Ch.003 – Lo, the fool obeyeth thine errands – 02

“You said someone used me, huh…” Renji said slowly, carefully keeping his voice level. “Is this the first time something like this happened?”

“Not the first. But using my lunch delivery window to slip in illegal drug? That’s a new low.”

The hell you so calm about it?!

Renji’s mind snapped inwardly. Outwardly, his voice trembled, all effort to keep his mind controlled failing fast.

“If you know you’ve got enemies… why do you act like nothing’s wrong?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re loaded, right?” His eyes flicked up to meet hers. “Hire a private chef. Don’t eat like a normal person if you know it’s going to cause trouble for other people.”

Reika didn’t respond. Her gaze sharpened slightly, but her posture motionless as ever.

“Did it even cross your mind that someone else could’ve been the one caught? That someone like Tetsuo could’ve ended up in that cell instead of me?”

“Of course I would’ve bailed him out as well,” she said without breaking her composure. “After verifying his innocence, just like you.”

The fuck?

Renji’s fingers dug into his trouser. A harsh breath escapes through his teeth.

“THAT’S NOT THE PROBLEM DAMMIT!”

He shot up, the legs of his chair screeching against the floor. His body looming over the table, his shoulders heaving as if he could anchor his rage there.

“It’s not about you bailing me out or whoever!!” His voice cracked at the edges now, unraveling with every word. “It’s about— FUCK!!”

He cut himself off. Couldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing how deeply it had messed with him more than it seems.

When he finally looked up, her expression was still somewhat same.

“I’ve apologized, and I acted to correct the issue, didn’t I?”

Renji stared at her like she’d just spoken in a different language, he could feel his annoyance reflected in her clear amber eyes.

…She doesn’t get it… she’ll never get it.

“It’s not about a goddamn apology…”

“Then what’s your point?”

“The hell is wrong with you?” His voice came out raw now, no longer pretending. “You think everything revolved around you? someone else caught in your problem and have their life possibly ruined even though they had nothing to do with it, and you treat it as a minor inconvenience!”

“As a matter of-fact, it is revolved around me this time. And I don’t get to pick who’s caught in the crossfire. Unfortunately.”

Renji’s hands trembled at his sides. His mind in disbelief, not at her words, but more at her tone that have no guilt whatsoever.

“That’s why, the least I can do, as I’ve said, is apologize… and fix it.”

But the more Reika calm and logic words enter his ears, the more Renji can't contain his emotion. As if this has become the perfect stage for him to lash out his personal frustration.

I missed my competition because of this woman...?

Renji slammed the table hard, he could feel the pain creeping in from his knuckles. “I've!! I've wrote that with all I’ve got!! and because of you it's all for nothing!!”

I know it's shit, but still!!

“Do you!! Do you know how much of sleepless night I've wrote that??” His voice shook again, emotions fraying at the seams.

It won't win, maybe, but what if?

Renji's self-pity woven in his mind in between his anger.

Reika calmly stood from her chair, she walked toward the window. Outside, the city bathed in fading gold light from the street, indifferent to the storm inside this very room. Her silhouette almost like a portrait of unreachable elegance.

“You don’t get it,” he said softly. “You don’t get what it’s like to only have one shot. No second chances. No safety net. Just… one fucking chance at your dream. And it gets thrown away because you happened to be in the wrong place.”

Renji closed his eyes. Every part of him still throbbed with unspent rage and shame and helplessness.

Reika waited until the heat dissipated, until Renji’s shoulders stopped trembling from his outburst. Then, with a composed voice that felt far too calm for the wreckage she had just heard, she asked.

“...This is about that competition you mentioned yesterday? Something you wrote in your… book?”

She didn’t even turn to face him. Renji didn’t answer. And she took it as an answer.

“I see.” Reika nodded slightly to herself. “Then name the place. I can arrange for you to win that... competition.”

Renji’s heart stuttered.

What?

He’s trying to process the absurdity of what he’d just heard. “What are you—”

“You said your chance was taken because of me. So I’ll make it right. It’s not that hard to ensure a win on something like that.”

Her words weren’t cruel, but the way she said them made it feel like an insult instead.

“No…” The vague refusal barely making it past his lips.

She finally glanced over her shoulder at him, eyes half-lidded, her voice mild. “Hmm. Bit difficult, aren’t you?”

“…That’s not the same, It’s not about—bribing shit!”

“Fair enough… You want hard work. A fair shot. Very well. I’ll contact the organizers and ask them to let you in. I’m sure they’ll agree to that.”

Her compromise twisted something inside him.

If I do that... if I actually submit it... I’ll lose for sure… fair and square...

His mind revealing his actual insecurities.

Then that’s it. It’ll mean I’m really not good enough.

He couldn’t bear to voice that thought. Not to anyone. Not to reality. Not out loud.

“No.” He whispered again.

“…You’re turning down everything?” Reika asked, confused expression shown on her face. “Not the guarantee of winning, not even a fair shot. You make this difficult to read.”

He stayed silent, couldn’t find any words to actually answer her.

Reika exhaled sharply, a sound like someone dealing with a stubborn child. “Haah... honestly. Ask anything within reason, and I’ll give it.” She turned her back to the window and gestured broadly toward the city with her arm. “So? Name it.”

