” a bubbly voice filled the room, A short chubby woman stood in the doorway. Kenjiro avoided eye contact with her. She awkwardly shuffled into the room. "Sorry, I just need to grab something.” she explained, throwing Kenjiro an apologetic look. Not that Kenjiro saw it, his eyes were fixed on the ground. He felt his cheeks burn, this was so awkward.
If it couldn't get any worse, a gust of wind closed the door. “Oops, someone must have left the entrance door open!” the brunette joked, she had grabbed a cleaning cloth from one of the shelves. She grabbed the door handle and tugged on it, to no avail. She tried a few more times. “Let me try.” Kenjiro sighed, already grabbing the doorhandle. He pulled, not even an inch of movement. He took a step back from the door, before curling his hands up in fists and banging against the door. “Someone open the door!” he yelled, but there was no response.
"Shit.” Kenjiro whispered to himself. The woman let out a nervous laugh, “Guess we're both stuck in here...”
Kenjiro rubbed his temples, all the misfortunes that happened to him today came flooding back. But this was just the icing on the cake. Kenjiro bit down on his hand, trying to calm himself down. But it didn't help. His breath came out in short bursts, and he suddenly felt very lightheaded. The enclosed space suddenly felt ten times tinier, his fingers instinctively tangled in his hair, grabbing his curly locks and tugging on it harshly. Like that might keep him grounded.
The feeling of a hand on his shoulder jolted Kenjiro out of his racing thoughts. He looked up at the woman, who quickly removed her hand. She averted her eyes, before carefully looking back at him. “Hey, try to focus on your breathing." she insisted, her tone gentle. He tried to focus on his breathing, just as the woman told him too. “Breathe in... breathe out...” He followed her pace. After a while of just trying to focus on his breathing, he felt a bit better. The woman interrupted the moment of silence, “Better?” She asked with genuine care in her voice. Kenjiro nodded sheepishly. “What happened?”
Kenjiro didn't expect the sudden question thrown his way, but he still decided to answer. Even if the question was a little too quick after the panic he just felt, “It's just-” He started his voice still a little rough. Am I seriously going to open up to someone I just met? He swallowed the nerves away “It's just that this whole day has been so fucked!” he seethed. The woman nodded while listening to him complain about his day. “And now this!? It's like the universe hates me.” Kenjiro grumbled.
“That sounds...difficult” the woman said after Kenjiro was done with talking. “Maybe... maybe we should just make the best of it for now. Maybe play a game to pass the time?” she thought out loud, offering Kenjiro a soft smile. “Yeah...yeah, I'd like that.”
And so, they both sat on the ground next to each other, they decided on 36 questions. “What would your perfect day be?” questioned the woman, she sat on the floor with her legs crossed.
Kenjiro sat with his back against the wall, his arms resting over his knees. He hummed while thinking of an answer. “Honestly? Just sleeping the whole day would be perfect...” Kenjiro answered. The woman let out a surprised laugh “Really?” she Jested.
Kenjiro chose to ignore her remark. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, before a question came to mind. “What’s your name? I don't think you've told me.” He asked the woman next to him. “Oh! I totally forgot to tell you.” she acknowledged. “My name is Lisa” Lisa said while reaching her hand out to Kenjiro, expecting him to shake it. Kenjiro stared at the reached-out hand for a moment, before finally shaking it. “Lisa huh...Nice to meet you, Lisa” She smiled at him cheerfully, He could feel his face get a bit hotter than before “And what's your name?” Lisa interrupted his thoughts with her bubbly voice. “Oh uh, I'm Kenjiro.” he quickly answered, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Wait, what descent do you have?” Lisa questioned upon hearing Kenjiros name “And can I call you Kenji for short~” She teasingly added, resting her chin on her hand while looking at Kenjiro.
Kenjiro felt his face get hot at the last question, he waved her off with one hand. “I thought it was my turn to ask a question.” He reminded Lisa “Oh, sorry” She apologized, but her grin didn't leave her face. “Are you always like this?” Kenjiro muttered jokingly. “Uhh...Is there anything you've dreamed of doing?” He asked.
“I haven't really thought about that...” She giggled; the laugh did sound a little forced. “Mph... Well, I've always wanted to write a book...” she replied thoughtfully. Kenjiro leaned forward a bit, holding his hands together. “Well, can I now know what your descent is?” She queried.
“Oh yeah, I'm half Indonesian and half German.” Kenjiro rubbed the back of his neck.
“Indonesian?” Lisa tilted her head while looking at Kenjiro from head to toe. “Yeah, I can see it”
The questions kept coming after that, 15 questions they've asked each other in total.
Kenjiro was sitting less tense, his shoulders were no longer hunched up to his ears. He felt...peaceful for once. Unexpectedly so.
The door suddenly swung open, making both Kenjiro and Lisa yelp from surprise.
A tall man in a maintenance uniform froze in the doorway, staring at the two employees sitting on the floor of the janitor's closet. “Why are you two in here...?” he asked slowly, his gaze shifting from Kenjiro, to Lisa, and back again.
Kenjiro blinked, “The door was locked, we tried our best to pull it open...” He explained, unable to look the man in the eye.
“...It's a push door.” the man said, while pressing his palm against the door. Causing it to open wider. Kenjiro could feel his whole face heat up, While Lisa on the other hand burst out laughing. Covering her mouth while her shoulders shook from laughter. “You're kidding me!” She gasped between laughs.
The man shook his head, walking away while muttering something about ‘office weirdo's’