Chapter 124. Preparations to Destroy a Scumbag’s Life. (5/8)

“Rebellious phase?”

“Being the good girl you are, I’m sure the idea of rebelling is something hard for you to fathom, but look at Rosa. She was able to prove to her parents she could be independent and attend school without supervision. Though she hasn’t been working and she receives financial support from them, she still had to take care of her daily needs all on her own up until just recently. If you can’t even put your foot down and stand up to your mother, what hope do you even have to carry any of her burdens?”

She looked up, her eyes a bit brighter, the smile I was accustomed to had returned to her face.

“So… I just need to become rebellious?”

“Well, if you can at least do that much, I might be willing to lend a helping hand.”

When she heard I’d help, she jumped at me and tried to hug me but I stuck out my hand and kept her at bay.

“I’m at work, did you forget?”

“Ah! Sorry.” She bowed her head to apologize.

“When you said you’d help I just felt like things would work out for sure and I got so happy. You’ve already got a plan, don’t you? I know you well enough to know you don’t do anything unless you’re confident in success.”

“Well, it depends on you. If you do things half-heartedly I’m not going to help you at all.”

“I’ll do my best to be rebellious.”

“Oh? And how are you going to do that?”

“I have no idea. Guts, I guess.”

“Come on now, you’ve got to do better than guts.”

“Then I’ll think about it.”

“Good, think about it well.”

“I will.”

Haaaaah. It would be nice if she at least finds a job that will allow her to study.

“Ah, I know, I’ll cut my hair short to show her my resolve.”

The second I heard that I was so enraged I wanted to slap her.

“You idiot, don’t you dare do that. Girls who have long hair and cut it short for that reason, I can’t stand them the most. I seriously won’t forgive you if you go through with it.”

“Uh… you mean... you like my hair long?” She looked at me slightly bashful, twirling a long lock of her hair around one finger.

“Definitely. So don’t you dare do it, ever, you got that?” Every single female protagonist who has ever cut their long hair short has dropped to rock bottom in my heart. What the hell did they mean, to show their resolve? Screw your stupid resolve and grow your hair back long right this instant!

It always pained my heart immensely whenever a woman with long hair cut it super short. Call me shallow or whatever, but I appreciate the time and effort women put into maintaining their hair when it’s long.

“I-I understand. But… if that’s the case, how am I supposed to do better than guts?”

“Just take some time to think about it carefully. I’ve got to get back to work now.” I turned around and returned behind the counter.

“You sure took your time talking to her. What did the two of you talk about?” Yuna asked.

“Nothing much. Just some small talk.”

“Lies. Did you get closer to her when I wasn’t around or something? Something interesting happened, I can smell it.”

Certainly, she even selfishly decided all on her own that she’d marry me in the future during the time she was gone.

“No, we’re not close.”

“Not close? If you ask me, the way she looks at you has significantly changed though. She looks like a lost puppy begging for your help.”

“Aren’t you just imagining things because you’re bored?”

“You can keep denying it all you want, but I’m convinced there’s something amiss.”

It was then that Alicia approached the counter and directly handed me her drink. She was staring at my face the entire time. 

Quit making it so obvious. Your ‘love and affection’ is showing, it’s embarrassing, please cover it up a bit. 

My coworker was a pain in the ass when she latched onto something. She’s great when she’s quiet and disinterested, but when it comes to something that intrigues her, she’s a nuisance. Alicia was a topic she took intrigue in, I didn’t know why though. Just where her fascination came from was a mystery to me. It had to be more than Alicia being a nice friendly girl with how amiable Yuna was toward her.

After Alicia paid, Yuna suddenly asked, “Hey are you two dating or something?”

When Alicia heard her words, she took a step back startled.

“N-No he just helped me out that one time when that guy was harassing me and is always getting the last drink for me. We’re not d-dating or anything.”

“Hmm… that’s a rather suspicious response though.”

“Yuna, can you please refrain from making customers uncomfortable? She wouldn’t date someone like me, you’re just troubling her by asking that.”

“Certainly, it’s hard to imagine a lovely sweet girl like her would ever want to date a gloomy loner like you.”

“Who says I wouldn’t date someone like him!” You idiot! Why are you falling for obvious bait!

“Oh? So you would date him. I see. I see. That’s good to know. My poor co-worker here is quite pitiful when it comes to women. If a kind girl like you exists, even he may have a shot at one day getting a pretty girlfriend.”

“Y-Yeah. But… he’s not such a bad guy. I don’t think he’d have that hard a time finding a pretty girlfriend or two in the future.”

“Two? Wouldn’t that be pushing his luck?”

“Yeah. Yeah. It’s definitely pushing his luck with two. Now if he got three, that’d be even more infuriating.” Alicia was in full agreement.

“Certainly, if he had three, God might smite him so he’d know his place.”

Smite me. Do it! I want to be smitten.

“Haha, yeah, such a sinful man who plays with the hearts of three women simultaneously should face divine retribution.” She said that with a lovely smile on her face.

So those are your true thoughts, aren’t they? When you say divine retribution, you really mean to say those three women should band together to bully me and never let me have a single moment of rest, right?

“But there’s no way this guy could handle three women, I’m sure one would already be more than he can cope with.”

Agreed. Yuna understood me so well. I don’t have the ability or energy to deal with three women. That being the case… why the hell do I really have three women! I’m cursed. Cursed by the jinx known as Rosa.

The two chatted amicably for a while longer before Alicia eventually bid us goodbye. However, when she reached the front door she stopped and didn’t exit immediately. She was reading something taped to the front door.

It looked like she was thinking about something. When it looked like she made up her mind she turned to us and opened her mouth.

“Uh… are you still hiring?”

Wait. Hold on. No, you can’t really be thinking of working here, right? I wanted you to carefully think about a fitting job, not to pick the first one you came across. Are you an idiot? What’s your reason for picking here? What was the logical thought process that led you to this as an answer?

Was it something stupid like, ‘the guy I love works here and I want to work with him too?’ If you said that to your mother, you’ll never convince her. She’ll think you’re taking things far too lightly, that you’re completely underestimating how challenging it is to work and attend school.

Yuna cocked her head quizzically and asked, “Do you know someone who’s looking for a job?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah.”

“Well, yes we are still taking applications. Did you want one? A resume will need to be submitted along with it.”

“Yes, I’d like one, please. It’s actually me who’s looking for a job.”

“Oh? You? While you’re still in high school?”

“Yes. It’s embarrassing to admit, but the financial situation in my family is a bit sticky and I wanted to help my mother out.”

“Do you have your mother’s consent to work?”

“Ugh… no… but I’ll convince her no matter what.”

“Well, how about you apply first and see how it goes? If you get the position you can try to use that as leverage to convince your mother. I’ll even put in a recommendation for you so be sure to use me as a reference. You’ll still need to submit a resume and cover letter along with the application though. Make sure to put something together even if you don’t have any work or volunteer experience.”