CH 1

On the train

Friday

The number one cause of leaving a company is relationships, no matter what. Stress from work is a big factor, of course, but most of this stress is brought about by human language.

I am thinking of quitting my current company and changing jobs.　

As a developer at a so-called “black” IT company, I was being pushed around every day. I have an incompetent boss who pretends to be competent, and who makes his subordinates do his bidding, and then sneaks out and puts the responsibility on everyone else. And then there are those who get mentally ill and quit after being thrown in the laps.

I am not mentally ill, but I am a little tired. But I gained a lot of knowledge from working at this company for three years.

I’m going to find my next job at a company where I can just do my job quietly and go home without having to worry about human relations. Is there such a company?

Well, one thing is for sure.

I will be all alone.

“I think I’ll take the long way around today.”

I get off at a station that is quite far from my house.

X　X　X

Around a certain station

“Hee, there are quite a few pubs and bars here.”

I had never been to this area before, so I was looking around with my mouth half-open at the sight I was seeing for the first time.

“Hey, you girls want to hang out with us?

“I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

“Weew, there are so many beauties here.”

Three guys were trying to pick up three beautiful women with the typical line. But the three beauties didn’t even look at them and quickened their pace.

But they were not about to give up.

“Hey, ladies, don’t ignore us.”

“We’re inviting you out.”

“Come play with us.”

The three pairs of guys grabbed the wrists of the three beautiful women. The beautiful women then squinted at them as if they were looking at radioactive waste.

Three expressions filled with negative emotions: contempt, disregard, disgust, and hatred.

Seeing those faces brought back memories of 15 years ago.

I am sure that the three of them had the same faces at that time.

By the time I managed to calm my fluttering emotions, I was standing in front of these six men and women.

And I turned to the three beautiful women and said to them

“I am sorry to keep you waiting. Please come this way and I will take you to the café we have reserved to discuss the photo shoot.”

I’m in a suit, and my hand points to a café-like building.

The pick-up guys here have too much time on their hands and are messing around with the women on the street.

So, if I silently put pressure on them to “get out of my way” because I’m working, they have no reason to hold these women back. Moreover, the three beautiful women are very beautiful, both in the way they dress and the way they look. So they should feel comfortable with the word “shooting.”

They probably understood that if they persisted in getting involved, they would probably end up in trouble with the police.

The guys clicked their tongues and left.

“Pheww……”

I breathe a sigh of relief and look at the three beautiful women.

One is an intelligent suit-wearing beauty with long black hair and glasses, another has shoulder-length flaxen hair and wears a black one-piece dress that looks a bit gothic lolita, and a third has short blond hair and wears expensive brand-name clothes that look like something a model would wear.

All three were very beautiful, with fair skin and neat faces. They are the kind of women I would never have a chance to meet in my life. And they have huge or explosive breasts …… No! My gaze seems to be drawn to them, but I have to hold back.

It’s time to move on.

I decided so and smiled at them, remembering that time.

At that moment, the wind blew my bangs up, exposing my forehead. Perhaps they could see my embarrassing scar.

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I don’t think I will ever see these three again. But I am so glad that they are safe. I muttered to myself, and turned on my heel. And as I was about to leave the place with light steps

“Yuu chan…”

“Yuu….”

“Yuu nii chan…”

The girls uttered my old nicknames in shaky voices. I turn around and open my mouth, with goosebumps all over my body.

“Perhaps…..Ai nee chan, Arisa chan, and Sera-chan!?”

When they heard my words, they nodded their heads, their eyes moistening. And they kept staring at me until my eyes were pierced with holes.

The three Kirie sisters had become so beautiful compared to that time that my body

Froze

Then, Ai nee, a dark-haired bespectacled beauty, opens her lips with a bewitching expression on her face.

“Yuu-chan,……, I have a reservation at the café, let’s go together.”