Essay | Reminiscences | The Legendary Drinker Was a Corporate Slave.

During my university days, I was a corporate slave for a while.

When I was a sophomore in college, I started working part-time at an izakaya through a friend's introduction.
My first job ever.
I had moved to Tokyo without knowing my left from my right, and while I was living my university life feeling a mysterious sense of fear toward Tokyoites, I started working in Tokyo.

My parents were happy for me.
I'm sure there will be tough times, but do your best!
That's how they pushed me forward.

Honestly, I didn't want to work a part-time job. But since everyone around me was starting, I felt a vague sense of urgency and started one too. My motivation was impure.

And then came the first day of work.


I was handed a pair of shorts and a somewhat tight uniform.
Huh? I have to wear this? I have to move in front of people wearing this?
For someone like me who lacked self-confidence and had only recently learned the word 'diet,' it was an ordeal.
Looking at myself, I saw these thick legs, these thick arms, this magnificent belly.
I thought to myself that anyone who saw this would lose their appetite, but I obediently slipped into the uniform.


The birth of a corporate slave.


From that day on, my life as a corporate slave began.
At first, I was desperate just to get used to it, but I went from working three days a week to five. And then, it evolved into working seven days a week full-time.

Before I knew it, I was thinking, 'Ah, I have university tomorrow. What a drag,' with a mindset where the part-time job felt like my main profession.
My position was mainly in the dining hall, but I was promoted to 'drinker' and started to be in a position to teach my juniors.

'Welcome! We have a new group of three!'

The hall staff would blow a conch shell to signal that the enemy had arrived.
I would immediately move to my station as the drinker and listen intently to the distant table.

'...a beer, and a fuzzy... bu... and... on the rocks...'

I immediately grabbed a draft beer mug and set it in the beer server. Then, I prepared to make a Fuzzy Navel with one hand. I pulled the liqueur and orange juice from the shelf without looking and put ice in the glass.

'One draft beer, one Fuzzy Navel, one Kirishima on the rocks!'

The 'rocks' I couldn't quite hear at the end must be Kirishima. 'Kirishima, Thing's Quitting the Club.' I muttered to myself while letting go of the finished draft beer and starting to make the Kirishima on the rocks. I knew where the Kirishima bottle was without even looking.

'Table 3 is up!'

Just 10 seconds after taking the order, the drinks were at the customer's table.

'Whoa! So fast! It's already here?'

Heh heh heh. Fast, isn't it? Fast, isn't it? Who knew this keen hearing of mine would be useful in a place like this. Be amazed, be amazed.

And so, I...
became known as the legendary drinker.

Customers called me the legendary drinker, the staff called me the legendary drinker, and even the manager started assigning me to the station, saying, 'You're on drinker duty today.'

Before I knew it, I wasn't going to work as a part-timer, but as a drinker.


A seven-day-a-week drinker.


Looking back now, I enjoyed every day back then. I made drinks quickly and served them to the drink counter before the order slips even came out.
I treated the job like a game and tried to break my own records every day.

Since it was an izakaya, there were days when working late at night felt tough, but for some reason, I felt a great sense of exhilaration.



'Yubune, you're such a corporate slave lately, it's hilarious.'



Corporate slave?? What's a corporate slave?
That was when I first learned that I was a corporate slave.


That night, when I first learned the word 'corporate slave,' I checked the shift schedule for the next day, prepared for work, and went to sleep.


Right now, I open my eyes wide, thinking '#WhatAreYouTalkingAbout,' and bring this article to an end.

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When I look back, all sorts of things happened during my university days.
Looking back, there are things that make me feel immature, and times I shudder across time and space thinking, 'That was too stupid!' However, there were those times when I laughed until my stomach hurt, and days when I pushed forward without understanding what it all meant.

Precious.

Having experienced those days, I continue to work as a member of society, being rubbed the wrong way by the world.
The university days I occasionally look back on are both cringeworthy and dear, and I would definitely recommend that high school students go to university.

It's okay. I'm also out in the world carrying the burden of student loans.