Chapter Text
… And for my very special granddaughter:
I want you to have this sealed envelope.
No, no, don’t open it yet… Have patience.
Now, listen close…
There will come a day when you feel crushed by the burden of modern life…
And your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness,
When that happens, my dear, you’ll be ready for this gift.
Now, let grandpa rest.
“Hana.”
Hana opened her eyes, her eyes narrowing at the eerie glow from the fluorescent lights in the garishly lit room. She was sitting in her cubicle at the JojaCorp building, and had closed her eyes for a second because staring at the computer screen for too long was making her head pound painfully. However, she must have dozed off because her supervisor was standing in her cubicle, arms crossed, blocking the entrance of her very small office area, making the enclosed space seem more claustrophobic than normal. Hana quickly straightened up, smoothing out her white button-down and resisting the urge to rub her eyes sleepily.
“Yes?” She answered, as brightly as she could, swiveling her chair so she was sitting face-to-face to her supervisor, Paul. The dreary man pursed his lips at her.
“I need you to turn in all your receipts to Accounting before the end of the day.” Paul’s voice was flat, a dull monotone. Hana tilted her head at him, thinking it was strange for her to turn in her receipts already, seeing as it was only the middle of the month. She, however, kept her thoughts to herself as she nodded her head vigorously at Paul.
“You got it!” Hana chirped obediently at the man. She brushed her soft pink hair out of her face out of habit, forgetting it was tied tightly in an uncomfortable bun, and gave the austere man in front of her her best customer-service smile. The stony-faced man, however, seemed unmoved, his eyes looking disdainfully at Hana’s oddly-colored hair as he turned and left her cubicle without another word. I fucking hate this place. Hana self-consciously tucked a few loose strands behind her ear, wishing for the umpteenth time that JojaCorp allowed hats in their office dress code. They didn’t, so the only thing Hana could do was tie her hair tightly in a bun, in a pathetic attempt to draw less attention to her pink locks.
There was nothing she could do about her hair, however much the color displeased the higher-ups at JojaCorp. It had always been this color pink, ever since she could remember. It was odd, because as a child, she saw pictures of her with her natural black hair, and then, one day, she had woken up and her hair was suddenly this wonderful, light cotton-candy pink. Her parents had been at a loss, and no matter how many times they had tried to dye it back, the color stuck stubbornly, causing Hana to be stared and pointed at her entire life. The only thing she could remember was that she had been living at her grandpa’s house when her hair had suddenly turned pink overnight.
Hana leaned back in her chair, her eyes back on the ugly speckled ceiling. It had been a while since she had dreamt of her grandpa. Her mysterious, peaceful grandpa. Hana ran her hand through her hair once more, a thoughtful look appearing on her face. It had been years since she had even seen her grandpa, something ugly had happened between her parents and him when she was a child, and her grandpa had become estranged from her family. Even hearing of the news of her grandpa’s death a couple years ago, her father had instructed her not to go to the funeral. Hana, being confused and scared, had obediently heeded her father’s words. But the whole thing never sat right with her.
And now, the only thing she had left of her grandpa was this sealed envelope he had left for her, with only the single instruction of opening it when she was ready. But what did that mean? Hana looked at her lower desk drawer, where she had carefully placed the letter for safekeeping. Would there ever be a time where she would feel ready? The dream she had of her grandfather felt like a sign, but something in her heart was stopping her. No, not yet. The voice seemed to tell her. It’s not time yet.
“Hana!” Another voice interrupted her thoughts as Hana looked up once more, startled. To her immense displeasure, she saw Ashley standing in her cubicle this time. Hana gave the girl a look.
