Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330662545387095/episodes/16817330664206206031
“Hey, waiter ! I ordered a stamina bowl ! Why the hell did they serve me a grilled fish set meal !”
The yells of a middle-aged salaryman echoed in a certain chain restaurant in Tokyo.
It was lunchtime, and Nobuhiko was in a restaurant full of busy businessmen.
“Eh, well, you ordered the grilled fish set meal, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t, you idiot ! I came here to eat meat !”
(I don’t give a shit !)
Nobuhiko suddenly grew angry and clenched his fists. He was annoyed that a complete stranger had called him an idiot.
“Go check it out !”
“…………”
“What’s with that attitude? That’s enough, call the manager !”
The customer’s yell echoed again.
But Nobuhiko stood there and did not move. He was struggling to suppress his anger that he wanted to punch this arrogant customer in the face.
Why should he be ordered around by a customer with such high-handedness? Are customers really that important?
Anger and doubt swirled in Nobuhiko’s mind.
Then a middle-aged female manager with a pale face arrived.
“Sir, how may I help you?”
“This waiter brought me something different from what I ordered. I told him to check, but he didn’t even offer an apology.”
“I am very sorry ! I will make it right away !”
“I don’t have time for this.”
“I understand. There seems to be a difference in the price, but don’t worry about the payment. Please enjoy your meal.”
The manager bowed flatly.
“(Harada kun, you apologize too.)”
“……My……bad.”
“Haa……that’s enough. The manager is so kind that I don’t feel like getting angry anymore. But you, you can’t make it in the world with an attitude like that, okay?”
“……!?”
Nobuhiko gritted his teeth. He felt humiliated because he thought he was being made fun of as a country bumpkin.
(Does wearing a suit in Tokyo make you an elite !?)
Nobuhiko has a complex. He is originally from a more rural area than Hokusai City, and moved there when he was in junior high school. At that time, he was ridiculed for his accent.
Since then, he had a complex about being from the countryside and longed to live in the city.
It is ironic that his longing to be in Tokyo has been further stimulated by the fact that he has just moved to the city.
Nobuhiko was ordered to go back to the backyard. After a short pause, the manager came in with a look of dismay on her face.
“Harada kun, you can’t behave like that to customers. They’ve come to us and paid us.”
“B-but that guy–“
“He’s not [that guy], okay !?”
The manager sharply criticizes him. She has a mild-mannered personality but is more strict than others when it comes to customer service etiquette.
“It takes time to learn a job. But you can learn the spirit of hospitality with just one feeling. I’m not talking about language or manners, but sincerity. The important thing is to think of the customer’s best interest.”
“I-I’m sorry……. B-but, the customer did indeed order a grilled fish set meal ! The kitchen staff told me to take it to that customer…..”
“Even so, when someone makes a complaint, the first thing you do is apologize. Then calmly check and deal with it.”
Nobuhiko is not convinced. Being a brat general, he couldn’t understand why someone would apologize first even though it wasn’t their fault.
“Also, that person ordered a stamina bowl, right?”
“Eh…….”
Nobuhiko felt sweat pouring out of every pore in his body.
He was convinced that he wasn’t wrong, but it turned out to be the opposite.
“B-but the kitchen staff told me to take it…….”
“Maybe you heard wrong. Or maybe the staff was wrong.”
“I-I didn’t mishear anything…….”
“I’m not going to blame you for that. Lunchtime is busy, so you can’t help but mishear or say the wrong thing. But if you had checked the slip before you brought it, don’t you think the result would have been different?”
“T-that’s…….”
His dark eyes darted about in all directions. From what he recalled, he was indeed ordered to bring a set meal of grilled fish, but he did not check the slip at that time. It could be said that Nobuhiko’s failure to confirm caused this trouble.
“I’m sure you have been busy and nervous since you just joined. But that’s when it’s important to stay calm and check everything carefully. If small mistakes accumulate, it will eventually lead to mistakes that cannot be undone. No matter what you do, don’t be in a hurry.”
The manager concludes her sermon in a gentle tone. She then told Nobuhiko to take a lunch break and left the backyard.
