#5 Adult World

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The yakitori restaurant opened at six in the evening. Ten minutes before that, I’d change into my usual work clothes in the back and walk into the shop. “Good evening!” I’d call out in a loud voice, greeting the master. My first task was always to open the towel warmer and replenish the supply if necessary. Then I’d go around each table, checking if the soy sauce bottles or toothpicks were running low, topping them up if needed. After that, I’d grate a whole daikon radish—an unexpectedly strenuous job. This freshly grated radish would serve as a garnish for popular dishes like beef tongue, beef loin, chicken skin with ponzu, and chicken with mushrooms. I’d also peel ginger with a spoon and grate it. As the evening darkened, the red glow from the lantern outside would gradually begin to catch people’s eyes. By the time the preparations were complete, we were ready to welcome customers. Around eight o’clock, the restaurant would start to get busier, the pace picking up as the night wore on. Fridays after payday on the 25th were always particularly hectic, while rainy Mondays before payday were dead quiet. I noticed how my sense of time changed depending on how busy I was. When I was slammed, it felt like the clock was racing ahead, but when there was nothing to do, time crawled by. It was interesting to realize how the same amount of time could feel so different. On busy nights, the work was intense, but at the end of it, I’d receive a special “bonus”—a red envelope with a 1,000-yen bill inside—and the satisfaction was palpable. Even on quiet nights, I found myself looking forward to polishing the restroom mirror.

As I stood inside the restaurant, glancing at the red lantern swaying at the entrance, I watched as customers ducked under the *noren* curtain and stepped into a world that, to my high school self, felt like an entirely different realm. There were car dealers, hairstylists, schoolteachers, beautiful models, college students in clubs, a foreigner who always came in alone to read, an elderly man who would sometimes leave a tip, mothers and daughters, couples with a significant age gap—adults whom I would never encounter in my daily school life. Since the restaurant was located in a quieter area rather than a bustling district, we had a lot of regulars. Watching these people drink and enjoy their meals, I naturally began to observe the dynamics of human relationships. When people were with a partner they liked or close friends, alcohol seemed to amplify their good energy. On the other hand, the drinks shared between a boss scolding their subordinate or colleagues swapping complaints about work seemed to have the opposite effect, magnifying negative energy. Their conversations became more cynical, their behavior more dismissive, and the atmosphere heavy with a dull, oppressive aura.

They say “alcohol reveals a person’s true nature,” and I saw firsthand how drinking brought out emotions that usually stayed hidden. Some people would drink too much and end up throwing up in the restroom, while others would cry or fall asleep at the table. Watching all this, I couldn’t help but wonder why adults would drink to such an extent. At the time, I was dealing with my own teenage struggles, but seeing these supposedly composed adults show such vulnerability made me realize that even when you grow up, the problems don’t just go away. Yet, watching them talk and laugh late into the night, I also thought that maybe becoming an adult wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Once you enter society, everyone works—that’s just the way it is. But I also learned that not everyone gets to do what they love for a living. The people who seemed to enjoy what they did had a lightness about them, a certain joy that showed in their expressions and gestures. Meanwhile, those who didn’t seem to like their jobs often grumbled and carried themselves in a more arrogant, heavy manner, their negative energy palpable. Working part-time at the yakitori restaurant for three years gave me a glimpse into the adult world. By the end of my third year of high school, the master even asked me if I wanted to take over the restaurant. I had worked hard and was well-liked by the master and our customers alike. Of course, I didn’t seriously consider becoming a yakitori master right after graduating high school at eighteen. But I did come to a conclusion: if I’m going to work, I want to do something I enjoy, something that makes others happy. Earning money by working and then using that money to pursue your own dreams and goals—it’s a simple concept, but that’s how you grow and become independent. There’s a kind of learning that can only come from the adult world, a different kind of learning from what you get in school.