Ashley had started working at JojaCorp around the same time as Hana did and it seemed like wherever Hana was lacking, Ashley had always been right there to remind her of her many faults. Ashley was an excellent foil to Hana. Where Hana was indifferent, Ashley was ambitious. Hana was disorganized, Ashley was meticulous. The only thing the two women had in common with each other was the fact that they were both completely frustrated with the oppressive system of JojaCorp. Hana chose to bury her frustration deep inside, deciding to leave her anger behind at work so as to keep her personal and work life absolutely separate from one another. Ashley, on the other hand, did the opposite. Ashley was the type to micromanage her colleagues’ work and behavior in order to vent her personal frustrations out. And, lucky her, Hana was normally the only one available to deal with Ashley’s many grievances.
“I was turning in my service report and couldn’t help but notice yours as I was stapling mine together!” Ashley’s voice was sickly-sweet, her thin lips pursed in an unconvincing smile. “I thought we were supposed to write at least 500 words detailing every customer service complaint?” The girl actually had Hana’s report in her hand, holding it up in Hana’s face as if she was sentencing Hana to jail.
Hana gave Ashley a withering look. “My report is 500 words,” she responded stiffly, her voice straining already from trying to sound polite. Ashley had been ready for this answer, already shaking her head no vigorously before Hana had finished her short sentence.
“Actually, I took the time to double check. It’s only 497 words long,” Ashley even had the nerve to make her voice sound sympathetic, as if it was killing the poor girl to bring up this matter in the first place, even though Hana knew very well that Ashley was secretly enjoying this. Did she really go and count every word in my report? That was a stupid question. Hana already knew the answer.
“Doesn’t my name and date count towards the final word count?” Hana asked, raising her eyebrows. Ashley was already shaking her head even before Hana finished asking her question.
“Actually, I checked with Paul, and he said that your name actually doesn’t count towards the final word count in the full report.” Ashley’s eyes were animated, her face scrunched in fake-concern towards her colleague. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that was something we went over in the monthly traffic meeting earlier this month, don’t you remember?”
“Not really,” Hana answered truthfully, resisting the urge to turn away from Ashley, who reminded Hana of those girls in school who were always reminding the teacher about checking the assigned homework every day, even when nobody had remembered to do the work. Hana looked down at her hands, trying to remain calm. She knew that Ashley meant no harm. In fact, Ashley was one of the only employees on this floor, maybe this entire building, that actually cared about her job, God bless her. Hana knew that when Ashley had been passed over for the supervisor promotion a year ago, it had crushed the poor girl. Only for the position to be given to Paul, who had only been working there for six months at that point and was the new-hire that Ashley had personally trained. That betrayal would have made anybody quit, hell, it would have been enough to make Hana quit on the spot. But not Ashley, who seemed determined to keep trying to work her way to the top, even though she and everyone around her knew that it was futile. Hana knew that was why Ashley acted the way she did, and not to take anything she said personally.
However, the girl was making it really fucking hard not to get annoyed with her.
“Also, didn’t Paul mention that you needed to dye your hair back to its natural color?” Ashley went on, ignoring Hana’s silent fury as she stared judgmentally at Hana’s thick, pastel-pink locks.
“This is my natural hair color.” Hana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Three years she had been working at JojaCorp, and in those three years, it felt as if almost all her time had been wasted on arguing back and forth with morons over what Hana’s natural hair color really was.
“No, it’s not, don’t be so silly, Hana.” Now, Ashley was smiling Hana, as if she really believed that Hana was delusional and being quirky as always. Hana glared at Ashley, not even bothering trying to conceal her irritation. Is this going to be the rest of my life? Hana couldn’t help but wonder, as she tuned Ashley’s lecture out. Is this really how Hana pictured her career going? Stuck in some cubicle and doing mindless work, for forty hours a week, just to go home and sleep and mope around until she had to go back to work? Hana closed her eyes, trying to think past the static noise in her brain. She used to be so ambitious, had dreams of being a CEO at a Fortune 500 company, of traveling the world, of living life to very fullest. And now, here she was, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, in a depressing box, listening to an equally depressed coworker taking out her frustrations on her. Hana felt like crying a little. She used to be so happy, genuinely excited to wake up in the mornings because every day was a new adventure. Now, she couldn’t stop sleeping, hitting snooze on her alarm until she was sure to be 5 minutes late for work. What happened to her?Hana opened her eyes, a miserable look forming on her face. As she did, however, she heard her grandpa’s words echo in her mind suddenly.
