Antique Shop?BEAR? - Chapter 5
Chapter 5 – Whispering Earrings
Upon arriving at work, the part-timer was inventorying the books and Tachibana was sitting at the cash register in a seemingly bored manner.
“Thank you for your hard work, Tachibana.”
“Ah, Sakura, thank you for your hard work too.”
It was time for the part-timer to leave work, leaving Rei to handle the inventory. Recently, some stores have been handing out extra copies of magazines that were no longer on sale, but as this store was located within a train station, discounts were offered on outdated magazines instead. Some customers even come to the store to obtain them, and the magazines with supplements are mostly sold out, thus contributing to the sales.
Rei went to the discount section to attach price reduction stickers and reattach rubber bands. When she was done, she returned to the cash register to find Tachibana gathering up the cardboard boxes that were no longer necessary with plastic string.
Shulushulu
Shulushulu
Shulushulu…
Rei was jolted. Right now, the area was bustling with activity, and from outside the store, the footsteps of people passing by and chatting can be heard.
From where…?
When she glanced around, she recognized the sound coming from the plastic string and was stunned. The sound of Tachibana pulling and tying the plastic string was like “shulushulu” and Rei was shocked as if she had been struck by lightning.
“This is the sound…”
Rei involuntarily muttered to herself. As she listened to the sound, staring at Tachibana in agitation, she lifted her head.
“What’s up?”
“Ah… thanks for gathering the boxes. Can you put them together in the staff room?”
“I understand.”
Looking down, Tachibana stretched the plastic string again and began to gather up the new cardboard boxes.
It was now time for Tachibana to leave work, and she will be alone from here until the end of the day. There are times when part-time and full-time employees do not come to work. At the end of the month, employees from the head office will drop by to check on sales and the status of the store, so while she was re-writing pop-ups and tidying up every little detail, it reached 9:00 p.m., the store’s closing time. As she was closing the store shutters, checking out the cash register, and cleaning up, it soon became time for her to leave.
When Rei was through with everything, she confirmed that she hadn’t forgotten anything in the staff room before exiting the store. At this hour of the day, the train was relatively vacant and always had a seat. Once at Hosho station, she was fatigued, so she picked up some takeout fast food from the station. Tonight the moon had thinned further leaving hardly any moonlight. Although the stars were shining brightly, the wind was sweeping them away and obscuring them with clouds, but they kept on appearing.
Rei walked past the stone pavement to see if the antique shop was in business. Today, the store was opened. Rei halted and blinked. Behind the alleyway, twinkling lights could be seen illuminating the area. She was tempted to drop in for a quick visit but figured it would be unwise to enter without making any purchases, so she headed straight home.
After getting home, she immediately downed the hamburger and potatoes she bought from the fast-food outlet with a cup of oolong tea. Coming to think of it, she had not been eating properly for a long time.
During her elementary and junior high school years, school lunches were the most decent of the regular three meals, and from junior high school on, she cooked and served meals on her own. Her parents, who worked together, had been in a strained relationship ever since she can recall, and by junior high school, her father had moved out and moved in with his mistress. Her mother refused to get a divorce and grew increasingly aggravated, escalating to alcohol and cigarettes on a daily basis. Rei was forced to endure living alongside with this sort of mother.
In elementary school, she was able to hang out with her friends in an upbeat spirit, but once entering junior high school, things took a turn for her and she became shy and enrolled in the art club. From then on, she could only converse with the girls in the club. For high school, she attended a regular high school that was within walking distance by bicycle. There, too, she joined the art club and remained quiet throughout her three years. While still attending school, she started working part-time, and after graduating from high school, her mother told her to get a job, and since she herself was hoping to leave home as early as possible, employment was the only thing on her mind.
For Rei, who always loved books, reading at home when she was alone, and fantasizing about creating stories, a bookstore was the ideal workplace. Miraculously, she received a job offer from “Books Honpo,” the first company she interviewed with during her job hunting and started out as a staff member at an independent store. Needless to say, things took a lot of getting used to at first, and the initial salary was low, but the job and customer service were enjoyable, and living alone was easier. Although living only a few stations away from her hometown, she never kept in touch with her parents and only went home for the end and beginning of each year. Three years after starting work, she was promoted to store manager, and now she was in her fifth year. If all goes well, there was a possibility that she may be elevated to an area manager in the next promotion, but she preferred the position of store manager.
After finishing her meal, Rei took a shower. Due to a lack of sleep, she fell asleep in no time after exiting the bathroom and lying on the bed with her smartphone in hand.