I Disagree with Numbers

"Doing nothing is respectable at tea." -- (Sasaki Sanmi)

Studio lights were shining bright. The public was ready and glued to their TVs. Two absolutely big and popular names from two completely different fields were going to be on almost every small screen across Japan.

Toma Shirakawa and Akari Asahina.

People from different spheres of life were interested in this debate. From young people who were interested in the hot male actor who was starring in the most popular rom-coms right now, to older people who were interested in the hot female politician.

But the looks were not everything people were interested in. Both of them were also getting popular for interesting interviews and thoughts that they shared in public. Also, Akari was very popular for her political and financial analysis.

Toma was in a red suit with a black shirt, but it was not a classical look. It was looking kind of casual and sporty, even maybe. His black hair was pushed to the right side currently, but in the past, the audience could see him change his hairstyle all the time. Bright smile on his face, cleanly shaved, of course. On his hand was some watch that looked fake as hell, or it was just some cheap one, nothing special. Even though he was wearing a suit, his muscles could be seen through every part of it. His big chest, strong arms, big shoulders, nice legs - he was, for many, probably a male dream physique.

Mai, the host of this so-called debate, greeted the audience in the studio and those who were watching on small screens. Then she nodded to both of the guests who were happily smiling in their chairs.

"First question to start this debate would be: what do you think about work culture in Japan? I know this is now a very controversial theme, so what is your opinion on this? Let's start with you, Mrs. Asahina."

"Thank you, Mai." Akari nodded to her with a smile.

"My research and thorough analysis of this topic suggest that people in Japan are working more than some people in big European countries, but it is still not enough according to the numbers I will present on the screen. Please put the first graph and analysis on the big screen." Then she paused for just a few seconds so that the image on the screen could be processed by the viewers, and then continued.

"Based on these numbers and calculations, you can definitely see that some certain type of people are abusing the culture and not respecting it. Many people across Japan are simply not putting in enough working hours. This is just the truth, and then because of this, even the people who are doing a good job and respecting work culture suffer."

Strong applause in the studio came, and Asahina nodded towards the audience.

The host of the debate then looked at Toma and gave him the opportunity to speak.

I was still in shock. The woman who gave me directions and that I met outside is the one I am debating. No wonder she looked so familiar to me. She is a famous politician. Wow, her beautiful blue suit looks so good on her, I thought. Her black hair is so smooth. How is that possible? She looks sharp, and that speech was great. What can I do now about it? Hmm.

"Mr. Toma, you can now give your side," Mai repeated.

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Mai." I tried to look at the blue of Akari's eyes. I tried to find an answer. What should I say in there?

"As a young actor, I don't know if I can talk a lot about Japan's work culture. But to my realization, the work culture is trash. Ha ha ha." I tried with this joke, or something, whatever this was, buying a few seconds. Mrs. Akari also slightly laughed. It was so nice. Her smile was something I didn't know I needed before I saw it. It helped me to find my answer.

"What I really think about Japan's work culture is that it doesn't make sense, does it? It is always like this numbers, calculations but what about happiness at work? What if someone is just not working a lot? What if someone is happy just working enough to make a living and then goes to play basketball for the rest of the day or something? I think we should focus more on the individuals instead of numbers. This is just my opinion, of course. I didn't do any research. Ha ha. But I must admit I was impressed with Mrs. Asahina's analysis, even though I don't agree with everything."

Applause came again from the audience.

Mai bowed with her head and thanked both guests for their answers to the first question. Then she concluded that on this first question, it looked like both of their guests received big applause and raised great questions, so the biggest debate in history is still tied. "Stay after the ads to see the next exciting questions."

The ad break rolled. The red light marking that the studio was live turned off, marking a commercial break. Mai encouraged her guests. "You are both doing great. The next question will be about migration."

Akari turned to Toma and asked him, "What was that?" with a slightly confused look, maybe even on the edge of sounding angry.

"What was what?" I asked her with a smile.

"You just said everything opposite to what I said." Her voice was starting to get calmer.

"Ah, yes. I thought that was the point of a debate. Ha ha ha." I made a little joke, knowing full well that she meant it was not the deal to do something like this.

"You are absolutely right. I didn't agree there with your numbers. Sorry, Mrs. Akari. So I needed to share my real opinion on the matter. Ha ha. You inspired me to it, so thank you very much. Honestly, I am being genuine now. You are very inspiring."

"For you, it is Mrs. Asahina, and you can't disagree with numbers. You can disagree with my opinion, but not the numbers," Akari said with a gentle voice now, not even slightly confused or angry, just calm and rational.

I smiled at her and locked eyes with her. I was searching for something in there, but she broke the eye contact. "I disagree with numbers as well. I don't like them. Hahaha."

Akari's smile was almost showing. I swear I saw it a little bit, and then she said to me, "Do you like me?"

I nearly choked and started coughing. In my head, I didn't know what that was. Ha ha. She is really enjoying this debate, I thought. She is trying to mess with me big time.

I needed a few seconds to recover from this question from her, and then thought of the perfect counter.

"I don't just like you. I love you, Mrs. Asahina."

She eye-rolled and started shaking her head right and left, annoyed.

Mai was enjoying and not interrupting this small chitchat, but then she got info that in 30 seconds it was going back to live.

"Okay, get ready. We go in 30," Mai said confidently while smiling at Toma and touching her hair to adjust it in a flirty kind of way.