Mr Sato narrowed his eyes and nodded. He opened the glass door and gestured for Shoji to enter.

Shoji sat idly on the sofa for the rest of the day, getting up only when he needed to use the staff bathroom, conveniently located near the door. Back in college, he’d been told more than once that he was a patient person, but even so, waiting the whole day took a toll on him.

He looked at the clock on the wall and watched the hands move. Time flowed much, much more slowly than usual. It was frustrating. He was almost convinced the second hand stopped every few milliseconds.

If this continued, he wouldn’t last three days.

•

Five days later, Shoji was sitting on the same leather sofa. He’d memorised every detail of the room. From how many cushions there were (sixteen) to the number of roses on the wallpaper (two hundred and forty-eight), he knew it all by heart. He’d stared at that darkened glass longer than anything he’d ever looked at in his life.

The people in the waiting room did not interact with each other. Even when Yoko was there, she wouldn’t talk to Shoji.

The air was heavy. Each time Shoji entered the room, he became depressed. It felt so hard to breathe after a few hours had passed. When that happened, he got up and went to the bathroom. Splashing cold water on his face eased the discomfort a little.

Turning off the tap now, Shoji took a deep breath. Today was the last working day of the week. If he still hadn’t had any clients by the end of the day, he would have to return to Tokyo. He sighed and opened the door.

In the corridor on his way back to the waiting room, he wasn’t looking where he was going and bumped into a woman.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said before Shoji had the chance to apologise.

He gazed at her. The woman had a slender build. She wore a hat that hid her face. Her voice was clear and pleasant, and her deep-blue dress was elegant. An actress? That was the first thing that came to mind.

‘No, it’s my fault.’ Shoji bowed to the woman. ‘My apologies.’

She didn’t say anything as he excused himself and returned to the waiting room. Yoko was in there too. Knowing she wouldn’t talk to him, Shoji deliberately sat some distance away from her. Unlike him, she seemed to be one of the more popular listeners, with at least one client each day. For once, he was a little jealous.

The door opened and Madam came in.

‘Mr Arai,’ she called. ‘Can you come with me?’

Shoji got up and followed her out. The rest of the people in the room eyed him with curiosity, perhaps because Mr Sato was usually the one who came to get them. But Shoji wasn’t surprised. He knew she was about to tell him he’d failed the trial.

‘A client has asked for you,’ Madam said when they got into the corridor.