Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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“I’m sorry, Takeshita-kun. Our store’s sales have been terrible lately…”
The owner, Mr. Harada, bowed his head apologetically.
“No, no. I understand the situation very well. I’m sure it’s difficult for the store with the current coronavirus situation…”
I’m talking seriously about this, but I’m a university student who just advanced to my second year this April.
I work part-time at the convenience store “Heaven-Eleven University Front Store,” located across the street from the main gate of the university I attend.
Usually, there would be long lines at lunchtime buying bento boxes and bread, and in the evening, small groups of people buying beer and chuhai drinks for their club rooms, all of which are typical of a store in front of a university. It used to be incredibly busy every day, but now there’s nothing like it.
This was because of the global chaos and the disappearance of people from the city due to a new plague.
Then today, after work, the owners asked me if I could talk to them in the staff room, and they told me that the recent coronavirus pandemic had caused a decline in customers and had dealt a devastating blow to the store’s sales.
That’s true… they can’t come to school right now. Since students can’t come to university, there are hardly any student customers coming to the store, and only one or two groups of local customers come per hour.
This university has over 3,000 students per year across all faculties, and over 12,000 students across all four years. Assuming that about two-thirds of them attend school on a normal day, that’s over 8,000 potential customers. There are no other convenience stores nearby, so they have a monopoly on customers.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are almost no students attending school. Moreover, because the school was built on land cut into the mountains, there are only about 30 houses occupied by people other than those associated with the school. This means that it is impossible to attract customers, which is a matter of life and death for the store.
So the owner approached me and I was put on leave from my part-time job, although it was unclear how long that would last.
Convenience store part-time jobs are sometimes said to be blacklisted, but the owners understand the hardships faced by students and are considerate of students during exam times, as well as during the Obon and New Year holidays for those from rural areas.
I have been working here for about a year since I entered university, and I have been entrusted with placing orders, so I think I have started to feel that there is some kind of meaning to working, rather than just earning an income.
So, I felt bad about being a burden to the owner when he was in such a difficult situation, so I immediately agreed to take a break from my part-time job.
After finishing my shift, it was past 10pm and I left the convenience store and got on my beloved scooter. It was Hosoda’s famous Super Cap. It was fuel-efficient and had a foldable box in the back. It also had excellent loading capacity.
It started raining heavily this evening. It was what they call a bomb cyclone, and suddenly a cold, strong wind started blowing, followed by a terrible thunderstorm. The rain clouds seemed to have completely passed by around 9 o’clock, and now we were greeted by a beautiful starry sky.
On a day like this, I decided to head to the station. I was heading to the 24-hour supermarket, a student’s best friend. I figured that the sudden downpour that had started in the evening had probably slowed down the supermarket’s customer traffic, so there would be a lot of unsold goods.
When I got there, I found a lot of sashimi that was due to expire in just under two hours, and it was surprisingly 70% off! Also, bulgogi, which only required stir-frying, was half price, and if you added some bean sprouts for 23 yen a bag, you could make a super cheap beef and vegetable stir-fry! If you cook your own rice, it was a great deal at a low price!
For side dishes, I bought fried oysters and minced meat cutlets. I ended up buying a lot, but I can freeze them if necessary.
Next, I went to the bread section. There was half-price stickers plastered all over the bread from famous places I’d heard of, like Murakiya and Zakiyama Bread.
My coworker at the convenience store, part-timer Sasaki, said that when she buys bread in bulk, she freezes it to store it… Right! I’ll buy as much as I can here! Bean-jam buns and jam buns are in the upper 40 yen range, and even the ones with croquettes are in the 50 yen range!
So I stocked up on sashimi, meat, etc. and packed the back of my scooter with bread, and my backpack was also stuffed to the brim. I ended up buying about 4,000 yen worth of food, but if I’m careful not to let it go bad and manage my money well, I should be able to last for more than 10 days, and even two weeks might not be a dream…
I’ll cut back now, since I can’t expect to get paid for my part-time job anymore… I decided to live frugally and headed to the cashier.
I saw lightning flashing in the distant sky, so I grabbed my shopping bags and hurried back to my apartment, thinking that there might be another sudden downpour.
I sped home on my scooter and soon after it started raining heavily.
It’s not even summer yet, so I really wish we could have a break from having torrential rain, especially twice a day.
For now, I’ll put some sashimi, bulgogi meat, and bean sprouts in the fridge.
It’s still early spring, so bread won’t spoil easily for the time being, but I ended up buying over 20 loaves on impulse, so I’ll have to be careful about storing it…
I set the rice cooker and went to take a bath while it cooked.
After getting out of the bath, I turned on the TV and saw the news reporting on a sudden downpour in the city center. Live footage showed strong winds blowing from side to, thunder and heavy rain pounding from above.
“Oh! It’s dangerous.”
A reporter broadcasting from in front of the Shinjuku Station ticket gate called out to a salaryman whose leg had been injured in the severe wind and rain, without showing any particular concern.
Such reports were always in bad taste. It’s the same with reports of heavy snowfall, where they took pictures of people lying in wait for someone who was about to fall, while they themselves were in a position where they won’t get wet.
I hate people who make a living off the misfortune and pain of others as much as I hate criminals. I ate the cooked rice and tuna sashimi that had been discounted to about 130 yen a pack.
Still, the bright red tuna was delicious, and even though I was living frugally, I enjoyed a moment of luxury at the table.
….
The news then started reporting on a sudden thunderstorm in another area.
Although we had escaped the thunderstorm, that city was in total darkness due to a power outage. I remembered that I had an LED light in the walk-in closet (which I also use as a storage space) and went to get it.
Just as I found the light in the closet and confirmed that it was charged, a loud roar echoed through the room, puncturing the sound with a thunderous, deep bass impact.
Lightning must have struck nearby, very close. And soon the room went dark and the TV went off.
In an instant, the light and sound inside the room were taken away. “Is this area experiencing a power outage too?” I thought as I turned on the light I had just picked up. Just having the light there made me feel much more secure. As for sound, the rain outside was still beating down, so it wasn’t completely silent, though.
In any case, there was no immediate danger, so I could breathe a sigh of relief. I took a light and look around to make sure there was nothing unusual.
There was nothing unusual in the room. The room, illuminated by the light in my hand, looked exactly the same as it did a moment ago.
Yes. There was nothing unusual, at least not inside the room.
But when I happened to look at the back wall of the closet, I saw an unfamiliar outdoor landscape.
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