Side Story 4 — A Night with Gyudon

(3rd POV, Close Narrator; MC)

「 Irasshaimase! 」Greets the old man tending the little shop.

A new face. It’s very rare to see a new customer coming to this shop. The little restaurant is not situated at the best of places. To go here, people must traverse through the heart of Japan's downtown maze, full of long and narrow passageways. Numerous bright neon light signs litter the place that would steal passerby’s attention, dismissing more potential customers.

Added with fierce saturated competition and with similar businesses left and right, every new customer is worth their weight in gold. Its best he leaves a great first impression of his meager business.

The new customer scans throughout the shop, and in just a second, he finds the man he’s been looking for. The sole reason why he came to this little shop so deep in Shinjuku. And before he’s able to greet him, the very man himself already notices him and greets him first.

「 Welcome Ossan! I didn’t expect to see you coming here right on time, considering this is quite the unusual place. 」

「 Hello Yoshinobu-san. It’s great to see you. 」He greets him back. A bit shocked with how energetic he greets him.

Quite unusual of him.

But then again, it’s been almost forever since they last met.

The old man can’t help but to let out a small but warm smile.

「 Come on, sit down. You are making things a bit awkward. 」The young man pats the stool next to him.

「 I recommend the complete set. 」He immediately adds as the old man sits.「 A mix of beef and grilled eel rice bowl coupled with its homemade miso is to die for. Much better than those other Donburi family franchises. 」

The old man swiftly orders it, seemingly unbothered. Food is the last thing to why he’s here. The chef doesn't take much consideration of it and is just glad that he ordered one of the expensive specialty dishes the restaurant has.

「 Two special complete sets coming right up! 」Shouts the chef.

「 How did you get across this nice place? 」He asks as soon as the chef becomes busy preparing their meals, with what he hopes to be a light topic.「 It might be near the office but to come here you have to get yourself deep into this maze-like district. If it weren’t for me coming earlier, I might’ve been late trying to navigate around this district 」

「 With years of exploring niche donburi restaurants.」The young man proudly boasts. 「 Out of all ten or even hundreds of donburi restaurants this one has the most variety and the best taste within an affordable price. I usually order a cheap 180 yen small gyudon when I’m here. But since it's a special occasion with ossan, splurging for the complete set is fine. 」

「 Nevermind this complete don set. Even the most expensive sushi restaurant in Ginza would be well within your means. Why are you being so frugal? 」

「 Do you mean the place where it is not open to the general public and you have to make reservations through their five star hotel? I’ve been there with my wife. Countless times might I add. But this simple yet cheap gyudon tastes better than even the finest sushi.

「 Perhaps because back when I was still a kid, the donburi restaurant next to my small apartment feels so unreachable and expansive when my stomach is empty. 」

「 I see… 」The old man says, quite lost on how to respond back, maybe he should divert the topic,「 How is she? Have the both of you getting along much better now? 」

「 She’s doing great. 」He replies in a very factly matter,「 Last weekend we were able to have a nice dinner after I accompanied her to buy the newly released fashion bag. 」

The young man smiles  — too professionally however.

A smile full of rejection.

And within it, sadness seeps through that does not go unnoticed.

That is an enough answer for now. The old man has suspicion, but just maybe… Just maybe it’s just his senses going dull as his body does as he grows older.

Even after all these years, there’s no progress… Will he be alright?

Should he have a deep conversation with her?

「 How’s the company? 」The old man asks. It's better not to mull on the topic for far too long.

「 Well… Same old as always… 」He starts off a bit reluctantly. The old man notices he’s holding something back.

And with great silence and stare, the young man’s will deteriorates and until finally he givens in as he sighs. It’s the old man's victory for now.

「 The director, Kimura-san, hired some consultants from the Basten Consulting Group. To work on a project to expand our business coverage in the Southeast Asia branches. 」

「 Kimura-san… 」He calls his name, trying to jog his memories.

His judge of character is sharp as always, proven by how his suspicion was correct. But now, to not even remember the name of a prominent company he used to work with?

「 Is he new? I’ve never heard of him.  」

「 Of course you wouldn’t know. He’s the new hire brought by one of the board of commissioners. Really knows how to create elegant and inspiring speeches which I'm sure is how he was able to coax those hard headed commissioners. And as predictable as ever with that type of person, he brings in a lot of useless consultants. Which although comes from a reputable company, must’ve been his loyal henchman from his previous work or maybe fellow classmates from his graduate studies in the United States. 」

「 Is he competent? Him bringing in consultants when he’s new is a dangerous sign. 」

「 Others say he is well deserved and competent enough to be in the director position. Sure, in my time working with him here and there, he is a very detailed person and could spot a hidden small mistake that can cost the company billions of yen. But come on… I'm sure ossan agrees that is the baseline competency to work in a leadership position.

The young man sighs again.

「 Doesn’t bring in business deals, doesn’t bring new processes or work flow that could improve our work efficiency and output. All he does is just push people to work harder.

