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In the lounge of a hotel bar somewhere in Tokyo, Gulf Kanawut sat alone at a window side table with a nervous look on his face.
He wasn't a child anymore.
He had graduated from a national university in spring, and had just found work at a company in Tokyo in April. It was the first time he had left home, the first time he had been to Tokyo, he had nothing but first experiences and nervousness as his time unfolded there. He had just arrived four days ago.
He was supposed to live in a company housing and had arrived a few days before company orientation, because he figured there would be a lot of moving preparations to be made.However, his company wasn't ready for him yet, so he had no choice but to stay in a hotel for now.
He had completed the company orientation, but with the housing issue still up on the air, it had put damper on his fresh start in 'the real world.'
Gulf Kanawut, 22 years old. Current residence: some city hotel.
He had just arrived in Tokyo and was already uneasy about his new lifestyle, thanks to his situation.
He needed a friend.
But Gulf had lived in his hometown his whole life, so he didn't have many friends in Tokyo. He had promised to meet a friend from elementary school, Bright Vachirawit, at the hotel lounge that night. Well saying 'a friend from elementary school' was a bit of an overstatement, because they had actually only spent one summer together in fourth grade.
Bright's family lived in Tokyo, but that summer, he had come to visit his uncle who lived in the same rural neighborhood as Gulf. Bright had been the typical city kid, and had known all about the latest games and anime. But Gulf had known lots of stuff Bright didn't know. Like how to catch a crawfish in the river, catch and raise beetles, climb tress, and where to find the best nuts and nectar.
They had become fast friends and played together from morning until night all summer long. But when the summer had ended, Bright returned to Tokyo and, soon after his uncle had passed away, so he hadn't come back to the country again. However, they kept in touch through letters and phone calls, so they remained friends.
Bright was more than surprised when he received a call from Gulf the day before, telling him he had found work in Tokyo and was already there.
Well, it's no wonder he was surprised, Gulf thought.
Bright had tried to get him to come to Tokyo for both high school and college. However, Gulf had always said no, saying local schools were enough for him, and even told Bright last year on the phone that he planned to look for work in his hometown.
Honestly speaking, he himself couldn't even believe that he was actually here in Tokyo. He had planned to find work back home and live out a simple life in the country. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined going to work and living in Tokyo. Gulf wondered if a sheltered, country boy like him could survive in the big city. However, he had come this far, he couldn't turn back now.
TBC