Ch.003 – Lo, the fool obeyeth thine errands – 06

It had been over a week since Renji started working as Reika’s personal driver—to be exact, now mark day eight for him.

At this point, the pressure no longer weighed heavily on him. He had gotten used to the job, the subtle rules, and the routes. Even Reika’s sometimes unsettling expression at him, or Shira’s icy demeanor towards him. But that evening, as he rounded the car to open the rear door for her as usual, something made his breath stuck in his lungs.

“Good evening, are you having a good day—”

His greeting trailed off. As Reika slipped into the back seat without a word.

...What the... She's in a bad mood...?

Her face was pale, lips drawn into a thin line. If Renji had to describe her expression, it was like one slightly wrong touch on a house of cards that barely standing and on the verge of collapse.

...Sure, she’s usually serious and calm... but this is...

He closed the door gently behind her, almost like he was afraid the sound might set her off.

“… Gotta be careful today…”

Once he’s seated behind the wheel, he adjusted the rearview mirror and glanced at her. She didn’t return the look, she just stares ahead with eyes fixed on nothing.

“Where t—“

“Asagiri Dock gate three, drive fast, arrive before 6.30.”

“Miss Shira’s not tagging along today?”

To him, it was odd. Ever since he started, Reika was never without Shira. The two had been inseparable as far as he’d seen.

“No.” Came the curt reply that almost tells the other party not to ask anymore question.

“… Okie dokie…”

The engine started, and the car rolled onto the darkening road.

As expected, the ride was silent.

… But unexpectedly peaceful…?

Within ten minutes, the tension in the air seemed to dissolve. Renji caught a glimpse of the rearview mirror—and what he saw made his gaze lingered too long.

Reika had slumped in her seat, her head tilted against the window, barely propped by the door, her eyes shut, her breathing slow.

“Hmm… first time I see her sleep on the car… guess… she’s just that tired...?”

Now that he thought about it, the signs had been there. Both Reika and Shira had been running on a packed schedule. Renji’s own driving log proved it—nonstop trips from offices to meeting points, from warehouses to another warehouses. Ever since that one day they took him to Ginza for an outfit, it had been all business.

…Well… It made sense. Anyone would burn out under that pace.

“I forgot they’re just human… heh”

By the time they arrived, the warehouse loomed quietly ahead. A black SUV was already parked nearby, and three men stood waiting under the open garage, gathered around a folding table with crates stacked around them.

Renji glanced over his shoulder at Reika.

She’s still asleep…?

“Ooooi, Miss Reika… we’ve arrived,” he said, voice low and hesitant—trying to wake her without ruining the serenity of her sleep.

She didn’t budge, there didn’t even any sign she’ll wake up anytime soon.

...No choice. I really gotta wake her up...

He releases his seatbelt, and reached back, stretched his arm over the seat, waving his hand in front of her face, which is totally pointless, and finally poking her shoulder softly. Barely a tap.

“… it… felt wrong touching her while she’s like this…”

Still nothing though. Just a faint breath escaped her slightly parted, pink lips—and now that he looked at her in close distance—gone was her calculating stare, her plastic business smile, her tensed eyebrows. It was just a relaxed, and beautiful sleeping face.

Whoa… she’s... like different person... wait! no! Eeiii, I’ll just shout and pinch her cheek, then!

But then, something flashed through his mind. A conversation he’d overheard between Reika and Shira a day before yesterday.

--------

“Miss Reika, you need to rest.” Shira had said firmly.

Reika’s voice was sharp at that gentle reminder. “Didn’t you say I have to work hard for it?”

“I did. But I’m talking about meaningful effort—aligned with our actual objectives.”

“You say that as if I’ve been fooling around.”

“You’re spending your time and energy on something that doesn’t require your immediate attention.”

“Just because it isn’t urgent doesn’t mean it’s unimportant. No one else even bothers to care about it.”

“That’s what delegation is for.”

“Only to hear generic reports? While they skimmed over those people just because it’s ‘not urgent’?”

