Chapter Text
"Hello everyone. Good morning sir. This is Jayanta, hopefully our new team member. Jayanta meet the Bangalore Metro Project management team. This is Vidyut, this is Sonal, Shashi and Pritam. This is Mr. Haru, the head engineer", I introduced Mr. Cutie to everyone.
For some reason he threatened to break into a laugh on hearing the last sentence but controlled himself and continued shaking hands.
"He's Japanese right?", he whispered to me.
"Yes. What's so funny?", I whispered back.
Haru sir left the room and our team went into a full on chit-chat mode.
Sonal started off, "So...first day huh! Welcome to a company which will either fire you or make you resign latest by three years.""
In short, this is nothing like the dream job any IIT scholar would wanna join. So be advised", added Pritam.
"I'm well aware of the risks", said Jayanta with a hapless sigh. "Some people aren't lucky enough to choose what they would do."
"Ooh! Another startup guy. You know what, three of us here had a startup idea too but a healthy thing to do after college is to come out of your fantasy land and accept the reality. Although your luck is not that bad! I mean first job, first day and you got a mega project", Sonal mused.
"Right, but that's not due to luck", I joined in. "His interview must have been good, his resume is praiseworthy and of course he's an IITian. People do get jobs on merits."
"But how do you know he's been selected already? Eh! You're not confirmed yet, okay? Don't listen to this fruit. Anyway he smokes up God knows what at night to develop weird tendencies", Vidyut snapped at Jayanta.
He winced at that statement but said nothing.
"Don't you get tired of your disgusting jokes? I wonder what you smoke up to completely deplete your common sense", I retorted.
Leaving Jayanta in the room with the team I went to fetch his ID card. They were probably trying to gossip about some homophobic shit but he was least bothered, lost in his own world of a misfortune which was yet unknown to me.
I soon returned to take him to his cubicle which was (oh so fortunately) beside mine. I tried to initiate small talk.
"So where are you from?"
"I'm from Rajasthan."
"Oh. Where exactly in Rajasthan?" (As if I had ever been there!)
"Khairthal. A small town...umm...small village", he stuttered.
Fuck it. This wasn't working.
"Do you mind telling me what's eating you currently?" I blurted out with a facade of casualness.
He brushed it off saying, "don't bother it's nothing."
"I might look like it but I'm not that big of a fool. In case you don't wanna tell me what your issue is, it's fine."
Haru sir entered our cabin and explained to him his first assignment which had just been mailed. I carefully understood his task while pretending to not listen. After Haru sir's departure I wished him all the best.
"This assignment will decide whether you'll be finalized for this project or not. So give your 100% and don't hesitate to ask me if you need any help", I reassured him.
After all it was the slo-mo kind of love at first sight. I didn't know yet if he was into men but at least I deserved a chance to find out. What better opportunity than to impress him at a construction camp? So I desperately wanted him to get selected for this project. We could spend time together, maybe share earphones...
"No thanks." His reply broke my train of thoughts. I went back to work.
Coming to think of it, I didn't have much to do at that point. So I glanced sideways at the pretty view on my left. His eyebrows were furrowed hard in concentration as a pen twitched in his right hand. The single metal earring on his right ear shone as it reflected the light.
I would have continued my indulgent staring had he not been visibly struggling.
"Are you facing any problem?", I inquired.
"No. It's fine."
He rejected my offer and I steered away. Ten minutes passed, and then twenty. His pen's cap was still being flicked at while he stared around everywhere in the room except at his own work, occasionally changing his position on the chair.
I offered him help multiple times, but he rejected. Every single time. He said he could manage. I know it's not ideal to judge people so quickly but I could say he was quite a bad engineer for an IITian. There were just a few basic technical faults in the design which he was taking an hour to fix. In fact, more than that, because an hour had passed and he had neither drawn or written a single line.
I decided I had to help him in spite of his refusal if he had to submit his design within the next two hours and get selected. But that would mean one apparently inefficient member in a team of seven. Not a very good situation to create - but then again I wanted him in the team.
Fuck it. A second time. Everything's fair in love and war.
"Listen buddy there's no use wasting time. I understand that you might have a startup idea or something and this isn't your dream job or you aren't in the headspace to do work but if you don't let me help you right now there's no way you can submit your design-"
"Shut up! Will you shut up please!", he burst out. "I repeatedly told you I don't need any help and yet you're bothering me God knows why. I'm fine on my own okay? I can do things too!"
I stared at him with my mouth open, frozen in place.
"And what is this 'startup' 'startup' drama you guys are talking about from the morning? I'm not a goddamn startup founder. Who told you I wanna do a startup? Why does everyone's brain work in the same direction?", he yelled at me.
Despite the initial shock, the last sentence made me ponder.
I murmured to myself, "why does everyone's brain work in the same direction? That's a million dollar question I've been searching the answer for since eternity."
The whole office was naturally looking at us by that time. People love drama, but no one had the guts to report or solve the conflict. No one wanted to. Me being at the receiving end of any sort of flak whatsoever was one of the most delightful occurrences for most of our colleagues (for obvious reasons). I wondered why I even worked there. Backbiting about me was everyone's favourite hobby and my newfound reason to come to work daily had just lashed out at me for no reason.
The said newfound reason currently facepalmed himself and sat still with his elbows on his desk.
I told everyone to go back to work and concentrated on own my job at hand.
Fifteen minutes later, a timid voice from my left said, "listen. I'm having some issues with this. Can you please help"...
.
.
.
At the end of the day an exhausted but content looking Jayanta Kumar lazily trotted towards his cubicle with the other team members. I was still on my way there with a mug of coffee in my hand (overtime, duh!). So I watched from afar.
Pritam said, "congratulations. Welcome to a team of a sulky team leader, three gossip lovers, an unsocial introvert and that twink right there."
"He has a name, Chayan. Kindly call him that instead of using your disrespectful nicknames", reprimanded Jayanta.
Everyone's expression went from shock to ridicule.
"Okay fine chill! Please don't get started again. We better leave."
"Congrats!", I said from behind.
Jayanta slowly turned around and reluctantly met my eyes.
"That was...that was way too rude an outburst. I just...vented out on the wrong person at the wrong time. I'm sorry", he said in a defeated voice.
"It's okay, leave that. You got the project!", I cheered.
"Not without you're help. Thank you so much. Really, I don't have any excuse. Can I make it up to you someway?"
"Well...by fighting my brainless bullies on my behalf, I think you've more than made up for it."
For a second he looked confused, and then he smiled and replied, "oh that! I've never personally been homophobic actually."
"Shows", I remarked. "But you might be racist..."
"No, why would you say that?"
"Then why did you laugh today morning when I told you that Haru sir is Japanese?"
His quizzical expression instantly gave way to bouts of full laughter. Hearing it for the first time was an experience in itself and I was certain that it would retain it's magic each time I would hear it.
"Not...because...he's Japanese", he giggled. "Haru was one of my most embarrassing nicknames. Everyone calls me Jai but my grandfather called me Haru, which means the opposite of my real nickname. I used to lose so badly at every game I played with him!"
I smiled, both at the story and the charm of the storyteller.
'Haru' in Japanese means something along the lines of spring or sunlight, a perfect description of the new bloom he had brought into my toxic work life.
He was turning to leave when I said, "hey! Can I call you Jai if you don't mind?"
"Yeah sure, why not? Okay bye."
He left with a dimpled grin which reflected on my own face. The sound of his rich laughter was still echoing in my ears.
"Jai", I repeated and sat down to work. My gloomy overtime routine had just gotten better.