Ch.1 Wrong Place, Right Time

“I’m sorry, but we’re closed.” Hana sighs, avoiding eye contact as she restocks shelves, praying the middle aged women will be polite and leave.

The woman doesn’t move. “Then why was the door open? You’re clearly not that busy, you can just check me out real quick, can’t you? It’ll only take a minute.”

Hana runs a hand through her short brown hair and bites the inside of her cheek. “I already locked up the register for the night, I’m not allowed to ring anyone up after that.” She gestures to the sign. “We’re closed, I’ll be locking up soon.”

The woman crosses her arms and huffs. “That’s some excuse, what store turns down money?”

Hana exhales through her nose, forcing her voice to stay polite. She had already cleaned up vomit earlier, someone had walked in, gotten sick, and left like nothing happened. This was the final weight on an already overloaded day.

“I’m sorry ma’am I just work here.”

“Then get your manager!”

“I’m the only one here. I-”

The sound of coins scattering on the floor stops her from finishing her sentence and she watches as they all roll in different directions. The women tossed a few more casually.

“This is more than enough for this drink, just pretend I bought it tomorrow.” She turns to leave but Hana grabs her arm.

“Ma’am I can’t let you-”

“Don’t you touch me!” The woman jerks away, tearing her arm free as she swings the one with the bottle, connecting with Hana's cheek. She stumbles back and falls onto the floor among the scattered coins, more baffled than hurt.

The woman clicks her tongue. “Unbelievable. Service these days!”

And with that, she turns once more and leaves.

Hana looks down at the floor with a sigh and begins to gather the coins before leaving them by the register, writing a report she knows nobody will care about. She finishes up her tasks in silence and finally closes up. Changing out of her uniform into jeans, a white t-shirt and black blazer, she makes her way out of the store and locks up.

Her phone rings, a call from her boss. She answers promptly despite not wanting to. “Hello?”

“What’s this I heard about you refusing a customer today?”

Hana swallows hard at the sharp tone of voice, dripping with barely restrained anger. “It was after hours, the register was-”

“Do you know what you just did?”

Her throat tightens, forcing words out as she attempts to defend herself. “She did take the drink and paid, I left a note-”

“You seriously don’t know who that was?” The old woman scoffs and a creak can be heard as they lean back in their chair. “Do you really not know?.”

Hana begins to chew on her bottom lip as she asks carefully “I… should I?”

There’s a pause, only a moment but seemingly stretching for eons.

“You’re fired.”

Hana’s eyes shoot open wide and she freezes in place. “I’m sorry?! I didn’t do anything-”

“She posted on social media about how bad our store is, there’s nothing you can do to repair the damages you’ve done so we’re terminating you effective immediately. If you left anything in the lockers, get it now, we’ll be tossing it in the morning.”

The call ends and Hana stands there in silence for a moment before she laughs in pure disbelief. “Ten years…”

She looks down at her reflection in her phone screen, her voice cracking. “No notice… no warning… no thank you for an entire decade of service… nothing?”

She opens her phone and searches what’s trending, it didn’t take long to find the women. Famous actress, big in the industry. Someone most people would recognize, but she didn’t. “Of course…”

“I should have paid more attention to my moms soap operas…” Hana sighs as she begins to walk home, deciding to sit down by a river to rest, looking up at the night sky.

“So many years…” She exhales. “ I was supposed to be promoted.” She sighs, checking her phone to look at her bank balance. “Not even enough for rent now since it went up again.”

She lies in the grass and begins to look for job openings. “I should find something as soon as I can…”

It only takes a few scrolls for her eyes to feel heavy, and with a plop, her screen falls on her cheek as sleep claims her.

—--------------------

It’s not unusual for there to be people passed out by the river. With bars nearby, people often wandered down, enthralled by the quiet water and dim lights reflecting off its surface. Most of them, Kenta ignored, and he was about to do it again. Just another sleeping figure in the grass, another drunk, likely harmless.

He takes a step forward, but is compelled to halt. For some reason that he couldn’t immediately explain, his attention locked in on her. Instead of moving forward, he approaches her slowly. The closer he gets, the more certain he is that something isn’t quite right. She didn’t smell like alcohol, for one thing. The second was worse. She looked worn down in a way that didn’t match a peaceful sleep.

He crouches beside her for a closer look, studying her face. Dark circles under her eyes, a frame too thin for her height. Even asleep, he could feel her exhaustion. It wasn’t the type that sleep could fix. It’s like she wasn’t even resting, like her body just shut down.

