Tokyo Sick Girlfriend

Chapter 190 The Interview (Part 2)

November 20, nine seventeen.

Outside a temporary rental office two streets away from H University.

Wearing a black suit and low-heeled shoes, Kazue Iguchi stood at the doorway and looked at the group of girls waiting for their interviews in the corridor outside, saying:

"The recruitment will start promptly at 9:30. Please be prepared and come in when your names are called."

She wore light makeup today, aiming for an effect of "makeup that is present but not obvious," and tied her hair in a short ponytail. Overall, she looked clean and dignified. At the age of 28, she had worked in the workplace for several years, which gave her the temperament of a mature woman.

He looks mature and reliable.

The group of women sitting in the corridor waiting for their interviews nodded immediately, but when Kazue Iguchi entered the office, they began to talk in hushed tones.

Kazue Iguchi walked into the office, looked at Seiya Shiratori, who was sitting in a suit, and bowed slightly, saying softly:
"President, everything is almost ready."

"Ah."

Shiratori Seiya took a sip of coffee, put down the cup, and nodded to the other person.

However, when the gaze shifted to Kazue Iguchi's face, it was found that she was frowning, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

He couldn't help but ask:

"What's wrong with you? What's with that expression?"

"what?"

Upon hearing Shiratori Seiya's words, Iguchi Kazue's expression stiffened, then she subconsciously reached up and touched her face, flashing a bright smile:

"Yes, yes?"

Shiratori Seiya's gaze slid over the stiff smile on her face, then he crossed his arms in front of him and spoke calmly:

"If there's anything you need, just tell me directly, Iguchi."

"Uh……"

Upon hearing this, Iguchi Kazue lowered her hand, pursed her lips, lowered her gaze, and pointed to the document in her hand, asking:
"President, are our selection criteria... really okay?"

Shiratori Seiya glanced at her and said:

What do you think is the problem?

"These……"

Isn't that too frivolous?
What company uses the number of anime series watched as a key hiring criterion? And does it require watching at least ten anime series within a year and being familiar with anime terminology?
That's something only hardcore otaku would know, right? How could a normal college student majoring in performing arts know so much about anime and manga?

Even if someone did know these things, their acting skills would probably be absolutely terrible, right? They probably wouldn't even get enough credits, the kind who would have to repeat their second year...

What Iguchi Kazue couldn't understand the most was why swearing could be used as an indicator.
And you also need to be able to verbally abuse people to their satisfaction?
It's one thing to be coquettish, arrogant, or naturally naive, but verbally abusing someone...

She had watched a lot of anime these past few days in response to Shiratori Seiya's request, but to be honest, while she vaguely understood it, she still felt it was too exaggerated.

Kazue Iguchi couldn't understand it, but he was deeply shocked.

Last night, when she received the revised final draft from Shiratori Seiya, she confirmed it with him several times, but in the end, as the president of the company, she insisted on using this standard.

Initially, although Shiratori Seiya looked young, his aura made her subconsciously overlook his age. But now it seems that's not entirely reliable after all...

Her once burning passion was extinguished.

Kazue Iguchi guessed that his company president was probably a rich second-generation from some wealthy family who had given him a sum of money to dabble in this kind of thing...

But I'll just play around, since I can still get a salary until retirement.

…………

Outside in the corridor, a group of girls in their early twenties sat on a bench, discussing amongst themselves in hushed tones.

"Huh? Koda-san, I remember you went to the interview for Covion, right? You're here too?"

"Well, the interview with Covion is the day after tomorrow. Since I still have time, I came here to take a look. Maybe I can gain some experience while I'm at it."

Upon hearing this, Yoshino Niikawa glanced at her thoughtfully and nodded, saying:
"Oh, so it's about gaining experience. I thought someone of your level, Koda, wouldn't need to prepare at all."

"..."

You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth.

Koda's face stiffened, and he cursed inwardly. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Shinkawa Yoshino speak again:

"However, the salaries advertised on the job posters here are so high, almost double that of Covion. I guess it won't be that easy to make a living here, right?"

Upon hearing this, Koda Oriko smiled confidently, raised her hand to smooth her bangs, and said:

"Yeah, it probably won't be that easy, but the requirements in the interview notice don't seem that high to me..."

"It's strange, though. It clearly says a monthly salary of 400,000 yen, but the announcement also says 'requires in-depth knowledge of anime and 2D culture...' That's really odd..."

The interview requirements that Shiratori Seiya asked Iguchi and Eda to give were considered by these students to be extremely low, but the salary was much higher than that of normal graduates.

The base salary was 300,000 yen per month, plus various commissions, and the final interview notice listed a salary of 400,000 yen per month.

"Hehe, what's there to be afraid of? Look, Koizumi-san is here too."

As she spoke, Koda Oriko turned her head and looked at the girl sitting at the end of the bench.

"I remember Koizumi was a film major, wasn't she? And I remember she even failed a course before? If she's willing to give it a try, then there's nothing to worry about."

