Ten o’clock in the morning at the employee lounge, Eiji sat impatiently for the rookie, Minami Sakuraba, to arrive. His feet was monotonously tapping on the floor while his eyes were set on the wall clock right at his front. His impatience was caused by the uneasiness he felt ever since the name Nobuaki crossed his mind. In the end, the only way to check was for him to meet the person.
A few minutes had passed and a small guy finally appeared before him, running with all his might while he carried an oversized sling bag which obviously didn’t suit him.
”I’m sorry Takahashi-san. The meeting took longer than expected. The scriptwriters just finished finalizing the script samples and I had to make several copies and so…”, Minami replied in panic even while he was panting so hard and sweating.
”Calm down. Breathe in…out… That’s it.”, Eiji asked the recruit to take a rest first. He always seemed to be in such a hurry and afraid of making mistakes. He looked just like a cute little kitten to Eiji.
”I’m sorry Takahashi-san. I thought you were mad so I tried to explain myself.”, Minami replied.
”Mad? Why would I be mad. It’s not like you came late on purpose.”, Eiji replied and ruffled the young man’s head.
”Because Takahashi-san, the people in my department said that if I make the R&D department mad, I’d be bullied and be made into a slave. So…”, Minami explained.
Eiji couldn’t believe what he just heard. He simply sighed at the foolishness the young rookie believed in. It was obvious that Sakuraba was being teased but who would actually believe in them. Plus, just what kind of rumors were the Advertising department spreading?
”Silly. You don’t have to believe them. Let’s go meet the filming crew.”, Eiji led the young employee to the meetup site. Even while it was outside rush hours, the trains were packed with commuters. Eiji felt like he would turn into mashed potato any moment soon. After a few stops, he rode a taxi to the meetup site which was a big abandoned warehouse.
Thankfully, they didn’t come late. They were supposed to meet at eleven and they came a few minutes late. However, arriving at the place, the only people there were some crew doing pre-shooting preparations. They said that the filming crew just finished shooting from another location and was on the way.
”Takahashi-san, I have a phone call from the office. I’ll be right back.”, Minami excused himself while he took a call. With nothing else to do, Eiji roamed around the warehouse, looking at the people who were working with the set. He was amazed how people worked in a hurry yet they were so precise they they could be compared with a machine. If this was the quality of work they would be getting, Eiji saw promise in the upcoming TV commercial.
Minami wasn’t back yet and a few minutes had passed already. Eiji felt the need to take a leak and asked one worker where he could find a restroom. He was led all the way to the back of the warehouse where a temporary restroom was built. Eiji wasn’t comfortable using such makeshift restroom but he couldn’t hold it in any longer. In the end, he used the restroom which was surprisingly cleaner than he thought.
Eiji went back to the entrance of the warehouse. People were getting more busy, their work speed seemed to be doubled. New faces also came which he assumed to be the people he was meeting.
”Takahashi-san! They’re here. The Director told me to go straight to the meeting room.”, Minami yelled from afar.
Eiji felt embarrassed by such lack of etiquette. But knowing that he was a new recruit, Eiji thought that he should simply tell him later. Meanwhile, he had to go and confirm his doubt. But before he could even take a single step, his hand was forcefully gripped from behind.
Eiji instinctively looked at his back. His eyes wandered to the man who was rude enough to grip his hand without saying a word. Obsidian eyes were straightly looking at him as if to penetrate his inner thoughts. The young looking face carried hints of surprise and desperation. There was no mistaking it. The doubts he had was there for a reason.
”Eiji-san!? What are you doing here…”, the person asked. He was the person Eiji didn’t want to remember. A guy who got involved with his mess… A person he had slept with.
Nobuaki Umehara. He was the person called Nobu-kun… the one who embraced him on that one passionate night.
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