Chapter 34: To Thank You

"Oh, and you are... Natsumi-san, right?" Hajime confirmed, wondering why someone from their school was strolling at a nearby park this early in the morning. "What are you doing here?" Hajime couldn't help but ask.

"Ah- eh... just Natsumi is fine." Natsumi said, drooping her head a little bit before she bashfully sat beside Hajime. "I didn't know you live nearby. It was pretty cold so I went out for a walk."

"Me too, I guess," Hajime asked, scooting a few inches away from Natsumi since she was sitting uncomfortably close.

Silence soon followed as Hajime and Natsumi sat together, stealing glances as if they were testing out the waters. For Natsumi, this was the first time she tried to approach a guy so she wasn't used to the awkwardness she felt. As for Hajime, he wondered why Natsumi hasn't left yet after greeting him. She did say she was just passing by after all.

"I uh- I haven't properly thanked you back then." Natsumi brought up, recalling the time when Hajime rescued her from the college students who were hitting on her and her friend. She fiddled with her fingers, trying to gather her thoughts together so she won't miss her well-earned chance. She could tell that this was the only time she'd be able to speak to Hajime since she can't really approach him in school, being in a different and all. Furthermore, the rumors that surrounded Hajime were like brick walls that blocked anyone who wanted to go near. While Hajime was passive about those rumors, the others have a different take on it, thus giving anyone fewer chances of befriending him— well, not like he was on the lookout for friends, not in the least.

"You don't have to. Anyone would've done the same had they been in my shoes." Hajime lightly declined since he didn't actually know what to do about the current situation.

This was the first time someone properly tried to thank him— recently, he had been experiencing a lot of first times and it scared him a bit, just a bit.

"No, but... if it weren't for you... " Natsumi continued to fiddle with her fingers before mustering the courage to ask Hajime for his number. Closing her eyes, she reached out to her pocket and grabbed her phone "Can we exchange contacts? I'd like to treat you to a meal one of these days."

"Sure," Of course, there's no way Hajime would say no to a free meal. Desperate times call for desperate measures. If someone were to offer him food, then he'd gladly accept it. Besides, he kind of earned it since he rescued both Natsumi and her friend. 'I'm sure they'll feel bad if I rejected her offer, right?' Hajime told himself.

"I don't have a phone though, well, you can just inform me after school or something. I'm usually free by that time." Hajime casually informed her, causing her to smile in response.

She nodded. "I'll be looking forward to it!" After saying that, she got up and headed in the direction of the school. Waving her hand, she said goodbye to Hajime, who didn't bother getting up and reciprocating the farewell.

"I guess I should head to work today as well, huh." A few stretches later, Hajime headed to the construction site once again to clock in for the day.

...

His body moved like clockwork, hammering away at concrete, carrying beams, and bending steel with plastic pipes. Another portion of the construction site was slowly getting finished, and Hajime was pleased to see the progress everyone had achieved Sometimes, exhaustion gets into him and he goes through his work without thinking about it. However, every time he takes a step back and admires the construction site at the end of his shift, he couldn't help but feel proud. No matter how small, he had contributed to the construction of the complex, and this gave him an odd sense of pride, prodding him to push himself even further despite the hardships.

"Ouch, my back!" Someone exclaimed, snapping Hajime back to reality as he rushed to his aid.

It was one of his coworkers, Takeda Nori, who fell on his back while trying to pull a wheelbarrow filled with gravel. It should've been a smooth and easy job, had it not been for a stray rock that knocked the wheelbarrow off balance.

"Are you all right?" Hajime concernedly asked, offering his hand.

"Yeah, but I don't think I can stand." Takeda Nori winced in pain as he slowly rubbed his back.

This was a regular occurrence at the construction site and Hajime was not at all surprised. Nevertheless, it gave him a grave reminder that inattentiveness is not welcome in this place. The construction site is a dangerous place, to say the least, and one small misstep could owe you both your body and your salary.

"I'll carry that." Since Takeda-san couldn't really stand up, and the cement mixing was well on its way and they were waiting for the gravel, Hajime decided to step in for him while he waited for a stretcher. Even if someone gets injured, the work goes on. Gritting his teeth, Hajime steadied the fallen wheelbarrow and rolled it to the mixing location.

"We'll get this sorted out, you can assist Takeda-san in the meantime. You're done with your shift, right?" Another worker told him.

"Yes, I just finished. Thank you so much for your hard work." With a tip of the hard hat, Hajime went towards Takeda Nori, just in time when someone brought a stretcher for them to carry.

"I'm sorry you had to assist an old man like me, Hajime, just when you finished your shift and all." Takeda-san grinned. There was pain in his grin.

Hajime shook his head. "Please recover quickly, Takeda-san, we need your pair of hands here."

"You're still young, you shouldn't be working in construction, Hajime, you need to take care of yourself so you won't end up like us old men here, frail and brittle."

This time, Hajime nodded, etching the old man's advice in his mind. Even then, it's not like he had any choice but to work for construction.

Someone is dependent on him, after all— someone precious to him.