CHAPTER
1 - I'm GONNA live with a high school girL (Part 1)
The sound of keyboard keys echoed through the quiet office. It was the early evening of April, still quite chilly outside, and I was busy working. I glanced over at the wall clock, which read past 8:00 p.m. Most of my coworkers had already finished their work and left, leaving only a few of us still working overtime, including myself.
I sighed as I typed out the source code. "Ha, I wish I could go home by nine tonight."
"Thank you for your hard work, Yuuya-kun."
"Uwaa!" As soon as I heard the woman's voice, something hot touched my neck, causing my body to shake from the sudden action. I quickly turned around in panic, only to find that it was my boss, Tsukishiro Chizuru, grinning mischievously while holding a can of coffee in her hand.
"Chi, Chizuru-san. Don't startle me like that," I said.
"Fufu. Your reaction was priceless. I couldn't help but tease you," she continued, "and here, I have something for you," as she handed me a can of coffee.
"Thank you...gosh. You should be doing things like this with your loved one."
"What!? You don't want it!?" Her narrow eyes became even sharper. Damn, talking about boyfriends and age was a taboo subject for Chizuru-san.
"Yuuya-kun. Why is there no dream guy around me?" she asked.
"It's difficult for me to answer that... By the way, what kind of guy is your ideal type?" I asked.
"Definitely a handsome man who can drink more than me," she replied.
"Those specifications sound tough," I said.
Chizuru-san was a strong drinker. I've never met anyone who can drink more than she can. In my opinion, the day she meets a man better than her is still far away.
"Hmm. I wish the world would be better off destroyed if people don't find me attractive."
Chizuru-san spat out those dreadful words and took a sip of her coffee. Meanwhile, I also took a sip of my coffee.
Chizuru-san was my boss. She seemed to pay a lot of attention to me and has taken care of me since I joined this company. She has beautiful black hair, an intellectual aura, and a body proportion like a gravure idol. There are many attractive qualities about her, but she doesn't have a boyfriend. Perhaps it's because she's a strong drinker and has a troublesome personality.
"Anyway, Yuuya-kun. Your tie is messed up."
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. My bad for being careless” Then Chizuru-san laughed when she saw me hastily fixing my tie and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scold you. Just be careful when you meet with clients."
"Yeah. Um, thanks for the coffee. I have other work to do."
"Oh. You're still working? Why don't you go home today?"
"I'd like to go home, but I have to check on the progress of the other members," I replied.
As an SE's worker, my job isn’t only limited to designing systems, but also requires overall management of the team's schedule as a whole. Depending on the content and progress of the project, I often had to monitor the programmers' activities. At least, that's what I do.
"You work with great attention to your surroundings, and that's one of the reasons why I appreciate you so much. But, your face has been looking rather pale lately."
"My face... pale?"
"Yup. When you were a new employee, you had the face of a young man, but now you're overworked and exhausted. You look like an exhausted old man."
I was surprised when Chizuru-san expressed her concern for me. I tend to pay attention to the people around me, but otherwise I neglect myself.
Do I look that tired? But isn't it cruel to say that I'm like those old mans? I'm only 24, you know? When I felt depressed, Chizuru-san would smile and pat my shoulder.
"If you have problems at work, you can rely on me. I'm your boss. It's my duty to be relied on by my subordinates, right?"
Her kind words soothed my tired heart. It was things like this that made it hard for me to argue with Chizuru-san. She was a boss who cared about her subordinates.
"Thank you so much. I'll rely on you later when I'm in trouble."
"Umu. However, you should be able to change your working style yourself. Isn't your current way of working excessive?"
"That’s true ...."
"If you overwork yourself to the point of exhaustion, it will be your own loss. Be wise in managing your workload, ‘kay?" Then Chizuru-san waved her hand and said, "Well them, bye," and left the office.
She’s right that I’m exhausted from work. I’m so tired, both physically and mentally, that I don’t have the energy to do any housework. My apartment room was also very messy.
"During my first year, I used to clean up a lot, didn't I?" I muttered.
This is my third year at the company. After I started participating in projects and was given more responsibility, my overtime work increased. As a result, my stress and fatigue have continued to increase to this day.
"Haa, work... let's get it done."
For now, I will do what I have to do. After finishing my can of coffee, I went back to work.
◆
Finally, I was able to leave the office around 9 p.m. I climbed the stairs to my apartment and opened the door to room 202, where I live.
"I'm home!"
But there was no one to greet me at home. With a feeling of emptiness, I put my work bag on the floor. Then I microwaved a packaged meal from a convenience store for two minutes and served it on the table with my smartphone.
"Itadakimasu...huh?" The smartphone vibrated, and I looked at the screen with the word "Haha (Mom)" on it.
