Eternally Bound to the God of Sins

After that incident, things had been more silent than usual between Reiko and Sina. Reiko refused to answer any of Sina's prodding questions, so as a show of anger, Sina refrained from interacting with her. From Sina's perspective, Reiko would never know the kind of worry that girl went through for her. She knew Reiko was a small lanky thing who didn't go to the gym or walk or eat nutritious food. So it had always been there in the back of her mind that something would happen to Reiko some day. 

And her nightmare came true. If only Sina had planned some sort of sleepover at Reiko's…

And worse than that was the fact that Reiko was leaving her only work-friend in the dark, refusing to explain what she ate, where she went or what she did for that incident to occur. 

It was almost like Reiko had… turned into a ghost. Or was slowly turning into one. 

Lunches were spent alone. Sina would sometimes go with other colleagues, in spite of them asking why she wasn't eating with Sina. By Friday, everyone knew something was going on with Reiko. 

On Friday afternoon, the information reached the ears of the manager of the branch, Phak Grubbs, and he was pleasantly surprised. Reiko Attoff was one of his best employees. Perfect attendance with impeccable timing. Be it reporting to work or submitting the files. So it did pain him a bit to hear that she was possibly having a hard time. So he did what he thought he should do best. As all managers do. 

Reiko got the summon and trudged into the box office at the end of the rented space. It was lined with indoor plants on the floor as well as the ceiling. Brown African bean wood sculptures and pieces curved around them and an office desk, chair and shelf conveniently sat in the centre. 

In the midst of it all, Manager Grubbs stuck out like a sore thumb on his cushion seat. His face was the usual pink paired with a corporate blue suit and grey tie with halftone patterns. Reiko internally thought it was horrendous. But he would say something more horrendous right about… now. 

"Attoff. You look sprightly." 

This is why no one liked him. If it was raining outside so much that people were running like rats, he would look outside, slip his big chubby hands in his pockets and say. "What a sunny day, folks." 

There were times when Reiko wished she had the power to jiujitsu him out of this very 23rd floor of the building. She bowed down to greet him and he nodded for her to take a seat. 

After they exchanged basic small talk, he commented, "I really appreciate how dedicated you've been. Your attendance is perfect, your projects are always on time, and you're such a positive example for everyone, helping us foster a scintillating work culture. I'd love to talk about how we can recognize that and help you grow even more." 

"Right," Reiko nodded. 

"Circling back to your obvious need for a change in work environment, I think you'd be a fantastic fit for our sister company down north at BD10. They have just started operations last week and it would go miles for us if you can assist them. It could be a great chance for you to grow and make an even bigger impact." 

Before Reiko could form a reaction, Phak Grubbs continued, "Additionally," his face beamed pinker, "You can choose whether to have your commute expenses reimbursed or accept our 5-Star hotel accommodation just 5 minutes away from the new office." 

Grubbs already knew what she would choose. 

"I'll have the accom, thanks. When do I start?" 

"Monday," he replied. Though he was similar to the doctor, with a smile plastered on his face, Reiko didn't feel lighter at all as he suggested this plan. BD10 was kilometers away from BD4. You can say each district was the size of Macedonia or the Netherlands. She understood that this was akin to kicking her out of the company. A good robot was of no use if it was not better than thousands of other new robots produced every day. If she left now, they could easily find a better one to replace her. That's what she was, forgettable, replaceable. 

"You're such a robot, Reiko!" Sina would joke when the team went out to drink. Reiko wouldn't touch the alcohol. Now Reiko wished she did, so that they could have seen and confirmed that some other side of her existed. Now even she herself wasn't so sure what she was as a human being. 

She had thought that this was the peak of success, the reason why she had worked hard for 14 years in school and 4 more in university. If this life was the result of all that, then this must be the grand utopia that we dreamed of when we were kids, right? The 'big people' world… this was it. 

This was it? 

Was this all she had to do in life? 

A robot, an excellent one. Perhaps the only one in the office. They wanted peak efficiency… yet they didn't want her. 

"I know there's more to you behind that facade," Jake had said. "This isn't a facade," Reiko replied the first time he asked her that

"You used to like kpop?" 

Reiko started to feel her face get hot from all the thoughts flooding in. Now, out of all the times she had time to think about all this, everything had to come rushing in when she was in front of the manager. That's when she knew she had to leave. Right now. 

