Antique Shop?BEAR? - Chapter 39

Chapter 39 – One-carton Resentment

“Huh…?”

One carton was equal to ten packs, and there were six on the table. After smoking two of them, there should be one in the bedroom, so he was short another. Turning on the light, he glanced around the floor, but there was no pack anywhere.

“Strange, huh?”

When he went back to the bedroom, there was still only one pack on the bed.

… Well, it’s the one I took.

Takada laid back down on his bed and raised his eyes to the ceiling. Having slept for only a few hours, his eyes were dull. There was nothing he could do but take out a cigarette and settle down on the bed to smoke it. As he smoked in the dark, he recalled what had happened during the day. After Kuma and he finished emptying out everything in the room, he gave him a stern warning. It was the first time he had ever been caught in the act, despite countless times he had snatched various things. The perfect opportunity to do so was while changing out of the protective gear, and he took advantage of the opportunity to snatch what he had hidden. If the president found out, he would surely be fired. He probably wouldn’t be sued, but it would be impossible to find another job now, and he still hoped to work for a while. Besides, the president had stopped popping up on site, and Takeyama, who had been there since the company’s inception, was now working in sales. Having to be the only one on the site all the time was quite dissatisfying for him.

“Tsk.” Takada extinguished his cigarette and lit the next one. “I don’t need to be told off by some young cameraman!”

As he sucked on the next cigarette, the pleasure swept through his body again, driving Takada captive to cigarettes. Eventually, he continued to smoke until morning.

The next morning, he was unusually clear-headed, considering his lack of sleep. The pleasant sensation from last night’s cigarettes still lingered in his mind, sending shivers down his spine. After all, he had smoked four packs yesterday. With three packs of cigarettes in his backpack, Takada left for work.

“Good morning.”

“Good… morning…”

When he approached Hayashi, the office clerk, she gave him a blatantly disapproving look.

“What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

“No… You looked so pale… Are you okay?”

Takada grinned, not having been worried by a young girl in a long time. “I’m doing great.”

“Is… that so?”

Takada sat down at the desk in front of the president. When the president caught sight of Takada’s face, he called out to him with concern.

“You look pale, are you okay? Your eyes are bloodshot.”

“I simply haven’t slept enough.”

After the morning meeting, Kuma and he headed out to clean up the site from yesterday. Driving around in a car with only the two of them was a strain, but it had to be done. Takada unceremoniously pulled out a cigarette and smoked it. Kuma casually opened the window.

“That’s yesterday’s Seven Star, isn’t it?”

“What? You got a problem with that?”

“No, that’s the Seven Star 10 that was discontinued. It must have been left behind by the deceased. He was quite a smoker, it seemed.”

“You don’t smoke, yet you are familiar with cigarettes?”

“No, I merely researched it.”

“Why are you digging into it?”

“I was just curious.”

Kuma replied while hanging a single-lens reflex camera from his neck.

?????????

The cleanup process turned out to be a full day’s work, but they managed to achieve it before the scheduled time. Takada took a break and went out for a cigarette several times, leaving most of the work to Kuma. On the way home, Takada realized that he had run out of cigarettes and told Kuma to stop by a convenience store.

After purchasing some cigarettes, he immediately smoked one in the car.

“… This tastes bad…”

He wondered what was wrong. The new cigarettes he had bought tasted incredibly awful. It was as if rust had been put into his mouth. The smoke smelled like garbage disposal smoke, and it was as if dirty smoke had gotten inside his lungs.

“I’ll open the window.” Kuma opened the window.

“Let me have at least one!” Takada yelled at him.

Why? Why does it taste so bad?

Pondering over it, he came to a realization. That, those cigarettes from yesterday were far too good.

I can’t wait to get home and smoke those cigarettes!

“Kuma, excuse me, but I need a ride home. I’m feeling a little under the weather.”

Kuma cast a glance at him. “From the morning, the staff at the sales office were concerned about how pale you looked. I’ll drop you off at your home.”

“Sorry. I’ll call the sales office when I get home.”

By the time he became aware of it, Takada’s hands were shaking and his legs were trembling uncontrollably. His mouth was abnormally dry and his lips were chapped. Greasy sweat beaded on his face, sweat dripped all over his body, and his face was flushed.

“Are you okay?” Kuma gave a faint smile. Normally he would have swung a punch at him, but he had no time for that.

“I need to smoke quickly.” His voice quavered.

“It’s a precious tobacco. I bet it tastes really good.”

Once at the apartment, with trembling legs, he got out of the car and struggled to retrieve the key from his bag. His hands were so shaken that he was unable to insert the key into the keyhole. Kuma, who had been watching from the car, saw what was happening and came to unlock the door for him. When he finally entered the house, the Seven Star on the table caught his attention.

“Ah… cigarettes… cigarettes…”

“Takada, you might want to close your front door…”

He couldn’t hear Kuma’s voice. Rushing to the table and grabbing a cigarette, he lit the cigarette with wavering hands.

Clink clink…

Frustratingly, the lighter didn’t ignite smoothly. After repeatedly pressing the lighter, it finally lit up. A sense of liberation overflowed instantly when the cigarette was lit. The trembling in his limbs halted the second the scent of the cigarette, the smoke, dispersed.

“Ah… so good…”