Chapter 2: King's Gambit 002
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I WAS AWOKEN BY A MUFFLED YET ANNOYED VOICE COMING FROM THE NEXT ROOM. The voice clearly belongs to Yuma and somehow I can make out what he's trying to do – wake Reiji-senpai up.
"I told you don't drink too much when it's Sunday. See, you couldn't even wake up on time." Yuma was kind of whispering, at least that was what he's trying to do, but deep agonizing moans from Reiji-senpai was all I could hear as a reply.
I grabbed my phone to check the time – 30 minutes before the alarm I set last night to go off, 6:15AM. To be honest, I had a hard time falling asleep last night. Maybe it's because I'm in a new place or maybe because I'm anxious about my first day of internship.
I still feel sleepy and wish I could think about going back to sleep but I just decided to get up and prepare breakfast for everyone. I left the bedroom just as Yuma emerged out from the room next door. He was shaking his head with an annoyed, but can't be helped expression. I suddenly got the feeling that this happens most of the time and somehow he's used to it.
"Morning, Yuma."
He quickly turned to look at me and then glanced at the wall clock. "Eisuke! Isn't it too early for you to wake up?"
"Yeah but I could hear you from the other room."
"Sorry. Was I too loud?" He said with a shy smile. "I was trying to wake Reiji up. We have to go to the office early 'cause we have an important meeting today with a client for a new project. He's mostly likely to handle that project that's why I want him to help preparing before the meeting today." He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed in defeat. "I'll just let him sleep in, looks like that guy's having a hangover."
"Uhm, Is that okay?"
"Yeah. He does his job really well even though he's like that. Anyways, you can still go back to bed."
"I was actually thinking of making us a breakfast." I can't help but yawn.
"Awww…" It surprised me when I glanced back at Yuma and found him looking at me with 'puppy' eyes. "I missed Eisuke's cooking…"
I snorted, "It's just Fried Rice nothing to feel too happy about."
"Too bad. I have to leave early. I will just change into work clothes and then I'm off."
"Eh? You're not going to eat breakfast?"
"I am thinking of grabbing some bread at the convenience store on the way to the office." He stepped closer to me and then tapped me on my right shoulder twice. "I'll eat your food next time Eisuke. For now, could you wake up Reiji after an hour? You should go to the office together; he's your direct supervisor anyway." He finished it off by winking at me plus an annoying smile plastered on his stupid face.
"What should I do if he still wouldn't wake up?" For fvck's sake! It's only my first day as an intern and yet I was already given such troublesome task. Waking your hangover superior and going to work together? It's not even part of the job description.
"You can do whatever you want as long as he wakes up." That goofy smile never left his face as if he's enjoying passing his responsibility onto me. "Make him drink hot coffee later when he's up. Three tablespoons black coffee. No cream. No sugar."
"Huh? What kind of monster would drink something like that?"
"Reiji." He said pointing at Reiji-senpai's door as if it was something obvious, then ran off to our room to change.
I was left alone in the living room and I could only shake my head. I don't know if I can even wake him up but whatever. I don't want to be late on my first day of work.
I went to the bathroom to pee and to wash my face. When I stepped out from the bathroom, Yuma was also about to leave.
"Yuma." I called out. "I will leave that guy if he really wouldn't wake up."
He chuckled and said, "Yeah that's fine." Before closing the door behind him.
It's already a rough morning. I'm kind of having a bad feeling about today. But well, whatever.
I cooked the fried rice and quickly ate before showering. And when I finished, it's already time to wake senpai up. I walked closer to his bedroom door, listened for any sign of senpai being awake before I carefully knocked.
"Reiji-senpai! Hey wake up!."
I knocked and knocked, louder each time, but still no sign of living senpai. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a nice scent of flowers. The same scent I smelled from Reiji-senpai after he finished his bath last night. I walked into his room and found him deep in his sleep. The room was dark despite the hint of sunrays coming from the small spaces of the curtains by his window. His room seemed a little smaller than the other room despite the lack of furniture.
"Reiji-senpai, wake up." I leaned forward to shake his shoulder and only noticed how thin he was even though he was just hugging me dead drunk last night. "Reiji-senpai!"
"Mmmnnn…" He tossed on the other side turning his back at me, hugging a big pillow with all his limbs.
Before I completely lose my composure, I have to force him to wake up. I marched towards the windows and swiped the curtains open, nice sunlight finally coming in, bringing in brightness that lit the whole room. Then I walked back to Reiji-senpai to pull the pillow he's comfortably clinging to.
"Senpai wake up!" I yelled and he finally stirred in his bed.
His brows were drawn together while rubbing his temples. When he opened his eyes, my angry, rather annoyed, expression was the first thing he saw.
"Eisuke?" He mumbled in his raspy morning voice.
To my surprise, he threw his arms around my neck immediately bringing me closer to him. He buried his face on the crook of my neck then I felt him inhaled.
"Mmmm… You smell nice." He mumbled, sniffing me once more.
