By muscle memory, I clicked on the icon despite my disdain. I sighed and forced myself to work. A man has to work to live, am I right? Sigh…
As if understanding my pain, my dear colleague and fellow underpaid sla- Ahem… Anyways, our beloved intern appeared with an empathetic look.
"An angel..!" I squinted, shielding my face from the blinding light emulating from behind him.
Set on the table was my usual double espresso from the busy cafe on the next street down.
"I noticed you didn't bring your coffee into the office as you usually do, sir, I had a bit of free time so I got you a double espresso."
"You…." My appreciation was through the roof, I glanced at his warm smile. No, seriously my eyes were tearing up. But then my eyebrow twitched. Something was wrong.
"Wait… Did you.. did you just say free time..?"
Not just me, but every other colleague turned their heads almost simultaneously from their cubicles while still aggressively typing. My blood was boiling. I even almost broke the pen I was holding.
The intern flinched before apologising profusely. I smiled. Having this title did have its own perks I guess… I suffered so much as an intern to the point of developing PTSD from even hearing the intro song of [Requiem]… Yet this puppy-like bastard gets free time???? Not on my watch.
Of course, I wasn't evil to the point of abusing my authority, there are other ways to harass an intern without risking a visit to HR. For example, not saying anything at all.
From that morning all the way to clocking out time, whenever I wasn't slaving away on the company's account for [Requiem], I was persistently staring at the newbie for the sake of it. Thanks to that, he didn't dare take any unnecessary breaks. It was a decent way to relieve my stress. Although I felt bad about taking out my frustrations on an innocent little intern I had no better alternative.
I was working overtime as usual due to the ridiculously tight deadline the director set. I finally submitted my final report on the possible changes made to [Requiem] when I checked the time. 2:42am. I winced before packing up for the day.
My car was parked on the opposite road, however it was frosted over. Impulsively, I decided to visit the nearby convenience store instead of waiting in the car. I should've really stayed in the car, then I wouldn't have had such an unfortunate encounter with ••••••.
I wrapped my scarf tighter before entering the store. The bell at the entrance echoed in my ear as I was a step in. It wasn't just the bell that echoed. Reflexively, my eyes darted to the boy sitting by the window. My eyes widened as I began to shake. That cursed fucking intro. It's like this game haunts me wherever I go, regardless if I'm at work or not.
Without a doubt, it was the intro song to [Requiem]. After the overwhelmingly repetitive and traumatic day, hearing that song for the Nth time set open the flood gates.
"THAT FUCKASS TRASH GAME I SWEAR I'LL #$%*€%##*$&£ !!!!!!!" (The rest is omitted).
That night I let out words that I didn't even know existed, as if I was possessed, colourful curses wouldn't stop leaving my mouth. I cussed out the damned game so much my throat became dry. The cashier was so shocked he somehow became 2D.
The silence that followed my vulgarity was deafening. As if mocking me, the song was somehow still ongoing for a brief moment after I shut my mouth. The boy in front of the laptop was speechless.
Well, it's not like I can take back my words right.. haha… not that I would even if I could. That's right. I said nothing wrong. Screw that trash game.
I calmly walked to the register and asked for a pack of cigarettes. The cashier regained his shape and checked me out while constantly looking between my face and the floor.
"That'll be $15…"
I was about to leave the store until I felt a hand grab my arm. I turned to see it was the player of [Requiem]. He had a handsome and youthful face under his cap, a college student maybe?
From the corner of my eye I spotted the starting point of [Requiem] loading on his laptop.
I looked back at him then the laptop once more and sighed. Seeing a college boy starting out the game sure brings back memories…
I was silently mourning my adolescence that was robbed by the game before I was interrupted. He squeezed my arm tighter, his eyebrow twitching, before speaking;
"Mister, what's your name?"
His voice was deeper than I had expected. I flinched slightly after seeing him look down at me. It was rare to see someone taller than me after all. I tilted my head slightly, unsure of whether he was annoyed or just friendly.
"Asher Koran." I responded sarcastically before shaking off his arm and running off.
I didn't look back but I'm sure he had a dumbfounded expression. I sat clutching the steering wheel of my car, waiting for it to defrost. I banged my head on the wheel and sighed.
Fuck…. I messed up. A tear almost dropped from my eye. Asher Koran?? Sure I didn't want to tell him my actual name but seriously?
After dissing the game for a straight 3 minutes I decided to use the name of the most interacted with NPC? I sighed heavily before starting up my car and driving home. Really, hearing and talking about the game outside of work leaves a bitter taste in my mouth…