| Tsuzuru | Haaaaa—— It’s so hot outside…!! I’m sweating so much. |
| Misumi | Doing gas station work was so fun~! |
| Tsumugi | It was, wasn’t it? Fufu. It really felt like I was working for the real thing the whole day. |
| Juza | I feel ya. |
| Izumi | It was truly a great script. It wasn’t just all sublime, but it had a strange sense of realness too. |
| Chikage | Right. And the main character was very much like Tsuzuru. |
| Tsuzuru | It’s… sorta embarrassing to admit how I just naturally put myself into the main’s shoes. It’s why I had to do that role myself. |
| Tasuku | It suited you perfectly. |
| Tsumugi | Thinking about it again makes me giddy. I’d love to see Tsuzuru-kun’s gas station experience be compiled and written into a book. |
| Tsuzuru | Eh? |
| Tsumugi | Remember our interview with you? When we asked about which job left you with a strong impression, you yourself mentioned this gasoline station job. |
| —— —— —— ——FLASHBACK—— —— —— —— |
| Tsumugi | So, Minagi Tsuzuru-san, if there’s a part-time job that left you with a strong impression, please tell us. |
| Omi | Whether it’s the ups or downs of one, or even the one that gave the best hourly wage. |
| Tsuzuru | Uhm… Alright. Well. I wonder…… |
| (The ups and downs. A good hourly wage… And encounters…) |
| ——There’s one that just came to mind. |
| —— —— —— ——FLASHBACK END—— —— —— —— |
| Tsuzuru | Ohhh… From that time, huh? |
| Tsumugi | With all of the part-time jobs you’ve gotten into, the fact that the gas station job is the only one you brought up means your experience with it was a genuine one. That’s what I’ve been thinking, at least. |
| Omi | I thought the same when I listened to your answer that time. All the goods and the bads… I’m sure all of those memories meant something. |
| Tsuzuru | You’re right. I’m glad I got to write this. |
| Tasuku | I was also thrilled to have finally got to do the gasoline station play[1] that we’ve been hoping for. Thanks, Minagi. |
| Tsuzuru | It was more coincidence than anything. But still, thank you too. |
| Chikage | Now then, I think it’s about time we change clothes. |
| Omi | These must be drenched of sweat, I’m sure. |
| Izumi | Oh, right. By the way, they said you’re free to take home the uniforms after this. |
| They have no other plans to do with it, and if they ever do, they got spares anyway. So they said you can have the uniforms as a token of today’s event. |
| Tsuzuru | Eh, is that so? |
| — Ah, since that’s the case... |
| |
| |
| Juza | So there really was a laundromat behind the store… |
| Tsuzuru | Man, this place really does take me back. |
| You know how my family has a lot of people, right? Which means there’s plenty of laundry to take care of, too. |
| I’d often get free-use tokens, so I’d have my work uniforms and school jerseys cleaned here instead. |
| Juza | Your store manager must’ve been pretty generous. |
| Tsuzuru | The gas station itself may not be working anymore, but I’m glad this laundromat is still in business. Now then, time to get the uniforms in here— |
| Ohh, they’ve got a “delicate” setting on here! That’s amazing, considering these are old models. Alright, pressing start… And there we go. |
| *MACHINE WHIRRS* |
| Juza | Do you always wait inside the store until the cycle’s done? |
| Tsuzuru | Yep. I’d do my homework here… Sometimes I'd be looking up other part-time recruitment listings. |
| Juza | You were serious about doing a ton of part-time shifts shifts even back then… You have my respect. |
| Tsuzuru | It’s really not that big of a thing to deserve respect. |
| … You know, when I got the request at the start of this whole thing, I was told something similar by our contact, Hidaka-san. |
| If it were me, who had challenged all sorts of part-time’s even as a high schooler, then maybe it’d be nice if I were the one to encourage others into taking their first step into doing part-time jobs… That’s what he said. |
| Yet because I’ve been doing work for the sake of my family, the image of me supporting someone for a reason I never had myself… It made me uncertain about it. |
| But… remember when I let you read my script? It felt like you were the one who gave me the support I needed. |
| It doesn’t matter what the reason was. The hard work that I put into my jobs was still the real thing. |
| It was because of that, I was determined to put out a script that only I could’ve written so personally. |
| It felt like I was living through that experience again vicariously now as a scriptwriter. |
| So. Thank you, Juza. |
| Juza | I was merely speaking out my thoughts back then. |
| Tsuzuru | Haha, but it’s precisely your straightforwardness that’s a great quality of yours, y’know. |
| Oh speaking of… You said you still haven’t settled on what part-time you’re going for, right? |
| Juza | Uhm, if I have to say it... I added more to the list of choices again. |
| Tsuzuru | Ehhh… |
| Juza | Here….. I rearranged the sticky notes in this Sunny Workers mag. |
| Tsuzuru | Let’s see…. Ah, I see some of these are jobs I’ve already tried myself. |
| Juza | Is it alright to ask you about your experiences in those? |
| Tsuzuru | …I might end up talking about a few complaints I have over them though, is that fine with you? |
| Juza | I would actually prefer that, if anything. |
| Tsuzuru | Haha, well alright then. |
| Oh before that, do you wanna drink something while we chat it over? The vending machine they have here sells some tasty cocoa dri—— |
| ….!!! |
| Juza | What's up? |
| Tsuzuru | Nothing…. |
| (Are you kidding me? The price is way higher than I what I remember, not to mention this is a lil more expensive than what other vending machines sell….!!) |
| Juza | Should we do rock-paper-scissors to see who treats? Just for the occasion. |
| Tsuzuru | ….Nah, I’ll pay for us both. I’ve got extra from the script commission after all. |
| *CANNED DRINK DROPS* |
| Juza | Y’sure? |
| Tsuzuru | ‘Course. For the occasion, after all. Here's your can. |
| Juza | Thanks. I’ll enjoy it. |
| Tsuzuru | Sooooo… Where should we start? |
| Juza | How about from this—... |
| |
| |
| Izumi | (These pudding packs that Hidaka-san sent us… I’m sure Tsuzuru-kun and Juza-kun would also love these.) |
| (If I recall, those two said they’d be at the laundromat…) |
| |
 |
| Tsuzuru | ——So they added more to the seasonal menu, right? But then the steps to making those went from 1 to 30 real fast… |
| Juza | No kidding? That’s insane. |
| Tsuzuru | Right? I was shocked too! But then those items became so popular, we had to keep up with a ton of orders every day… |
| But like I was saying about the menu— |
| Juza | —I see, so they had that too... Interesting. |
| |
| Izumi | (Fufu, those two look like they’re having so much fun, it’d be too rude of me to get in the way now….) |
| Misumi | Director-saaaan, is it okay if I grab one more pudding~? |
| Izumi | Ah, those aren’t….! HOLD ON A SEC——!! |