Nobuhiko, left alone, bites down on his mouth in humiliation and shame.
＊
“I’m home…….”
Nobuhiko went home after working part-time at a set restaurant and also working part-time as a cleaner. After being yelled at by the salaryman and lectured by the manager, Nobuhiko was exhausted from all the physical work he had done.
Nobuhiko laid his exhausted body down in a half-tatami-mat room. The forty-year-old shabby apartment is their base of operations.
“Welcome back.”
In the corner of the room, Yua was putting on her makeup. She was busy getting ready to go to work and did not look back.
“I’m tired. Yua, give me a shoulder massage.”
“I’m leaving soon, so I don’t have time for that.”
Yua was not so patient.
“The landlord will be here soon to collect this month’s rent, so give me your share, Nobuhiko. We’ll split the rent fifty-fifty, right?”
“Eh, already !? I don’t have that kind of money ! Yua, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to pay it.”
“What do you mean you don’t have it !? You said you got the paycheck from the part-time job you quit the other day !”
Just when he thought he could relax, Yua lifted the corners of her eyes and yelled at her. Whether it’s daytime or now, Nobuhiko is being yelled at all the time today.
“W-wel, I quit right away, so I don’t even have to pay half the rent. I’ll keep my current part-time job, so please lend me the money !”
“You’ll pay me back, right?”
Yua took out a little money from her purse and put it in a bank envelope with the word “rent” written on it with a magic marker.
Then, with a grim face, she finished her makeup and left the room silently with a pouty look on her face.
When they first moved to Tokyo, Yua worked several part-time jobs at cafes. But life in Tokyo was more expensive than she had expected, and Nobuhiko was not very good at his job, so she had to switch to a higher-paying part-time job. So now he also works part-time at a girls’ bar.
The girls’ bar job pays on a daily basis, so it is somewhat easier to make a living. However, he is now dependent on Yua for money, and because of this, she is becoming more and more arrogant.
Nobuhiko was annoyed by her high-handed attitude, but he was unable to strongly challenge her due to the weakness and guilt of being financially dependent on her, which made him irritated.
(It wasn’t supposed to be like this……. It was supposed to be a sweeter, more pleasant life…….)
Where was the sweet mood when he took it from Kingo…….
“Shit. The only reason it’s costing me money is because your food is so bad that I have to eat pre-made food.”
Nobuhiko vents his frustration in the room he is left behind. But that doesn’t make him feel any better.
“I’m going to go gambling.”
This is the best way to relieve stress.
Nobuhiko checks his wallet. There was money in it that had been transferred from his former part-time job. It was not enough to pay the rent, but it was enough to relieve his stress.
“Stress relief is important, isn’t it?”
Nobuhiko started to get ready to go out for fun, giving a plausible reason.
In the past, he would spend his free time planning gigs and practicing drums.
However, he was so busy with his life and learning the joys of affordable entertainment that he had neglected his main task.
The same is true for Yua. While working hard to provide for her unworthy partner, she used the money she had to buy makeup and clothes to relieve her stress.
Both of them were struggling to survive day by day, and their opportunities to touch musical instruments were drastically reduced.
Nobuhiko visited a gambling parlor and played the ball for a while.
“Whoa ! It’s my lucky day ! Maybe I have the talent of a gambler !?”
Nobuhiko was soaking in the joy of his unexpected good fortune that his brain juice was flowing out of him. In the end, Nobuhiko won a huge win, increasing 8,000 yen to 100,000 yen.
“Hehehe, I’ve caught a lot of fish ! With this, I’m going to eat some delicious food and have fun with Tokyo’s babes !”
With his wallet bulging, Nobuhiko headed out into the night with light steps.
There is an old saying, [easy come, easy go]. As the saying goes, Nobuhiko devoured yakiniku alone, then went to a cabaret club and a brothel, and returned home with a depleted wallet.
When he sobered up, Nobuhiko realized his lack of planning. He vowed never to waste money again.
But he could never forget the luxury he once tasted with his bubbly money……
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easy come, easy go. Hard to remain