In Japan, the profession of a high school teacher is well-known as one of the most heavily burdened, exhausting jobs that drains all of one's time and energy.
Behind the facade of an orderly education system, this profession is frequently associated closely with the term karoshi—a phenomenon where a person passes away due to fatigue and chronic stress triggered by an excessive workload that goes beyond the limit.
On average, a high school teacher in Japan can only step out of the school gates to return home around 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM at night, and it is not even rare for it to be much later until approaching midnight.
Even though, if referring to the official working hours written inside the contract, their working hours should have been completely finished at 5:00 PM in the afternoon.
The biggest burden trapping these educators at school until late at night is none other than extracurricular activities.
Under the Japanese education system, almost every teacher is obligated to shoulder the responsibility of being an advisor or supervisor for a school club, whether it is a physically demanding sports club or an arts club.
As soon as the last class period finishes around 3:30 PM or 4:00 PM in the afternoon, while the students prepare to be active in their clubs, the teachers cannot go home. They must stand on the field or inside the club room to supervise the course of the practice until night.
This burden does not even have holidays; they frequently have to give up Saturdays and Sundays to accompany students competing out of town or to conduct additional practices.
Fortunately for Charlie, because his status was merely that of a temporary substitute teacher who had just joined, he had not been burdened with the responsibility of becoming a club advisor for any club at Seijo High School.
That fact allowed him to have the luxury of returning home much earlier compared to his other fellow teachers.
Even so, as a new teacher, he still could not avoid the obligation of handling piles of administrative tasks, grading answer sheets, as well as compiling lesson plans that piled up on top of his desk. After finishing all of those documents,
Charlie finally packed his bag and stepped out to leave the school precisely when the clock hands showed 6:59 PM at night.
He walked, cutting through the crowded city sidewalk, where the glow of neon lights from giant billboards was beginning to turn on brightly, signaling that the nightlife in the urban district had officially commenced.
The streets that were previously packed with school children had now shifted completely into a sea of office workers or salarymen who had just come out of the skyscrapers.
At several street corners, groups of workers could be seen preparing to accompany their superiors to go drink sake at the nearest izakaya until drunk.
From their haggard facial expressions, Charlie could see clearly that they were actually reluctant and wanted to go straight home to rest. However, they were forced to comply with that vicious cycle for the sake of obedience to Japan's conservative work culture that glorifies senior hierarchy.
Charlie's footsteps continued to bring him along the busier streets.
Along the dimly lit sidewalk near the entertainment district, the scenery changed to become darker.
There, lined up young girls who visually appeared to be around the same age as Mahiru, standing on the side of the street in fashionable clothes to offer covert prostitution services or what is commonly known as enjo kosai.
Several times along the way, Charlie was approached and subtly offered by them, but he merely declined with a polite nod without stopping his steps.
Not far from where he was walking, there was also seen the sight of a middle-aged man negotiating prices with one of the young girls.
After a price agreement was reached via the tap of a finger on a phone screen, the young girl without hesitation instantly walked side by side, accompanying the man who in terms of age was highly fitting to be her father, stepping inside a love hotel at the end of the alley.
Toward the sight of the young women choosing to sell their own bodies in order to obtain money, Charlie did not judge them at all nor did he look at them with a gaze of disgust.
He never knew what reasons lay behind their extreme decision to do that.
Perhaps some among them were indeed forced by pressing economic circumstances to survive in the metropolitan city with its high cost of living, or perhaps some others were merely indulging temporary material desires for the sake of a trendy lifestyle that they would later deeply regret in the future.
Whatever that hidden reason was, Charlie chose to remain respectful of the life decisions they had made.
The distance between Seijo High School and the apartment where they lived was actually not too far, only requiring around half an hour if traveled by walking.
While stepping along the sidewalk that was beginning to be littered with trash, Charlie observed the other pedestrians moving constantly around him.
He formed a faint smile then murmured softly to himself, "Incredible... The people in this country are truly tough when it comes to walking. They can take steps for kilometers every day as if it's no big deal."
His mind suddenly drifted, comparing that habit with the reality in another place.
"Come to think of it, it's such a stark contrast with Indonesians, who have been crowned as some of the most lazy citizens to walk on foot in the world."
"Walking for half an hour like this would definitely already be considered a severe punishment for them. Let alone this far, even just to go to the grocery store whose distance is only a five-minute walk from home, they would definitely still prefer to turn on a motorcycle engine."
While chuckling lightly to dispel the silence of the night, Charlie's footsteps finally brought him to arrive at the apartment lobby.
Stepping inside, he rode the quiet elevator, and pressed the button heading toward the floor where Mahiru's apartment unit was located.
Once he arrived in front of the familiar door, Charlie reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the spare key given the other day by Mahiru so that he could go in and out easily.
CLICK!
Turning the key, he pushed the door slowly, and stepped inside into the warm genkan corridor.
"I'm home."
"Welcome back, Charlie-kun."
Charlie, who at that time was bending down to remove his work shoes, looked up. He found that Mahiru was already standing there welcoming him.
The girl wore casual home clothes in the form of a loose knit shirt and a comfortable home skirt. A faint, sincere smile was carved on her face.
Mahiru's attitude now had completely changed; there was no longer a cold barrier wall or an indifferent gaze full of suspicion like when they first met beneath the downpour of rain.
That change was certainly good news for Charlie.
"Give it to me."
Mahiru stepped closer without hesitation. With a fluid motion, she extended both of her hands to receive the suit jacket that had just been removed by Charlie.
Not stopping there, her slender fingers moved upward, preparing to help remove the tie knot that was still wrapped around the man's neck.
"Ah, Shiina-san, it's alright. Let me just do this myself."
Charlie was slightly hesitant, trying to restrain the girl's hands gently.
However, Mahiru shook her head with a signature stubborn attitude, still resuming her motion of loosening Charlie's tie knot diligently.
"Don't move yet, Charlie-kun. You must already be very tired after a full day of facing piles of administrative work and teaching the children at school. As the person whom you protect, at least let me do this small thing to help lighten your burden."
After that tie was removed neatly, Mahiru draped it on top of the suit jacket within her embrace, then looked at him with a gaze full of attentiveness.
"I have already heated the water in the bathroom since ten minutes ago. Hurry and go take a bath now while the water is still warm, before the temperature goes ahead and cools down due to the night air."
Seeing the attentiveness that was so sincere and could not be argued with from this "Angel" of the household, Charlie could only flash a resigned smile.
"Alright, then I accept your kindness. I will take a bath first before we have dinner together."
He stepped toward the bathroom to clean himself from the fatigue of the first day of teaching, leaving Mahiru who walked toward the kitchen with light steps, ready to serve a warm evening dish for the two of them.
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