Please Leave a Hole!

“Oh! The sequel is coming out this time!”

Minoru, lying in front of the monitor, was sitting and stuffing potato chips into his mouth. His eyes sparkled at the news of the release of the long-awaited sequel to the game series while watching the game company’s new release announcement video.

Scouring through developers’ Twitter feeds and information boards, sustaining himself with occasional teaser videos and trailers of the new game, the announcement was like a refreshing rain in a drought for him.

“But I’m broke…”

His joy was short-lived as he realized he was barely managing meals now, waiting for next month’s living expenses to arrive. The trash bag in the corner of the room was filled with crumpled cup ramen containers, and the fridge contained only ketchup, mayonnaise, and two eggs. With about ten days left until the next month’s expenses arrived, all he had in his wallet were a couple of 1,000 yen bills and a few small coins.

“I can’t ask for money just to buy a game… And I don’t want to work part-time either…”

Turning his chair around and pondering, he knew that despite the excuses, he had already used them up, and they wouldn’t fly with his parents. He had been caught last month, so pushing it further would be risky.

“Ugh, I don’t know…”

He picked up his phone from the desk corner and opened the social media app. His timeline was filled with friends boasting about going out, great drawings, complaints, and more. Scrolling absentmindedly, a post seeking part-time work caught his eye.

“Looking for someone to hang out, eat, and have fun together on weekends (Sat, Sun). Will pay well. DM for inquiries.”

A single sentence made him hesitate. Getting paid to hang out and eat? Despite thinking it was still work in the end, in the face of his desire to play the game on release day, it was a meaningless dilemma.

He tapped on the profile of the post and wrote a brief greeting, sending a message.

“But what if it’s a scam or something? Ugh, maybe I should just forget it…”