Picnic

.

[-Continuation-]

.

[Hachiman's POV]

Just where the heck is Ryota? I wondered as I walked away, leaving Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, and Rumi.

Hah, there he is. Luckily, I spotted him right after a minute of my search, standing near a tree holding his phone.

–*Ring!*Ring!*Ring!*Ring!*Ring!(:mobile ringing)

"...Um-hm, Ryota?"

I glanced over at him, who was staring blankly at his ringing phone rather than picking up.

…

.

[-Third Person View-]

–*Ring!*Ring!*Ring!*Ring!*Ring!(:mobile ringing)

"...Um-hm, Ryota?"

Hachiman glanced over at Ryota, who was staring blankly at his ringing phone rather than picking up.

Sensing his sour mood, he inquired. "Who is it?"

He was genuinely curious about who could stir such a reaction from Ryota.

"My old man."

"Understandable..." Hachiman gave him a sympathetic look.

"Anyway, good luck with that, my friend." He clapped Ryota on the shoulder before stepping away to give him some privacy.

–tut!

Alone now, Ryota let out a weary sigh and accepted the call, his attitude gruff. "What is it, Dad?"

"Where are you right now?" The voice on the other end wasn't asking for excuses. It demanded an answer.

But Ryota was never one to make excuses in the first place.

"Chiba... Near the outskirts of Chiba, why?" He responded.

"Chiba? What are you doing there instead of going to the office?" The voice from the other side roared in anger.

"Picnic..." Ryota replied simply.

"Eh? Picnic...? Picnic..." His father repeated the word twice, utterly baffled.

"Right, I am here with a friend." Ryota added nonchalantly, ignoring his father's bewilderment.

"Friend...? When did that happen?" The older man's voice now carried a mix of surprise and skepticism.

"Not too long ago." Ryota waved off the question. "Anyway, I will call you back once I am free. It's so hot outside, I need to go for a swim. Goodbye."

–tut!

Without waiting for a response, Ryota ended the call abruptly. He could deal with the fallout later.

....

.

[Change In Location(:on the other side of the phone call with Ryota)]

.

[-Third Person View-]

"Not too long ago. Anyway, I will call you back once I am free. It's so hot outside, I need to go for a swim. Goodbye."

–tut!

The sound of the call ending echoed in the room louder than usual, magnified by the complete silence surrounding the caller and another figure in the room.

"Haaahaa! Haaahhhaa!" A hearty laugh broke the stillness, coming from the figure who looked to be in his mid-forties.

He sat across the table from the man(:caller) of similar age, with a landline phone in his hand - clearly the one who had just been speaking to Ryota.

And it seemed like the phone was in speaker mode, explaining everything...

"He hasn't changed a bit, Satoshi." The clean-shaven man chuckled, addressing Ryota's father.

Arigoro Satoshi, Ryota's father, wore a displeased expression, indicating his dislike for the comments made by his friend, colleague, partner, and.... rival.

"Hump! I will show you that he has changed. He is working on a new project, and you know what? It's about to be launched soon." He retorted, sounding like two kids arguing over whose father is the best in the world - a debate with no end in sight.

The other man, Renjiro, shook his head wryly. "It seems I won't be going home today. Haaha, or more like, will I ever be able to?"

Their attire had once emanated a dignified aura, and the maturity reflected in their aging appearance had vanished completely. It seemed as if it had never existed in the first place.

"Renjiro, you are pushing it." Satoshi snapped, his tone resembling that of a cornered child.

"Yeah, yeah! And what if I am?"

"The only one that doesn't listen to me is my son, not my wife, unlike someone I know." Satoshi added with a cheeky smile, trying to get under his friend.

"Hey, I warned you not to go there..." Renjiro's tone was a mixture of threat and plea.

"Go where?" Satoshi's voice dripped with mock innocence.

By now, one thing is clear, the only thing that ages these two mature looking old men is their bodies. Their minds are younger than the most young people out there.

Renjiro sighed, defeat lacing his tone. "Let's just drop it..."

"But who is the supposed friend your son speaks of, Satoshi?" He addressed the issue.

Satoshi, noting his friend's expression, considered himself the victor in this round and decided to let it slide for now.

"Well, I am curious too." Satoshi continued. "Give me a moment, and I will make a call to find out who this friend is."

–Ring!Ring!(:mobile ringing)

"Hello, Secretary Kim. Connect me with Mr. Jim."

"Yes, sir."

–Ring!Ring!(:mobile ringing)

–tut!

["Good afternoon, sir."]

"Mr. Jim, where is my son right now?" Satoshi went straight to the point.

["I am sorry, sir. He didn't come to the office today, and he hasn't answered any of my calls. But he should be at his apartment. I will go and check immediately."]

"Yes, you do that, and also, did he make any new friends recently?"

["I wanted to report about this to you, sir, but you said you are not interested and will check when you are free."]

"When did I ever say that?"

["The last time I briefed you at headquarters about Sir Ryota's latest project..."]

Huh, this is what the report was about. Indeed. Satoshi thought about remembering what had happened three months ago.

As Mr. Jim had said Satoshi was truly shocked when he reported his son, Ryota is finally working on a project.... and quite seriously at that.

Since it is a project his son has been involved in after many years, Satoshi doesn't want to involve himself in it.

If Ryota fails, he fails. The budget is not the amount he should be worried about. Just some skinny change for him and his company.

But he really doubts something like that would have happened even if he wasn't involved.

After all, the one working on it was his son, and he believed in his capabilities, but like any father, he was also eager to know his son's results.