“...Fine. At least let me handle it. I’ll try to meet your expectation.” Shira let out a tired and defeated sigh.

“Your hands already full with that other problems I trust you to, I’ve briefed you about that, don’t I?”

Shira’s tone had shifted then—no longer trying to be understanding, more like a reprimand.

“With no offense, Miss Reika… the things you’ve passed to me are exactly the ones where your appearance matters most. I’m saying—you’re running yourself into the ground... in all the wrong places.”

Renji had been in lukewarm sweat on the driver’s seat during that long exchange of cold and hot banter.

...Shit… I want to get out of this car… fast...

--------

And now Renji stared at Reika’s sleeping face, after recalling that moment.

... Miss Shira… where the hell are you when I need you?

He sighed, shifted back to his seat, and decided to give her just a few more seconds of sleep.

Renji stared at Reika’s once more, hesitating even more when he sees how peaceful her face was. Then, he reached for his phone and dialed Shira’s number.

Once.

No answer.

Twice.

Still nothing.

By the fifth call, the knot in his gut tightened. He hovered his thumb over the redial button, ready to try again.

That’s when he saw one of the men from the garage—stocky, bald, wearing a scowl—start marching toward the car.

Holy... that guy scary...

Renji straightened, trying to act casual, but his pulse kicked up. And the man didn’t slow down.

“Oh shit.”

Instinctively, Renji tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and scrambled out of the vehicle. The moment his feet hit the ground, reality hit him a second later.

...Wait dammit! Why the hell did I get out?!

The man approached quickly, irritation painted all over his face. A few steps away now.

“Oi! Who the hell are you? This isn’t a public parking spot!”

Renji stiffened, caught between the man’s glare and the rear window of the car—behind, which Reika still not waking up.

“G-good evening, I… I’m Miss Reika’s new driver.”

The man that looks like a Japanese war veteran narrowed his eyes. “What? Where is she?”

“That... uh... She had an urgent meeting come up, so she sent me in her place to relay the message.”

The man’s expression twisted in annoyance even more in an instant, eyes glaring at him, and Renji swear he could hear skull cracking. “...Don’t screw with me. HAH?!”

The force behind his voice made Renji’s stomach flip.

Shit, shit!!

He cursed silently, panic flooding his brain.

“I-I mean… Miss Shira will contact you later tonight to follow up,” he blurted, barely stopping to breathe. “Or—or, in fact! It’s her idea! She just instructs me to inform you that tonight’s meeting will be postponed. Short notice, but she said she’ll reschedule herself…”

He let the lie tumble out of his mouth like an avalanche. A shaky, desperate, half-coherent avalanche.

...I’m so sorry, Miss Shira!

The man clicked his tongue in frustration, clearly not buying all of it—but not angry enough to escalate.

“…Tch. If Shira’s handling it, fine. What a goddamn waste of time. Should’ve done it like this in the first place, Tch!!”

With a double clicking of his tongue and a curse under his breath—one that included Reika’s name—the man turned and stomped back toward the garage.

Renji watched until the man was far enough away, then slumped back into the car and locked the door out of fear with a groan.

“Did I just screw myself…?”

He looked back. And sure enough, Reika still hadn’t stirred, like a statue.

...Not even two weeks in… What the hell did I just do...?

He ran a hand down his face, the question hung in the air, as heavy as his regret.

--------

Reika's eyes fluttered open, her joints aching with stiffness from the awkward sleeping posture. Her neck, her back—everything protested. Still, strangely, the fatigue that had weighed her down earlier was almost gone.

There was a lag in her brain as she blinked at the ceiling of the car. She slowly turned her head toward the window.

A colorful glow from a decrepit vending machine outside was all she could see.

Still dazed, she stared for a moment. then it hit her like a hammer.

She jerked upright and snapped her wristwatch to check the time.

9.49 pm.

Clearly way past their scheduled meeting.

