Welcome to the Real Job

"Never tell anyone of this or you will die."

Looking at Utakata's eyes at the time, Kay really felt that Utakata was ready to actually kill him. It was a good thing that the latter had stopped himself, but he had said afterward that he wasn't aware of what went through his mind back then. However, the young man did apologize for the incident, and that was what's important.

The rest of the day went more or less as normally as one could expect.

"So… I'm only really confident with frying food, so uh, would that be okay? Well, you know what, I'm not perfectly confident of that, either," said Kay.

"It's all right," said Utakata. In his mind, the caretaker's cooking skill was still unknown, so he didn't know what to expect. But he was certain that it would be better than if he were at the helm.

He recalled being in a kitchen and failing…

But when did it happen? And where? It was all fuzzy, and he wasn't even sure that it happened before.

"Hey, are you feeling all right?" asked Kay. "You're just… sitting there and staring."

Utakata snapped out of his recollection. "W-Was I? I apologize. What can I do to help?"

"Well, if you can handle knives, you can try to help me slice up some things. Either that, or get the table ready. Are you familiar with plates, spoons, and forks, or are you more the bowl and chopstick guy?"

"Uh… I think I know how to arrange in the foreign way. By the way, I am sorry for asking, but this isn't Japan, is it?"

Kay had expected the question, but he didn't know it would come a little late. "No. I don't know if you've heard of it, but this is the Philippines."

"I… see. I will help with table arrangements now."

The two went to do the

When the time came for Kay to serve the food, he was impressed with how Utakata arranged the cutlery. He didn't even realize that there was a full dining set provided in the house before this. While he was going over the plates, spoons, and forks, he just saw them as such.

"Um, Utakata... I don't think this is that grand of a dinner. We can just go with a plate, a fork, and a spoon each. No knives. Of course, one glass each."

"Oh… All right."

After that, they ate their dinner, which was just some luncheon meat, eggs, and rice. He knew it was breakfast fare, but he wanted some comfort food.

Also, considering that he may never go back to being a simple pen, the caretaker decided to assign Utakata the task of washing up after they ate.

Even with this, he seemed to do a better job than Kay could.

Speaking of Kay, he looked chill on the outside, but in truth, he was worried that the owner might object to Utakata's stay in the house as a human. He soon figured that he should look for a way for the former pen to turn back or have him move somewhere else.

But as soon as he realized that he was overthinking, he finally decided that he should contact Mailbox first.

"Of course. I've contacted them before. I can do it again. Besides, they told me that I should, right?" he said to himself, not quite minding that another person was around as long as he said it softly enough.

Kay soon settled down on his desk to start writing his report. He had wanted to use Utakata, but since he had turned human, he got himself one of the ballpoint pens instead.

He was at a bit of a loss as to how he should narrate everything, so it took him a while to actually start writing.

But just when he was going to put down the tip of the pen onto the paper, the Japanese schoolboy entered the room in a rush.

Surprised, Kay told the newcomer, "I know I'm okay with people not knocking beforehand, but you scared me!"

"I apologize for that, Mr. Kay."

"You don't need to put in a Mr. It sounds too formal, and you're making me feel a little older than I should."

"Right. I will take note of it, M- Kay." The caretaker was sure that Utakata was almost going to say it again, but caught himself this time.

"So, what did you come here for?"

"I..." It took Utakata a few other false starts after that, as it seemed that he was having trouble putting his thoughts into words. Maybe the schoolboy thought that the caretaker wouldn't be able to handle it?

Or maybe it was because he fainted that one time…

After some struggle on his part, Utakata finally settled on, "I think it is better to show you instead."

In a flash, he transformed into a pen, which settled on the very spot where he was standing just earlier. In fact, he turned into the very same one that he was before. Kay was very surprised, he must admit, but at least right now, it was something that he wouldn't faint from.

"Amazing! You… You can turn back now!"

"Yes. It seems to be the case," the pen answered. His voice wasn't audible, but rather, it spoke to the caretaker's head.

"So there's this telepathy going on?" thought Kay to himself.

He was actually a bit overwhelmed from the weirdness of what's happening, but he tried to "play it cool" as the guy who was put in charge of the house.

"If that's so, then could I use you to write this letter? I want to make a good impression on Mailbox. This is going to be the first time I'll be giving them a formal report on what's going on in the house. Earlier, it was just me asking for permission."

"I guess it is all right."

Kay picked Utakata up from the spot where he previously stood and went back to the desk to write the report. As much as he would like to cover up the fact that there was something not normal about this house and his new housemate, he decided that it would be better to just tell them about it. He even put in a paragraph telling them that it's true just to be sure.

Upon finishing it, he folded and put it in the mailbox in front of the house, just like the first letter he sent earlier. He even waited a bit to peek inside and find it gone. At least then, he knew that it had gone on its way to Mailbox's place… wherever it was.

Now, it seemed that Utakata had found that he could change forms at will. It looked like Kay didn't have anything to worry about that part of the situation, then.

"I am sorry to say this, but I am a little more comfortable as a human. Is that all right with you?" he said when asked how he preferred to stay in the house while they were waiting for news from Mailbox.

"Yeah, it's okay. I wouldn't have asked you otherwise."

The man believed that it wasn't for him to dictate what people preferred or not. If Mailbox didn't approve of him, he could just propose to keep him as a pen for the most part, considering that he was one.

But all in all, there was no use worrying about it now. They just had to wait for their reply.

The next morning, when Kay checked the mailbox, he saw that there was a piece of paper with his name on it. Realizing that it was Mailbox's reply, he took it, went inside, then opened it.

"What does it say?" Utakata asked, curious as well.

"Here, let's see what's in it."

"Dear Kay,

Thank you again for contacting me like I've asked you to. Your report was a delight to read. Are you sure that you're not going to pursue a career in writing yet?

I see you've become aware of your ability. I actually did not expect you to make use of it so soon. But this is good. That means that hiring you is not a mistake, and you'll be getting into your real job much faster. In fact, it's starting now.

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you more about it. You would have to figure things out on your own, as the job's success is dependent on your resolve.

About the young man named Utakata… Since the house has prepared a room for him, I will consider him an official housemate and will be adjusting my provisions accordingly. He will also be assisting you in your job.

I look forward to your progress."

After reading Mailbox's reply, Kay and Utakata went into a moment of silence.

Kay thought, "Real job? So I'm not just house-sitting? And what's up with this house, anyway? It's as if Mailbox is considering it a separate entity or something."

Was it just him, or did this whole thing leave him with more questions than answers?