Chapter 4:

Business as Unusual

I Quit My Job and Sold Lemonade to Gangsters


It was a new day. Akahiko and Rei decided to head to the market even earlier than usual to do some networking. This was a first for Rei; being the ruggedly independent type, she had previously avoided cooperating with other merchants in the market.

“Uh… hello!”

“AAH!”

There was a loud crash as Asume Fujimitsu dropped a crate of raspberries.

“You scared the hell out of me!”

“I’m sorry! Can I help you?”

“You better!”

When all of the raspberries were thoroughly washed and rightfully returned to their crate, she let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m Akahiko. I just started working at the lemon booth with Rei…”

“And I’m Fujimitsu Asume! What do you want?”

“- uh…”

Akahiko was taken aback by her energy and bluntness. He knew that much like his sudden change in career, he couldn’t ease his way into this encounter.

“Rei and I want to work with you. We would buy a crate of raspberries every morning so raspberry lemonade could be on the menu.”

“Give me a second. I have a couple of questions.”

Asume rolled the proposal around her head.

“What makes this a good move for either of us?”

“You get guaranteed daily income, we get fresh ingredients. And to make it better, what you sell to us doesn’t cut into your market. You’re selling an ingredient, and we’re selling a complete product.”

“That’s a hell of a marketing pitch. What did you do before this, work accounting?”

“Data entry.”

“Ah, perfect. A numbers guy.”

Akahiko already didn’t like where this was going.

“Like everyone else here, I sell these by weight. 3500 yen per kilo. A box is 5 kilos, and there are four boxes in a crate. That means each crate would cost you…?”

“70,000 yen.”

“Ding ding ding. We have a winner. I saw you slinging some lemonade over there yesterday. Do you really think you have what it takes to make a profit off of this? That’s a lot to spend in a day.”

“You’re right, with our current prices, we would have to sell over 90 every day just to break even.”

“And that doesn’t account for the cost of sugar, now does it?”

“Ah, and you’re right again. Also, 5 kilos already sounds like quite a lot. Maybe instead of a crate, I could buy a box?”

“Now you’re getting more reasonable. I harvest 3 crates every day, and I don't want a third of my stock going to another stand.”

“That makes sense. Do we have a deal?”

Asume agreed. They met up with Rei before their stalls opened to discuss the terms.

“Are you Rei?”

“Yes, and you are?”

“I’m Fujimitsu Asume! I work at the raspberry stall.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, I thought Asume was a surname, were you given that name or-”

“My name just sounds better if you say it given name first. Anyways, you’re buying a box of raspberries every day, yeah? I’m cool with you using them for your lemonades and stuff but don’t sell them by themselves. If people want to buy raspberries, you send them to me, got it?”

“Of course, that’s common etiquette.”

And the deal was done like that. The first day, they went through half a kilo. The next, they went through two. And then, they began to approach running out of raspberries every day. At the end of a Wednesday shift, a strange man approached the stall.

“You’re new. Where’s Rei?”

“She’s in the back. Just wait a second.”

When Rei joined them up at the front, Asume walked across to see what was going on.

“Hey Donji, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah. Who’s the new kid?”

Donji leaned against the produce. Akahiko could already tell that Donji was someone you could experience too much of.

“Oh, this is Akahiko, he’s been making drinks to attract more customers.”

Donji placed his foot on the edge of a crate of lemons, leaving him in a pseudo-runner’s-stance. He looked at Akahiko closely.

“I don’t know if I like him yet.”

“Wow, that’s rude.”

“Shut up, Asume!”

“How do you know my name?”

“Your handler tells me about you.”

Suddenly, it clicked for Asume.

“You’re NOT Rei’s boyfriend? You're just her handler? I was all ready to watch some drama unfold!”

“You’re into drama?”

“Not when it happens to me, of course…”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

Donji closed his eyes and forced his fingers onto his forehead, pinching and releasing the skin.

“Okay, what does he do?”

“I just told you, he helps get more sales. Profits are higher than they’ve been in years.”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about information. Does he know to listen? Can he pry? Is he of service to US?”

“Yes. These lemonades are on the expensive end, so people coming to buy will be rich. More rich people means more leads.”

“You’re aware of what bringing in someone new means?”

“Of course.”

“And does HE know?”

“No, but this is his only option.”

“What do you mean?”

Rei leaned in and told Donji about Akahiko’s life savings being stolen by a rival gang.

“Ah, I see. I guess this is acceptable.”

Donji turned to Akahiko.

“Well, you’ve passed my test for now. In a month, you can come to a company meeting. In the meantime, it would be a shame for a stall like this to be a… fruitless endeavor. Just focus on getting more information. As much as possib-”

“-Wait, what’s a company meeting?”

“Rei, you tell him later. It’s not a public matter. Also, all of you should get ready, you’re going to meet the new boss. We got someone BIG!”

“How big are we talking?”

“Not a CEO, but someone very, very high up the corporate ladder. He’s rather disgruntled and wants us to do a put against his own company.”

“No way… that means-”

“Exactly. He wants us to tank his large company and give him some of the spoils for “killing the beast”. Isn’t that crazy?”

“And he’s serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

“Well, I’m excited now.”

“Of course you are, Asume, you run off of drama!”

“Hey, that was new information to you all three minutes ago!”

Donji looked around and abruptly left without saying goodbye. Rei had come to accept this sort of behavior from him; it was his schtick.

“Where did he go?”

“Don’t worry about it. He’ll come back when he needs us.”

“Isn’t it a little weird to talk about stuff like that out in the open?”

“I suppose someone could have been watching, but even if someone got the jump on us, we would be plenty strong.”

Akahiko didn't want to process what Rei meant by that, but his mind started racing with the possibilities of all sorts of atrocities that could happen at their expense. The thoughts lingered until after they closed shop and kept him up that night.