“Hey, cut it out. I have work tomorrow,” he said.
Despite his insomnia, on an average night he would grow drowsy and manage to doze off after a few hours. Strangely, by the time the sky started to brighten, he’d be sound asleep, only to be roused by his alarm clock. His sleep was brief, but it wasn’t completely nonexistent.
Tonight was different. Sleep eluded him entirely. Normally, Hinako Nakajima would appear in his dreams and shower him with compliments, but instead, Margot’s constant cries kept him up.
“Hey, be quiet, will you? Why won’t you sleep? Are you cold, sleeping on that cushion?” In the darkness, he reached for his robe and threw it over Margot. But her cries didn’t stop. He pulled his blanket over his head.
I need to sleep. I need to sleep.
Meow, meow, meow.
I need to sleep. Even if just for a little while, or my body won’t hold up.
Meow, meow, meow.
Before Koga knew it, light was streaming in through the window. By then, Margot was finally curled up inside the robe, her eyes closed. Even when the alarm clock rang, she pretended not to hear it. He, on the other hand, hadn’t slept a single second. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was a mess, and his stomach churned with nausea.
As he groaned and retched in the bathroom, Natsue frowned. “What are you going to do about that cat?” she asked. “I won’t be able to care for it. I can’t even touch it.”
Koga groaned again. “I’ve put out food and water, and I’ve cleaned the litter box, so don’t worry about her. I’ll take care of the rest when I get back home.”
“But is it okay to lock a cat in a room? Isn’t it cruel?” she asked.
If you think so, just leave all the doors in the house open for her. His mind was in a haze, and he wasn’t even sure if he had said that out loud. Koga went about his morning routine in a daze. “A highly effective cat,” my foot. That quack doctor.
As always, when he arrived at the call center, Hinako Nakajima was already there.
“Good morning, Mr. Koga!” Her cheerful voice reverberated in Koga’s sleep-deprived head. “Your tie! I like it! It gives you a youthful look!”
Before he could respond, Hinako was already greeting other employees. “Good morning! Oh, did you trim your bangs? I like it! You look great. Good morning! Well, those shoes—I like them! Good morning! Thank you for working late yesterday. The report was perfect. I like how driven you are!”
“How many more compliments is she going to give?” Koga muttered at his desk. He hadn’t slept a wink last night, but Hinako’s incessant I like its hadn’t haunted his dreams either.
Hinako had been like this ever since she had joined their office. Regardless of whether someone was a superior or a subordinate, she showered them with praise for every little thing. From people’s appearance to job performance, even the contents of a convenience store bento or the canned juice they were drinking—all were subjects of her unwavering admiration.
“She’s so high-spirited every day. It’s exhausting for everyone around her,” murmured Fukuda, the call center’s general manager, who sat opposite Koga. Koga pegged him as an unambitious, nonconfrontational type who likely shared his low opinion of Hinako. Fukuda, too, was a man who struggled with changes in his environment.
“I don’t get why the Tokyo head office thrust someone like her onto us. They say this and that about our high staff turnover rate, but it’s always the same no matter who’s in charge. Quitters gonna quit.”
Koga responded with a noncommittal “Huh.” Normally, he would have smirked, but perhaps because he was sleepy, he couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to side with Fukuda today.
Hinako was still energetically greeting team members as they arrived.
“Well, she’ll be gone sooner or later. I don’t care if they’re looking to ‘reform’ or ‘renew’ our team—if she doesn’t deliver, Head Office will have to reconsider her role. Anyway, I hope things don’t change too much.”
Not wanting to engage with the cheerless Fukuda, Koga remained silent. He neither liked nor disliked Fukuda. But Hinako had come to Kyoto from Tokyo on her own to become Fukuda’s deputy. Even a cat can’t sleep soundly in an unfamiliar house. Surely, Hinako was putting in her fair share of effort. Wasn’t there a way to be more supportive?
Then it struck him: much like Fukuda, he hadn’t been supportive.
“ ‘I like it,’ is it?”
Despite his tottering, sleep-deprived state, Koga managed to get through his tasks. When lunchtime arrived, as usual, he ate alone in a corner of the cafeteria, while Hinako sat surrounded by a large group of women.
“Check this out, Hinako. This is from my kid’s field day.” The coworker showed Hinako her phone.
Hinako widened her eyes dramatically in response. “Oh, that’s Rina, right? She’s in second grade, isn’t she? Look at her run!”
“Hinako, take a look at this video from my child’s piano recital.”
“Izumi’s so talented! And her dress is so lovely! A career as a professional pianist could be on the horizon.”
Hinako reacted to every single video and photo shown to her. It was always boisterous around Hinako. Koga had never seen the staff so animated.
“I like it…Like it, like it, like it.”
Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Meow, meow, meow.
Before he knew it, he was dozing with his eyes open. At the adjacent table, two of the younger women were giggling over something on their phones.
“Look, isn’t this great?”
“Really nice. That’s definitely going to make the boyfriend happy, don’t you think?”
