It's Kazunari, not Kazuya - Part 1
"Are you here for the interview?" Asked the lanky man that greeted Nino in the reception area. He had introduced himself as Aiba.
"Yes," answered Nino. Aiba smiled at him and then pressed a number at the object that Nino came to know as a phone. Nino smiled to himself, remembering the first time he came across the object. It was baffling to see the object rang before the person who brought him here, Jun, picked up the phone and a voice came out from it. There was no such object in the place where he was from.
“You are Ninomiya Kazuya, right?” asked Aiba, putting down the phone. “My boss will…”
“It’s Kazunari, not Kazuya,” Nino corrected the man.
“Oh…” Aiba frowned, staring at the paper that he was holding. “I usually read it as Kazuya. I’m sorry, Ninomiya-san,”
“It’s okay,” Nino tried to sound polite. Jun had told him about this. People often misread his name as Kazuya.
“Please follow me,” said Aiba as he stood up and went out from the reception area. “I will bring you to the interview room,”
Nino nodded his head and then let the man lead him into the hallway. Aiba brought him into a room with a long table. No one was in there.
“Please wait here,” instructed Aiba. “Sakurai-san and Ohno-san will be here shortly,”
Nino nodded his head. Aiba gave him another smile before he left the room. As he was alone in the room, Nino stared at the objects around him. Most of them were too foreign to him. For him, the people in this place depend too much on this thing they called technology. But, it's understandable considering they cannot do what Nino and his people can do.
Not too long after that, someone knocked on the door and then opened it, revealing two handsome men. Nino immediately stood up and bowed. His eyes were immediately glued to the shorter of the duo. He was around the same height as Nino with a darker skin tone. The man seemed to be sleepy, which weirdly made him look even more attractive.
"Ninomiya Kazuya san, right?" Asked the taller man. He was handsome too even though he kinda reminded Nino of a chipmunk.
"It's Kazunari," said Nino, hoping he didn't sound annoyed. Two people had mispronounced his name. Would there be more? It would be frustrating to keep correcting them!
"I'm sorry," said the man. "Have a seat, please,"
Nino nodded his head and did as he was instructed while the other two sat across from him. The sleepy dude seemed to have no interest in joining the interview. So, perhaps, he was forced to attend by the chipmunk.
“Oh here,” Nino handed a file that Jun had asked him to bring for the interview to the chipmunk. Jun had prepared the documents in the file, which he said, would help him get the job. As Nino wasn’t from this place, Jun had used some connections to forge his identification documents. But, the certificates he had were genuine. When he first arrived, Jun had taught him a few things about computer and then made him go to a computer training class. He explained that it would be useful.
The chipmunk took the file and then started flipping it. His eyes seemed to move rather quickly as he scanned the documents. Wow, Nino was amazed to see it. Then, he gave the file to the sleepy man who looked at it with a bored expression.
“I am Sakurai,” The chipmunk introduced himself and then pointed at the sleepy man. “This is Ohno,”
Nino nodded his head. Truthfully, he didn’t know how to do this interview. He never attended one in his life. Jun had taught him how to do it. However, he was too nervous right now and he couldn’t remember any of it.
“Are you okay, Ninomiya-san?” asked Sakurai and Nino nodded his head, trying to appear calm.
“Let’s start if that’s okay with you?” suggested Sakurai. His concerned tone had helped to ease the tension Nino felt right now. “How about introducing yourself to us?”
“Ah,” Nino gulped. How should he do this?
“Relax, Ninomiya-san,” said Sakurai, smiling softly at him. Ohno, on the other hand, seemed unimpressed. This looked bad, right? He won’t get the job and Jun would be disappointed. “Take a deep breath,”
Nino did as he was told. He was already here. Might as well try his best.
“I am Ninomiya Kazunari,” He began once he had started to relax, trying to recall the mock interview he did with Jun. “I’m here to apply for a job as an administrator and PA,”
"From my resume…" He grew more confident now, seeing the encouraging smile from Sakurai. "... you may have noticed that I didn't receive a proper education," That wasn't true, though. He went to a school. But, what he learnt at school was different than what was taught here. "However, I have received training for the skills needed for the job, and my certificate proved it,"
Sakurai nodded his head. “I’ve seen your resume. Indeed, you seem to be lacking,” he said. Nino’s face fell. Sakurai didn’t have to say it. It’s obvious that he won’t get the job because of his shortcoming.