"Oh, damn. I just remembered that she called me last night."
Last night, I noticed the missed call before I went to bed. I meant to call her back during my lunch break today, but I completely forgot. Then I picked up my smartphone and tapped the screen.
"Hello. Okaa-san, it's been a while since we talked."
What do you mean, it's been a while? I called you yesterday and you didn't pick up, you know?'
"I'm sorry. I forgot to call you back."
You've become lazy since you started working, haven't you? You weren't like that when you were a college student. Are you tired of being a worker?
"I didn't expect even Okaa-san to worry about me. But I'm fine. So, what's wrong?"
"Oh, right. Yuuya, do you remember Aoi-chan?"
"Aoi? Yeah, of course I remember."
Hearing her name filled me with nostalgia, and my cheeks relaxed naturally. Aoi Shiratori, a girl eight years younger than me. She lived near my parents' house. I loved her and took good care of her. The last time I saw her was when she was in the third grade of elementary school. It was in March, just before she was promoted to the next grade. I hadn't seen her since the Shiratori family moved away because of her parents' jobs.
"Aoi-chan wants to meet you, Yuuya. She's coming to your apartment on Sunday."
"I don't mind, but isn't that rather out of the blue? Did Okaa-san say yes to her without checking my schedule first?"
"It's okay. Besides, you're just hanging out in your room, right?"
"Well, that's true, but..." I couldn't say more. It was true that I had free time on my day off, unless I had to deal with deadlines or problems.
"I heard that Aoi-chan started her second year of high school. I was surprised to hear that the school she goes to is near your apartment. That's quite a coincidence, isn't it?"
"High school? Is that so? Little Aoi has become a high school girl, huh?"
Aoi was a nice girl when she was little, but she was a bit of a crybaby and not very friendly. I remember helping her when she was bullied by boys or when she fell and scraped her knee. But now she has grown up and is in high school. I'm looking forward to seeing her.
"By the way, I'm surprised by this sudden conversation. Does Okaa-san have something to tell me?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Because it has to do with Aoi-chan's mother's job... Ah, yes! Sorry, Yuuya. Your father called me. I'm going to hang up now. Please hear the details directly from her. She said she'll arrive at your place around 1 p.m. So please help her, okay!"
"What? Wait, Okaa-san!"
Beep beep, a mechanical sound could be heard through the smartphone, indicating that our call had ended. Then I put my smartphone on the table, crossed my arms, and thought.
Didn't Okaa-san just try to tell me about Aoi's mother? Could it be related to the reason why Aoi is visiting me?
I thought she came to visit me after all these years, but there could be another reason.
"Oh, my goodness. My food is already cold. Itadakimasu."
I still don't know the reason. But for now, let's eat first. If they need anything from me, they will surely call me again. So I continued to enjoy my convenience store meal package in the room where I was alone.
◆
Several days have passed since Mom called me.
Working overtime is hard enough, but yesterday I had to work on my day off because our client requested a sudden change in the specification requirements. This is usually called a client issue. Fortunately, we were able to avoid any serious changes. However, I had to adjust our schedule and go to work on my day off to get as much work done as possible.
Today is Sunday. The company where I work is closed, but Aoi is coming to visit me in the afternoon. You could say that I can't rest. This morning, I woke up before the alarm went off, so I had plenty of time before Aoi arrived.
"Alright, let's finish the housework this morning and get ready to welcome her."
I stretched in bed and checked the time on my smartphone, which showed that it was already past 12:00 p.m.
12 o'clock? Isn't it still morning?
"Don't tell me... I overslept!"
I threw down my smartphone and hurried to get up. This is impossible. I thought I had already woken up before my alarm went off, but apparently I had unconsciously fallen back asleep. The appointment was at 1 p.m., less than an hour before Aoi comes to my apartment. When I looked around my 2DK room, the living room was filled with manga books and empty plastic bottles. It would be very bad to receive a guest in such a situation.
(TLN: 2DK means two rooms plus a dining room and a kitchen.)
The first thing I had to do was clean the room. The comic books and plastic bottles had to be evacuated to the bedroom. There was another western-style room that was used less often than my bedroom, so that room was still clean. Although I would tidy it up as soon as Aoi returned, I didn't want to make everything messy. On the other hand, if I just dusted and wiped it quickly, it should look okay for now. To be on the safe side, I also had to check the condition of the toilet. After that, I just had to prepare tea and snacks. That means there's a lot of work to be done.
"It looks very tight... but just do it!" I hurriedly got ready and started cleaning everything.
TL: Zho
Note from The Translator:
Chisu-chisu, I am a new translator here... and Kutabire Salaryman is the first LN I've translated into English. There may be some grammar mistakes, but I hope you guys feel free to give me feedback.
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