Chapter Text
(A/n: Hey guys. Just to let you know, by writing this new book, I want to let you know that I am still a beginner at writing down stuff like this. I get that seeing stuff is dramatic, but there are times when it must be done. I did put the Parody and Spoof genre, so there will be a major number of references and memes around because I tend to mess around, so bear with me. I'm not perfect, like what Tsuma Netori Rei had, just like the other NTR stories through anime or the books, so I will have to try my best.)
A/n: Also, give a shoutout to SchmockyyySohn for the inspiration of his Tsuma Netori Rei. Make sure you follow and support him for his hard work.
???'s POV
*Flashback*
I don't want to remember.
And I don't want to explain it to you.
People like you don't understand me from the beginning. How I felt what was meant to be in love with. There were times when it came to hard work to earn the ability to be talented for the future or my career.
My whole life, I've built the bond. I shared with my former wife, Makoto, who used to love me, was crushed. Everything I had done was nothing but a lie. I couldn't get stronger for her, and yet she chose to cheat on me, and for what? That guy, this ugly bastard, was never that attractive to anyone unless he wished to change. His name is Yasuno, the director of the high school.
That's not as simple as we thought. He was built to be thick, having the satisfaction pierce more strongly than I ever do. I knew I had to do something, having to report to the police because she was being threatened through blackmail. I thought we both did the right thing to put that bastard in his place.
However, she refused, lying just to protect that bastard.
Long story short, she was cheating on me. Drugged and humiliated me. All of this, everything I lived for, was gone. I don't know how much time I had to process and accept it because I have been in love with her ever since high school, through the tracking field. I couldn't believe it.
And now, I feel disgusted, no matter how much I look at it. And now, I will never live up to the history in stone that I had with her again. We were divorced for good.
(A/n: What is your name, bro?)
Where are my manners? My name is Takafumi. I won the trophy in the track and field against any other high school. And then, I am skilled in cooking at the university. I used to have a job as a chef to serve food at the cafeteria in high school, but now it is all in the past.
*End of Flashback*
Takafumi's POV
"..." I groan, having to wake up. It's slow as I move, and I hear the alarm beeping on my alarm clock. I have my hand on my phone while it is ringing, saying that I have to get up and get dressed so I can go to work with my uniform for the restaurant, as per my current job. That is what it said on screen while the alarm was still ringing. I am living in my apartment alone, and there is nothing left for me to say hi to since I am the only one left in this family era. I do have a family, but I would rather live in a place that doesn't remind me of my past.
My eyes begin to itch, knowing the voices from the past still haunt me and crawl into my mind. I forgot that I needed time to make breakfast since I am living alone in my apartment. It's been about four years since I had to move to a new place to start my life there. It feels as if now, I am living in my 30s. I must be growing old at this point. Life is going to suck at this rate. "I guess everyone doesn't care about me now." I sigh as I start making breakfast, which is cereal, for a classic method to save time.
(A/n: Uh, what's today's date?)
...
The day is now April, Wednesday of the 2nd week.
I managed to get to the restaurant named Sanokira Ansomo at 10 AM. I clock in and then try to get everything ready in the kitchen. Being trained to cook and getting used to the kitchen features will only have the memories haunting me, bringing the memories back to my mind. I hated it because it reminded me of my ex or my previous job. It was suffocating.
Even if I were doing fine with cooking while focusing on the quality and texture, it would only mean that I would have to face the same reaction if I ever succeed in cooking for the customers. Having the food tasted great because of how I cooked the food, but does it compare to the things I delivered for my wife, I know?
It's lunch, and I keep on cooking. And just as I thought, there are a bunch of people coming here to order food if they are traveling or working. I tried my best, trying to cook and follow the order by reading each ticket and letting the waiters serve each customer with the correct dish.
A few hours later, the customer flow is starting to go quiet. I thought of relaxing for a while since I could feel the temperature of my body starting to rise, feeling tired from the pressure of how busy the restaurant is.
"Feeling tired already, Takafumi?" A friendly male employee asks me. His yellow eyes looked at me with a smirk on his face, choosing to enjoy talking to people with a topic that doesn't make any sense in the end. He has his green-yellow short hair while wearing his dishwashing cap. He is wearing his uniform for the kitchen, but in a dishwashing variation.
