kscans

Chapter 173 - Just Four Old Guys Chatting

Today was the day for my comprehensive health checkup. Since September was insanely busy, and before things got hectic again toward the end of the year, the president ordered us to get our bodies checked. Participation is mandatory for anyone thirty or older. I guess for some people, the decline really starts to hit in their thirties. The company covers the cost, so almost all the employees whose participation is optional join in too.

But going for one of these checkups means you have to take at least half a day off, if not the whole day. If everyone went at once, the company wouldn't be able to function. So, starting after our busiest season, we've been going in small, rotating groups, and my turn has finally come. Our company's policy is to get the junior staff taken care of first, so my turn was put off until later.

"Still, I have to say. Seeing a line of old guys in these shabby medical gowns really makes you feel the impermanence of things, eh."

"Of all the things to suddenly start talking about..."

By the way, today it was me, the president, and then Nishijou-san and Azuma-san. The four of us. This is just how the schedule worked out, but the fact that I, at thirty five, am the youngest one here is already hell.

"Please stop, sir. These checkups are depressing enough as it is."

You can't eat anything after nine, and anything other than water is off limits. Then you go through a long series of tests, and you don't even get the results for about two weeks. I know it's necessary, but coming for these checkups always kills my mood.

"Depressing, you say? What do you mean by that?"

Azuma-san tilted his head slightly.

"Well, I've never been a fan of hospitals in the first place."

It's not just the unique smell. The very act of being examined makes me uncomfortable.

"I understand in my head that it's to check if there's anything wrong."

But when they use all those imposing machines to look you over. It just makes me think, what if there actually is something wrong with me? Even though I know I could use my occult powers to deal with whatever comes up, it still stirs up my anxiety.

"Ah... yes, I think I know what you mean."

"Satou-kun, you, Azuma-kun, and Nishijou-kun all worry too much. Me? I'm the type who actually gets excited."

"Ah, yeah, you see those kids sometimes. The ones who get all hyped up when they come to the hospital."

The feeling of it being out of the ordinary must be irresistible. Now that he mentions it, the president does seem like that type. He was obnoxiously energetic this morning, too.

"I've always been like that. You know, when you caught a cold as a kid and went to the doctor? I even looked forward to the medicine."

"The medicine... I hated it. To be honest, I'm still not good with the powdered kind."

"Same here."

"Me too, me too. I get that powdered medicine feels like it's more effective, though."

When it gets stuck in your throat and you start choking, it's nothing short of hell. And the aftertaste is the worst. That nasty bitterness just lingers in your mouth.

"Exactly!"

"Now that I'm an adult, well... I can tolerate it, but when I was a kid, I just couldn't stand it."

My mom would tell me, "Make sure you take all your medicine, okay?" but since I could never take it straight, I'd mix it into yogurt or something.

"I'd wait for a moment when my mom wasn't around, but of course, she'd always find out."

I mean, the yogurt would be gone right around the time I was supposed to take my medicine. I'd try to say, "N, no, that's not it! I just ate the yogurt to wash it down!" but it was no use. Mom would see right through my lies.

"And then I'd get a scolding."

"Happened to me too. I know exactly what you mean."

What is this, a medicine talk session? This is surprisingly getting lively...

"No, no, I'm not talking about powdered medicine. I mean the syrup. Syrup."

"Ahhh..."

Right, right, there was that stuff too.

"But Nishijou, what about that?"

"I disliked it. How about you, Satou-kun?"

"I couldn't stand it either."

Sure, kids like sweet things. And like most, I liked them too. But just because it's sweet doesn't mean it's good. There are good sweets and bad sweets.

"If kids just accepted anything sweet without question, then the amacha at the Flower Festival would be a huge hit with them."

"Amacha! Ah, it's been a while since I've heard that word."

"What's this, Azuma? You have memories associated with amacha?"

"Yes. My maternal grandmother was a devout Buddhist. She used to take me to the Kanbutsue events when I was little."

To put it simply, Kanbutsue is an event that celebrates the Buddha's birthday. It's also called the Flower Festival. It's like the Buddhist version of Christmas, but not nearly as popular. Amacha is involved in this. You celebrate by pouring amacha with a ladle over a statue of the Buddha inside a small shrine called a hanamidou.

"She'd have me drink it, saying it was a drink the Buddha himself favored... but I couldn't stand the stuff."

It's not actually the Buddha's favorite drink, but I guess that's how you explain it to a kid. Azuma-san rubbed his chin nostalgically. Despite his words, it seemed to be a fond memory.

"But my grandmother would be smiling so happily that I found it hard to say anything, so I never once told her I disliked it."

"Well, well. Isn't that a nice little story, my friend."

"No, it's not really a nice story. It's just a memory from my childhood, that is all."

"It's a nice story."

You couldn't say you disliked it because you loved your grandma, and you kept that secret until she passed away, right? It makes you sound like a good kid who cared about his grandma.

"Good grief, Azuma is always winning favorability points in moments like these. It is a problem."

"What kind of thing is that to say. And besides, haven't we gotten off topic?"

We have indeed. Though I guess I was the one who derailed it. What were we talking about again? Ah, right, the syrup medicine.

"That syrup is sweet, but it's disgustingly sweet, isn't it? Doesn't it sort of stick in your throat?"

"It does. I also hated how the smell of medicine was mixed in."

"That's it. I always thought they could just give it to me in pill form, but I'd end up pinching my nose and drinking it."

I know that feel. In contrast to us, who were hitting it off, the president, who hadn't gotten any agreement at all, was pouting. An old guy making a face like that isn't cute at all...

"What's all this, what's all this. Are you guys best friends now? Wait, don't tell me. Are you three forming a trio to plot a coup d'état?"

"Hey...!"

"Azuma-san and Nishijou-san aren't used to jokes like that, so please give them a break."

"Alright, alright. But it's true you've all been getting along well recently, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, we're sort of hobby friends... no, maybe a hobby master and apprentices? Something like that."

The two of them looked startled, but I gave them a look to tell them not to worry. Even I wouldn't tell the president about their idol hobby without getting their permission first. It's just that Azuma-san and Nishijou-san are so earnest. When the president points out how close we've been lately, they feel guilty, as if they're hiding something, even though it isn't really a problem.

...This is a problem. They were just starting to loosen up so nicely.

That's why I chose this moment to cut in.

"Hobby master and apprentices? Are you teaching them something?"

"Yes. It seems the two of them have taken an interest in mahjong."

"Ahh... Satou-kun, you're ridiculously good at mahjong, aren't you."

The president nodded in understanding. The hobby itself was a lie, but we were getting along through a hobby. Half a lie, half the truth. This was something the two of them could swallow.

"Your skill at cheating is almost pathological, my friend. You declared you were doing it, and I still didn't notice at all."

"Well, that's just a matter of practice. Oh, I'm teaching them normally, without any of the cheating stuff, of course."

When I said that,

"He has been teaching us the fundamentals very thoroughly."

"Even when it comes to games, his teaching is so good that both Nishijou and I are thoroughly impressed."

The two of them backed me up. Well, whatever works. We managed to cover it up nicely. Good, good.

...Still, what am I even doing in a place like this?

Aah, I wish this checkup would just end already.