Three days had passed since the floor wide meltdown at Marcus’s desk, and the shift in environment was immediate. Moving from Marcus’s noisy, micro managed bay to Victoria’s team felt like stepping into a completely different company. Victoria ran a non voice cluster specializing in missing billing discrepancies and account reconciliations, meaning the loud ringing of phone headsets was replaced by the intense, rapid clatter of mechanical keyboards and dual monitor scrolling.
On Thursday morning, Victoria stood at the head of aisle four, clapping her hands twice to draw the attention of her seven existing team members.
"Alright, settle down for two minutes before the morning queue refreshes," Victoria announced, her voice calm yet commanding. "As most of you already know from the floor roster updates, we have two permanent transfers joining our cluster starting today. I expect everyone to help them adjust without slowing down our daily handle time."
She gestured toward the two young men standing beside her desk.
"This is Vanitas, and beside him is Yuuma," Victoria said concisely. "They came from Marcus's cluster, but don't hold that against them. They cleared twenty tier three compliance backlogs in a single afternoon, so their technical skills are already verified. Assign them to desks three and four."
Vanitas offered a smooth, bright smile, waving lightly to the group. "Hey everyone. Looking forward to working with you all. Feel free to hand over your hardest billing cases if you get bored."
A few agents laughed softly, immediately warming up to Vanitas's approachable, easygoing energy.
Yuuma, on the other hand, stood completely still. His dark hair shadowed his eyes, his pale face set in a distant, unreadable expression. Over the past three days of intense stress, his natural resting face had hardened into something intimidating, cold, sharp, and seemingly completely unapproachable. He gave a single, minimal nod.
"Good morning," Yuuma said softly, his tone flat and quiet.
An awkward silence hovered over the aisle for a brief second. A few agents exchanged quick glances, subtly pulling their shoulders back as they took in Yuuma's sharp, distant aura.
"Right," Victoria cut in smoothly, breaking the brief tension. "Yuuma, Vanitas, sit down and log into the portal. You both know how to trace missing ledger bills. Find the gaps, balance the missing accounts, and submit the resolutions. No unnecessary chatter during queue spikes. Let's get to work."
The fast forward of the next four hours was a blur of pure productivity. Without customers screaming through a phone headset, the work shifted to pure data hunting tracking down lost billing statements, finding missing transaction codes, and resolving system discrepancies. Yuuma worked like a machine, his fingers flying across the keys in a steady, unbroken rhythm. By noon, his resolved ticket counter was already higher than half the senior agents in the aisle, though he hadn't spoken a single word to anyone since logging in.
When the clock finally struck twelve thirty, Victoria stood up. "Alright everyone, queue is covered by the floaters. It is one o'clock, head out for lunch now."
Vanitas stretched his arms over his head, letting out a loud sigh as his chair rolled back. "Man, hunting down missing bill statements for four hours straight really drains the brain. Yuuma, let's grab food."
"Go ahead first," Yuuma replied, keeping his eyes glued to his screen as he typed out a final case note. "I just need to finish submitting this last account gap. Save me a seat at the pantry."
"Alright, don't take forever," Vanitas chuckled, grabbing his wallet and walking toward the breakroom.
Inside the pantry, the air was filled with the smell of microwaved meals and the chatter of various clusters. Near the center table sat four senior members from Victoria's team, two women and two guys, enjoying their lunch break together since the whole team went on break at the exact same time.
As Vanitas entered the pantry holding his lunch box, he noticed his new teammates talking animatedly. He was about to walk over and join their table when he suddenly heard Yuuma's name drop from one of the guys.
Vanitas paused near the water dispenser, keeping his back turned while listening intently.
"So what do you guys think of the two new guys Victoria brought in?" asked Jax, one of the senior billing analysts on the team.
"Vanitas seems really cool," replied Chloe, leaning forward on her elbows. "He's super friendly and approachable. He actually helped me unfreeze my portal earlier without making a big deal out of it."
"Yeah, Vanitas is fine," Jax nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich. "It's the other guy I'm worried about. That Yuuma."
"Oh, Yuuma?" Chloe murmured, her voice dropping a bit. "Honestly, he kind of scares me a little. Did you see his face during the morning huddle? He looked like he was about to declare war on the whole floor."
