Had a lunch chat with a colleague, just sharing bits and pieces of our lives.
‘On weekends, I usually just stay home unless I’m working out. Going out feels like such a chore.’
I’m not the type to be picky about people, but strangely, most of my close friends have similar vibes to mine.
‘Lately, I even canceled my Netflix. I was watching way too much.’
The difference is, all those friends have incredible focus. I have Netflix too, but I can never finish a single show properly. As we chatted, we started discussing the woes of lazy folks like us.
‘Being alone is comfy, but sometimes you just want to get out, right?’
– Totally. I usually head straight home after work, but every now and then, I crave a beer.
‘Yeah, but not those crowded gatherings or anything.’
– Just a couple of friends, no fuss~
‘Exactly. More about enjoying the breeze or savoring a beer than chatting, you know?’
– And then, suddenly, you should be able to say ‘Ah, I’m tired’ and get up to leave.
‘You just say ‘Bye’ and everyone heads home like it’s no big deal.’
– It’d be great if those friends lived nearby so you could head home quickly.
‘Being close is important, but being able to come out when called is even more crucial.’
– Guess freelancing is the way to go for that?
‘Just having one or two of those friends would be perfect. Three would be a crowd.’
I wondered if three would be too much, but that’s not the point. The conversation flowed on.
‘In high school, most friends lived in the neighborhood, so it should’ve been ideal. Why didn’t it happen?’
– We couldn’t drink beer back then, remember?
‘Ah…’
– But isn’t it funny how when you’re old enough to drink, friends no longer live nearby?
It was too perfect to be a coincidence. Maybe the education minister worried that if people got too happy, they’d become lazy. So, once college starts, people gather based on traits and skills, not location. It makes sense if the defense minister excluded local considerations for military placements for similar reasons. Maybe corporations, tangled in politics, had to join in too? Eventually, after 6 PM, everyone disperses to their own areas, and people, unaware, might just be toiling away in solitude.
It’s probably just a coincidence
– Right.
Lazy as we are, we didn’t want to think any further.
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