Midst of Summer: Summer Rain

"Kobayashi-kun?" 

"Is something wrong?"

"You alright Mr Kobayashi?"

"What wrong buddy?"

"..."

"Oh."

"Uhm. Nothing."

"Then please help yourself, Kobayashi-kun."

"Yeah, will do." 

"Uhm, thanks Sato-san."

"..."

Double Date.

Who would have thought it would end this way?

It's only Day 1, and yet I am on the course of experiencing so many things that I had missed in high school.

It all happened in a flash. 

Tanaka proposed the idea.

Sato-san agreed to the idea.

And I... 

Got pulled into the idea.

But It will be a nice breath of fresh air for a change. 

Not that I have anything planned for the weekend either.

My usual weekend schedule would have been as followed:

Wake up late after staying up all night watching anime and playing games.

Go for a walk in the park. 

Check out new novels at the bookstore.

While in the evenings, I like to relax by watching my favourite football team play. It's currently an off-season period, so there are no games until late August. So, the weekend tends to be boring.

At least this weekend won't

But the only problem is.

"..."

I have...

I have never been on a date.

Yes.

Not even once.

Unless you count attending a revision session with a group of guys and girls at the library. 

Otherwise, then no.

The best I got to experience dates was through anime, but surely anime logic does not work in real life too, right?

I guess I got some homework to do for Friday night.

"..."

Well back to lunch for now.

Sato-san's bento boxes were full of delicacies, it was difficult to just pick and choose. It felt as if I was in a buffet with many options to choose from. But there was one that caught my eye, it was the potato croquettes.

I grabbed a potato croquette and took a huge bite.

CRUNCH.

"..."

"Kobayashi-kun."

"Does it taste good?"

GULP.

"..."

"This..."

"This...?"

"This is amazing Sato-san!"

"It's so crispy on the outside yet so soft on the inside."

"I'm dreaming!"

The taste of the potato croquette ravaged my body. The flavours danced through my tongue. And my clothes were waiting to be shredded apart. 

"..."

I..

I cannot take it anymore.

Ahhhhhhhhh.

That would undoubtedly be the case if this was Shokugeki no Ryouma. 

The taste of the potato croquette was something heavenly. Tanaka was definitely not exaggerating when he took a bite of the fried shrimp. I would love to try the fried shrimp next time. 

Sato-san would have easily become a top chef had she taken a career in culinary arts. 

Yet here she is, providing us with her blessings. 

"Is that so?."

"I am so glad, I was worried I might have put too much salt in it."

"But I am happy you like it."

Sato-san smiled in delight. 

Must protect that smile.

"Here."

"Have some more, Kobayashi-kun."

Sato-san picked up the whole bento box and offered it right in front of me. 

"Oh yes please, thanks Sato-san."

I took a few more potato croquettes and other vegetables. 

And all of them tasted... 

Amazing. 

"..."

SIPPP.

"Ah, youth."

Tanaka sipped some tea. 

"Shut it Tanaka, you are not that old!"

We eventually finished our lunches and the bento boxes Sato-san had brought in were, completely empty. 

The best lunch I had in a while. 

PHEWWW.

"..."

But why do I feel like we are missing something?

What could it be?

"..."

"Uhm, guys..." 

"I think we forgot about Yamamoto-kun...?"

Of course.

How could we have forgotten?

"..."

I stared at the sky from the window. 

Rest in Peace Yamamoto.

PEACE.

"No, no! He isn't dead Mr Kobayashi!"

"Then where did he go?"

"Well."

"It's a long long story short."

"You see, while you and Ms Sato were flirting, Yamamoto said he quickly needed to head out to buy something."

"But since both of you were too engrossed in..."

"L-O-V-E!"

"You didn't he-..."

"Waaaaaah. La-la-la-love?"

Sato-san fumbled her words as she blushed covering her eyes with her hands.

"Stop teasing her Tanaka!"

"And so you guys didn't hear him."

I'm sorry Yamamoto.

"Mr Kobayashi! Stop looking at the sky!"

"He's still alive! He's still alive!"

"Yes. I have returned comrades."

"Yamamoto, you're alive! Yay!"

"He never died Mr Kobayashi!"

"Welcome back Yamamoto-kun."

Yamamoto made his grand return. He carried a large souvenir bag with rolled-up posters. 

"Yes. I have successfully managed to acquire the Limited Collector Edition of Magical Girl Tenma anime DVD."

"An opportunity I could not miss!"

"Oi Oi... Really man..."

I sighed in disappointment. 

"Uhm. Yamamoto-kun did you have something to eat?"

"I did bring in extra food but it's all finished now..."

"No worries, Mrs Kobayashi. I'm all good, had lunch!"

"Ma-ma-ma-ma-Mrs Kobayashi?"

Yamamoto teased Sato-san as if we were a married couple sharing the same surname.

"Ya-ya-ya-Yamamoto! What you saying man!"

I blushed in embarrassment too.

"Sorry about these guys Sato-san."