#5  大人の世界

焼き鳥屋の開店は午後6時。その10分前に、お店の裏でいつもの格好に着替え、扉を開けてお店に入り「おはようございます！」と大きな声で大将に挨拶。おしぼりウォーマーを開け、少なくなったおしぼりを補充。お醤油や爪楊枝などが減っていないか各席を見て回り、必要があればこちらも補充。続いて大根を丸ごと1本おろす。これが結構な重労働。牛タンや牛ロース、鳥皮ポン酢や鳥しめじなどの、人気メニューに添える薬味となります。あとは生姜の皮をスプーンを使ってむいて、すりおろしたりもしました。外が徐々に暗くなるにつれて、提灯の赤い光が人目を引くようになっていきます。その前に一通りの下準備をしながら、お客さんを迎える準備を整えます。午後8時ごろ、時間が遅くなるにつれ、徐々にお店が賑やかになり、忙しさも増してきます。月末25日の給料日後の金曜日は格別に忙しく、また給料日前の雨の日の月曜日はとても暇でした。時間の感覚を忘れるくらい忙しいと、時計が早く動き、逆に何もやることがないくらい暇だと、時計はほとんど進みません。同じ時間でも過ぎる感覚に違いがあることを実感しました。大繁盛の日は大変でしたが、「大入」という1,000円札が入った赤い袋がもらえ、終わった後は充実感も得られました。しかし、暇なときは暇なときで、あのトイレの鏡を磨く時間が楽しみでした。

店先にぶら下がった赤い提灯を横目に、扉の前にあるのれんをくぐると、そこに広がっているのは高校生の私にとっては異世界。車のディーラー、美容師、学校の先生、キレイなモデル、サークルの大学生、いつも1人で来て本を読んでいる外国人、たまにチップをくれるお爺さん、母と娘、年の離れたカップル。お店には、普段の学校生活では出会うことのない大人たちがいました。繁華街ではなく落ち着いた場所にあるお店だったので、常連さんが多かったです。舌鼓を打ちながら、思い思いにお酒を飲んでいるお客さんたちの様子を仕事をしながら間近で見ていると、自ずと人間関係にも目が向きます。好意を寄せるパートナーや気の知れた仲間と飲めば、お酒は楽しいエネルギーをさらに加速させていることに気づきました。逆に部下が上司から説教されている席や会社の愚痴を言い合っている席など気が重いお酒は、負のエネルギーを助長し、否定的な考えや言動により、負のオーラが漂う虚しいお酒となっているようでした。

「お酒を飲むと本性が出る」と言われるように、お酒を飲むことで普段は見ることのできない、様々な感情が表に現れた大人の姿を目にしました。飲みすぎてトイレで吐いてしまう人もいれば、涙を流したり、寝てしまったりする人たちを見た高校生の私は、大人はなぜそこまでして飲むのかと正直疑問に思いました。その頃は高校生なりの思春期の悩みがありましたが、普段はしっかりした大人のそんな一面を見て、大人になっても悩みが尽きないんだと感じました。そんな中でも夜遅くまで楽しそうに話をしている大人たちの姿を見て、大人になるのも悪くないなとも思いました。

社会に出ると誰もが皆、基本的には働く事になります。残念ながら、全ての人が自分の好きなことを仕事にできている訳ではないこともわかりました。自分の好きなことをしていそうな人は、明るく楽しそうな雰囲気が表情や仕草から感じられ、好きなことをしていなさそうな人は、不平不満や愚痴を言ったり横柄な態度から、どんよりした重たい雰囲気が感じられました。3年間の焼き鳥屋でのアルバイトを通し大人の世界の一部を先取りして知ることができたと思います。高校3年生の終わりの頃には焼き鳥屋にならないかと大将に声をかけてもらえるほど真剣に働き、また大将をはじめお客さんにもとても可愛がってもらいました。流石に高校卒業後18歳で焼き鳥屋になろうとは思いませんでしたが、どうせ働くなら自分が楽しめて人にも喜んでもらえる仕事をしたいと思いました。働くことでお客さんに喜んでもらいお金を稼ぎ、そのお金を使い自分の夢や目標のために使う。シンプルだけれど当たり前のことが、自立や成長につながっているように思います。学業とは違った学びが「大人の世界」にはありました。