A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover

Pathetic

That was the first word that emerged from Sasajima Hajime's mind as soon as his eyes laid on the living room countless times. Scattered milk bottles, candy wrappers, and a few bags of junk foods littered the floor. Dust was beginning to accumulate on all the nook and crannies of that side of the house and that's not even the worst of it. Trinkets and broken shards of glass were strewn around as if a rat was living in it instead of a person. The cabinet on the far corner of the room had its three legs broken, making it lean towards the wall with some of its wallpapers torn. A table lay in the middle of the room, like some ancient ornament beyond saving due to its discoloration. There were some gaps under it as well since termites feasted upon it.

It's not like the house was uninhabited, in fact, this was the normal state of the house— the exact opposite of the clear and refreshing sunrise outside.

It was seven in the morning, and Hajime decided to undergo his morning routine of washing his face before going to work. As he sleepily trudged across the living room, he carefully avoided the shards of glass as if they were bear traps in the forest. After grabbing a towel from the cabinet that was about to lean to its destruction, he then closed the cabinet as slowly as he could so its broken glass wouldn't shower more shards on the floor. He carefully realigned the cabinet with the wall as if that would help it stand better. Floors creaked and the dust was disturbed as he made his way to the bathroom. It's as if the entire house was a set for an action movie, almost resembling the enemy's hideout before the protagonist bursts in to pester them.

"Phew," Hajime sighed. It was another day for work, and his back still ached from all the labor he did the day prior.

He was surprised that water still came out of the faucet even though he hasn't paid the bills in months. Maybe the management forgot to keep tabs on his debt, maybe it hasn't been that long since he last paid, or maybe it's about to be cut off one of these days, just not today.

With a sigh, Hajime immediately got his arid t-shirt and jeans hanging on the clothes rack on one side of the bathroom. He hung it after washing it last night, hoping that it would dry by morning. Unfortunately for him, it didn't, and he was stuck with the coldness and moistness touching his skin.

Pathetic.

Ignoring the wetness on his clothes, Hajime checked himself on the broken mirror in the bathroom and he realized that there was no hiding the wetness. Furthermore, he looked sloppy. In the end, he decided to wear a hooded jacket. "If only I had time to clean this place up. In any case, it's not like I'd die if I don't clean it. It's such a drag to clean anyways."

With his morning routine of washing his face, brushing his teeth, and stuffing everything he needed for the day in his bag, Hajime soon came out of his filthy house, greeted by the fresh air and the light atmosphere that lingered outside. Looking back, he could see that even the door to his house had little holes in them. Well, he didn't bother covering the holes since it's disadvantageous for him to do so. After all, that's the only way he could quietly see the state of the outside before going out. Usually, people wait for Hajime outside.

And by people, it meant debt collectors— loan sharks for the lack of a better term.

Quite recently, a few of these loan sharks started visiting him, harassing him to pay the money he doesn't even remember borrowing from them. In fact, this was the first time he ever met them. At first, he thought it was just some elaborate prank prompted by someone. On their first encounter, he started looking around, thinking that a camera was pointed at him and he was being recorded for a reality show of sorts. But that didn't end well since he received a punch in the gut and he had to muster all his strength to get away from them. He was told that his parents borrowed money from them but how could they? It's not like they were poor back then that they needed the help of loan sharks. Everything didn't make sense to Hajime so his best course of action every single time was to get away from them.

It was a miracle that Hajime was still alive after a year of running away from the merciless debt collectors. They wouldn't think twice about resorting to violence, after all, and Hajime knew nothing will happen if he just let himself become their punching bag. Pretty soon, he concluded that the loan sharks were absolutely fixated on wringing money from his pockets.

As soon as Hajime got out of his house, he felt someone's gaze on his nape as if a sniper was aiming at it. He immediately turned around, expecting to see a few loan sharks lurking around the vicinity.

He was right on the money, there were three of them.

With wide-brimmed sunglasses and a black top hat, the first man forced it upon himself to be stylish. Hajime could only wonder why he chased after him looking like that and at this point, he didn't have the luxury to ask such a prying question. He's got a semi-muscular body so Hajime didn't worry about him. In terms of speed, he knew he could best him.

The second one was surprisingly a female, wearing stylish glasses, a huge red fluffy scarf around her neck, and balancing a wide-brimmed hat on her head. Aside from that, her glittery scarlet dress shone against the sun, paired with her red high heels. 'What is she going to do, throw the high heels at me? How could she run with those shoes on?' Hajime couldn't help but ask himself in puzzlement.

What worried Hajime the most, however, was the third man, since he was bigger and more athletic-looking than the rest of them. He wore black sunglasses, a suit, and a bow tie. He looked fit and robust and he seemed to be in his early twenties. Outrunning him would be the most difficult for Hajime. Furthermore, he was well equipped with handcuffs, a baton, and a taser all attached to his belt. He came fully prepared— Hajime could tell that they were really keen on catching him this time.

Creak!

Slam!

In an instant, Hajime slammed the door behind him and picked up his pace, running away from the loan sharks that just noticed his presence. "There he is!" The woman with the stylish-looking glasses shrieked.

"Catch him!" The guy in the tuxedo called out but he was the first one to run toward Hajime.

'See you later, pathetic old house' Hajime told himself, breaking off into a sprint.