Recently, I have been working alone at Rockmo (a sister store of Bokumo ). It is during the day before opening time when there is no one around.
What I'm doing now is mainly preparing to take over the store. It makes me feel a little sentimental that the store will soon be out of my hands, but I'm working on getting everything in order so that the next person can easily enter.
We will be closing down in July and then I would like to hand it over to someone else (I have interviewed a few people and found some good options, but I am still looking, so if you are interested please get in touch).
So, one day last week.
On that day, I had a weekly Zoom meeting scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. After taking care of some business in Sakae in the afternoon, I went straight to Rockmo and decided to join using Rockmo's Wi-Fi.
14:30. I unlock the lock. Of course it's pitch black inside. I turn on the light, take out my laptop, and start preparing for the meeting. I check my email and drink the bottled water I bought. Oh, the meeting will last about an hour, so I should go to the bathroom.
Just as I was thinking that, I put my hand on the bathroom door.
Hmm? Something's wrong. The door is locked.
That's ridiculous. Of course, when I came in, the store would be empty. But the bathroom is locked now. A little light is shining through the crack.
No way... someone is there.
I feel my palms start to sweat. Oh no, someone's breaking in!
Wait a sec, maybe the manager, Haru, is there. Maybe he's preparing things early.
It's been about five minutes since I entered the store. She may have been straining herself in the toilet the whole time. Of course, that's human, so it happens.
But wait. Why did Haru go to the trouble of locking the entrance, making the store pitch black, and holed himself up in the bathroom? Is that even possible? If it is possible...
I went into the store for some reason, and just as I was about to leave and turned off the lights, I had to go into the bathroom. I locked the front door in case someone came in. Then I unlocked it and came in. Haru, who hadn't expected me to come in, was a bit surprised and didn't know when to come out.
That would make sense.
"Hey Haru? Are you there? Sorry, I have a Zoom meeting coming up, so I'll be here for about an hour, is that okay?"
...There's no reply.
"Haru? You're there, right?"
I knocked on the bathroom door. There was no response. I called Haru. He didn't answer. I couldn't hear any vibrations from inside the bathroom.
Sweat started pouring out again. Oh no... It's not Haru inside. Then who is it? Who is here?
I called out to them and knocked but they didn't respond. Maybe someone is barricading themselves here? Do they have weapons or something?
That's...
Did I do something? Did I do something bad? Was I getting revenge or something? This is bad... But what's the benefit of barricading myself here?
I don't know.
Oh, that's right. I'm sure this person came here for some reason. And they were surprised that I showed up, even though they didn't think I would show up. I couldn't react to that, so it became hard for me to come out.
Okay. Let's give him a chance to come out. That's right. Then maybe he'll come out and run away. Okay, let's do that.
"Oh, that's right, I remembered I have something to take care of. Umm, whoever's there, I'm going to be leaving the shop for now, so feel free to go out while I'm there. I'll be back in a while. So, with that, I'm off."
I said as I headed towards the bathroom, put my laptop in my bag, and left the locker room. I locked the door from the outside just in case. Then, I waited for a while at a place a little distance away where I could see the entrance.
I wait one minute. I wait two minutes. No one answers. I call Haru again. No one answers. What should I do?
...That's right, it's time for the chef to go to work at Bokumo.
Called the chef. Got through.
"Chef, the bathroom at Rockmo is actually locked and it looks like someone has barricaded themselves inside." "What?! Seriously?! That would be terrible. I'll be right there!"
There was a hero. All you need is a chef who has the skill and courage to cook. Thank you. After a while, the timer on my phone goes off.
Oh no, it's time for a Zoom meeting. Just as I emailed the meeting members, "Sorry, we have an emergency," a hero arrived on his bike.
"Is there something strange like that? Anyway, Rockmo, let's both go in."
Very reliable. Open the lock and head back to Lockmo.
"Oh really. It's locked."
The chef knocks on the door.
"Is anyone there? If anyone is there please respond!"
But still there was no response.
"Chef, what if a really dangerous person has barricaded himself inside? Maybe I should call the police after all. Ah, maybe Haru fainted and collapsed while he was in the bathroom."
"I see, then I have to help you. Manager, if you use a coin, you can open the door from the outside, so let's open it. I'll be prepared just in case."
