Dinner in Ginza
-From the perspective of Satoru Gojo-
Once we arrived in the bustling and noisy city center of Tokyo, we decided to take the train from there to Ginza to get to my favorite sushi restaurant. Despite the fact that it was already quite late in the evening, the various districts seemed to be far from going to sleep.
Bright neon signs together with the streetlamps and the many shop window lights made the area look almost like broad daylight. Loud laughter and cheerful conversations echoing from all directions did the rest, whereby I concentrated more on the conversation with my pretty companion than on picking up the few snippets of conversation.
"You came from Shimoda, didn't you?" I unleashed my curiosity on her again, uninhibited, as we walked hand in hand through the crowded streets.
And if I wasn't completely wrong, then I was. From the beautiful south-western part of Japan, where one beach followed the next. It was actually inconceivable to me that someone would simply turn their back on a true vacation region like this and move to the exact opposite. A big city that never seemed to sleep and offered no relaxation. Although it was certainly nothing special when you had that around you every day.
"Yes, exactly. Lots of beach and sea. Peace and quiet and no action."
"Why?" I gave my thoughts a misleading expression, "I don't understand. What exactly drew you to Tokyo?"
She smiled, "Believe me, it wasn't that easy for me either. But I didn't want to stay there just because of the beautiful surroundings. It was the work and the city itself that drew me to Tokyo," she revealed, her eyes growing bright, "I know it sounds crazy, but Tokyo simply cast a spell over me while I was here on vacation a few times. Do you know Shimoda?"
"That sounds more than crazy... Yes, I do, I've been to the city twice for work to exorcize curses."
Pretty crazy to know that I could have bumped into her there already. And in Tokyo. As if it was fate - but I didn't believe in that.
"Really? That's funny," she beamed, "then we had to run into each other."
I looked down at her suspiciously, didn't comment on the sentence, which, unlike her, wasn't important to me anyway, and took the actual topic by the scruff of the neck again.
"And what about work? Didn't you have a nice job that you pursued?"
"Oh yes, even a very nice one that I was reluctant to leave behind."
...?
Did anyone understand this woman? Then please explain it to me...
At my completely perplexed expression, she couldn't pull herself together and laughed heartily.
"I can see exactly what you're thinking, Satoru. Yes, I've also turned my back on my beloved work. Before I switched to trauma surgery here, I worked in a GP practice for ten years. It was nothing special and sometimes rather boring, but I loved it. We were a big team of nine assistants and three doctors," she revealed, as we turned into an alleyway that no longer had any of the glamor and attractiveness of the main street.
Here it suddenly became more uncomfortable and gloomy. The boisterous conversations were replaced by a gloomy atmosphere and shady characters, who were increasingly being haunted by ghastly ghosts. Mayu didn't dislike this at all, which is why she snuggled closer to me and wrapped her arms around me. Still, she maintained her carefree smile and disposition, covering up the uncomfortable feelings that had instantly tried to take over her.
"Boring? Then how did you last ten years there? What exactly were your duties?" I understood her scaredy-cat language and started to change her mind.
"Girl for everything," she smirked, averting her eyes to the side as we walked past a mischievous curse spirit attached to a shady guy.
"I took care of administrative work and also worked at the registration desk from time to time. But what I enjoyed most was working in the laboratory, taking blood samples, performing ECGs and pulmonary function tests, as well as assisting with minor procedures. I had really loved it, but it was time for something new. I needed more challenges and a new area to explore, so I started looking for a new practice here."
If that wasn't a case for Shoko. Hadn't she recently sighed about how much she wished she had an assistant in some situations? So I would have found an assistant bursting with enthusiasm for this profession. And let's be honest - I could well imagine that the two of them would have got on really well.
Mayu seemed to be a cosmopolitan person and Shoko could really use that in her dreary working life.
I could also imagine Mayu looking pretty hot in her lab coat.