「 He’s not just delegating work, he’s delegating responsibility. He tackles projects that have political weight in the eyes of the board of commissioners. He’s too dependent on consultants to do the strategic thinking for him and worst of all, the consultants he chose clearly have no clue on the subject matter and just bullshit their way through.

「 I’ve seen their presentation deck, old man. Those figures they’ve listed don't make sense in Southeast Asia. 」

「 How were you able to see their documents? Those business strategy documents are surely classified. 」The old man asks, astonished.

For the first since ever, the young man lets out a smirk as he gives a knowing look back to the old man.

「 I’m not the only one with favors within the company. I can pull some strings here and there. 」

「 As expected of you. I’m guessing the project in Southeast Asia is not successful then, does the board of commissioners know about this? 」

「 Of course they don’t know. Because the director is busy covering his ass instead of focusing on making sure the project goes successful. From the outside the project looks like it's well within its expected performance when in reality it's in shambles and is crumbling from the inside due to his decision-making. 」

With a moment of silence, the old man replies back.

「 It seems that this Kimura-san guy is too focused on short term profit instead of longevity. Back in my age, we hire people based on their potential and loyalty. We provide them training and not expect them to be useful in the first year. With time and growing and nurturing them then they will contribute back to the company up to ten fold. Not this senseless short term based outsourcings with those consultants.  」

「 Loyalty is dead. 」The young man spouts out of nowhere.

For a second, the man thought there’s a deeper meaning within those words of his. For he senses such a deep melancholy.

The old man remembers that he is the type that doesn’t let his emotions or personal life bleed into work. Which made it all even more serious.

…Is this related to his wife?

「 Time has changed, Ossan. This is not the eighties anymore. With our population dying and the expansive growth of our close neighboring countries, Japan's economic miracle is over. Forever stagnating with no end in sight… 」

He murmurs something in the end that the old man can’t quite hear. Due to the loud sizzling noise of fresh meat in contact with a hot oiled pan.

「 Just as time has changed, so does the common business practice. Sure outsourcing lacks trust and you are reliant on external parties, but sometimes or even oftenly, it is the most efficient way. Most importantly, it doesn’t have an initial heavy investment needed. Quite convenient.  」

He has a point no, matter what the old man feels. It’s hard to take the bitter pill. Especially one’s where he puts heart at most.

The young man notices this. He has known him for so long that he can discern when an old man would be in a bad mood. He would tilt his head slightly down and just stare blankly.

「 On another note, I received a promotion offer. 」He decides to share something that he is usually reluctant to share.

The old man lit up. His eyes widens and cheeks  For his age to already receive a managerial position? His future is bright indeed.

「 I rejected it of course. 」

Well that brightness is as short lived as a thunder that strikes down his head.

「 You… you can comprehend and are aware of office politics. I’m not surprised that you received a promotion. So, why not take his offer? 」The old man asks.

「 And why should I be an engineering manager? I’m rarely at home and barely have enough time to spend with my wife. I have no use for the extra money. She’s barely at home either with the pretense that I always work late.  」

If only that daughter of his can actually support him…

「 Besides… I’m sure the only reason why he came up with the offer was not purely due to my competencies alone. Out of all of my colleagues, I’m the only one who looks naïve and somewhat blindly follows his direction. Easy to control or even as far as to manipulate. Empire building as the Americans would call it. 」

Indeed it's true, the old man thinks. His slight baby face can make the appearance of a naive man. But at heart, he got all the requirements, character and principles fit for managerial and even high level executives. All he really needs is experience and the right connections. With the latter being very easy with his mindset. All he needs is time.

And perhaps… A bit more persuasion.

Nothing excites him more than seeing a man grow to his highest potential. And this man besides him now has the most potential out of every man he has ever met.

A diamond in the rough…. Nevermind, a diamond in the dirt fits him more.

He hoped that daughter could spark something within him.

Steer and guide a man to his purpose and he will shine brightly and cause an impact greater than the greatest earthquake itself. He knew him for a long time, and he knew that he had the makings for becoming an important and influential figure in the near future.

It’s a shame a man of such caliber is stepping down in becoming far greater than himself.

But perhaps, it is only because the sense of having greater responsibilities is still quite new to the youngsters. He is sure, with time, the desire for a higher position will come soon enough. This is what the old man dearly hopes.

「 We… No, I’m not in the company anymore. 」The old man sighs,「 the world would’ve been a slightly better place if people like you were in a leadership position. You have the correct mindset, and as far as I personally know… a heart of gold as well. 」

「 What are you talking about… I’m just an ordinary man who can’t even make things straight with his wife… 」

Things become much quieter when their food has been prepared and served.

As the old man eats, he can’t help but slightly regrets pairing up her daughter with this exceptional young man. He feels that he is partly to blame for stunting his growth.

He just hopes that perhaps with time, things will smooth things out as they usually would.

And nothing drastic to ever happen.