"And you… smell like a dead person." I deadpan as I removed his arms off me. "Get up from there. I made breakfast."
---
I WAS MAKING HIS COFFEE WHEN HE WALKED INTO THE KITCHEN. He has bed hair all over his head, his clothes were awfully wrinkled and his face pale as a radish.
'I wonder how this person sleeps…' I thought to myself as I pour three spoonful of black coffee powder into a cup.
He flopped himself on the empty chair, leaning forward while holding his head as if it weighs a ton. He grumbled and grunted, complaining about his aching head.
"Ugh, I hate hangover!" He's rubbing his temples nonstop, eyebrows still drawn together.
"You should stop drinking too much then. You did that to yourself." I carefully placed the white mug in front of Reiji-senpai. The strong bitter aroma of coffee flooded my nostrils as I pour hot water in it.
"I said I hate hangover but I absolutely love drinking." He then realized the coffee in front of him. "Ahhh! Coffee!"
He carefully took a sip on his hot coffee. I watched him wondering what will be his reaction after drinking that kind of coffee. My mouth gaped open when I saw satisfaction took over his face as if the pain from his hangover magically disappears. Then I suddenly remembered the time I first saw someone doing this magic trick, where with just a magic word the ribbon hidden inside his hand disappeared. This time the magic word(s) was Bitter As Fuck Coffee.
"If you want to eat, here…" I lifted the small plate covering the top of the bowl in front of me. "I cooked it."
For a split second I caught glint in his eyes as he stared at the mildly cold fried rice before him. My heart missed a beat but I shrugged it off.
I stood up while saying, "After you're done eating, you should quickly get ready for work. If you're still not done after 40 minutes I'll leave you behind. I don't wanna be late on my first day."
Then I left him alone in the kitchen gobbling up the food I made.
***
"HEY! I NEVER KNEW YOU COULD COOK."
We're on our way to the office. The ride to work is 30 minutes by bus. In an attempt to, at least, stay away from him, I was planning not to seat with him and just listen to music all the way to work. But to my dismay, since it's a rush hour, the bus seats were completely occupied. As a result, Reiji-senpai and I were sitting together in the 2-seater side of the bus.
I tried to ignore the fact that he's sitting right beside me but he kept on talking to me and pulling my earphones out when I don't respond to him. That's why I just stopped listening. To the music, I mean.
"It was just fried rice. Everybody knows how to cook it." I replied to him without trying to hide my annoyance but Reiji-senpai doesn't seem to mind. He's really good at vexing me.
He happily inched closer to me. Again, there's the nice smell of flowers coming from him. "No. No. Not everyone. I don't know how to cook anything."
"Why did you sound so proud saying that?"
He grinned at me. "Well… At least, there's someone who actually knows how to cook in that house. Yuma cooks sometimes but I don't understand why he keeps messing up the taste of his foods. Sometimes they're too salty, sometimes they're tasteless. There was even a time when he put sugar in the curry instead of salt." His eyes were smiling as he recalled the memory. He's complaining about Yuma's cooking but he doesn't really seem to hate it. "Sometimes Yuma would bring home foods made by his girlfriend but I'm basically living on instant foods, take outs and convenience store foods."
"Alcohol as well?"
He chuckled, "Yeah. I almost forgot that. By-the-way how was Youjin?"
For the first time since we boarded the bus, I turned to look at him. "Why did you suddenly asked about Youjin?"
"Nothing. Is there anything wrong in me asking, Mr. Bodyguard?"
"Bodyguard?!"
"I just wanted to be friends with Youjin during High School but you were always standing guard over him like a freakin' bodyguard."
"Because you were a suspicious person who had ulterior motives on approaching him. That person is really naïve and trusting of people. I don't want people taking advantage of him."
"Isn't that what makes him cute? It makes you want to take care of him and protect him."
"Just so you know, he already have a boyfriend."
"I know. They're quite lovey-dovey. I'm jealous."
"Even though, I don't fully trust Keita just yet, since Youjin looks so happy with him I won't let you get in between them."
"Heh. Don't worry."
***
REIJI-SENPAI AND I ARRIVED IN THE OFFICE JUST IN TIME. The lady in the lobby greeted him with bright smile but senpai just responded with a simple 'Good morning' and a small smile. He clocked in then he asked her to get me this IR ID that I will use for timing in and timing out; I also need it to open doors in the office that have automatic lock.
We passed by a small hallway that leads to a work area. It is an open space type of office where there are seven long desks with 4 PCs on each of them for 4 employees. The ambiance of the work area is quite nice and cozy; it doesn't feel like an office at all. On the east side of the room is a long window that allows a good sunlight light to enter the room, while giving an over-view of the city and a mountain by the horizon. By-the-way the office is situated on the 16th floor of a commercial building in one of the busiest street of N City. The walls were painted with different styles of art with vibrant colors giving the over-all look of the area a playful vibe. This place looks more of a playground for artists than an office for me. And I liked it.