He tilts his head slightly as he lightly taps her cheek. “Excuse me.” He waits a moment before he taps again. “It is not safe to sleep here.”

Hana’s eyes open slightly, her gaze unfocused, showing she clearly wasn’t there despite looking around. “I got fired…”

Before Kenta could even react her eyes roll back under her eyelids and she passes out once more.

“Ah- Ma’am…” He taps her again to try and keep her awake but it’s no use. “Does she… not have any sense of danger?”

He looks at her again, and he notices something. His gaze lingers on her, but also through her. Something behind her face, something that only he can see. He studies it, as if reading before he exhales softly, nodding his head as everything comes together. “That explains it.”

“You’re in the wrong place, but I can fix that.” He speaks more to himself than to her.

He looks at her for another moment, wondering what the best method would be to get her up. Clearly she wasn’t going to wake up, or rather not fully. He leans close and gently shakes her shoulder. Not enough to scare her into being awake, just enough to bring her back into consciousness. When she wakes, he looks into her hazel eyes and speaks calmly.

“Come with me.” He pauses for a moment, wanting to show that he was harmless and here to help rather than harm her despite her lack of panic earlier. “My name is Kenta, I can offer you work.” He decides to introduce himself as the best path to take, as well as clearly stating his intentions.

Hana doesn’t even move, somehow entirely unbothered by the presence of a man far bigger than her looming over her. “Work…?” She mumbles, almost to herself. She attempts to meet his gaze but her eyes remain half open, seeing more of a blur than a person when her eyes lose focus, but when they do she sees a handsome man. Her brain decides to label this as a dream because why would a guy like that be talking to her when she probably looks the worst she ever has in her life? “Is it far…? Hana don’t… I don’t have a car.” Since it’s a dream, it doesn't hurt to play along with a dream business man.

Kenta blinks, surprised she can process this far. “No.” He answers simply, pausing before offering. “You’ll be compensated for your work handsomely.”

A slight smile could be seen at the edges of her lips and she whispers under her breath. “Like you…?”

Kenta tilts his head, leaning closer to try and hear her. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Are there benefits?” She asks as she sinks back into the grass, sleep calling her once more. “I want… dental…and…”

Understanding that she doesn’t have the energy to speak, he nods. “You will get lots of benefits.”

Her expression shifts slightly, she seems more relaxed than tired. She might not fully understand but even half asleep, she knows what she needs to do to ensure she survives safely. Even if it is a dream, it’s best to take up any opportunities that come her way, especially after getting fired.

Hana nods faintly. “Okay…” And just like that, she curls back up on the grass to continue her slumber.

Kenta nods. “Then it’s settled.”

He looks back down at her, and knowing he can’t just leave her, he carefully picks her up to move her to a safe place. There is the option of looking through her belongings to find out where she lives but she agreed to be his employee so might as well take her back to the office. Kenta walks down the sidewalk with her in his arms, glancing down now and then to make sure she’s still sleeping soundly. She leans into him, grabbing at his shirt ever so slightly as she buries her face in it. Maybe this is a sign she sleeps on her face, it doesn’t seem comfortable but she seems to be at peace with it. Or maybe she is mistaking him for someone she knows, he hopes that’s not the case as it will make her waking up quite the experience. Although upon further thought, this is not a normal interaction and likely will not be a normal experience when she wakes up no matter what.

It doesn’t take long for him to get to the office, he balances holding her as he fishes the keys out of his pocket and opens the door, flipping on the light before setting her down on a couch. He takes off his coat and places it over her like a blanket before taking her phone and purse, setting them neatly aside. He looks around the room and decides to turn off the ceiling light, opting for the one on his desk instead. He rummages through his drawer and grabs some granola bars as well as a glass of water, putting them on the table beside her belongings so she can have it when she wakes up.

He’s about to retreat to his desk to do some paperwork when he hears her stomach growl. She’s clearly dead tired, probably doesn’t even have the energy to eat. Kenta sits by her, choosing to wait for her to wake up instead, but how long will that take? He begins to read on his phone, spending a few hours researching the best way to handle this situation but with many conflicting results he sighs, deciding to ignore all of it. This is a very specific situation, and he cannot find others who have experienced it, or at least decided to share their experience of it online. Since all he could find wasn’t very close, he decided to disregard it.

Her stomach growls again and Kenta looks over at her, deciding to take one of the granola bars, opening it. “If you’re hungry, you should eat.” He holds the bar to her mouth, and to his surprise, she actually bites down and begins to chew.

