148. Driver’s License
At a reception desk inside a building, a woman was giggling while staring at her phone, scrolling through the next short video that cracked her up.
There weren't many people around, which wasn't surprising because this was the most inactive part of the year.
This made it a good part-time gig since it allowed her to slack off most of the time.
But her lackadaisical time was ruthlessly cut short by a voice.
"Hello, I'd like to take the knowledge test for my driver's license."
She glanced up with irritation, cursing inwardly at the thought that she'd actually have to work for a change, but froze when she laid eyes on who was talking to her.
A young man with long and messy black hair, a pair of earrings, a jawline that could cut steel, and deep blue eyes that made her heart start thumping as soon as she saw him.
She stared blankly for a few seconds, and only she knew what was going through her mind.
The young man scratched his cheek awkwardly and repeated his question when he didn't get a response.
"Ummm.....Can I not take the knowledge test?"
"Ah? O-Oh, I'm sorry! I got a little....distracted, haha," she laughed. "Let me get a few things sorted, and I'll take you to the testing room asap!"
She shot to her feet and grabbed a few documents, starting up her computer in a flurry.
"Can I get your relevant documents? You've brought them with you, right?"
"Sure, here you go," the man said.
She nodded and started entering his information into the system, but faltered when she got to the date of birth.
'...He's a high school student? He looks like he's in college! What a scam!"
Her upbeat mood instantly cooled down, reining in any impure thoughts she may have had as she continued to do her work.
She was quite surprised that a high school student would come to take the test at this time.
They generally went for it during vacations when they could immediately enroll in driving schools to shorten the overall process.
And most of them even delayed it until college, since many families wouldn't invest in a car because of how good the public transportation was.
Soon enough, she led the man to a testing room and made him take a seat, handing him his exam papers and writing utensils.
"You have an hour and a half to take the test; you can begin any time."
She took her seat at the front to fulfill her responsibility as the proctor, but really, she was just admiring the view.
To her surprise, the young man finished the test in less than 40 minutes, and even repeated warnings and suggestions couldn't prevent him from turning it in early.
She clicked her tongue and fed the multiple-choice answer sheet into the corrector, expecting a mediocre result.
'Sigh, what a waste, he'll have to take it agai-....huh?'
When the result was displayed on the screen, she had to rub her eyes to check if she was seeing things.
He'd only gotten two questions wrong, which meant he'd passed with flying colors!
"Uh, c-congratulations," she replied with a stiff smile. "You passed, so I'll take you to get your learner's permit
She really hadn't expected this.
Although the test wasn't hard at all, it was still quite long, so finishing that early was impressive regardless of the difficulty.
"No, I'd like to take the road test right away and get my full license," the young man said, shaking his head.
".....Huh?"
***
Reiji was a little amused by this quirky-looking lady.
She seemed all over the place as soon as he stepped into the place, with rapid changes in her expression now and then.
When he requested the road test, she tried her best to persuade him, since failing it would carry significant repercussions.
He needed to bring his own car, and failing would mean mandatory enrollment in the government-owned driving school, which was not a good option, alongside a worker's fine for wasting their time.
It was a ruthless but convenient route, yet one he was fine with taking.
A grumpy middle-aged man walked out of the office, followed by the receptionist lady, who still looked aggrieved.
"Are you sure you want to take the test?" the man asked with a suspicious frown.
"Yes, my car is ready outside so we can start right now," Reiji shrugged.
The two of them left the building and walked over to the parking lot where his Orion Warzone was parked.
Baldy and Beardy were both standing next to it, since they're the ones who had driven it over.
'.....What a beauty!'
Reiji involuntarily grinned when he saw his car again, his fingers already itching to get started.
At the same time, the man next to him straightened up when they approached the vehicle, his previous annoyance shifting to respect.
Although he didn't know if it was because of Baldy and Beardy, who looked like they broke limbs for a living (which they kinda do), or if the car itself showed his status, it was good that it now seemed unlikely that he'd cause any unwarranted trouble out of spite.
