The Apology (Part One)

In the bustling city of Tokyo, there lives a man named Taishi, a quintessential businessman in his thirties, navigating the daily routine of life alongside his beloved wife and their lively young four-year-old son, Kei. His company is growing and is making efforts to enter new markets. Taishi, a dependable and highly effective manager, is assigned to establish a satellite office in the coastal city of Kagoshima. Other top managers are headed to various rural regions of Japan, each entrusted with the same important mission.

Taishi will be in charge of setting up the Kagoshima office, recruiting, onboarding, and training staff members, as well as producing the initial wave of sales leads from that region. Though he feels a twinge of sadness at the thought of leaving his family behind, he reassures his wife that their separation will only be temporary. Taishi will be able to see his family again in Tokyo after a period of six months.

His young son is also eager for his father to return home, filled with joy at the thought of celebrating his upcoming birthday together. Taishi had made a promise to his son, vowing to take him to LEGOLAND DISCOVERY CENTER to celebrate his special day. Young Kei who is rather fond of Legos, gently reminds his dad as he steps into the waiting taxi, not to forget the promise he made. Taishi embraces him tightly, ensuring him that he will not forget.

Taishi's first day in unfamiliar Kagoshima is hectic. Following a two-hour journey from Haneda Airport to Kagoshima Airport, Taishi feels a flutter of anticipation as he seeks out the apartment his company has secured for him. At the airport, he hails a cab and hands the driver a piece of paper with the address written on it. The driver scans the note and gives a knowing nod. Thirty-five minutes later, the taxi arrives at its destination.

As Taishi steps out of the taxi, his gaze falls upon an elderly gentleman diligently sweeping the grounds. With a hint of hesitation, he steps closer and inquires if this is the TAKESHI-W1 apartments. The elderly man pauses in his sweeping, casting a keen gaze upon Taishi. With a nod, he acknowledges it is and resumes his task of sweeping. Not a very talkative person. Taishi pauses for a moment, then says, “I am a new tenant. I arrived here from Tokyo just now. Where might I obtain the key to my apartment?” The old man keeps sweeping, his gaze fixed on the ground as he speaks to Taishi, “I am the apartment manager; you can collect your key from me.” Taishi stands there, filled with hope that the man will pause his sweeping and fetch the key for him, yet the old man remains absorbed in his task, the broom sweeping rhythmically across the ground. With a hint of nervousness, Taishi inquires, “May I have the key now? I would like to settle in after being on the road for a while.” The man surveys Taishi from head to toe once more and declares, “Follow me.” Taishi trails the man into a small office nestled in the lobby. The man approaches a small cabinet affixed to the wall, opens its door, and retrieves a key with a deliberate motion. “Here,” he declares, passing the key to Taishi. Taishi is perplexed and asks how he knows that key belongs to his apartment. The man casts a disdainful glance and remarks, “It is the only apartment that is currently vacant.”

He leaves Taishi by himself in the office and goes back to sweeping. Taishi thinks to himself, strange man. He heads out of the office and up the stairs to level four. He takes a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and looks at it as he reads the numbers on each door as he moves along the exterior corridor. After some searching, he eventually locates his apartment. He opens the door and goes inside. The apartment is clean, compact, and the front window lets in a lot of natural light. There is a pile of cardboard boxes in the living room that hold Taishi's belongings. It's actually a 1K apartment, which has a kitchenette, a small bathroom, and one main room. This is everything he requires for half a year.

Upon completing his inspection of the apartment, Taishi reaches out to his wife in Tokyo, and soon they find themselves immersed in a video chat, sharing their thoughts and feelings across the distance. With a sense of relief washing over her, she hears Taishi share the news of his safe arrival at his destination. Kei eagerly engages with his father, taking center stage on the video screen for the rest of their time together. After the call ends, Taishi moves on to unpacking and getting settled.

Once he had unpacked and organized the majority of his belongings, an unusual knock echoed through the door. Not having expected anyone, Taishi is startled. In a town where familiarity breeds comfort, he finds himself a stranger, his new address a secret even to those he shares his days with at work. As he ponders the myriad of possibilities, the relentless knocking continues to echo through the silence. Going to the door, he peers through the peephole. He gazes into the emptiness, finding nobody in sight. He opens the door cautiously and slowly after unlocking it. In that moment, an emptiness lingers, as if the very air held its breath, waiting for a presence that never arrived. He steps out of his apartment, casting his gaze down the corridor, surveying both directions with a sense of curiosity. In the stillness, he finds himself alone.With a furrowed brow, he steps back into his apartment, the sound of the door clicking shut echoing in the calm. Was the knocking something he imagined? It's possible that his fatigued mind was deceiving him because there was so much going on today.

(To be continued...)