"Guys, here's our new intern, Morikawa Eisuke." Reiji-senpai introduced me to everyone after he called for their attention. What surprised me was the big change in senpai's demeanor. The hangover, annoying bastard was gone and replaced by this well-respected boss like he was possessed or something.
"Oh thank goodness, you're here Reiji!" Yuma said after leaving a room by the hallway across from where Reiji and I were standing and glancing our way. "Come here. There's something you need to confirm."
"Okay, In a minute." He then turned to someone, a young woman, sitting near us. "Eri, let Eisuke sit with you for a while. Just let him observe what you're doing"
"Sure Yanagi-san*." She instantly replied. (* Surname/Name-san – Mr./Ms./Mrs. Name/Surname)
"Eisuke, this is Eri. Stay with her for a bit."
I nodded. "Okay."
I watched his back as he stormed out of the room towards where Yuma asked him to come. He's really something else when at work, I can't even recognize him.
"Eisuke-kun." The lady, Reiji-senpai called Eri, gestured me to come over. "You should get that office chair over there then sit here beside me." I followed with my gaze to the direction her finger was pointing then did as I was told.
I placed the chair on the spot she pointed earlier and then awkwardly sat. She swung her chair to face me. "I'm Asuma Eri. I don't know if it was already explained to you but our company is project-based. Everyone was given projects to handle and if you don't have an specific project on your hand, you can go help the others. On the other side of that hallway..." She pointed on the hallway where Yuma came our earlier. "You can find the PR and Administrative Department. It was the PR's job to search and accept projects from clients. We can do from leaflets to brochures to advertisement editing, packaging, logo and web design. Everyone in this company is skillful and talented and I'm happy you're now part of us."
"I see... Thank you Asuma-san." She's nice and her smile is very welcoming.
"Just do your best Eisuke-kun. Don't be shy to ask anything you wanted to know. It's easier to ask than to make a mistake for not asking especially to Yanagi-san, your direct supervisor."
"Uhm, Was Rei— Yanagi-san that strict?"
"He's nice outside the office but when it's about work he's really strict and quite the perfectionist. But that what makes him really good at his work. I'm sure you'll learn a lot from him."
She then went back on what she was doing before I arrived. She said she's already on the final stage of the project she's working on. She's doing her final quality check before submitting it to Yuma for the actual quality check.
I think Yuma and Reiji-senpai actually have nice positions in this company. Well, I remember, Yuma said it was their senpai from university who founded this company and they helped him build this company up, gaining more and more clients and good feedbacks as time passed by.
---
IT WAS ALREADY LUNCH TIME WHEN YUMA AND REIJI-SENPAI ALONG WITH TWO OTHER MEN EMERGED OUT FROM THE MEETING ROOM.
I was on my way to the pantry when they left the meeting room with big business smiles in their faces. The two guys, who I'm not familiar with, looked a bit older than Yuma and Reiji-senpai but, nonetheless, they still look quite young. I suddenly had the thought that maybe one of the two guys was the CEO senpai. The other guy must be the important client. He has a nice face and Reiji-senpai hasn't taken his eyes off of him once.
It's already past one o'clock when Reiji-senpai came back to fetch me from Eri-san.
"Thank you for your help, Eri." He said to her with a smile on his face then he turned to me. "Come here, Eisuke. Our desk is there."
I followed him to one corner of the room. There's one long desk, office chairs, and a couple of filing cabinets inside the square space separated by a grey divider. There was only one PC set up inside that small area. It seemed like the personal work area for Reiji-senpai.
"Sit there." He pointed at the empty chair across from him. He then crouched down opening a drawer underneath his desk pulling out a laptop. "Here. I'll let you use this for a while."
He crouched down again, this time taking out magazines and brochures from the drawer. He pushed them all to me. "And this. I want you to familiarize yourself and research about these advertising and travel pamphlet and brochure. You can use that laptop to search and take notes. Use that however you want."
"Okay." I started looking over the magazines and brochures he gave me. Some of them were from other companies while most of them were made by the employees here. Everything looks inviting and eye-catching that it fired up my interest in the job.
Makes me wonder what kind of project will I first work on. I was about to ask him when his phone suddenly rang. As soon as he checked who the caller was, his mouth turned down to a frown while looking at the screen so intently as if cursing whoever it was.
He swiped turning down the call.
"Was it okay not to answer that?"
He turned to look at me, "Yeah."
But in the next 4 hours, that annoying phone call came 5 times. And every single time, Reiji-senpai would turn it down.
---
FINALLY, IT'S TIME TO GO HOME, eight hours of shift done. I was planning to continue studying the magazines at home so I packed them all inside my bag, aside from the laptop.
Am I going home together with Reiji-senpai, as well?
He has been busy since we came here. At first, I was worried he'll continue annoying me even in the office but it seems he's serious when he's working. I glanced up to check on my supervisor but instead I caught a pair of brown eyes staring at me.
"Hey, Eisuke. Are you up for a drink? My treat."
king's gambit chapter 2//end
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