So, he kept tabs on the development of the project, enough to get an idea when it might get launched. That was all he wanted to know, and all he cared to know.

"But correct me, Mr. Jim. The report was supposed to be related to the contract signed with the project designer, right?"

["Yes, sir, but the new friend of Mr. Ryota is the project designer. In fact, that's how they become friends."]

"And... since I said report only if it is important about the project, you let it be."

["Yes, sir..."] Mr. Jim's voice wavered, as if questioning whether he had made a mistake.

"Alright, then tell me about this friend." Satoshi demanded.

["Sir...?"] Mr. Jim hesitated.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

["He's a high schooler named Hikigaya Hachiman, sir."]

"A high schooler...?" Satoshi questioned, doubting his ears.

["Sir, are you still there?"] Mr. Jim asked, his concern extending beyond his boss to his own job security.

"Send me the project details immediately, within a minute."

["For emergency purposes, I left a copy with Secretary Kim, sir."]

"You are telling me to go and get myself, or what?"

["No, not even in my dreams, I will give her a call right now..."]

"Do that. No, actually, not just the contract details. Send whatever information you have. His contribution to the present project, his future ideas, everything."

"Yes sir…. but it might take some time."

"Understandable."

["Thank you, sir!"]

"....."

["Sir, may I...?"]

"What now?"

["May I end the call, sir…."]

–click!

"Tsk…." Satoshi did it himself.

"Come on, Satoshi. Don't be grumpy towards your employees."

"Look who's talking."

…

.

Soon, in about ten minutes, the person referred to as Secretary Kim entered the room with documents, and in an instant, the whole atmosphere and demeanor of the two old men underwent a complete transformation.

Especially Satoshi, who exuded an air of authority that said, 'I am the one in charge here.'

"Thank you... Sir." The secretary placed the files on the table, bowed, and turned around, leaving.

Satoshi was the first to check the file, swiftly skimming through a few papers before passing it to Renjiro.

And so the two old men did what they are best at - examining.

…

.

Satoshi leaned back, his eyes narrowing as he stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows of his corner office.

"Ryota, that brat. What was he thinking...?" He mused aloud, shaking his head.

He continued. "If he really liked the project, he should have just purchased the whole damn thing outright and kicked them out for good, even if it meant pouring in some more money. But to let someone greedier than him walk around and even become friends with him..."

Renjiro shrugged. "Two percent ownership isn't the end of the world. Why are you so stingy about it?"

"It's not just about the percentage, and you know that too, Renjiro."

"Well, didn't you always tell? You don't evaluate potential based on age, gender, or background, but solely on potential itself."

"What do you mean by potential? The kid(:Hachiman) is just foolish. He sold everything related to the game, every right he had on it, in exchange for money... Even his own name..."

"He must have really needed cash badly, or he is just someone who's never satisfied with what he has." Renjiro mused.

"All he asked for was that he be involved in the development process." Satoshi added, shuffling the papers around.

Renjiro raised one bushy eyebrow. "Experience? No, I don't think that's the reason… maybe building connections…? But isn't it far too stretching for a mare competition winner? I am sure he didn't know Ryota's identity before signing the contract."

Satoshi nodded, staring at the ceiling as he tapped his fingers together. "I thought so too. It's as if he's declaring that this project's success means nothing to him, just a stepping stone to climb higher. So why don't I just make some chunks in the process..."

He concluded. "Quite an arrogant guy, if you ask me...."

Then he passed a few papers to Renjiro without saying a word.

"What's this now?" Renjiro questioned while taking the file and reading through it.

As he was in the process, Satoshi spilled out the summary. "His next game concept ideas and initial drafts of the 'three' games."

"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

"Minecraft."

"And, Temple Run.

Renjiro read out the titles one by one and muttered…. "Interesting."

…

.

After a few more minutes, Satoshi and Renjiro finished reviewing the concept documents and set them aside.

"This one is out of the question." Satoshi declared.

"Quite obvious, I guess." Renjiro muttered in understanding.

The game his friend, Satoshi, is referring to is PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

The budget required to implement everything mentioned in the proposal would be astronomical, and even with a large investment, there was a significant risk of failure.

Renjiro knew that no matter how much potential the young man may have, a prudent businessman wouldn't proceed on blind faith and luck alone.

Especially someone as shrewd as his friend Satoshi.

However, Renjiro was more curious about Satoshi's opinion on the other two concepts from the same young man.

As if understanding Renjiro's curiosity, Satoshi slid the documents across the desk to him and said. "But, contrary to the first one, these two are more economical, and the last one is simply exceptional if we were to just look at the budget view."

Negotiation Technique already??

Both friends had reached the same conclusion.

Propose something outlandish and outrageous at first, then present the original plan. This creates a psychological impression on the other party that the subsequent proposals are much more reasonable.

"Is he really only seventeen? What's up with kids these days…" Renjiro looked up at Satoshi as if he were becoming accustomed to these prodigies.

"Well, it's just a couple of weeks for the launch, right? Let's wait and see how good he really is…." Satoshi muttered.

…

[-After An Hour-]

.

"Satoshi… what high school did you say the kid was attending?" Renjiro asked before leaving after completing the catching up session with his friend.

"...hmm... Soubu High... Is something the matter?" Satoshi asked.

"No. It's nothing…." A strange look crossed the man's wrinkled face, but he waved his hand.

.

[-Chapter END-]

====

Author here!

Quiz Time - Guess who is the middle aged man with Ryota's father in the chapter?

★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★

[Author Reminder : 10+chapters advance in Patreon.]

-->patreon.com/WrightBrothers