“Under normal circumstances…” Sakurai continued. “I might not consider you for the job. But, as you are recommended by Matsumoto-san, who is our best employee, we will give you a chance. Matsumoto-san has a high standard when it comes to working. So, if he recommends you, he must be seeing something in you. So, how about a trial period of one month and we’ll see how it goes?”
Nino’s jaw dropped, surprised by what he heard. He was accepted? That was hard to believe.
"Did Matsumoto-san tell you what you have to do?" Asked Sakurai. Nino blinked his eyes, still surprised to know he was accepted. It took him a few minutes to realize that Matsumoto that Sakurai was talking about was actually Jun.
"He did," answered Nino. Jun said the job was easy as long as he knew how to use a telephone and a computer. So, Nino then proceeded to describe the job according to what he understood. Basically, he had to do data entry, prepare materials for meeting and made sure the office ran smoothly by answering calls and emails and keeping tab of the utilities that need to be paid. Oh, he also had to maintain the company social media account, whatever that is.
“Good…” Sakurai sounded impressed. “Before this, Aiba-san did all the job you described. But, as we gain more clients, he becomes busy so we need another person to cover his job. Aiba-san will teach you how to do the job later. And, I hope you will do the job properly,”
Nino nodded his head, determined to prove his worth.
“But, that’s not all. You also have to be the PA to Ohno-san,”
Nino glanced at the other man who hadn’t said any words yet. Ohno absent-mindedly flipped his file, looking as if he wanted to be somewhere else than here.
“Ohno-san, you have been awfully quiet today,” remarked Sakurai. “Unlike the previous candidates, you don’t seem to have anything to complain about Ninomiya-san. So, I assume you’re okay with him,”
A simple shrug was all they got as a response. Sakurai let out a sigh before focusing his attention on Nino again.
“This part of the job might be challenging,” Sakurai begin. “You have to arrange appointments for him and make sure he attends it. Ohno-san is excellent in doing his job but he is not good at managing time. He didn’t know how to prioritize between his work, hobbies and girlfriend,”
Girlfriend? Ah… Jun had told Nino what it was. His people usually called that kind of people as a soulmate. And, he didn’t know why but he felt weird to know Ohno already found his soulmate.
“He did things according to his pace…” Sakurai continued, oblivious to the way Nino flinched when he mentioned Ohno’s girlfriend. “... and sometimes, he forgot about the appointment with clients. And, that’s why I need someone to be his PA. Please please please please please make sure that kind of thing will never happen again. I have enough experience handling a furious client. And, it wasn’t pleasant at all. So, I don’t want to do that again,”
The way Sakurai repeatedly said please was enough to convince him that this would be a tough job. Strange… Judging from the appearance, Ohno didn’t seem to be difficult to handle. Well, as people said, don’t judge the book by its cover.
“That would be enough, right?” grumbled Ohno. He must be angry because of what Sho said. “Kazuya will work for us, right?“ Nino wanted to correct Ohno when he heard the man pronounced his name wrongly. But, he didn’t think Ohno would care. “Do you still need me to be here? I have to go now,”
“To meet Mei-chan?” said Sakurai, sounding exasperated. “Satoshi, I don’t mind if you want to have a girlfriend. But, please. Don’t go anywhere when we’re working,”
Ohno rolled his eyes at Sakurai but he didn’t say anything. He stood up and exited the room, leaving Nino alone with Sakurai, who let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry you have to see that,” said Sakurai. “But, at least you know what kind of situation you will have to handle. So, do you still want to work here?”
Nino could only nod his head. After seeing how Ohno behaved earlier, he could see dark days ahead. But, what choice did he have? He needed a job to live in this place.
“Good!” said Sakurai. “I will try to help you in case Ohno-san was too much for you to handle,”
That was reassuring to hear.
“So, when can you start?”
“Anytime you want, Sakurai-san,” answered Nino. “I’m fine if you want me to start today,”
He didn’t have anything else to do. So, he wouldn’t mind.
“That would be great,” said Sakurai. He was relieved. “I will show you around the office. Then, Aiba-san will teach you what to do in the office,”
Nino nodded his head and then he followed Sakurai. Even though he was nervous, he would do his work as best as he could so that Sakurai wouldn’t regret hiring him to work here.
A/N: Another update in just one day. Maybe I'm trying to avoid the hiatus by spending my free time writing. Anyway, this was inspired by the recent video where Ohno called Nino Kazuya. I hope you will enjoy reading this and let me know what you think of it. It will be very much appreciated :)