…Dammit…

“Forget it… Don’t need any of it.”

“You’re quite picky for someone with a long list of complaints, what exactly are you dissatisfied about?” Reika rubbed the tip of her chin, thinking deeply.

“Yeah... whatever. If we’re done talking, I’m going.”

He didn’t wait for permission. He turned, ready to leave. As if wanted to run away.

“Fine. If you won’t take it, at least let me compensate you.”

“No need for your pity—.”

“It’s not pity, it’s an offer.” Reika said it plainly, though a flicker of mischief danced on her face. “Be my driver.”

“...Huh?”

“I need someone to drive me. That’s it. In the evenings only. You’re free to keep your part-time job in the mornings. Win-win.” She said with a smile.

“That’s not a goddamn compensation, that’s just chores. I’m not—” He started to reject it on instinct, but she raised one elegant hand and spread her fingers.

“—Five hundred thousand yen per month.”

The sheer numbers hit him like a punch. He staggered mentally, his thoughts derailing on the spot.

500,000? Per month? That’s... that’s... Wait. Five. Hundred. thousand?

Renji tried not to bite the bait, but his brain already turning into calculator.

My rent’s what—sixty? Tops. Utilities, twenty more. Groceries... forty? Okay, maybe fifty if I stop living off discount stuff.

That’s—one-thirty, one-forty totals?

Gas and phone bill maybe another twenty.

Still three hundred grand left?

That’s enough to replace my busted laptop. Hell, get a new bed so my spine stops sounding like bubble wrap when I sit down. I could pay off Tetsuo’s share of the bike repair. Shit, I could actually buy new shoes without waiting for the discount.

I could sleep. Like really sleep. Not that half-dead, half-anxious crap where your body’s horizontal but your brain’s still busy thinking how to live next month. That’s... breathing room.

His throat gulping hard in reflex, he didn’t even notice it.

Just for driving her around at night?

Reika didn’t miss the way his eyes twitched slightly as he crunched invisible numbers. She smirked subtly—just a flicker of it, and only for herself.

Renji, caught in the trap of possibilities, didn’t even notice the change in her expression.

WAIT!

His mind hit the emergency brake. He turned to her with the most obvious question he should ask.

“Why?”

“Hmm? It’s the standard salary for my personal driver. Don’t worry, you’ll get other benefits too—”

“Not that, dammit! Why me?! Why the hell are you suddenly offering me a job!?”

Reika tilted her head, answering in almost too innocent manner. “Omoiyari.” (思いやり)

“...Omoiyari?” Now Renji’s the one tilting his head.

“Compassion. Consideration for others,” she said, as if explaining the weather.

“No, I know what it means, what’s that had anything to do with this?”

“It means I consider the state of those around me.”

He let out and exasperated scoff. “You? Compassion? That’s impressive, based on our conversation earlier, you’re far from it...”

Reika walked slowly, heels soft against the polished floor, stopping a few steps in front of him. Her amber eyes studied him—not kindly, not coldly, but as if searching a page that wouldn’t turn.

“On the contrary, why are you so against it for? What? Still not enough? You want a share of the company too?” She sighs, displeasure now starts to form on her beautiful face.

“Because it's damn suspicious!! Why are you even offering me this? What the hell did I do to deserve it?”

Reika tilted her head slightly, almost playfully, as if the question amused her more than annoyed her. “If you need a valid reason... you unexpectedly passed the job interview.”

“Huh?”

“My, you ask a lot,” she added with a light tone. “At least this way, you can stop whining about your empty fridge.” Then, with a smile laced in memory. “Actually… now you can afford a bigger one.”

No shit! It’s five hundred thousand! Per month!!

“I-I’ll think about it…” Renji steeled himself, and walks quickly to the door in an attempt to leave again, as he opened the door and took a step out of the meeting room—her voice rang out from behind, sharp and clear.

“Shira.”

Before Renji could turn, something small and cold was tossed his way. He caught it by reflex.

A key fob.

“The car’s in the lot, leftmost slot. You can take it home.”

He turned around, eyebrows furrowed. “Hey, I didn’t even agree—”

“Tomorrow,” Reika interrupted, as casually as the snow falling outside. “Wait at KHX at 6:30 pm. I’ll give you a bonus. It’s Sunday, after all.”

“Listen to me for a damn sec—”

“Just wear something tidy,” she cut him off again, her voice now faintly amused.

Renji stood frozen, blinking. A thousand rejections lined up in his mouth, all crushed under the weight of sheer disbelief.

“See you tomorrow,” she added, her tone and expression soft now. “Have a good rest.”

Shira closed the ebony door with a quiet but final click.

Renji stared at the smooth wood for a long beat in front of his nose. Then he looked down at the gleaming key in his palm.

“Tch…”

Hours later, a sleek black sedan pulled up in front of his worn-down apartment complex. Its headlights cut through the snowfall, illuminating cracked pavement and rusting bicycles. The engine purred low, powerful, mismatched among the shadows of the neighborhood.

Renji slouched behind the wheel, his forehead leaning against the leather-wrapped steering wheel.

“…Holy, this is a nice car.”