"Boss! Are you ready?" Baldy inquired with a wide smile.
"Yep, it shouldn't take long."
Reiji opened the door on the driver's side and climbed in, the driving supervisor joining him in the passenger's seat nervously.
Clearly, the fact that he'd been called Boss had rattled him.
Reiji couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, but he didn't say anything to dispel his nervousness because it would only help him.
'...Is that a little mean? Maybe it is.'
And with that, he reached for his seatbelt.
***
'Hmmmm...I'm pretty photogenic?'
The shiny new driver's license in his hands gleamed under the sunlight, and his picture on the side turned out better than he had expected.
A good photo on these licenses was rarer than gold.
The test itself was fairly easy because he'd already practiced with his new car as soon as it was gifted to him, which pretty much allowed him to brush up on his preexisting experience in his last life.
Combined with a thorough preparation last night, his process of obtaining his license was as smooth as glass.
'Thank god for video game logic!'
Baldy and Beardy were waiting for him outside, and they were both holding something behind their backs with their mouths twitching like they were holding back their joy.
"What's up with you two?" he asked curiously.
"Boss! Congrats on getting your license!" Baldy cheered, bringing his hands to the front and revealing a small box. "This is a small gift on my behalf."
Beardy followed suit, holding a box with a different colored wrapping.
"We're so proud of you, Boss!"
Reiji felt a pang of emotion coursing through him.
He didn't have parents in his last life, plus his uncle barely bothered with him,
In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if that man didn't even know that he'd gotten a license at all back then.
So this feeling of care was new to him.
He took the presents from them with a slightly shaky voice.
"Th-Thanks," he muttered. "Can I unwrap them now?"
"Of course!"
Reiji tore open the gift wrapping and flipped open the cardboard box underneath.
In Baldy's present, there was a high-end security camera unit for cars, and it recorded an almost 360-degree view to record any attempts at theft or car accidents.
Beardy's gift was a gift card for a year's credit for car maintenance and refueling at the country's biggest petrol station and workshop chain.
Both of them were extremely useful, and Reiji felt even more moved when he saw them.
"These gifts are fucking awesome! Thank you guys!"
The two burly men lit up when they saw his genuine appreciation, exchanging happy glances with each other.
"We're just glad you liked them!"
***
A few hours later, Reiji leaned back in his office chair and exhaled a sigh of relief.
"Done! That took a while!"
He turned off his computer and took out his phone, opening Yui's Chatly account.
The planning and coordinating of his plans for tomorrow were finally completed, and he'd created an itinerary that he was quite confident in.
All that was left was to see where he should pick Yui up.
[~Yui~]
Chefalicious: hey! you're still good to go for tmr, right?
ChocoLover: even the gods cannot stop me ಠ╭╮ಠ
Chefalicious: Sure sure
Chefalicious: I'm gonna pick you up tmr at 8, so send me your address
ChocoLover: so early? (⊙ˍ⊙)
Chefalicious: I've got a lot planned out lol
ChocoLover: okay, my expectations are through the roof now
Chefalicious: I'll try to meet them (～￣▽￣)～
ChocoLover: Yayyy! Just pick me up at the intersection in front of MeiMei Supermarket
Chefalicious: Done. Be there on time!
ChocoLover: you don't have to worry about that!
ChocoLover: see you tmr! o((>ω< ))o
***
Reiji closed his chat and rubbed his nose.
He knew why she didn't give him her actual address.
'Ugh...With Prez's event, Haruna's debt, and now Yui's problem, I've got a mountain of shit to do.'
Although Yui's issues were quite important, there wasn't much problem in the short term since he shouldn't be in the city right now.
So he'd get through Prez's event first and have the preparations for Haruna's account set up before deciding what to do about it.
But even before that, he'd first enjoy tomorrow's date.
'It's gonna be fun!'
