"Togawa-san, you're here."
Tuesday, April 28th, 4:03 PM.
Tsuzuki Chihiro sat at her workstation in the Wakuraku Delivery Company customer service department. She paused her call queue, took off her headset, and greeted Togawa Sakiko, who had just arrived in a white blouse and a gray plaid skirt.
But instead of replying with a greeting, Sakiko simply smiled and asked an unrelated question:
"What year were you born, Tsuzuki?"
"Huh?" Chihiro was caught off guard but didn't hide it. "May 20th, 2004. Why?"
"Oh, then you're older than me. My birthday's in February, but I was born in 2005." Sakiko nodded, then smiled. "That means you're my senpai, Chihiro-neesan. Just call me Sakiko from now on. Since we'll be working together a lot, we should look after each other."
Sakiko thought she was just making an effort to get along with her coworker.
As for why Chihiro was the only one she was bothering with when the rest of the office didn't matter?
Simple.
They were the only two around the same age. And since Chihiro seemed to have gone through experiences similar to hers, Sakiko figured she wouldn't be exhausting to interact with.
"Alright, I'll call you Sakiko then. But… does your school really let out this late?"
"...I got held up by some things."
First, she had run into an unfamiliar face while playing the piano in the wind ensemble club and exchanged a few words.
Then, after satisfying her urge to play, she had gone home to change before work—only to bump into Mutsumi at the school gates.
That back-and-forth had delayed her quite a bit.
Haneoka's club activities usually started at 3:20 PM, and by the time she reached work, almost an hour had passed.
But Chihiro didn't press her for details, which made Sakiko feel relieved.
She wasn't in the mood for small talk at work anyway.
Taking customer service calls wasn't just about picking up the phone—she also had to handle inputting details into the system during or after each call.
But since she had already walked Chihiro through the process yesterday, whenever she glanced over, all she saw was Chihiro skillfully handling her calls with a smile, as if she had been doing this job for ages.
She seems… really competent. And mature, too.
"Hello, yes… Alright, we'll have a truck over by 10 AM tomorrow. Please have your items ready for pickup."
Sakiko hung up her final call and checked the time—it was 6:10 PM.
According to the company's bizarre overtime rules, she would have to stay past 7 PM to reach the next pay tier.
That felt a little too late, so she moved her mouse and clicked clock out.
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah, it's getting late."
"Alright, I'm about done too. Let's head out together."
Chihiro took off her headset, not even bothering to check her work hours before hitting the clock out button as well.
At the end of April, the sun set over Tokyo at around 6:30 PM.
By the time they walked out of the building, golden rays of sunlight painted their faces.
Before long, the city would be swallowed by night.
"…Wanna grab dinner? My treat."
Sakiko suggested it casually. Maybe because it felt a bit awkward to just walk to the station in silence.
Or maybe… she just didn't want to go home.
She had long since stopped concerning herself with adult matters, but her father's downward spiral was too much to ignore.
There were so many things she wanted to say, but she had no one to say them to—neither outside nor at home.
She glanced at Chihiro, only to find her looking back at her with… excitement?
"Sakiko, you're such a saint!"
"…Sakiko?" Sakiko blinked at the nickname but didn't correct it. "It's just dinner. No big deal.
"But don't get your hopes up—I can't afford anything fancy."
"As long as there's food, I'm good. I'm not picky."
Sure, she could always get free meals back at her hotel—and those were definitely fancier than whatever Sakiko had in mind.
But that wasn't the point.
One was obtained through dubious means.
The other was something that Sakiko was genuinely offering.
It wasn't until they arrived at the restaurant that Chihiro finally understood what Sakiko meant by can't afford anything fancy.
"…Disappointed?"
Sakiko must've lost her mind.
Even though none of her classmates would ever come to a place like this, this was still her first time treating someone to a meal at such a cheap spot.
Especially when she had just been at Hazawa Coffee earlier, acting all refined while picking up the tab.
Maybe she had been too stingy about that coffee bill, and now she was shamelessly making up for it by dragging her new friend to a tiny, obscure ramen shop with barely any meat in its bowls.
"Sakiko, your outfit… It's not cheap, is it?"
Sipping her broth, Chihiro casually asked, "From the way you talk and carry yourself, you don't really seem like someone who'd be working a part-time job like me."
"…Can I not answer that?"
"I told you about myself."
"…A normal person would say, 'If you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry.'"
Sakiko sighed, looking at Chihiro with a mixture of exasperation and amusement.
But after thinking it over, she realized that if what Chihiro had said yesterday was true…
Then compared to that, her own circumstances seemed insignificant.
Still, they had only known each other for a day.
Even though she felt an urge to get some things off her chest, she hesitated.
She wanted to leave herself an escape route.
"…For various reasons, I'm short on money right now."
"So that means you weren't before?"
"Mhm."
Sakiko nodded without denying it.
"There was a time when I never would've imagined myself eating a simple dinner at a place like this."
"I picked customer service because I didn't want my old classmates to see me like this."
"It's stupid, isn't it?"
"The past is already gone. Even if I let go of my pride, maybe no one would actually judge me… But I just can't bring myself to do it."
"…Who are you calling stupid?"
"Huh?"
Sakiko blinked, only then realizing what Chihiro was getting at.
And for some reason, that realization made her feel… lighter.
Maybe having someone just as pathetic as her made it all seem a little less ridiculous.
"Well, at least I don't have to worry anymore. Good thing you're not some rich girl trying to 'experience the commoner life.' Otherwise, I'd be the one breaking down here."
"…Huh?"
"You've never heard this before?" Chihiro twirled her chopsticks in the air.
"You don't want your friends to struggle, but you don't want them driving a Land Rover either."
"Same goes for girls."
"Now that I know you're broke, I feel way more at ease."
She smirked.
"Thanks, Sakiko. Now I have the courage to be your friend."
"…In that case, broke-ass Sakiko has decided not to cover your meal. Pay for yourself."
"Wait, no! Sakiko, please~"
---
T/N: hehe broke-ass