Episode 10: I feel both of you lack enthusiasm and a sense of urgency in your work

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Arimura Naoshi, transferred from the Accounting Department. I’ll strive to match the standards set by my predecessor, Aosawa-san. Looking forward to working with you.”

Her almond-shaped eyes, framed by long lashes peering over black-rimmed glasses, fixed directly on me.
A new girl had arrived in the autumn rotation to fill the seat vacated by Aosawa-chan over the summer.

“She seems earnest, doesn’t she? I hear she’d been requesting a transfer to our department for ages. It’s good to see such drive, isn’t it?”

Our Budget Management Department boss, Manager Yamazato, beamed as she said this. But Arimura-chan was earnest in a different way to Aosawa-chan’s earnestness.

It had been a week since her assignment.

　After finishing my pre-lunch smoke break and returning from the rooftop with a hot coffee in hand, Arimura-chan approached me, her large eyes narrowed into triangles.

“Mitsuya-san, aren’t you taking an excessive number of cigarette breaks? Even if this company encourages taking appropriate breaks, leaving your desk twice in the morning is rather questionable, don’t you think?”

Her arrow-like, slightly condescending remark made me gasp involuntarily.
　I’d never been called out on it before, so I hadn’t really thought about it… but perhaps it was a bit much.

Noticing my hesitation over how to respond, Seno-san gave an amused smile.

“…Well, perhaps you should cut down on the cigarettes a bit. It’s bad for your health, you know?”

Leaning on one elbow, she said it with a hint of teasing. I felt myself bristle. I suppressed the urge to retort that it was only because she disliked smoking and sighed instead.

“…Shut up. Why don’t you take a break? You don’t know how to relax, so your work efficiency drops.”

Cheeky. I jabbed her forehead with my fingertip.

“Ouch! What are you doing? Honestly!”

Seno-san clutched her forehead and protested sharply.

　Though I’d snapped at her in the heat of the moment, I was secretly relieved Seno-san had come to my rescue.

Arimura-chan’s words cut like a razor blade. There’s absolutely no consideration for the person on the receiving end.
We’ve only been working together a week, so I want to avoid criticising her too much just yet.
But—can we really get along like this?

　Glaring at Seno-san and me as we bickered,

“…I think you two lack enthusiasm and focus for your work,”

Arimura-chan murmured quietly.
I couldn’t help but give a wry smile and pulled out my desk chair, trying to cover it up.

　＊＊＊

“She really is straightforward, just like her name suggests, isn’t she?”

Seno-san remarked suddenly as we waited for our coffee to brew at the cup vending machine in the break room.

“Yeah, she is. She has a different kind of straightforwardness to Aosawa-chan. Quite a strong personality though…”

　Just because someone’s a senior or a junior doesn’t mean you should overlook things that need addressing.
If you have an opinion, you should voice it. There’s no need to hold back.
I do think that… but when working in a team, there’s a certain way to communicate.
What’s right isn’t always right. It’s a bit of a strange thing, I know.

“She’s like a class president, isn’t she? The type you probably wouldn’t get along with if you were in the same class.”

“Ah… well, you do seem rather irresponsible. I can’t imagine you ever becoming friends with Arimura-chan at all.”

Seno-san was undoubtedly a first-rate girl. She looked like the type who’d spend her youth completely absorbed in fashion and romance, neglecting her studies… but despite appearances, I knew she’d actually graduated from a well-known university.

Unlike me, who scraped into university through sport, she’s the genuine article, the ‘academically gifted type’.

Arimura-chan… unlike this flexible woman, she’s like a solid rock. Rough-hewn on the surface, a massive boulder that wouldn’t budge even if waves crashed against it. Seems impervious to society’s roughest seas.

She must be brilliant to meet Manager Yamazato’s exacting standards.

　As I retrieved my coffee, Seno-san reached for the vending machine too.
After adjusting the sugar and cream levels with the buttons, she suddenly yanked the employee ID card hanging around my neck.

Then she held it up to the machine without asking.

“Hey, what are you doing…!”

A beep sounded.

“We agreed you’d do one thing for me, didn’t we? This settles us.”

Seno-san stuck out her tongue and grinned. Had she been holding a grudge over that Tetris incident?
Well, it’s only thirty yen a cup under the benefits scheme, so it’s fine… but she’s thorough, that one.
The vending machine, using my thirty yen as capital, began noisily brewing coffee.

“…Honestly, I don’t mind, you know.”

“Hm? What?”