Kenta's eyes twinkle with amusement, a faint glint that passes as fast as it arrived. As he watches her eat while asleep, she reminds him of animal videos he’s seen of owners feeding them while asleep or waking to the smell of food. Sometimes the simple answer is the solution. With the second bite, she begins to stir, shifting to sit up rather than lie down.

Hana wakes slowly, first thinking of warmth, then of crunching? She finds herself chewing and suddenly freezes. There’s food in her mouth. She takes a moment to think about the taste in her mouth, chocolate, oats, fruit. Okay good, not poison, but she sits up abruptly. “Why…am I eating?”

Kenta places the half eaten granola bar in her hand. “You appeared in need of sustenance.” He gestures to the bar. “It’s good for you, lots of protein.”

She stares at him. “...did you feed me when I was asleep?”

He nods as if it was a normal thing to do and she looks at him confused that he’s just fine with this situation.

Hana looks at the bar, then at the man in front of her before around at her surroundings. “Am I… being kidnapped?”

“No.” Kenta replies, tilting his head. “You accepted employment, I’ll explain but eat first. You seem like you haven’t eaten properly in a while.”

Hana decides to keep eating the granola bar, despite the situation, the man didn’t seem to have any malicious intent. “Where am I anyway?”

“Your workplace.”

Hana waits for him to keep going but after a few awkward seconds of staring she asks. “...Doing what?”

“Fixing inaccuracies and correcting inefficiencies.”

Hana frowns slightly, her brows drawn together in confusion. “What does that even mean? Are we editors?”

Kenta stands, simply walking to his desk to grab a folder before placing it in front of her. “Your first assignment.”

The brunette opens the folder and reads the cover page aloud. “Residential unit 2B… inventory irregularities?” She blinks in confusion. “I’m cleaning?”

“If it helps you comprehend the task to think of it that way.”

She stares at Kenta, at first he seemed okay but now he feels like he’s avoiding giving clear instructions. “Why are you being so vague, it’s on purpose isn’t it?”

“No.” Kenta responds seriously and she sighs, rubbing her face.

“Alright, where is it?”

Kenta taps the folder. “Everything you need is inside.”

She looks back down and turns the page, there’s an address, two names and a time. “This… this isn’t everything I need. This is the start of everything maybe.”

“It’s sufficient.”

Hana exhales slowly, feeling her patience thinning since she’s still not running on much sleep. “And I’m supposed to just go to this place at this time, I assume to meet these people, and once I’m there I-” She leads off for him to finish.

She looks at him and he just looks back and she tries again. “No training?”

Kenta gestures to the folder. “You have everything that’s needed.”

Hana looks at the very unhelpful folder and closes it with a sigh. “I guess I do, it’s incredibly helpful.”

Kenta nods as if agreeing with her and she can’t help but look at him confused. He didn’t seem like a bad man but he certainly was a bit…off.

“I am getting paid right? With benefits?” She vaguely recalls talking about it when she was half asleep.

He nods again. “Yes. If you perform this task well I’ll include any benefits you want, including health and dental.”

Hana smiles. “Perfect.” With the difficulty of finding a job, let alone one with good benefits, she was not going to squander this chance.

She stands up, stretching slightly but still visibly tired. “What happens if I mess up?”

Kenta meets her gaze. “You won’t.”

“No hesitation, huh.” She puts her hands on her hips. “Do you know me?”

He shakes his head. “Not before today.”

Somehow that makes his confidence in her abilities worse. Blind faith in others isn’t the best trait to have in any business. Hopefully whatever business this is doesn’t go under because of it.

“Alright, well I’ll do my best then I guess.” She picks up the folder. “Let’s see, what time was it again?”

“You should leave now.” Kenta looks at his watch.

She blinks. “Now?”

“Yes.” He looks at her seriously. “If you’re late, the outcome will change.”

Hana stares at him then sighs as she picks up her purse. “You’re really bad at explaining things.” She tucks the folder under her arm. “I’ll go clean this mystery apartment for you. If I see anything weird I’m calling the cops.”

Kenta watches as she heads to the door before. “Hana?”

She turns to him, her hand paused on the door handle. “What is it?”

“Don’t focus on the room.”

Her eyes squint in confusion. “That’s literally the job.”

He doesn’t say anything back so she leaves, hoping with all of her heart that it’s an easy job.

Hana arrives at the building in the middle of the morning, right on time. It wasn’t in a bad neighborhood, doesn’t look strange, just a normal apartment complex. She looks at the folder again to confirm the room and begins to make her way up the stairs. “Okay, just go in, introduce myself, clean and leave.” She sighs. “Then I can go home and properly rest…I hope.”