Her eyes shot to the driver’s seat—where Renji was already glance back over his shoulder at her with a stiff, frozen smile. His face glistened with cold sweat.

“W-Why didn’t you wake me up?!” Her voice cracked inside the confined space of the car.

“I... I tried…”

“Where are we?!”

“...Uhh… Public parking spot…”

“WHAT?!”

“......”

“This was an important meeting! You just had to wake me up! What’s wrong with you?!”

“I’m sorry...” Renji stared ahead through the windshield, unable to meet her eyes.

Yeah... I’m wrong here…

“Are you even thinking!? Where’s that quick mouth of yours now? You always have something to say. Say it now.”

This was the first time Renji had seen her truly angry. Her composed demeanor shattered—she looked and sound genuinely furious.

“What an idiot!! Just drive back home!”

“Yes, ma’am...”

The ride back was tense, the worst moment to date. Reika tapped furiously on her phone, clicking her tongue every few minutes, and she made sure Renji heard it. She didn’t say another word, and Renji didn’t dare offer any.

When they arrived at her mansion, she didn’t wait for him to fully stopped the car, and of course not waiting for him to open the door as she usually did. Instead, she stepped out on her own and slammed the door shut. Then she disappeared behind the gates without looking back.

Renji leaned forward, resting his forehead against the steering wheel.

“......Yep. I screwed up.”

--------

Later, back at his apartment, Renji slumped onto the couch. Just as he was about to put off his shoes, his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

‘Shira Kurosawa’

He felt a chill crawl up his spine.

“... Now the scarier one’s calling…”

If Miss Reika, the usual calm and elegant Miss Reika, could explode like that… what the hell is Shira going to say to me?

His thumb hovered for a second, trembling slightly, then he answered.

“H-H-Hello, Renji Tohara speaking! H-how can I help you…”

Total silence, even beating that of a room with high quality sound proofing, too silent and unsettling.

And the longer it stays that way, the more it felt like a knife slowly digging into his ear canal.

“Okay… I’m sorry, Miss Shira.” Renji blurted, skipping whatever formalities and jokes he had.

“… The client had been on the waiting list for a month, and we had to reschedule because of your little stunt.”

“Yeah... I have no excuses. Sorry.”

“You know how annoying it is to clean up a mess I didn’t even cause?”

“...Sorry…”

“And you dared to get creative by saying it was my idea? That I’d be contacting them later—without even giving me a heads-up?”

“I-I-I-I did try to call you! Miss Reika was asleep, I was trying to wake her up, but you didn’t pick up either… I kept trying to reach you to explain, but the line wouldn’t connect—look, I’m really sorry, okay?”

“What else did you blab to Jin?”

“…Who…?”

“The man you lied to.”

“…Oh… n-nothing else… when I said you’ll be contacting for follow up, that man turns and leave…”

There was a long sigh on the other end.

“...It seems some fault lies on my side too. I was handling something important and couldn’t be on my phone today.”

“Seriously… sorry, okay? I... I don’t even know why I did that...”

“You don’t?”

“I… I know I should’ve woken her up. I just thought…”

He trailed off, a minute of conversation gap, Shira still waiting for him patiently.

“…I dunno,” Renji mumbled, trying to piecing his reason. “I think she… really needed the sleep more than the meeting.”

There was another minute of silence. Then finally, Shira spoke again.

“…Your salary will be deducted this month.”

I haven’t even received my first paycheck and it’s already getting cut...?

He thought bitterly, then said, “F-Fair enough…”

A small chuckle broke through the cold tone, from the other side of the phone. “Heh. Just kidding.”

“Huh?”

“But consider this a lesson. I appreciate the thought, driver boy.”

*Click*

The line went dead.

*Tut-tut*

Renji sitting on the cold floor, phone still glued to his ear, staring at the ceiling of his dull apartment room.

“...Wait. I thought she’d be more pissed than Miss Reika?”

He just blinked in confusion as the realization settled in his mind.

Considering how she usually is… wasn’t that… weirdly light?