"What do you think, Garujo Tefanphoe? Of course, I am." I answer with honesty to Garujo, a carefree employee, trying to work through the kitchen, as his main role is to wash dishes instead of cooking. "You always had a nerve asking me while you just wash dishes." I can tell that he enjoys smoking outside whenever he wants on break. Whatever he was doing, things like bugging people just to have fun. It infuriates me.
I was trying to live a quiet life and find some time to process. I've been through four years, and I still can't get things out of my mind from the past. I went through getting a job at the restaurant with my résumé and my cooking skills. The manager just accepts me, even after I told them about my personal life and the explanation of why I quit my previous job. What he said to me was nothing but pity. I don't have proof that I am a suitable employee as a chef, but he wants my help through. There's no further detail at this point.
Timeskip
It's now evening, 5 PM. It's almost time for me to go since I am a full-time employee.
(A/n: 8 hours as a full-time employee, bruh!)
About one hour left, and I am free as scheduled.
"Feeling happy since it's almost time to go, Takafumi?" A friendly female employee who is a waitress is trying to put the dishes on the dish rack.
"Yeah, and I can tell that it's time for you to go at 6 PM, Maegine," I reply to her in a friendly tone.
"No, I go at 8 PM."
"Huh?" I question her in confusion.
"You didn't know? I'm still at college trying to get through school work for a better degree." Maegine is working part-time, so she didn't go in the morning. "I arrive at 4 PM. I had class sessions from 10 AM to 3 PM. Did I not tell you before?"
"I..." I groan, something tells me that I have not been enjoying my life around through jobs from Monday through Friday, while I have a rest from Saturday and Sunday. I do deserve a break for the holidays, but it's never going to be simple when it comes to getting a better paycheck. Not to mention that when it comes to work, things can be stressful. Right now, I must have trouble remembering anyone's work hours or if they had problems with their workflow. "I forgot..." I speak to her with disappointment, having my hand scratching on my head as a sign of an excuse.
"Huh!?" Maegine is shocked and in disbelief.
"I was having to go through some issues. Not just with how I work, it's just my thoughts, trying to live after I quit my previous job." I reply, trying to clarify what problem I am having. The frustration that I couldn't get out of my mind was because of my way of thinking, which is nothing but pain. I was grieving because of the life I had lost, along with the person I loved at first. But for how long after four years?
"Was that previous job that bad?" Maegine asks, starting to worry.
"It's much worse than having to live in a terrible work environment." I don't want to explain it right now. It hurts so much now that I think about the past. "It's not that great. I get overloaded with work, and I can't keep up with the time I need for myself." I lied while giving out a general statement at first. My body shivers slightly on my arm. My trauma can't go away, no matter what. In times I had remembered, it would only lead to suffering.
"That's a lot of work. And no resting, even with a 30-minute break?" She questions me. I wanted to say that I had had enough of talking about the topic related to my previous job. She was worrying about me because I had trouble remembering for some reason.
"Yes, but sounds like a power harassment, right?!" I speak straight on with the topic that talks about my past, which is traumatic. "To make it simple, that damn director of the high school is nothing but a bastard. I was married, but divorced because he stole my wife while he was using me to do all the work, along with the tasks that the people originally tended to do. I'm broke thanks to him! And this is where I ended up now." I explain directly with a summary, so I cannot waste any more time.
(A/n: Then how did you get a job and the apartment while living a life?)
"Oh, my god. It's horrible..." She starts pitying me, but that doesn't change anything since she is a common person, along with the others. No matter what, I had to move on by myself.
"..." I went silent, knowing how much pain I had to process, even though it's been four years since my ex-wife cheated on me. "Look, there's nothing else to get through or improve that I'm better than before. All we can think about is having a better job." I explain and finish this topic as fast as possible before the scar that wounded me in my heart starts to reopen. I am afraid of how painful it was to remember that incident when my ex-wife was involved. "Look, let's get back to work. I have to get through until 6 PM." I start heading back to the kitchen after hearing that the employees from there start calling me for help to get the cooking done. I am starting to relax a bit since people don't talk about my previous job or my ex-wife. I felt so traumatized to remember that time.
