I hate Wednesdays. Not because they're in the middle of the week, but because they never end.
They're the kind of days where people forget you're human just because your title sounds nice on paper. The kind of days where your face hurts from nodding at things you don't care about. Where the coffee machine breaks exactly when you need it most, and somehow everyone still expects your brain to function like a well-oiled algorithm.
Another slide. Another graph. Another buzzword.
I lean back in the stiff conference chair, arms folded, mouth shut. The fluorescent lights hum louder than the voices in the room. I've stopped listening. They haven't noticed.
They never do.
"If we just realign the vertical strategy with the hybrid synergy model—"
Sure, kid. Realign whatever you want. Just don't ask me to clap when it breaks next week.
My name's Hayato Mikami. 28. Born in Yokohama. Currently living in a Tokyo apartment the size of a microwave. Technically, I'm someone important at this consulting firm. At least, that's what my business card says. Not that I've had time to read it lately.
I'm not a genius. Not a visionary. Just the kind of guy who learned to survive meetings by staying silent long enough for people to assume you're smarter than them. It's worked so far.
Another slide change. More polite claps. Someone looks at me. I give them a nod.
Perfect. That's all they want.
Back when I was younger, I thought being in this position meant something. That I'd reach a point where people would finally stop breathing down my neck and let me live. Turns out, the higher you climb, the more people expect you to carry their weight too.
Sometimes I wonder what I'd be doing if I quit. Maybe I'd become a minimalist. Grow tomatoes. Write a blog. Learn how to fix an air fryer.
But then I remember the rent.
The meeting ends with applause that sounds more like relief. I collect my laptop. Walk the halls. Nod to a few people I don't remember hiring. Elevator. Lobby. Out.
Tokyo at night is a showroom of cold lights and busied strangers, always in motion but never arriving anywhere. I blend in without trying.
To Be Continued.