"E-e-e-e-It's fu-fu-fu-fine. I don't ma-mu-mu-mind."

"Ko-ko-ko-Kobayashi." 

"No, I can't! Kya!"

Sato-san drowned in embarrassment. 

Her face was fully red.

She became the school idol Tomato-chan!

Right.

I need to find a way to stop these guys.

"Well then, that's lunch done. Shall we start getting back to work?"

"Yeah."

Everyone agreed in reply.

"..."

05:00 PM.

It was finally home time. 

Colleagues exchanged their goodbyes and started heading home. 

This wasn't the case for everyone. 

It is considered very lucky to even finish on time. The seniors head home on time, while regular workers like us continue for a few more hours. 

That's the reality behind the work conditions in Japan. 

"..."

An hour later...

"Ahhhhh. Finally done, done, done!"

"Tenma-chan, I'm coming home soon, my dear Tenma-chan!"

"My girlfriend is cooking stew today, let's go!"

"Nice."

All of us had finished our work, but Sato-san remained silent. I glanced at her, her eyes were still fixated on the computer screen.

"Ms Sato, are you not done yet?"

"Ahaha... Not yet, don't mind me, I'll be done soon."

"Alright cool then. Then don't stay too long."

"See you tomorrow then Ms Sato."

"Yes, please take care of yourself Tanaka-kun"

"See you boys."

"See ya."

"I am gonna head off then too. See Mr and Mrs Kobayashi. We shall meet again tomorrow. Bye for now."

"Yamamoto!"

I blushed. 

"Hehe. See you then Yamamoto-kun."

Sato-san replied with a quiet voice. 

She was exhausted.

The first days are never really easy, I remember finishing at 08:00 PM on my first day. And when I went home, I headed straight to bed. 

It was exhausting. 

The deadlines may not be the next day but there are expectations from seniors that the workload is finished on the day sharp. And leaving the remaining workload for the next day isn't an ideal move either, as your workload will only pile up from there onwards. This is why people prefer staying behind extra hours just to clear off their workload. There are even some who continue at home.

For me, work ends at work, and I do not bring it with me back home. 

I realised this the hard way after a year in this company. I used to spend my weekends just trying to finish off my current week's workload and prepare for the next week. Sure, it did improve my productivity but it wasn't very sustainable at all.

I never felt like I was at home. 

That was the worst feeling ever.

"..."

And I can't let that happen to Sato-san too. 

Maybe I should offer her some help.

"Sato-san." 

"Would you like any help?"

"Ah no no. That's fine Kobayashi-kun. Don't worry about me. It's fine, please don't trouble yourself." 

"I don't want you to waste your time."

"What are you saying Sato-san!"

I replied back with an angry tone. 

My anger was not directed at Sato-san.

I was worried.

Worried that she was falling into the same pattern as I did before. 

During my first year, I used to pull late finishes and when my colleagues realised this, they kindly offered me help. But the mindset I had was, I did not want to bother them. I was worried that I was wasting their leisure and family time. So, I always rejected their help whenever it came by.

And that was the worst mistake I ever made.

Work never ends with that approach, but work does end when you work together. There is nothing wrong with accepting people's kindness. And if you feel bad after, then why not offer your kindness too?

There is a saying, teamwork makes the dream work.

And it's true, not only is it an act of kindness, but it is also the most efficient way of working. 

It's the key to success.

Everyone is on this journey of life and this journey isn't something you can breeze past easily. 

There are obstacles. 

One after another.

Knowing that, why not help each other to face and remove these obstacles?

"It's fine. I don't care."

"Call me stubborn, but I am not leaving you!"

"I'm your Senpai!"

"So don't be afraid to rely on me."

"Alright?"

"..."

"Kobayashi-kun."

Sato-san's face glittered in awe.

SIGH.

"I guess there is no stopping you, is there Kobayashi-kun?"

"Then, I am in your care..."

"Sen~pai."

"Sure."

07:00 PM.

We worked together to complete all the tasks. Had Sato-san worked alone, she would have been in the office for another few more hours. 

"..."

"Wah. Finally done."

"Yes, thank you very much Kobayashi-kun."

"Don't mention it, just let me know if you have any troubles."

"Will do Senpai!"

"..."

"Hahaha."

"Hehehe."

We both laughed with joy.

"Right then, shall we pack our things and head home then?"

"Yes, let's do that."

We turned off our computers, switched off all the lights and locked the office door. 

Sato-san's first day was now...

Complete.

"..."

As we approached the main exit of the building, it started to drizzle. 

Summer Rain. 

That's one of the best things about summer. 

With continuous weeks of heat waves, there is nothing better than being drenched in rain. 

The sound of rain and thunder is pleasant as well. 

"..."

But.

I have work tomorrow. 

I could not afford to get my clothes wet.

And most all...

I forgot my umbrella.

"..."

"Say Kobayashi-kun. Do you have an umbrella?"

"I'm embarrassed to say this Sato-san, but no..."

"Hehe. That's fine."

"If you don't mind, we could share an umbrella?"