At a certain office,
"Mashida-san, can you hand me that file?"
"Here you go".
"Hey, did you complete the assignment I gave you?"
"Yeah, it's almost done".
"Looks like it will be another busy night".
"Hey, Boss, make sure to treat it as after this, it's way too much work".
"Well, of course, tonight I'll treat ya all to Yakiniku, drinks, and there will also be a bonus at the end of the month."
"Yeah !!!!!"
Then everyone cheered loudly, and so did I. The boss told everyone to quiet down and start working.
Ahh, my head hurts, but I need to focus.
Then I took a sip of coffee and started to work again.
Time flies, four hours later...….
We finally finished our work before the deadline. After that, the section chief took us to a fancy restaurant.
"Cheers!!!!!!!"
It was a festive atmosphere. People are wearing glasses and just having a good time. But Satoru was the oddball in the room. He was holding his glass of beer, but only took small sips. Occasionally, he would frown dew to constant headaches. He started to have these constant headaches a week ago. He went to see a doctor but was told that it would go away after a good rest. He watched his colleagues laugh, drink, and have a good time. But he couldn't join them, not because of the headache but the fact that he felt he didn't belong here. Then suddenly, his boss came to his side to celebrate, but he saw Satoru frowning and not drinking or enjoying. So, he asked,
" Hey, Satoru, why are you all alone here? Come join us."
Hearing his boss say that, Satoru decided to tell the truth, so he said, "Boss, I really don't feel like joining. I've been having these headaches."
His boss looked a little worried. After thinking a bit, he asked Satoru if he wanted to leave early.
Hearing this, Satoru replied, " Thanks, boss, that would be helpful."
"Then be on your way," His boss said.
After getting permission, Satoru drank down the whole mug of beer and stood up to leave, but then his boss handed him 500 dollars and said,
"Sadly, you're leaving early, but it can't be helped. Your health comes first. Take this and take a taxi home, and buy some medicine on your way home, and also take 3 days' sick leave."
Satoru finally showed a little smile. He was really grateful. He thought himself to be lucky to end up in a rare white company where the pay is good and the work environment is also good. Satoru bowed down and thanked his boss for his generosity, and was about to leave when his boss shouted,
"Listen up, everyone, Fujiyama isn't feeling well, so he's leaving early. Wish him good health".
"That's too bad, man."
"Get well soon."
"Here to Fujiyama"
Cheers !!!!
The people at the party all cheered and wished him a speedy recovery. Satoru was really grateful for having such a work environment. So, he waved them goodbye and slowly left the bar. Night in the city is still bustling with people laughing, street vendors selling their goods, families having a great time, it's a holiday after all. Satoru quickly called a taxi and started his journey towards home.
Ding!
After getting off the elevator, he went towards his apartment and opened the door. The lights were off, and why wouldn't they be? He had no one to welcome him. He was an orphan and still unmarried. People around his age at the company, most of them have mostly gotten married. But for some reason, he was still single. And so, no one was there to welcome him. With a sigh, he went inside, took off his shoes, and turned on the lights. The apartment wasn't as messy as you would expect from a bachelor living alone. From when he was little, he liked to keep his room clean and tidy. And it has become a habit at some point. After settling down his stuff, he took a bath. Out of the bath, he felt a little hungry. It's because he hadn't had anything to eat the entire day, partially because of his headaches. And he hardly had anything at the party. So, his stomach started a rebellion. With a sigh, he went towards the kitchen. There was nothing to eat in the kitchen because he didn't make anything this morning. So we went towards the stove and left it. In a sauce pot, he added water and salt and started to boil it. When the water started to boil, he added pasta to the pot. While the pastas were being cooked, in another pan, he added some olive oil. He finely chopped some garlic and chili flakes, then added them to the pan. After the garlic got a little color, he added crushed tomatoes to the pan. He seasoned it with some salt and black pepper. While he was doing this, his pasta was ready. He took a cup of pasta water and drained the rest of the water. On the other side, when his tomatoes were cooked and were sticking to the pan, he added that cup of pasta water and stopped the tomatoes from sticking to the bottom. Then he added his pasta and started to gently stir it. When it was almost done, he added some fresh basil to the pan and turned off the heat. Cooking is one thing that he really enjoys, so whenever he has the time, he cooks something. And over the years, he had gotten really good at that.
After the pasta finished cooking, he used a fork to twirl the pasta, so he could plate it nicely, then he grated some parmesan cheese on top and added a couple of basil leaves on top. He was really proud of his work. He sat down and put his hands together, and prayed,
" Itadakimasu "
When
Suddenly, everything went black.