His coworkers were in full swing discussing "the perfect pairing of Restore Materia and All Materia," while he stood off to the side like an alien who couldn't understand a foreign language, unable to get a single word in.
In the end, he could only silently pinch out his cigarette butt and slink away in disgrace.
That sense of isolation, of being mercilessly abandoned by the times, that suffocating feeling of not fitting in, made him feel even more uncomfortable and restless than having no game to play.
Together with the uniform perfect scores from every major gaming outlet over the past few days and the flood of praise that blanketed everything, the last defensive line in his heart called "stubbornness" was finally shattered completely.
Suzuki took a deep breath, strode up to the counter, pulled a thick stack of Yukichi Fukuzawas from his wallet, and slapped it heavily onto the glass tabletop.
"Give me one Jupiter console. And a copy of Final Fantasy VII."
The shop owner looked at the money on the table, then raised his head and gave Suzuki a strange look.
"I remember you shooting your mouth off here last month, saying you'd rather die than buy a 3D console, saying 3D was heresy?"
"Cut the crap. Do you have stock or not?" Suzuki's old face reddened, but he forced himself to stay calm as he urged him on.
"We do. Lucky you—a new batch of restocks just came in yesterday." The shop owner laughed as he turned and headed to the storeroom to move boxes, teasing him as he walked. "I've seen too many of your type these past few days. You shout that you'll absolutely never buy one, and in the end, don't you all obediently take out your money one by one?"
United