She proceeds up to the door and holds her hand up to knock before she realizes something. She doesn’t need to hold her arm up to knock, she could just knock with her arm down. Is the sound different though, would that be weird? She holds her arm up again, choosing to be safe, and pauses as she hears muffled voices arguing. She bites the inside of her cheek, debating if she should just leave but if she doesn’t, she’ll be late.

She knocks anyway. The voices stop and a few steps can be heard as someone approaches the door, and it opens slightly. A man peers out, scanning her up and down. “Can I help you?”

Hana holds up her folder. “I’m here for… inventory irregularities?”

He squints his eyes in confusion and she tries again. “Cleaning.” She puts the folder down. “Probably.”

They still stare and she shrugs.” Honestly, I’m learning with you here.”

He slowly opens the door and a woman is sitting on the couch with her arms crossed. The apartment was spotless, no clutter or stains, just tension.

“So, where's the mess?”

The woman points to her husband without hesitation. “There.”

The man points back. “She started it.”

Hana looks down at her folder again and realizes there are no cleaning supplies, just names. She begins to think this isn’t a cleaning job but a feelings job. She had been sent into marital combat with zero training, Kenta was going to have some explaining to do.

The husband dropped into his armchair with a loud sigh. “So, are you some kind of counselor?"

“No.”

“Mediator?”

“No.”

“Priest?”

“Would I be dressed like this as a priest?”

“Then why are you here?”

Hana sighs. “I ask myself that every day.”

The woman barked a laugh as Hana carefully leaned against the wall. “Well, since I’m new, what happened?”

“He never tells me anything!”

“I do though!”

“He never tells me when he’s going out bowling!”

“I go Thursdays!"

“You didn’t tell me it was Thursdays!”

“I could have sworn you knew!”

“How would I know?!”

Hana helps up her hands. “Alright, so what’s the problem?”

The woman huffs. “He goes out with his friends without inviting me.”

The man crosses his arms. “Because she doesn’t like all of my friends, she wouldn’t like it. She also gets mad at me for no reason.”

“I get mad because you don’t help me with the house chores!”

The man throws up his hands. “I offer!”

“While on the couch!”

“That is offering!”

“You look so comfy I don’t want you to get up when you say it from there!”

Hana laughed before covering her mouth, they were kind of adorable.

“So you miss each other.”

They both stare at her.

Hana smiles. “You’re both upset when the other is doing something away, be it fun or work. You should say that directly instead of being roundabout like this.”

She points to the woman. “You’re lonely when he leaves, feel unappreciated when he stays.” Then to the man. “You feel guilty going out and useless staying in.”

The couple looks at each other as if it just hit them. The wife mutters first. “I don’t like eating alone.”

The husband's posture softened. “I don’t like leaving when you look sad.”

She frowned. “Then why go?”

“I don’t want my friends to think I’m weird by cutting them out entirely.”

“You’re already weird.”

“That’s fair.”

Hana smiles. “How about go together just sometimes?”

The man rubs his chin. “We did make a new friend named Frank, he’d love to meet you, he’s a big Columbo fan like you.”

She gasps. “Why didn't you invite me earlier?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know, you just look anti-bowling.”

“What does that even look like?” Her eyes narrow and he gestures vaguely.

“Like this?”

She smacks his arm and Hana giggles. “You should do chores together too, even if he seems like he’s resting he can help you for a bit at least.”

“Alright, but no touching the laundry.”

The husband frowns. “I can handle laundry.”

“Last time my white shirt turned pink.”

“Okay, maybe I can’t.”

Hana points. “Then learn together.”

The wife looks down at her ring. “We used to do everything together.”

The husband looked at her with tender eyes as if a memory was playing in front of them. “We got more efficient, we know who's better at what.”

“We got stupid.” She sighs.

He smiles a little. “That too.”

They decide to sit next to each other, she leans into his shoulder like it was what she always did. Hana felt the room lighten.

“You’re good at this.” The woman smiles and Hana shrugs.

“Not so sure about that honestly.”

The man turns to her. “I’m glad my wife hired you.”

“I didn’t hire her, I thought you did.” His wife says and they both look at her confusion. “Who sent you here?”

“Sent me?” Hana looks at her folder. “Um…My boss?”

The woman raises a brow. “What kind of boss sends a random girl to save marriages?”

“A confusing one.”

The woman laughed and reached into a bowl before walking up to her, placing some candies in her palm. “As a thank you.”

Hana smiles and waves as she leaves. “Good luck with bowling!”

Time to head back to the office. Kenta has some explaining to do, a lot of it.