OPERATION LEFT — And Then
This text is a recorded episode associated with the OPERATION LEFT design series.
ARCHIVE
RECORD No. 1909
OPERATION LEFT
And Then
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[Record begins]
“Once you lose yourself in the world, everything becomes restless.”
If Natsume Sōseki were alive today, he might have said something like that.
I check the numbers on the paper in front of me and enter them into the screen.
I repeat the process again and again, though correct figures are rare.
Anyone can make mistakes. Even so, this is excessive.
Handling paperwork on paper in this day and age is probably the real problem, but it was the client’s request, so there is nothing to be done.
Nothing to be done is a convenient phrase.
Perhaps most things in this world are held together by it.
When I turn a page I’ve finished checking, I find figures that are completely off the mark—crossed out twice and left behind.
I let out a deep breath and reach for the calculator, entering several values.
The result feels wrong.
I shift my mind into a more deliberate mode and read through the attached documents.
Just as the cause begins to come faintly into view, the phone rings.
“General Affairs, this is Sasaki.”
Without hesitation, I pick up the receiver.
While listening to what is half complaint from the field, I murmur acknowledgments, briefly touch the mouse with my crossed hands, and wake the screen from its saver.
I wonder if I’ll manage to eat lunch today.
In the end, the work doesn’t move forward.
Phone calls and visitors interrupt it again and again.
Seeing the calculator display go dark in the middle of a conversation, I decide lunch will have to be simple.
When the phone rings for the second time, I realize there’s no chance of finishing everything today.
I take a mug from the cabinet in the office kitchenette and pour in hot water.
While the cup warms, I look over the drink options.
Something unsweetened would be better, but if I won’t be eating properly today, maybe I should choose something with more calories.
When I prepare a drink to have while working, I usually end up forgetting it until it’s gone cold, so I tend to choose black coffee.
Today, though, I decide to drink it properly.
After a moment’s hesitation, I take the stick that looks the most expensive.
Stirring the drink with a spoon, I return to my desk and take a yellow cardboard box from the drawer.
One box left.
I’d kept it for emergencies, but emergencies, it seems, arrive quite easily.
I take a slow sip, then open the wrapper.
I pause with the long rectangular bar held between my teeth, lay a tissue on the desk, and take a bite.
In the end, this flavor is probably the best.
Keeping the plain white mug in my field of vision, I chew quietly.
Come to think of it, this mug is somehow easy to use.
And when I drink from it, my hunger seems to fade, just a little.
I think it was something a client gave us—some kind of promotional item the department head handed out.
I’d been discreetly using a cup meant for visitors, so I accepted it gratefully.
What was the company’s name again?
I remember it being odd…
Something about research, or inspection—something unbalanced, not quite like a company name.
In any case, the name itself was certainly strange.
Compared to that, this promotional item looks almost too ordinary.
Sitting here, it’s nothing more than a plain white mug.
There’s only a small mark printed on the opposite side.
I find it agreeable, though the reason for it nags at me slightly.
As I stare at the cup, trying to recall the shape of the mark, the phone rings.
“General Affairs, this is Sasaki.”
Without hesitation, I picked up the receiver.
[End of record]
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Filed under:
OPERATION LEFT
Entry in the archive:
Minor Conditions
Location:
Tokyo / Japan
Status:
Ongoing
Corresponding Item:
Mug
Japanese original available here.