Lost Time

Hajime wiped the tears off his face, but that didn't stop the tears from continuously overflowing from his eyes as he watched his younger sister peacefully sleep away. Every time he looked at her, he would always imagine the apparatuses to be non-existent, and that his younger sister is just in her room, as usual, sleeping the night away. This was the most comforting view that he'd always force himself to see even though the last time he saw such scenery was probably a few months ago.

Even though it had been at least a year since Akiko entered a comatose state, it still felt only yesterday for Hajime. And up until now, he could still remember the fateful day when everything went wrong.

How could he not when it always appeared in his dreams? That day... where everything took a sudden turn.

The graphic memories once again resurfaced in Hajime's mind, causing him to shake his head. 'I shouldn't think about that. The least I should do is be grateful that my sister gets to live another day... and... and that all my efforts weren't in vain.'

'That's right... everything I do right now... it's not in vain.'

Wiping a stray tear off his face, Hajime turned around, bowing toward Kirisu and Izumi before heading out of the hospital. The first rays of the sunlight were already peering through the horizon, bathing the eastward front side of the hospital with its warm rays that completely washed over the coldness that lingered on the ground. Hajime breathed in the fresh air as he felt the heat on his skin. It was another morning... another reminder that no matter what happens, life was supposed to go on— no matter the hardships, what's important was to see everything through and move forward without ever looking back.

Hajime had decided.

Clutching the business card he had on hand, he immediately flagged the next taxi that passed by the entrance of the hospital. He wasn't sure whether he had enough money or not... but he figured that wouldn't be a problem.

If they had the impulse to recruit him out of the blue like that, then they should be able to cover his taxi fare, right? It was a ridiculous thought but Hajime decided to just go for it instead of mulling around.

"Where to?"

"Do you know this address?" Hajime didn't bother reading the address on the business card out loud. Instead, he showed it briefly to the taxi driver, to which the driver responded with a nod.

'Another hopeful kid, huh,' The taxi driver said to himself as he stepped on the gas. Throughout the years of being a taxi driver, he had seen many a couple of hopefuls who would just straight out apply to one of the largest companies in the city.

The K Company. A sole proprietorship business owned by its CEO, Kikuchi Koji. The business revolves around construction, and because of that, a lot of young individuals occasionally applied to the company even without prior experience with the hopes that they'd at least get hired as a construction worker under one of the many branches that the company owned. But most of the time, they'd get rejected, of course... not because of their inexperience, but because the K Company never had an opening, to begin with.

And yet, that didn't stop applicants from trying.

'Just like this kid over here.' The taxi driver continued his line of thought, a smirk plastered on his face.

'Why is he smiling like that?' Hajime shuddered, averting his gaze from the taxi driver.

"So, why are you applying to K. Company?" The taxi driver finally broke the awkward silence by asking the elephant in the room.

"Uh, what? What do you mean, sir?" Hajime asked, surprised.

"You don't have to play dumb, I've met a lot of people like you, trying to get into one of the largest companies in the city... I've never heard anyone getting accepted though."

"Oh, I'm not applying," Hajime understood what the taxi driver meant. He heard about it before. From time to time, there will be applicants who would just walk in, trying to get a position in the company.

"I see," The taxi driver said back. He couldn't tell whether Hajime was lying or not so he decided to drop the topic.

...

'Another day of school, another 'routine-ly' morning.' Said Megumi in her head as she walked out of the company building. It was early in the morning and her mom wanted to spend time with her so she invited her out to the coffee shop nearby. The coffee shop was a newly opened one and its overall aesthetics fit Megumi's tastes so she didn't decline the invitation— not that she didn't want some time with her mom, it's just that it was early morning and she wasn't used to waking up early.

The cold air of the city blew against her face, causing her to shiver as she hugged herself and shrugged due to the cold. The espresso didn't work at all, and the morning air continued to blow on her, a whispering breeze that continually gave her the chills.

Ever since they met Hajime, Megumi could tell that her parents wanted to spend more time with her, even going out of their way in their busy schedules just to spend some time with her. Despite finding it weird, Megumi didn't dislike it and she humored them a bit. In fact, she was happy that her parents were finally making up for lost time.

Megumi didn't grow up in a rich family, it's just that the business that his father created became successful and she was suddenly thrown into the rich life— which included, unsurprisingly, less time with her busy parents. But now they're making it up to her, owning up to their shortcomings and giving her the time she needed back then.

Something familiar flashed in her eyes the moment she headed towards the limousine that Franz drove— her car to school. It was only a fleeting gaze, a glimpse, but she was sure of what she saw.

"Hajime? What is he doing here?" Megumi asked, puzzled, as she got inside the car.