My Adventures In Philia

Temporary

As Hanjin and I both stood in front of the office, I raised my fist and knocked gently against the wooden door before hearing a faint "Come in" from the other side.

Hanjin quickly took the door handle before I could reach it and swung it open.

Almost as we were about to enter, an unpleasant whiff hit my nostrils and I immediately covered half of my face with my hand. Hanjin seemed to have the same reaction as me but instead, he complained to the man sitting at the desk before us, Yahir Goldfisher.

"What the hell is that smell?!"

"Yeah, sorry about that! I haven't cleaned up here in a while. Let me open the windows." The middle-aged man stood up and walked to the closest window.

When was the last time he cleaned?

Stepping inside the office is just as I remembered.

A horizontal rectangular room with two windows on the left shows a nice view of the rest of the alleyway. In the middle of the room is a wooden desk with stacks of papers on the side, a few glass beer bottles lying next to them, and a vest-pocket-sized picture frame on the opposite side.

As I scanned across the office, I began to realize how unkempt the room was.

More half-empty beer bottles are sitting on countertops, crumbled balls of paper are scattered on the dusty floor, an over-flowing small wooden trash barrel is next to the desk, and slivery cobwebs are found in both corners of the floor and ceiling.

The sour smell from earlier started to swiftly leave the room, to the now opened windows. Turning my head towards Mr. Goldfisher who muttered something under his breath, I then addressed the main question.

"Is there something you like to discuss with us, sir?"

"Oh yes, take a seat." He gestured towards the two wooden chairs facing his desk.

I settled on the chair on the left following after a short creek against the floorboards and Hanjin took the one on the right, almost tilted it backwards as he sat down.

With a moment of silence creeping in, Mr. Goldfisher promptly hands placed onto the desk as he leaned forward with a serious posture, and he began speaking.

"Now, you may be wondering why you're here."

Hanjin is quick to respond with his arms crossed and his index finger tapping on his forearm.

"If it's about that incident, I f-"

"Hold it, bucko. That is forbidden language right there, only adults could talk like that."

Excuse me-

This is not the kind of response that I expected from Yahir. I thought he was going to snap back at him with the same rude tone he would throw at people in the guild. But now, he suddenly told Hanjin to stop cursing even though he didn't- no, never minded before? 

I glanced briefly towards Hanjin who turned completely still with his shoulder slumping before straightening himself and grunted.

"I'm not a kid." 

"You sure act like one."

Realizing we were getting off-topic, I tried to ask again with the same question but a slightly uncertain tone trailed along.

"Um, what exactly is this about, Mr-" 

However, I was cut off by him as he let out a groan he ran a hand down his face before he grumbled,

"Seriously with the formalities...every time I hear someone say 'Mr. Goldfisher', I feel like I'm getting old."

"...Sir, You are 40 years old."