The chef holds a chair in case any bad guys show up. No hero is safe.
"Okay, I get it."
I make up my mind and use a coin to turn the toilet lock from the outside.
Click
I managed to unlock it... I felt nervous. My hands were sweating profusely. I swallowed.
The chef, holding a chair in one hand, opens the door with a flourish.
...? Huh... There's no one here.
The chef puts his chair down and I collapse to the floor.
"Oh, there's no one here."
All the strength left my body.
"What on earth... Who did this and why?" "Really, it doesn't make any sense at all."
But a few hours later, it all made sense. A phone call from Hal revealed the truth.
"Haru, things were pretty bad. I mistakenly thought there was a barricade at Rockmo earlier."
I told Hal what had happened, and he said:
"Oh, sorry. I locked the door."
Huh? What do you mean?
"I locked it from the outside with a coin."
Here's the explanation:
Recently, when I come to work, the inside of the store suddenly smells bad. When I turn on the light and look at the toilet, there are traces of something having been done there... It hasn't been flushed... This is the cause of the smell...
"Wait a second. I'm about to get to work, so why do I have to start by trashing someone else's stuff? That's so disheartening. Besides, I'm about to make curry! (Oops, I'm embellishing this.)"
This kind of incident is not the first time. It seems to have happened several times in the past. Strange. So, in order to not lower his motivation for his work, he locked the door from the outside so that it could not be used without permission.
I see...that's how it is.
Haru said, "I'm sorry for causing trouble," but if that's the case, it was legitimate self-defense and there's no need for him to apologize at all.
Now, let's talk about the person who did it. Hal says:
"You can probably guess."
That's certainly true. The store keys are being handed over to several delivery companies. Someone had left the key behind.
By the way, I know that delivery work is tough because I once had a delivery person come to the counter of our store and complain about how hard it was.
"In a limited amount of time, I have to go around to various stores, sometimes while being scared of being caught for parking violations. I get annoyed by traffic jams. My luggage is incredibly heavy. I'm always covered in sweat. It's not uncommon for me to not eat lunch until after 3 o'clock. The air conditioning in my car doesn't work, and the car radio only plays AM. But sometimes I post emails and listen to them, anxious to see if they will be read."
It's important to have some excitement, but other than that, it's hard. Of course, you may have to go during delivery. And in the stores where you deliver, it may be hard to ask to use the restroom, as the staff are busy working. In that respect, Rockmo is always unmanned during delivery hours. It's easy to use.
Our work is only possible thanks to the suppliers we work with, so we are always grateful to them. If one of those suppliers is in trouble with their deliveries, we would be happy to lend them our restroom.
But, one thing. I want it even if it's after the fact.
Sorry, I couldn't find a place to borrow it other than Rockmo, so I ended up using it. It's okay to leave a note.
I would reply, "It's okay. Thank you as always. If I were in your position, I'd want to borrow it too."
And, this is important, but I wish they would flush it properly. This is the minimum level of human manners. No matter how rushed you are, you shouldn't forget something. If you forget something, at the very least, I wish they would come and get it for you.
So that's how I got the truth of the incident.
I also thought that once I got a hold of it, I should contact the company that had handed over all the keys and tell them what had happened.
But I'm not going to do that this time.
I mean, what if it were the other way around? Maybe I'd know who the culprit was, but that's not the case. I feel bad for the person who was suspected even though I always try my best. I think it would be very unpleasant to be suspected of something that is completely unfounded. "I thought this store that delivers packages every day was a good store, but what's this? It's a store that suspects me." It would be very bad if they were made to think that. They might lose their spirit and not be able to post emails to the radio. That's not good either.
So, we will continue to lock the restrooms before opening time. I think this is the best solution for now.
I have a Zoom meeting coming up today, so I've arrived at Rockmo.
I say, heading towards the locked bathroom.
"Look, it's okay to use it. After all, you use this toilet every day. Maybe you've used it many times, so you might know that this toilet can be unlocked from the outside with a coin. It's okay, it's okay. I won't blame you for using it. So, please just react. Is anyone there?"
Take a deep breath and open the door with the coin.
Good, there's no one here.
Now, it's time for the meeting.