"Right?" added Dave, another guy at the table, scoffing loudly. "I tried to hand him the roster sheet earlier, and he didn't even look me in the eye. Just took the paper without saying a word. He's got this super arrogant, lifeless vibe going on. Like he thinks he's too good to talk to any of us."
"Maybe he's just quiet," Chloe offered weakly. "I mean, his productivity numbers are insane. He cleared forty missing bill tickets before lunch."
"Who cares about numbers if his attitude is trash?" Dave sneered, leaning back in his chair with a harsh smirk. "He looks like a hollow corpse that hasn't slept in ten years. Honestly, with an emotionless face like that, he probably doesn't even have a soul. I bet he's the kind of guy who goes home and ignores everyone because he thinks he's better than everyone else."
Jax and the others chuckled, but over by the water dispenser, Vanitas's smile completely vanished. His knuckles turned white as he gripped his lunch box, a sudden flare of pure anger surging through his chest. He knew the sheer amount of weight Yuuma carried on his shoulders every single day, the endless exhaustion, the sacrifices for his household, the quiet pain he hid behind his tired eyes just to keep surviving. Hearing some arrogant stranger mock Yuuma's exhaustion as an attitude problem made Vanitas's blood boil.
Vanitas slammed his water cup into the trash bin and turned around, his eyes burning as he prepared to walk right over to their table and tear into Dave.
Just as Vanitas took two aggressive steps toward them, he caught sight of Yuuma walking through the pantry doors, holding his own small plastic container of rice and side dishes, looking completely oblivious to what was happening.
Vanitas stopped dead in his tracks. If Yuuma heard what they were saying, it would ruin whatever little peace he had managed to find on this new team.
Acting on pure instinct, Vanitas darted across the room, grabbed Yuuma firmly by the shoulder, and spun him around before he could even take three steps into the pantry.
"Whoa!" Yuuma blinked, startled as Vanitas yanked him backward. "Vanitas? What are you doing?"
"We're not eating in here," Vanitas gritted out through his teeth, his face flushed red with visible anger.
"Why?" Yuuma asked, looking thoroughly confused. "The pantry is right here. There are open seats over at our team's table."
"I said we're eating somewhere else," Vanitas snapped, pushing Yuuma back toward the hallway door. "The air in here is toxic today. It's making me lose my appetite."
Yuuma frowned, completely baffled by his friend's sudden outburst. "Did something happen? Why are you angry?"
"I am not angry!" Vanitas lied loudly, dragging Yuuma out into the quiet hallway by his jacket sleeve. "I just suddenly realized I hate the smell of microwaved fish! Now move!"
They walked down the corridor and ended up sitting on the windowsill by the quiet end of the ninth floor stairwell. The sunlight poured through the glass, casting a warm glow over the concrete steps.
Yuuma sat down, opening his lunch container with a slow, methodical motion. Beside him, Vanitas was practically vibrating with fury, aggressively stabbing his fork into his food and chewing like he was trying to crush bones.
Yuuma watched him in silence for a long moment, taking a quiet bite of rice.
"Are you going to tell me why you're eating like that meal owes you money?" Yuuma asked calmly, his voice completely level.
"I am fine," Vanitas muttered, stabbing another piece of meat with unnecessary violence. "Just enjoying my lunch."
"You're glaring at a wall, Vanitas," Yuuma pointed out softly, a faint, tiny trace of amusement touching the corner of his lips. "If you chew any harder, you're going to break your fork."
"People on this floor are idiots," Vanitas grumbled, looking away toward the window. "That's all."
Yuuma looked at his friend for a second, then looked down at his own simple meal. He didn't know what Vanitas had heard, but he wasn't stupid. He had seen the awkward glances from their new teammates all morning. He knew what people thought when they looked at him, a quiet, unapproachable guy with dark circles who never smiled.
"If it's about what people say about me, you don't have to get mad on my behalf," Yuuma said quietly, taking a slow sip of his water. "I don't care about their opinions. As long as the work gets done and the paycheck comes in on time, they can think whatever they want."
Vanitas stopped chewing, looking over at Yuuma's calm, tired profile. He let out a long, heavy sigh, the anger in his chest slowly deflating into a mix of frustration and quiet respect.
"You're too forgiving, Yuuma," Vanitas muttered, shaking his head as he finally relaxed his shoulders. "One of these days, I'm going to throw a stapler at someone for you."
Yuuma let out a faint, genuine laugh, shaking his head. "Please don't. Victoria would fire us both on the spot."
