Expired First Love: Section 2 - chapter 5

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Section 2: A Heartless Love

850 yen/hour – Chinese Restaurant – Hall Staff – Experience Preferred 

870 yen/hour – Salesperson Wanted – No Experience Required 

1100 yen/hour – Care Assistant Wanted – Experience Preferred – Training Period Available 

The break room, about 5 sq m (50 sq ft) in size with no windows, was dimly lit, with one of the fluorescent lights out. Takahito Murakami sat with one leg up on a chair, flipping through a job information magazine.

The hourly wages for part-time jobs were all about the same. Having a certification could increase the rate slightly, but it was difficult since he had no particular skills. There might be full-time job openings at Hello Work (employment office), but he didn’t want to go there. He didn’t have good memories of that place.

The door creaked open, and Ichou, who was on the same shift, peeked her head in through the gap. Her hair, bleached to the point of being blonde rather than just light brown, caught Murakami’s eye.

“Taka-san, you know you’re not supposed to bring store merchandise in here without permission.”

“I paid for it, so don’t say things that give people the wrong idea. I’m contributing to the store’s sales, you know.”

Murakami raised the job information magazine high in the air, as if showing it off. Ichou muttered, “Acting all high and mighty,” then pointed at the clock on the wall.

“Break’s over already.”

Murakami had lost track of time while looking through the magazine. He tied back his longer hair with a light blue rubber band and returned to the register.

Working at a convenience store was easy. The store was small, so he quickly learned where everything was, and basically, all he had to do was run the register. He worked full-time during the day, Monday through Friday, from 9 AM to 5 PM, with three clerks covering that shift. The other workers on the day shift rotated on different days, except for him.

Having been unemployed for a long time, the convenience store job was good rehabilitation, but the hourly wage was low. It was just barely enough to live on, but Murakami had debts he needed to repay.

As soon as the 19-year-old coworker left for his break, a group of students in blue jerseys with “Sanrai High School” printed on them flooded into the store, which had been so empty that a cat could have held a race inside. They were a group of students from a sports club. The lines at both registers quickly formed, but since most of them were buying drinks, bread, and fried chicken, which didn’t require heating like bento boxes, they were processed quickly. A middle-aged salaryman, caught between the group of students waiting in line, coughed awkwardly.

Once the sweaty group of students left, the store became quiet again. The flow of customers was like the ebb and flow of the tide. Separate from that, the store was always busy during meal times in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

Leaving Ichou at the register, Murakami began cleaning the store. As he was sweeping up dust with a broom, he heard Ichou mutter, “Taka-san, you really seem like a playboy.”

“I’m devoted, you know.”

Ichou leaned over the register, resting her hands on it.

“Then maybe I should phrase it differently. You’re the type that women can’t leave alone.”

“I’m super popular, you know.”

“That sounds so old-man-ish.”

Murakami laughed and swept under the swinging door that connected the register area to the store. A small button rolled out. Small things like this often fell to the floor in the store. Once, he had found a false eyelash and mistakenly thought it was a bug, which made him jump back in surprise.

“So, does Mr. Popular have a girlfriend?”

It was a natural progression in the conversation, but it felt like she was probing him. When he first started the job, Ichou would talk endlessly about her boyfriend, even when he didn’t ask, but recently she had stopped mentioning him... Maybe they had broken up.

“I told you, women can’t leave me alone.”

He hinted at the existence of someone. Ichou’s smiling face stiffened slightly.

“But you said the other day that you didn’t have anyone.”

“I just got one.”

Ichou abruptly ended the conversation and began tidying up the register area, while Murakami finished mopping the floor. As the number of customers gradually increased, Murakami put away the cleaning tools, washed his hands, and returned to the register.

A slim man with multiple piercings in his ears and a woman in a miniskirt, their arms around each other, bought snacks and condoms. They looked like university students. Murakami remembered a time when he had been like that. His student days had been fun. He had many friends, his newly established camping club was enjoyable, and his girlfriend, Hinano, was the most beautiful girl around. He had secured a job at a major company with ease, and it felt like the good times would last forever.

The company he joined was busy and strict. His carefree student days came to an abrupt end as he was baptized by the harsh realities of the working world, but he didn’t dislike it. His peers were all highly capable and quick-witted. Murakami didn’t want to fall behind them. He was desperate to learn the job faster than anyone else and become a valuable asset to the company as soon as possible.

However, as if mocking Murakami's efforts, he was fired after just six months. The reason was that his supervisor, Mizoguchi, who had been responsible for his training, had embezzled 20 million yen. The documents Murakami had been processing, without fully understanding their contents, had been falsified by Mizoguchi. As a result, Murakami was also seen as having cooperated in the crime.

Mizoguchi had taken advantage of Murakami’s inexperience as a new hire. Mizoguchi's crimes had been ongoing for three years, and the inspection department was also criticized for failing to notice. Fearing that the company’s poor management would be exposed, they avoided involving the police, instead demanding full repayment of the 20 million yen and dismissing Mizoguchi.

The remaining issue was what to do with Murakami. The company understood that he was a rookie who had been used by Mizoguchi. Some argued that the punishment was too harsh and that he should be allowed to stay, but in the end, the company’s guilt pushed Murakami out with a severance package that was unusually generous for a new employee.

When the department head informed him of his dismissal, Murakami’s world went dark. Even though he had been deceived, he was aware that he had done something terrible and felt guilty about it. However, he thought that since he hadn’t knowingly committed a crime, he would eventually be forgiven. His peers also reassured him, saying, “You were just used, so you’ll be fine.”

