kscans

Chapter 127 - Relationship Advice

Mondays, the start of the week, are always a drag, but I don't mind the start of the month. For some reason, the thought of a new month beginning just gets me excited. I had cheered on Saku-chan as she headed off to her new school, arrived at the office in high spirits, and was enjoying my day at work. But then...

"...Manager... My girlfriend told me she wants to break up."

It was our lunch break. I was eating in the cafeteria when this happened. The one who came trudging over with his tray was Fujita-kun from Sales Division Two. He is twenty six years old. While he is still a junior employee, his strength lies in his sense of balance. He is great at hearing both sides during internal squabbles and finding a suitable compromise.

"Ah... well, why don't you have a seat for now."

"...Okay."

Fujita-kun sat down across from me, his head hanging low. He was being impossibly gloomy. Look, even Inoue-kun, who was eating with me, was staring intently at the TV screen out of awkwardness.

"Judging by your attitude... I’m guessing you two haven’t had any big fights recently, and this breakup talk came out of the blue for you. Am I right?"

"...You can tell, huh."

"I’ve been around the block a few times. That said, I can’t really say anything more unless you tell me the details."

I prompted him to continue as I added some pickled shallots to my curry. He may have dampened my good mood, but I can't just ignore a subordinate asking for advice.

"Yesterday, she called me over to her place and suddenly told me she wanted to break up. I haven’t cheated on her, and while I’m busy and can’t always see her, I did my best to make time for her..."

He says he was even thinking about marrying her. I can’t be absolutely sure just from hearing one side of the story... but I don't think he's lying. It's not just because I'm biased toward my subordinate. If there were any falsehoods in what he just said, a sense of guilt would have surely crept through.

"I asked her why. And she said, ‘You don’t know?’... I, I really have no idea what she’s talking about..."

...I think I'm starting to get the picture.

"Fujita-kun. Your girlfriend. Is she maybe a little bit naggy at times?"

"? How did you know... She’s pretty neurotic, I guess... She did complain to me quite a bit."

"I see. That must have been tough. You must have honed your skill of letting it go in one ear and out the other so you wouldn’t get worn down by taking every little thing to heart, right?"

"Yes. I thought it was stupid to fight over little things."

"That’s it right there."

"Huh?"

He has a look on his face like he has no idea what I’m talking about. I’m certain that exact attitude is the cause. Inoue-kun, watching TV beside me, seems to have caught on too, and has an indescribable look on his face as he mutters, "Aah." Oh, I’m already out of curry... I’ll order more. I ordered a chicken katsu curry and turned to face Fujita-kun again.

"Now, whether my opinion is correct is another matter, since I’ve only ever been in purely pragmatic relationships."

I started talking after that little preface.

"You’re at an age where you’re thinking about marriage. Your girlfriend must be a wonderful person."

"Y, yes! She’s the best... I’m so proud of her!"

At twenty six, you’re still at an age where you want to have fun. That might not be the case for more serious types, but Fujita-kun is a pretty easygoing guy. For someone like him to be seriously considering marriage, she must be more than just a pretty face. The fact that he’s this shocked about her wanting to break up makes it natural to assume she has a great personality, too.

"Would such a wonderful girlfriend lecture you for no good reason?"

From Fujita-kun’s perspective, her being a bit of a nag is her only flaw, but overall, she must be a great woman. But if you look at it from a slightly different angle, you should see it. For a good person like that to lecture you, there must be a valid reason.

"To you, they’re not a big deal, so you probably find her nagging annoying."

In fact, if I heard them as an outsider, the things she pointed out to Fujita-kun might indeed be trivial. But everyone’s values are different. To her, those things were unacceptable enough to warrant a lecture.

"So, how do you think she feels when you just brush it off with a ‘yes, dear’?"

Interpersonal relationships, not just marriage, are a series of compromises. If both people don’t make an effort to compromise with each other to build a good relationship, it’ll fall apart. Would you want to be with someone who only ever pushes their own agenda on you? I know I wouldn’t.

"How do you think your girlfriend feels when she sees you casually brushing things off, thinking it’s stupid to fight?"

It can’t be helped if she thinks, ‘Ah, this person isn’t taking me seriously.’ The only reason your relationship continued despite that was because her good points outweighed the bad. But that was because you were just dating. Once she started thinking with marriage in mind...

"Could you spend your whole life with someone who doesn't take things seriously and neglects problems that could be fixed with a little care? You can’t, can you."

"U, ugh."

Tolerance can sometimes become insensitivity. It happened to me too. That's exactly what the kids scolded me for regarding Saku-chan. Fujita-kun is a good guy. He's big-hearted. But when you get as close as a lover, that can start to look like carelessness. If he were more mindful, it would remain tolerance, but as a result of all the small blunders piling up, his girlfriend probably came to see it as nothing but insensitivity.

"This is just my guess, so I don’t know if I’m right."

"...No, I think you’re probably right, Manager."

It seems thinking about it after hearing what I said made him realize a few things.

"What will you do?"

"...I don't know if it’s still possible, but I’m going to ask her if we can talk properly one more time."

If that doesn’t work... Fujita-kun trailed off, his face clouding over. ...I'm so jealous. To have a lover you can love that much.

"This is just my personal opinion again, but I think you can still make it."

"...Thank you."

Pan! He slapped his cheeks, quickly wolfed down his food, and left. He’s probably going to contact her now. I really hope it works out for him.

"...That kind of thing is nice, isn’t it."

"Don’t you have a girlfriend or anything?"

"What about you, Manager?"

In any case, I did what I could. The slight gloominess I'd been feeling cleared up, and I threw myself back into my work for the rest of the afternoon. Then, after work, Inoue-kun and I were having a smoke on the roof.

"By the way, about Fujita, it seems she agreed to talk, at least."

"Is that so. That’s good to hear."

"Just wondering, Manager, why did you think he could still make it?"

"It was what she said when she was breaking up with him. Didn't he say she asked, ‘You don’t know?’"

That’s likely the flip side of her feeling, ‘Why don't you understand?’ If her feelings had truly cooled completely, she would have just broken up with him matter-of-factly without saying anything like that.

"Hah... I see. A woman’s heart is a complicated thing, isn't it."

"Inoue-kun, you must have dated someone at least once, haven’t you?"

"Twice in high school. I was asked out twice and we dated, but both times they were the ones who broke up with me."

"That’s quite..."

"More importantly, Manager, are you free after this? Want to go for a drink?"

"I can’t stay out too late, but if that’s okay with you."

"Totally okay. I won a bit of money on the lottery the other day, so tonight’s on me."

"Oh, that’s great news."

As we were talking, the door to the roof opened. I glanced over without thinking and saw one of our female employees standing there with a glum look on her face.

"Um, Manager Satou... do you have a moment?"

"Ah, sure."

...I have a bad feeling about this.

"The thing is, my boyfriend just told me he wants to break up..."

Not again