Mr. Tada’s bloody fate
Mr. Tada had kept his profile low by hiding behind the apostles, but as we lost them one by one to their martyrdom, he became exposed to the radioactive eyes of the Founder the Great. Some people would take the opportunity to advance themselves, but Mr. Tada had advanced himself thus far via comradeship of ex-automotive company colleagues, without which his pusillanimity would have kept him at the lesser position. Without the protection of the stronger friends, he started to resemble a frightened big herbivore animal. His soft and ample flesh sagged as his shoulders were always hunched. His yellowy face was dry and twisted with a perpetual grimace as if he was amused at his inevitable fate. Then, he was gone.
He came back one week later. In the team meeting, he explained he had been hospitalized for a hemorrhoids operation. We waited in silence to move on to the meeting agendas, but he started chronicling his hemorrhoids operation. He said his anus would often bleed, but sometime before he was hospitalized, it wouldn’t stop bleeding. He detailed the operation, but by then, we all had shut down our attention. He looked pleased with our discomfort, as he spent well over 10 minutes doing so.
After the team meeting, we met with him for an annual performance review one by one. I sat across from him with my laptop as I had prepared to discuss the past year’s performance and goals for the coming year. But again, he used the time to talk about himself and his anus. It had been clear to everyone that he’d be the next goner, and I was glad of it because he wasn’t any better than my previous bad boss. I was full of anger and disdain toward him, so I kept my eyes down at my laptop. The meeting ended without the discussion of my work.
As anticipated, an announcement was made that Mr. Tada would transfer to the accounting team of the fitness club company. He’d work there for several months until he found the next employer, like other transferees had done. But he didn’t do so without a petty retaliation to my rebellious attitude, and I was left with a bare minimum increase in my salary.