"Had issues, talking to a girl, Takafumi?" There it goes, Garujo going on a smoke by talking again.
"Just shut up and do the dishes!" I told him to shut up and forget about the recent topic with Maegine. Jesus, he's so annoying, just like anyone who tries to pressure me!
(A/n: You got that right.)
As I get off from work at 6 PM, I head down to the bar, ordering a beer to get the steam out, blowing away from my mind. Through the chatter from the people, the glass cups clank as people tend to drink. The joy they had when they were throwing a friendly party for themselves. I'm quite jealous since I don't have anyone right now. The employees at the restaurant of my workplace are all nothing but common stock. They don't know anything about me! They want to talk to get things out of their minds throughout their work time. Like ever drink because I want things to get out of my mind for good.
"Ahhh, now I feel like I'm free from all that overwork and shit!" I breathe out, resting by the counter while holding a cup of beer. I had been drinking beer since
"Damn, you need some help! Did the work get you all burnt again?" The bartender asks me.
"They always talk about my past. Like, do they have to worry about me or something?" My voice sounded drunk. I couldn't see him because my vision was blurry. "They don't even know me, how it was my fault that my ex-wife left me, since I'm only doing my job while that damn director gets all the fun while fucking with my wife."
"Jesus, that sounded a lot like you are trying to drink to get that off your mind!" The bartender comments on my statement.
"Of course, I am. The only reason is that I get very upset after hearing the topic relating to my previous job and such..." My cheeks are red, and my eyes are starting to go unstable.
"Ok, now you need help. I was hoping if there is a friend with you that could take you outside and..."
"I don't have friends, alright!?" I slam with a clank of cup, angrily telling the bartender that I am ok to walk by myself. Although he's right in reality. "They don't care about me, the employees in my workplace mind their own business! And they soon forget about me, and then they mind their own business like they always do!" I rant, telling the bartender that I am not in the mood for trusting anyone since I already had issues thanks to that damn director for using me while he gets all the fun with his wife! I breathe heavily, telling the bartender about it.
"Uh..." The bartender is silent, staring at me.
"What's with him?" The people started talking about me for some reason, not to mention my rant was loud enough that everyone at the bar could hear me.
"What!?" I shout at them.
"Jesus, what's his deal?"
"Drunk like this? Let's not bother with that." The people try to look away from me. That's just great because that's what people mind their business for.
"Hey, if things like this happen to you, you should rather quit right away."
"If I knew about it sooner..." I grunt, finish drinking the beer, and pay for the drinks I've ordered.
"Man, like, how are you going to get your life better after you quit your previous job?" The bartender comments, watching me leave the bar when I am drunk.
I left the scene and walked into the streets, where I had to get back to my apartment and rest for the next day. Due to how drunk I have become, I feel unbalanced while walking. The street lights aren't helping me because of my blurry vision when I'm drunk. Walking on the sidewalk wasn't easy with my eyes being blurry. I could have bumped people over by mistake, and my behavior could have been toxic. And what's worse, people can sue for physical assault if I end up fighting random people by mistake, and I would have been taken by the police for that.
"Shit, I must have been drinking too much beer...!" I gasp while being fatigued. My eyelids became heavy, wanting to sleep as my body was about to fall. Ah, none of that matters anymore. My life was already ruined, and the hard work I had done during my youth was all for nothing. Everything I had built was stolen from me, all thanks to that bastard. The authority of having everything while he was trapping me with work, and I couldn't get in touch with anyone, and my ex. I tried everything to process, but it wasn't better, even after four years. "Agh..." I was about to fall to the ground with nothing left in the streets. I thought that my life would be over. But through a soft spot, my body landed with a cling to someone as if he was trying to catch me from the fall. "...?" I question who it was, but I am now asleep, and I can't hear anyone. The screen has been darkened, and before I could sleep, the last sentence from him was...
"Hey, are you alright!?" The voice became muffled, all due to my consciousness fading away, with my eyes being blurry as time passed. With no more sound while the music starts to fade away, I feel that I am falling asleep, but with one who notices me, as I already know.
(A/n: This time, it's just the beginning.)
(A/n: For the life that is dear to you is yet to be lost.)