“They encourage us to take regular breaks, and it’s not like I’m leaving my seat for ages.”

“…Just a moment ago you were telling me to cut down on cigarettes.”

I hadn’t expected her to defend me and was taken aback.
Seno-san, her expression still devoid of any discernible emotion, took the coffee I’d been forced to buy her – extra sugar, extra cream.

　She wasn’t the type to take many breaks to begin with, though not quite as much as Arimura-chan who was glued to her desk.
But lately, whenever I left my seat, she’d come along with me about half the time. Like this.

When we first met, I thought she was an unpleasant woman, but setting aside her fierce inner nature, Seno-san is actually quite easy to talk to.

Compared to Arimura-chan, I feel that even more.

“Still, I was surprised. I thought Kaori would have snapped back.”

—Ah, I see. She thought I’d retort, so she stepped in to mediate? Well, well, she’s got a good side after all…

“Of course I couldn’t snap back. I am her junior, after all.”

“Hmm. How kind of you. Yet you always snap back at me. Do you actually prefer younger women, Kaori?”

“Look, it’s not like that. It’s not about liking or disliking. And besides, we’re both women.”

Emphasising the “both women” part, Seno-san pressed her lips to her drink cup while fixing me with a reproachful stare.

I understood what she was implying.
Just the other day, she’d asked me whether I liked her or disliked her.
In the end, I hadn’t answered that question. Or rather, I couldn’t answer it.

　I don’t dislike her. That much is certain.
But just because I realised I could sleep with a woman, people can’t change overnight.
Overturning the values I’ve cultivated over twenty-six years of life requires an immense effort.
It’s like having to dismantle every single part that makes up my self and reassemble it from scratch.

　Besides, even if I said I liked her, what exactly would that lead to?

“Hmm? Well, since Manager Yamazato chose her, I suppose she can’t be wrong… I’ll just have to wait and see, I guess~”

“…Yeah, I suppose so.”

With Aosawa-chan gone, overtime increased, but it ended up bringing me closer to Seno-san.
Whether that was good or bad, I still don’t know.

　With Arimura-chan joining our team, our workload should decrease. That means no more overtime together, and the closeness we gained might drift apart again.

In the end, I cut back my morning cigarette breaks from two to one.

To stave off the urge to snack, I chewed gum, and when it became unbearable, I brought forward my nap break by half an hour.

I did all this to avoid upsetting the earnest newcomer, believing that to keep things running smoothly, I too needed to compromise a little.

They say most work stress stems from relationships, and only now, right up to this very moment, have I come to realise just how fortunate my previous environment had been.

　Given that Arimura-chan had originally been in the accounting department, she picked up the duties quite smoothly. Yet, at every opportunity, she made remarks that seemed conscious of her predecessor, Aosawa-chan.

“It must be tough at first, so let’s gradually increase your workload until you get used to it. Mitsuya-san and Seno-san, would you mind lending a hand for a while?”

Even though Manager Yamazato kindly offered this,

“No, I’d be perfectly happy with the same workload as Aosawa-san.”

She said this with her large eyes wide open, so Seno-san and I exchanged glances without speaking.

On the usual rooftop, feeling the soft autumn breeze, I sighed.

“She’s not a bad kid, but I think she could use a bit more flexibility. I can only see her self-destructing. Do you really think it’s okay to hand over all the work Aosawa-chan was doing? What do you think?”

“Well, I don’t know. If Manager Yamazato says it’s fine, we’ve got no choice but to follow it. Even if we wanted to support her, she’d probably brush us off, given the way she is.”

I don’t know Manager Yamazato very well, but Seno-san has known her for a long time and generally always accepts her wishes.

I suppose it’s true what Seno-san says – it’s usually worked out well that way. If that’s the case, I don’t think I need to interfere.

　If I let go of the work—surely I wouldn’t have to stay late with her anymore.
Leaving the office at the same time, having dinner together before heading home… surely that would stop too.

It should be fine like that.

“…Hey, Seno-san.”

“What?”

“I fancy some karaage for the first time in ages. Make it for me. At your place.”

I muttered it quietly, and beside me, she looked up at the sky and burst out laughing.
Then she tugged sharply at the hem of my jacket and looked at me with that infuriatingly sweet smile.

“Alright then, I’ll make it for you as a special treat. Coming over to mine tonight?”

Why can’t I seem to leave her?
When we first met, I never imagined that just seeing her innocent smile like this would one day make my chest feel tight.