"I'm just worried that if she passes and I don't, wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?"

"..."

The sound of their conversation drifted on the breeze blowing in from the window to the end of the bench. Airi Koizumi shuddered at the jarring noise.

Unlike the stylishly dressed performing arts students around her who came for their auditions, she was dressed quite simply at the moment, wearing blue jeans with a white down jacket, and you could see a thin sweater underneath through the collar.

Airi Koizumi is very afraid of the cold.

She was just over 1.6 meters tall, and the white down jacket made her look as bulky as a polar bear.

Despite wearing a single ponytail, she lacked any sense of neatness or poise; even though she was sitting on the bench, she seemed to be curled up in a ball.

Airi Koizumi was too embarrassed to cover her ears directly, so she hunched her shoulders and tried to block them with the collar of her down jacket.

However, this trick seemed to be completely ineffective, as the two people's voices could still penetrate into the ears.

She simply gave up and couldn't help but start shaking her leg.

I felt a little uneasy, but there was nothing I could do.

There was a reason why Koda was causing her trouble.

Although they weren't in the same major, they had a common course in their sophomore year and were assigned to the same group. During the final group project presentation, the teacher changed his mind and asked each student in the group to come up and talk about their views on the project. As a result, she went up on stage, her face turned red, and she couldn't answer a single question.

Although the group didn't end up at the bottom, if she hadn't performed so poorly, they would have at least been among the top, and probably everyone would have gotten an A or higher.

Because of this, whenever others talk about him, Koda always makes a sarcastic remark.

Airi Koizumi also disliked herself quite a bit because of this.

You can say anything online and chat on social media without any problems, but why do you become like a mute in real life?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh, her slender hands twisting together.

I should have known better than to come. Even staying in my rented room watching those awful anime would have been better than this, right?
But as soon as such a thought popped into her head, she quickly put it out.

No, this can't go on, I have to find a job.

I have a compelling reason to make money now.

Senior students graduating next year usually start looking for jobs a long time ago, and many have already signed internship contracts with entertainment companies.

Airi Koizumi also went to interview at several companies, but because of her introverted personality, she was rejected in the first round of interviews.

After several setbacks, she lost confidence. If she hadn't been forced to, she probably would have waited until the next semester to start looking for a job.

She doesn't actually have a very clear plan for the future.

After several unsuccessful job interviews, she even considered that if all else failed, becoming a video editing assistant or working at a convenience store wouldn't be out of the question...

But reality is often disappointing. Last month, my father was in a car accident on his way to work and almost died. He was just released from the intensive care unit a couple of days ago. The party at fault didn't have much money, and the government subsidy they applied for hadn't been approved yet. Since it was the party at fault, medical insurance wouldn't cover it, so they could only pay a small portion upfront.

Although her mother didn't tell her, Airi Koizumi wasn't stupid. When she saw her mother, whose eyes were swollen from crying, start borrowing money from relatives and even working part-time at a convenience store during the day, she knew that the family had already emptied their savings because of this...

Especially after seeing the long string of amounts on the payment slip, Airi Koizumi's mindset completely changed.

There's nothing I can do to help.

She wanted to ask her mother what she could do, but she knew that if she asked, her mother would cry and hug her shoulders, giving her a disheartening answer: "Just focus on your studies... It's useless."

This answer might be correct, but it only makes one seem more useless.

Airi Koizumi saw her father lying in the hospital bed with an oxygen tube through the glass, and felt a sense of helplessness and pain towards herself.

I need to find a job and earn money.

However, making money is just a thought; actually making it a reality is much harder than getting her to dance in the street.

She submitted many resumes online, but they either disappeared without a trace or were rejected because she was too introverted. However, one entertainment company didn't reject her and was even willing to pay her 500,000 yen in advance, but it turned out to be for making those kinds of films...

If she hadn't been surfing the internet every day and realized it was a scam that would leave her with no way out and even cause her to owe a lot of money, she almost signed it.

Just as she was feeling disheartened, she suddenly saw people discussing a company's job posting in the anime club's group chat.

What kind of company is this? Is it an anime/manga fan club?

'Is this a scam? Such low requirements, but such a high salary? Is it for real?'

'It doesn't feel that simple.'

"Looks like they're recruiting streamers? They said voice actors are preferred. Airi-chan, you can use several voices, right? Want to give it a try?"

'But it might be a scam, so maybe we should forget about it.'

Airi Koizumi initially thought it was impossible, but when she thought of her father lying unconscious in bed and her mother with dark circles under her eyes and looking exhausted, she couldn't give up.

What if?
Even if it's a scam, you should at least give it a try.

At worst, I'll just be more careful...

If, if they could really give a lot of money, even if...

Driven by the idea that she absolutely had to make money, she submitted her resume, and to her surprise, she actually received an interview invitation.

