FROM THE MOMENT I opened my eyes in the morning, all I could think about was the

bothersome tasks I would have to attend to all day. As a testament to my displeasure, upon
merely raising myself up from my futon, I heaved a sigh as though it had already taken up all of
my energy for the day to do so.
Regardless, I changed dutifully into my interview suit, picked up my bag, and stepped out of the
house, wondering all the while exactly what it was that I was moving my body for. I suppose
social sensibilities, or some vague sense of unease.
I grabbed some bread on the way to the station to fill my stomach and stepped onto the train
along with all of the salarymen who were running late. The suited figures on the car seemed to
be collectively carrying baggage far heavier than the large parcel in my arms.
The train arrived at a station in the business district, one which I had disembarked at many
times before in the past few months. At this point, there was no excusing ever letting my facial
muscles start to atrophy, so I put on as lively an expression as I could, one that would be,
objectively, societally acceptable.
As I exited the turnstile, I took out my smartphone, confirming the location of the business I
was visiting today, as well as the name of said business and what their industry was. I crammed
information about so many different companies in my head every day that I often forgot which
one was which. Basically, I only ever got a strong enough impression from each of these places
for them to be totally forgettable, but as long as I prepared suitable enough questions and
answers, they would never know that; or at the very least, even if I did fumble, I could show
them that I had the chops to cover that up.
I navigated my walking route via a map, arriving properly at the office building in question ten
minutes before the appointed time. I wondered what the adults who worked here felt when
they showed up for duty at this towering building every day. Perhaps it at least helped them
feel as though they were maintaining some measure of self-respect.
I straightened my spine, put on a casual smile, and plunged into the enemy stronghold. I passed
through the automatic sliding doors and headed for the spacious elevator lobby, finding two
people already waiting there. There was a grinning man who looked to be in his later twenties
and a woman similarly clad in interview attire. One could tell at a glance that they were a
recruiter and a job hunter. I had a fundamental dislike of job hunters, so I kept my distance.
Still, I was able to overhear much of their conversation while waiting for the elevator to arrive.
The recruiter seemed overly familiar with the woman, the woman speaking in an oddly
flirtatious fashion. Just as I was quietly wondering whether she might not be aiming to sleep her
way into a job, the elevator arrived, and I stepped in.
I assumed the pair might board the elevator together, but as I waited inside, the woman bowed
her head, said a thanks and some parting words to the recruiter, and then the man stepped
through the open doors alone. It seemed their interview or whatever had concluded. The pair
continued chatting until just before the doors closed, and I wondered whether I should go
ahead and push the “door close” button, when at the very tail end of the conversation, I heard
some unforgettable words from the recruiter.
“All right, see you at the Moai meet.”
Though there was no way I was going to let the businessman beside me see my reaction,
internally, my mood immediately soured. So that girl went to my school, then.
The recruiter disembarked at the third floor, leaving me alone for the rest of the ride up to the
ninth floor. I took the opportunity to heave a sigh and then steadied my breath, once more
straightening up my spine and fixing my expression.
There was a reception desk immediately outside of the ninth-floor elevators. I approached with
a smile and gave my name.
“Hello, my name is Tabata Kaede. I have an appointment for an interview,” I said with an
award-winning smile. The receptionist showed me to the waiting room, where there were two
other students with the same smiles on their faces—smiles that looked as though our faces had
been permanently frozen in place.
It was enough to assure me of how desperately unnerving the creatures known as job hunters
were.
 
Though I had not physically exhausted myself whatsoever, by the time I returned home I was
exhausted nonetheless.
After my arrival that morning, I had attended one interview and one information seminar. I
collapsed the moment I made it to my living room, loosening the necktie that I was expected to
wear on a daily basis but could never truly get used to. I would probably wrinkle my interview
suit that way, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was supposed to have used my last three
years as a grace period to recharge my batteries, but instead I was about to hit rock bottom.
Going through the motions of job hunting in earnest had thoroughly exhausted me.
Thus, it was probably good that I received the call when I did. I waited dutifully until the third
ring and then picked up.
“Tabata Kaede of XX University speaking. Yes, oh no, thank you so much for taking the time out
of your busy schedule to speak with me. Yes. Of course. Oh, thank you very much! Yes, I
understand. Yes. Thank—oh, yes, thank you so much. Yes, well then, mm-hmm, I will talk to you
later. Yes, thank you very much. Goodbye for now.”
I hung up the phone, suddenly noticing that I had at some point started kneeling seiza-style. All
of the tension then flooded from my body, and I fell back onto the floor. There was no point in
me even worrying about wrinkles anymore.
The call had been from the last company I had spoken with today. The call’s contents? “We
would be absolutely thrilled to hire you, Tabata-san.”