Highway to Another Dimension || Skz

Chapter 2: Stir

Back in the employee's lounge, Chan was pacing back and forth, thinking of reasons to explain to his boss that he deserved a much higher position due to his work ethics and experience. He felt that his rightful spot was being given to others. It was also strange that the other workers, who praised him often and told him how proud they were of his kindness and treatment of others, did not seem too excited when he told them that he wanted a higher position. They almost seemed . . . worried.

Not one to be deterred from his goals, Chan assured them that even if he got a higher position, he wouldn't forget them. But they still seemed apprehensive, which made Chan's prospects look drearier and perhaps a bit concerning.

"Hello, you can come in!" said the attendant, and Chan raised a hand in recognition and began walking towards the office room door where he would plainly state that he deserved better. As he was about to place his hand on the door handle, the door opened from within the room and Chan stepped back from the sudden movement.

He glanced inside to see that his boss was nowhere in sight. Only an assistant was in the room, who was surprised to see Chan at the door. Confused, Chan turned to look at the front desk, where the person who told him to go in seemed to have fallen asleep on multiple piles of paper.

He sighed and realized that his boss must have had to "attend" to one of his "personal businesses" and was now unavailable.

"If my boss leaves appointments this frequently and still has his job, then by those standards I should be the owner of this zoo," Chan muttered. The person at the front desk shot up from his sleeping session and turned to look at Chan. He gasped and quickly scrambled out of his seat and rushed to him, his hands clasped near his face.

"I'm so sorry that I fell asleep, I usually don't do that. I was very tired for the past few days and barely had any time to rest," the worker said hurriedly. It was quite evident that his words were true, as his hair was unruly and his eyes were weary and had a glossy look to them. Chan assured him that he wouldn't tell anyone and that taking breaks was helpful for everyone. The worker cheered up, and a bright smile filled his face. He gestured towards his name tag, which read Jovi.

"I've heard a lot about you from other people when we work together," Jovi began, twiddling his thumbs. "A couple of days ago when I was talking with the other keepers in the lounge, they mentioned that you wanted to change your current position to a higher one, which I think you deserve. But I'm confused as to why you need it. I mean, your current place is wonderful, and you did say that you wouldn't be working here for too long, right? Then you should remain in a position that wouldn't affect the zoo much if you leave for a new job," Jovi continued, thinking.

Saying Chan was surprised would be an understatement. Mans was shook He was slightly happy that there were so many people who worried and thought about him, but that also meant that he was important and talked about enough that there may be people who didn't like him. Perhaps some of these people were hindering all of his attempts at going higher in rank.

"Hello?" Jovi asked, interrupting Chan's inner monologue.

"Uh- Yes! I'm here! Sorry, I was thinking about something," Chan replied, nodding slightly. "But I have a question . . . Why are you all so keen on keeping me in this same position?" he asked, slightly narrowing his eyes. "It feels like you are trying to keep me away from something. It's not like there's anything shady about this zoo, is there?" he continued. Chan laughed a bit, except it was more of a grimace than anything.

Jovi continued looking at everything besides Chan's face. Just as Jovi was working up the courage to continue talking, a very disgruntled person rushed through the door and gestured frantically with her hands

"Calli, what's up?" Jovi asked, a bit startled.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to need all of you to go to the Llama exhibit and try to reason with a particular guest that is there," she said, out of breath.

"What do you mean?" Chan questioned. "Aren't there workers that are already dealing with this guest? And is this another case of a complaining parent who wants to get an unrealistically close shot of the animals with their child?"

"No, but I wish it was. Instead, we have this guy who seems to be convinced that one of the llamas was trying to talk to him. And because a keeper told him not to go too close, the Llama is sad according to him. And so that's why he is insisting that he is going to stay with the llama until it cheers up." Calli finished, setting her hand on a shelf. Jovi and Chan were not quite sure how to react to what they just heard. In all the time they had worked at the zoo, they never had to deal with a situation like this.

"Well, this guest doesn't seem to be dangerous or anything," Chan said, scratching his head.

"Let's go and check out what's going on then," Jovi said. He seemed to be trying to get over the conversation he had with Chan earlier and was trying to be ready to tackle the situation with this peculiar guest.

"Great! Let's go and see!" Chan said, already tired of the notion of having to deal with this person.

A/N: first written 2/2/22 10:55 p.m.