If this had happened in his previous environments—high school or university—he might have been forgiven. But this was a company, and anything unprofitable was hidden away, and troublesome matters were discarded. After all, replacements were always available. For the first time, Murakami truly understood the word “unfair.”

The shock left him unable to hide his frustration, and he lashed out at the department head who had fired him, saying, “Even if another new hire had been placed under Mizoguchi-san, the same thing would have happened. If it was unlucky to be assigned to him, then punish the person responsible for making that decision.” In the large, quiet meeting room, where there were only the two of them, the department head looked down at the agitated Murakami with a displeased expression and coldly said, “A bird does not foul the nest it is about to leave.”

"I'll give you one piece of advice—don’t even think about going to court. Even though you're a rookie, that doesn’t mean you bear no responsibility. If you go to trial, you’ll be the one humiliated."

These additional words left Murakami speechless. Was it... his fault? Was it really his fault? All he had done was input a string of numbers he was given, with no real understanding of what they meant. At one point, wanting to learn more about the flow of the process, he had asked Mizoguchi if he could see the previous year's documents for reference, but Mizoguchi had brushed him off, saying he didn’t know where they were. It was only now that Murakami realized that Mizoguchi had refused because he feared his crimes would be discovered. But with such tricks being played, how could Murakami have possibly known?

Even if... even if he had been let go, if there had been some sympathy or concern shown toward him, he might have found some solace. If they had said something like, "We wanted to keep you, but it was the company’s decision, and we had no choice. We're sorry," it might have made a difference, even if it was just lip service. But the company hadn’t helped him; they had thrown him out as if he were a nuisance.

It was as if he had been pushed aside just a few steps into his career. Hearing from someone that a fellow employee from the same university had said, "Murakami was just unlucky. But luck is part of skill," left him seething with anger. This was the same person who had cried and encouraged him to "hang in there" when he left. Could they say the same thing if they were in his shoes? If their boss had embezzled money and they were fired as collateral damage, would they still say it was just bad luck and shrug it off?

If he hadn’t been assigned to that department, if he hadn’t been placed under Mizoguchi, he would probably still be working at that company. He felt furious at everyone—the heartless colleagues, the cold-hearted department head who fired him, the company that decided to let him go. He was angry, frustrated... but ultimately, the real culprit was Mizoguchi.

Mizoguchi wasn’t the type to excel at work, but he was a man with a low profile and a charming, friendly demeanor. Thinking that this friendliness had all been an act to deceive him made Murakami sick to his stomach. Despite this, Mizoguchi still appeared in his dreams, and just as Murakami was about to punch him, he would wake up, frustrated and cursing his luck.

No matter how angry or bitter he felt, time wouldn’t rewind. What had happened was irreversible, and people wouldn’t keep sympathizing with him forever. Ultimately, it was someone else's problem, and they would soon forget. Even though he had fallen far behind, and even though he couldn’t trust anyone anymore, he knew he had to move forward.

Murakami started job hunting the week after he was fired. He searched for jobs with better conditions and higher pay than his previous company. He was determined to find something better, partly out of a desire to prove his old company wrong. However, it wasn’t easy to find a job that met his expectations. The clerk at the Hello Work office told him, "You have a good education and you’re young, so if you aren’t picky, there are plenty of jobs available." But he couldn’t bring himself to settle. Lowering his standards from his previous job would make him feel like a permanent loser, and he couldn’t accept that.

He managed to find a few companies that met his criteria and went for interviews, but none of them hired him. Most of the rejection calls were simple, saying, "Unfortunately, we have decided not to proceed with your application." However, two companies were more direct, telling him, "We’re concerned about the reason you left your previous job." No matter how hard he tried to move forward, his previous company’s shadow loomed over him, holding him back. The frustration kept him awake at night.

As the rejections piled up and he remained jobless, Murakami grew increasingly disheartened and mentally exhausted. During his final year of university, he had secured a job offer after only two applications. The ease of that process made this round of job hunting feel all the more grueling. He began to seriously question if anyone needed him at all.

Unable to secure a new job, he found it harder to return home. He had told his parents the full story of why he had been fired. They were outraged on his behalf and tried to console him. His father was so angry that he nearly stormed into the company to confront them, but Murakami calmed him down, saying, "It’s over now." He had told them, "I’ll find a new job soon," but three months passed, and he was still unemployed. His mother would occasionally call to ask, "Any luck finding a job?" Recently, he had started pretending not to notice the calls. He didn’t want to admit, "I still haven’t found anything."

As time dragged on, and he continued to resist settling for less, his confidence eroded. Five months passed. He had been using his severance pay to support himself while job hunting, but as his savings dwindled, he began to worry. He started considering taking a part-time job. Around that time, he began to think about helping out with the family business.

His parents ran a small company that manufactured parts for medical equipment. His father had built the business from the ground up, and although Murakami was their only son, they had never once asked him to take over the company.

When he was job hunting after university, working at the family business hadn’t been entirely out of the question, but he had wanted to broaden his horizons and work in a different field. Now, he wondered if this turn of events was fate. It might be interesting to help grow the family business while learning the ropes. Although he didn’t have the technical skills to produce parts, he might be able to bring in more business. He had always enjoyed working with people, and at his previous job, he had hoped to work in sales. Unfortunately, he had been placed in a completely different department...

For the first time since leaving his previous company, Murakami felt like he had a goal in life, and it invigorated him. When he told Hinano about his decision, she said, "If that’s what you’ve decided, I’ll support you."

Just as he made up his mind, he received an email from his mother asking, "Do you think you’ll be coming home soon?" He replied, "I’ll be back tomorrow." He wondered what his parents’ reaction would be when he told them he was going to take over the family business. He imagined they might cry tears of joy.

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