Sitting on the bench, Airi Koizumi was no longer in the mood to care about what Koda had just said about her.

I kept encouraging myself.

Go for it, Airi, you can do it!

Just then, the interview door suddenly opened, and the woman who had just notified them stood in the doorway and said:

"The interview will begin. Please come in, Koda Oriko, Oda Sanae, and Sawada Rika."

Is it really a group of three?

As the three people who were looking at each other slowly got up and walked into the room, Airi Koizumi couldn't help but feel nervous, even though it wasn't her.

My heart was racing, and my mind started racing with all sorts of thoughts.

I thought it would take a long time, but less than ten minutes later, Koda Oriko and another girl pushed open the door and came out.

"How is it, Koda-san?"

Shinkawa Yoshino quickly went over to ask how things were going, but Koda Oriko just snorted coldly, glared at her, and walked away quickly.

As he walked, he muttered curses under his breath:

"Only someone with a brain like that would come up with an interview question like that."

"..."

The group exchanged bewildered glances, then looked at the remaining girl, who shook her head and smiled wryly:

“It’s really too difficult…”

They then left in a hurry.

Is it really that difficult?
Airi Koizumi felt a chill run down her spine upon seeing this. However, she then saw the last girl to be interviewed also walk out of the room with a blank expression.

Kazue Iguchi followed behind her and said:

"Next group: Hara Shizuna, Akimoto Hina, and Koizumi Airi."

Airi Koizumi's body tensed involuntarily, and she subconsciously met Iguchi Kazue's gaze before quickly looking away and walking inside...

Sitting blankly in her chair, Airi Koizumi stared at the thin test paper on the table, unsure of what to do, when she heard Kazue Iguchi say:

"You have ten minutes to write this test. Write as much as you can. If you can't finish, please don't waste each other's time and leave."

Upon hearing this, Airi Koizumi instinctively lowered her head.

However, she was taken aback when she saw the contents of the exam paper.

1. Please categorize the following characters under their corresponding attributes:

Tsundere: ______ Natural airhead: ______ Yandere: ______……

2. Please list at least ten anime series you have watched, and try to include the names of the main characters: ______.

3. Please list at least ten popular internet memes from the past six months: ______.

4. Please select the character attribute you are most familiar with, and play this character to answer the following dialogue:
If your romantic partner says "I love you", answer: ______

【…】

Looking at the questions on the test paper, Airi Koizumi paused for a moment, then pinched her cheek to confirm that it was real. Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed the pen from the table and quickly began to answer.

As a seasoned anime and manga enthusiast, these questions are really child's play. She could write about thirty, let alone ten.

Besides her, the other two girls, one of whom could still put up a fight, and the other holding a pen, hesitated for a long time before going down. Finally, Iguchi Kazue walked over, a smile on her face:
"Don't force yourself if you can't answer."

"..."

After a while, another girl who was still putting up a stubborn resistance also shook her head and, with a clear understanding of her own limitations, got up and left.

Shiratori Seiya simply ignored him. He watched as Koizumi Airi diligently wrote and answered questions fluently, and his eyes unconsciously narrowed.

Less than ten minutes later, just as the second girl walked out the door, she put down her pen and said timidly:
"Okay, okay..."

Kazue Iguchi collected the exam paper and handed it to Seiya Shiratori. He glanced at it, his eyes lighting up, then looked at the girl in the middle wearing a down jacket and said:
"Your name is Airi Koizumi?"

"Um……"

Not daring to meet the other person's gaze, Airi Koizumi lowered her eyes and nodded.

Are you that introverted?
Seeing this, Shiratori Seiya frowned.

Seeing the serious expression on his face, Iguchi Kazue blinked, wondering whether she should ask him to leave.

After all, Shiratori Seiya had told her before that the first standard for the person in charge is to have a 'desire to express', that is, to be able to keep talking, or at least to the point where they can keep talking even when they are alone.

But, clearly, this girl in front of me isn't up to the task.

Just as Iguchi Kazue was about to go over and ask him what to do, Shiratori Seiya said:
Do you know what role-playing is?

"……Um."

"I see you got all the character attribute classifications right just now. Which type of role-playing do you think you're good at?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Airi Koizumi bit her lip, her face gradually turning red, and her hand on her jeans unconsciously clenched.

Shiratori Seiya was in no hurry and waited patiently.

Time passed slowly, and Airi Koizumi opened her mouth, finally managing to utter a few words with difficulty:

"I...I can do anything?"

A silence fell over the air. Shiratori Seiya raised an eyebrow and tentatively asked:

"It will be all right?"

"Um……"

Upon hearing this, Shiratori Seizai said:

"So now that you're a yandere, what should you say if the guy you like cheats on you?"

"..."

Airi Koizumi held back for a while longer, her face now completely red, almost as if it were about to bleed.

Meeting their gazes, she managed to squeeze out a few words, her voice trembling with tears:
"Um, can I cover my face?"

……
-
(End of this chapter)