Drenched in sweat as I carried a hefty box in my hands, I passed by my coworkers, who were enjoying a break from their labor. Some were smoking, while others were drinking some cold beer recently bought from a store nearby. Not caring much about me, they kept chatting about things I couldn't figure out from distance.

I couldn't understand why they'd squander their money on cigarettes or alcohol.

Leaving my thoughts aside, today's job was quite simple. Quick, too, which allowed me to take another shift at the grocery store after it was over. All we had to do was move around some furniture. In the central part of the city—also known as the 1st District—everything was mostly automated. These kinds of menial jobs aren't really a thing in there, but as long as you looked hard enough, you could easily find work like this in the 2nd District, which wasn't as developed as the 1st.

"How about you join us?" said one of the workers, his vest tightly wrapped around his humongous belly.

"I ate before coming here," I replied, taking a step closer to the mansion.

Yes, a real mansion. Between the divided stairs that lead all the way up to the rustic entryway, there was an actual waterfall. I found it beautiful and painful at the same time. Because of its design, carrying around a bunch of objects became much more difficult. We simply couldn't pull the truck in front of the mansion because of its elevated structure, so we had to do numerous rounds back and forth on the stairs instead.

According to what I've heard, our client was a middle-aged businessman who had recently relocated to our city. I didn't know the specifics, but we were on a tight deadline. He appeared to be rather demanding in that regard.

It irritated me that the others were casually chatting while I was trying to get the job done as quickly as possible. Of course, I wasn't as unreasonable as to state that eating during your break was prohibited, but we'd only been here for an hour at most, and they still hadn't done anything.

I came to a halt on the stoned path, slid my knee under the box, and readjusted my grip. I've mostly focused on smaller items, but even those proved to be rather heavy as I kept moving them around without taking a break.

"There are simply far too many," I muttered, assuming that was probably the reason why our client hired so many of us in the first place.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my sleeve after placing the box down in the living room. I just stood there staring around for a while. There was nothing else other than the pile of boxes I carried, making the entire place seem even more spacious. Just a single room was larger than my entire house altogether.

What worried me were the items we had to assemble ourselves. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to do that, but I hoped my colleagues knew how to handle it. There was no other choice but to believe that.

Anyways, since I couldn't do anything else when things reached that point, I decided to make myself as useful as possible in the meantime.

I returned to the truck and grabbed one of the larger boxes. It was as tall as I was but much wider. My arms were limp. I couldn't feel them at all. I wasn't sure if it was because of its weight or because of the exhaustion I accumulated up until now.

"Let me help you with that," said a harsh voice as some of my burden lightened.

I initially assumed he felt pity for me and decided to help, but I forgot about that as soon as I noticed our client's figure. He wore a blue suit with a dark tie, giving off the impression of a proper businessman, as I imagined. There was also a gold watch around his wrist that seemed expensive—which didn't blend well with the rest of his outfit.

He probably wore it as a symbol of status, rather than because he was concerned about fashion trends. I truly believed it did not suit him. Not in the slightest.

"That guy's still watching us?" asked my coworker, peeking over the box's edge.

"I think he is," I replied briefly. We were currently on the stairs and I had my back turned toward him, so I couldn't give a proper answer even if I wanted to.

There was no reason to get too close to others. I changed jobs frequently, so there wasn't much time for me to get to know the others. That's why, in most cases, things could go rather sour.

"Gosh, this thing is heavy," he said, taking off a hand from the box to shake it.

My heart skipped a beat as the weight I had to bear suddenly increased. "Don't—"

But it was too late. I had already lost my balance.

Even as I fell, I kept the box close to my body. Then the world went dark as all the air got squeezed out of my lungs. I inhaled deeply, desperate for oxygen. Because of the impact, tears welled up in my eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?!" roared my coworker as fear flashed in his eyes.

That was just loud enough to get our client's attention.

Without saying any word, he came over, pulled the box off me with great effort, and peeled the adhesive covering its cracks. He sighed after seeing the object within wasn't broken in any way. Then his eyes shifted towards me. "You should be thankful you didn't break it."

"But, sir—" I tried to argue while still wheezing. I wanted to apologize and assure him it wasn't my fault. That what happened wasn't a mistake on my part due to my inexperience.

"No buts," said our client, wrinkling his nose as if he saw something he disliked. "Just leave, and don't touch anything in this place ever again. Don't expect to be paid for almost breaking my furniture, either. Got it? Who thought hiring this brat was a smart idea in the first place..."

I looked around, but everyone went back to work as if nothing happened. Even the man that caused me to fall acted as if I didn't exist.

Unable to even argue, I left.

"E-excuse me," said someone as a terrible stench invaded my nostrils. His clothes were filthy and ripped, revealing his skin covered in dust. I couldn't even tell when was the last time he took a bath. "Do you have any cash to spare... I haven't eaten anything in days and—"

"Fuck off!" I growled, then opened my eyes wide in surprise as I realized just what I did. I sighed as I rummaged through my pockets, my back still aching because of the collision with the ground.

"...Thank you," the beggar said, his rough hands trembling over the penny I tossed his way. "May you be blessed!"

Unable to respond, I went into the first passage I saw and pounded my fist against the wall.

"Damn it..." I growled through clenched teeth.

None of that was meant to happen.