"Worth it," Vanitas grinned, finally taking a normal bite of his food.
They finished their lunch on the stairwell steps, surrounded by the quiet hum of the building. For the first time since joining the account, the heavy weight of the office felt manageable, bound together by a quiet, unbreakable friendship that no office rumor could ever touch.
After wrapping up their lunch on the stairwell steps, Yuuma and Vanitas headed back toward aisle four. The moment they stepped back into the production floor, the atmosphere was right back to business. The click-clack of keyboards vibrated through the room as everyone logged back into their respective queue screens.
Yuuma sat down at desk four, completely tuning out the subtle glances coming from Jax, Dave, and the rest of the team across the aisle. He pulled up his assigned queue, slipped on his foam earplugs to block out the ambient room noise, and went straight into deep focus mode. Case after case, missing ledger entries were audited, corrected, and closed with mechanical speed.
Beside him, Vanitas was doing the exact same thing. Whatever anger he had felt earlier in the pantry was completely channeled into his work. By three in the afternoon, both of their ticket counters had cleared the daily target quota, leaving the rest of the aisle looking over in quiet shock at how fast the two new guys were plowing through the backlog.
Around four forty five, fifteen minutes before the shift ended, Victoria stood up from her desk and walked over to aisle four. She knocked lightly on the edge of Yuuma’s partition wall to get their attention.
"Yuuma, Vanitas, wrap up your current cases and pause your queues," Victoria said, leaning against the desk with her arms crossed.
Yuuma pulled out one earplug and looked up. "Did we miss a compliance flag, Ma'am?"
"No, your quality metrics are fine. Better than fine, actually," Victoria replied smoothly. She looked around at the rest of the team, who were all listening in. "Since today is officially your first full shift with our cluster, the team usually goes down to the grill bar across the street after shift for a quick welcome drink. Jax and Chloe set it up. You two are coming."
The aisle went quiet for a second. Jax offered a stiff, slightly awkward nod from his desk, while Dave avoided eye contact entirely, keeping his gaze locked onto his monitor.
Vanitas leaned back in his swivel chair, a polite but distant smile appearing on his face. "Thanks for the invite, Ma'am, but I am going to have to pass today. I have some personal stuff to take care of as soon as I log out."
Victoria turned her eyes to Yuuma. "And you?"
"I need to go straight home, Ma'am," Yuuma answered directly, his voice completely flat and respectful. "I have family responsibilities waiting for me."
Victoria looked between the two of them, taking in their firm tone. She didn't press or try to guilt-trip them into staying like Marcus used to do. She simply nodded once in understanding.
"Fair enough," Victoria said cleanly. "Work ends when the clock hits five. I don't force social events on my agents. Finish your notes and log off on time."
As Victoria walked back to her desk, Vanitas glanced over at Yuuma and raised his eyebrows playfully. "Look at that. A lead who actually respects a decline. I think I am going to like it here."
"Just finish your last note so we can leave," Yuuma muttered, though a tiny hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
At exactly five o'clock, the floor wide bell chimed. Yuuma and Vanitas shut down their workstations, grabbed their bags, and headed straight for the elevator bank before anyone else could try to make small talk.
When the elevator reached the ground floor, they stepped out into the crisp evening air outside the tower lobby. The streetlights were just starting to flicker on, and the usual crowd of call center workers was flooding the sidewalk.
"Man, seeing Dave's face when Victoria said our quality scores were higher than theirs was absolute poetry," Vanitas laughed, slinging his backpack over one shoulder as they walked toward the jeepney stop. "He looked like he swallowed a lemon."
Yuuma shook his head, letting out a soft chuckle as they navigated through the crowd. "You really can't let that go, can you?"
"Never," Vanitas grinned wider, nudging Yuuma's shoulder as they waited by the curb. "If anyone tries to badmouth you again, I'll just keep outperforming them until they cry into their keyboards."
Yuuma laughed out loud this time, a genuine, relaxed sound that felt completely rare after the grueling week they had gone through. "Just focus on your own queue, Vanitas. I don't need a bodyguard."
"Too late, you got one anyway," Vanitas joked as a jeepney pulled up in front of them.
They boarded the vehicle together, their lighthearted banter carrying over the noise of the city traffic. For the first time in a very long time, the ride home didn't feel heavy at all.
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and then Add to home screen.