nebulancer

☆He's Thirty☆

Takaaki: Welcome!

Shiki: To your thirties!!

Rei: What’s your goal?

Shiki: Your forties!!

Shu: Roa...

Everyone: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Roa: Thanks for the weird birthday chant. (laughing)

I’ve finally hit my thirties, too!!!

＊＊＊＊

Takaaki: But man... Roa’s... THAT Roa is in his thirties now...

Shiki: A lot to think about.

Roa: Our former leader said the exact same thing. (laughing)

Shu: Ah, he sent you a message?

Roa: Mmhmm. He sent a video~.

It made me happy, you know? It made me happy, but... the seniors must always see me as the bawling sobbing mess you all know as Roa-kun... (staring off into the distance)

Shiki: Heh... Give up on trying to act mature. Big brother figures will always try and act like your big brothers.

Roa: Ah! He also said that if I met you, I should say, “Congrats on hitting 33! Grandpa! Take care of your lower back!!!”

Shiki: It’s not time yet 💢

Shu: More like, fewer than two weeks away. (laughs)

...That being said, if we’re talking about our leader, he’s also the same age as Shiki.

※Their leader was born in April 1991

Takaaki: The big brothers don’t act like proper adults, after all. (laughing)

Rei: Exactly. Because the star of today’s show...

Roa: Is MEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Everyone: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Rei: Fufu.

Roa: But, man... I’m thirty years old...

Takaaki: Despite all the buildup that makes you go, “It’s coming~ It’s coming~”, when you actually turn thirty, you just go, “...Yeah. ...Yeah?” Doesn’t it feel like that? (laughs)

That was the case with me.

Rei: I think it was the same with me. Instead of me changing, it feels like the gazes of people around me have changed. That’s the bigger change, in my opinion.

Roa: Hoho, I see.

Shu: ...That’s how things go?

Rei: Yeah. I think you could put it this way. The way you see your work when you’re 29 is different from how you see your work when you’re 30.

Takaaki: I get it! That happens! Also, when people bring up the topic of age, they start saying, “You’re at the age when...” something-or-other starts taking place.

And then the topic typically shifts to, “What’ll happen from now on...”

It’s that getting a year older doesn’t particularly mean your body and heart will grow in leaps and bounds. But what people want from you is clearly different.

Rei: I agree. Your actions, the way you think, your mannerisms.

They’ll likely desire you to behave in a way that befits your age.

Roa: The way... my surroundings see me... huh...?

Shu: What about you, Shiki? Did you feel any changes with age?

Shiki: ...

Everyone: ...

Shiki: ...

Everyone: ...

Shiki: Not particularly so, no.

Shu: Never mind, I asked the wrong person. (I forgot he wasn’t the type of person to care how others perceive him)

Roa: Exactly so, Shu. (That’s the kinda guy Shiki is.)

Shiki: I get the feeling a certain someone or something is mocking meee~?

Rei: Fufu. They’re complimenting you. (Honestly, I’m envious of that.)

Roa: Actions, thoughts, and mannerisms, huh?

These days, I haven’t just been thinking of the success in my own job when I’m in the workplace. I’ve started thinking about the staff members and everyone else, too.

Takaaki: Mmhmm?

Roa: It’s important for me to go, “I did this! I’m incredible!” but instead of sticking there, I should aim for more. I’m taking more steps, like...

“It’d be easier to do things if I did them this way?” “Would it be smoother if I did it like this?” I think it’s cool if I got to think of others while I was working.

......Rei-san’s always been that type of person, so I’ve admired him for a long time now.

But I won’t let it just end at admiration. Instead of giving up and saying it’s my “type of thing to do,” or “it’s not my type of thing to do,” I think it’s important to just put in good effort so I can do whatever I put my mind to. ...Y’know?

Rei: Roa...

Shiki: HIGHBAAAAAAAAAALL!!!

Takaaki: What’s with that cheer? (laughing)

＊＊＊＊

Roa: The only one from our former unit who’s still in his twenties is Shu, though~

Shu: I’ll also be 30 when my birthday comes. At this rate, I get the urge to get reach you all as soon as possible.

Roa: Come over already~♪

Rei: Fufu.

Takaaki: We’ll be waiting~...... Huh, what’s up, Shiki?

Shiki: Shu’s... going to be thirty... ...My heart.

Takaaki: What’s with you all of a sudden? (laughing)

Roa: Think of me on the same level as Shu, would you? (laughing)