She thanked the manager once again and asked if the meeting was over. He only nodded and looked back at his computer screen. No consolation, no 'Dinner's on me!'. No 'Hate to see you leave.' Just a cold silence filled the room as Reiko turned around, dabbed her face twice and took a breath, and then left the office through the wooden arch above her. 

The other workers were starting to chill out as it was the last hours of the last day of the week. Some sat on the other desks, chatting to people, some hung out in the pantry, and some, had already left. 

Reiko spent the rest of the day cleaning out her space. 

Sina caught her in the act sometime around 5:30pm and snickered. "Renovation, Reirei?" 

Reiko smiled and nodded, "Huge one." 

"Got some brand new equipment for sale?" 

"Sure." 

Sina frowned and actually noticed what she was doing. She was putting everything in this one box. Her box of mints, three minion figurines, monitor lightbar, LogicTek mouse, her HyperZ soft key RGB keyboard, her tiny globe and all the notebooks she had bought and used from the Japanese stationary store opposite their building. 

Sina's voice started shaking. "You're not renovating, are you?" Sina went and stood next to her. "What did the manager tell you?" A silent anger started lacing into her words.

Reiko explained, in as short words as possible, even though there was no point. It wasn't like Sina could go and demand fairness. She'd get fired just as easily. 

Sina looked around and saw only 2 or 3 employees left in the office. The others who they used to hang out with all the time had already left. Even Jake. None of them even knew that today was Reiko's last day. Even Reiko knew only today. 

"So it's not like they're firing you, but moving you to another branch. So they won't be liable to giving you your gratuity salary either," Sina realised. "Are they decreasing your salary then?" 

Reiko shrugged, "He talked about it like it was a promotion. I'd be Head of Operations once I go there. But it depends on the success of that branch. And it's success is up to me." 

Sina nodded, with hope in her eyes. "So, so you can make it a success! I'm sure of it." 

Reiko put the box down with a heavy heart. The packing was done. "The office is in BD10." 

"Oh." 

Another thing about BD10 was that it was notorious as the Corporate slums. Anything that started there never came to fruition. Mostly due to the lack of transportation to that area, lack of coastal access and poorly maintained streets and choppy electricity and water supply. It was also the district closest to their neighboring country from which lots of low-grade workers flowed in and agreed to work for lower wages in BD10, therefore dropping that district's value further.

So the internal conspiracy theories suggest that big companies used it to establish sister companies there for money laundering purposes. The government had been turning a blind eye to the place for years as every successful economy needed a trash can to dump their dirty tricks and trash into. Cheap labour accommodation, community service workers etc, were all sent to BD10. 

If a country was ever so successful that it is unbelievable, it would have been only because it was standing on the backs of millions of blue collar workers surviving through poor conditions. 

"Even if I made it successful, it would only turn the branch into a successful money pig. And I, the hamster that ran it." 

Sina helped Reiko carry the things to her car. She had offered Reiko a ride home. The least she could do to help. "So what are you going to do?" Sina asked, as they halted at a red light. 

Reiko shrugged. She had considered giving in her resignation letter, but decided against it while packing her things. "I'll take it. I'll take their money until they fire me." 

Sina smiled sadly. She knew what it meant. Money was important. Everyone their age loved money. 

"I'll look for another job while I'm there. Apply to places, someone will take me." 

Sina helped Reiko take her things to her apartment before they both hugged each other tightly. "Call me on Sunday okay? I'll drive you to your accoms." 

Sina had offered to skip out on her Sunday at home to help Reiko with the move. Reiko couldn't do anything but accept. She realised she needed to buy a car of her own for things from now on. No more Sina to drive everyone around. 

"I'll miss working next to you," Reiko said softly, much to Sina's surprise. Tears filled Sina's eyes as she hugged her workmate tighter. "To hell with the system," she cursed, while they both knew full well they were deeply trapped in it. 

As Reiko cleaned out her room that night, the doorbell rang. The hairs on her skin prickled up as the fragments of her previous dream flashed through her mind at the sound. Was this a dream again?

She slapped her cheeks and went to check who it was. Surprised, she opened the door. 

She was met with the frame of a tall, slender guy with a grocery cover on one hand and a laptop bag hanging from the other shoulder. His hair was disheveled and forehead sweaty, but there was a warm smile on his face as he waved to greet her.