There will come a day when you feel crushed by the burden of modern life and your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness.
Hana looked down, surprised by the sudden thought. Why was she suddenly remembering what her grandpa told her, today of all days? She found her eye wandering towards that desk drawer. But as she felt herself reaching out to open the drawer, something stopped her. Was it really the right time to read the letter? Hana looked around her cubicle. Yes, this was definitely a soul-sucking place but was she really crushed and empty? Maybe she was just being hasty.
But another voice echoed in her mind. If not now, then when? The voice seemed to challenge her. If you’re waiting for the right moment, you’ll be waiting forever. The voice repeated one more time, a little more firmer this time: If not now, then when? Something inside Hana seemed to snap and she saw her hand open the drawer, her fingers eagerly grabbing the letter and breaking the seal.
Ashley’s voice continued nagging, but Hana barely heard her as she read the letter greedily, her eyes widening in shock at what her grandpa had written her.
“… and another thing, you really need to be careful about your outside appearance, didn’t we talk about your nail polish and how it needs to be- are you even listening to me, Hana?” Ashley’s voice suddenly cut back in focus as Hana looked up, blinking rapidly as if she were disoriented.
“What?” Hana asked, blankly. Ashley let out a sharp breath out of her nose, her lips curling as her fake-smile was finally disrupted.
“I don’t understand your disrespectful attitude at all!” Ashley told Hana, her arms on her waist. “I mean, do you even care about this job at all?” Her coworker’s voice sounded exasperated, but Hana barely heard her, her heartbeat pounding loudly in her ears.
“No.”
“Excuse me?” Ashley, for once, was at a loss for words. Hana looked her coworker in the eyes, a small smile forming on her face.
“No, I don’t care,” Hana answered her coworker honestly. She stood up calmly and in one swift motion, reached up to untie her hair out of the restricting bun, letting her loose, pink curls fall everywhere. Still looking at Ashley in the eye, Hana kept smiling. “I quit.”
“What?!” Ashley’s mouth dropped open and Hana felt like she could have stood there forever, relishing the sight of a silent Ashley for the first time in three years. But, Hana knew time was running out. She had a lot of work to do. Quickly, Hana grabbed her bag and began walking out of her tiny cubicle. Ashley, however, stopped her, grabbing her arm as she passed by her.
“Wait, this is crazy,” Ashley hurriedly said, her face turning pale. “I’m sorry about nit-picking on your report, 497 words is perfectly fine so plea-.” But Hana shook her head, easily interrupting Ashley’s babbling.
“I quit, Ashley.” Hana’s voice was firm, but kind. She gave Ashley a gentle pat on her cheek. “Good luck, okay? I hope you get what you’ve always wanted. I mean it.” I really do, Ashley.
And without a single glance back, Hana finally walked out of her suffocating cubicle for good, her grandpa’s letter still clutched in her hand, his messy scrawl visible to anybody walking by:
Dear Hana,
If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of change.
The same thing happened to me, long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So, I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong.
I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: The Han Farm. It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life.
This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name, my dear. Good lucky.
Love, Grandpa.
P.S. If Lewis is still alive, say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?
P.P.S. If you want adventure, go to the mountain cave. Marlon needs your help.
Who the fuck is Marlon? Hana wondered, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that Hana could barely keep a cactus alive in her apartment. It didn’t matter that Hana had no idea how to run a farm. It didn’t even matter that Hana still had a few more months until the lease on her apartment was up. The only thing that mattered was that Hana had finally had enough. Because all that mattered was that she was finally on her own way out. Onward to Stardew Valley, wherever the fuck that place was, Hana didn’t care. She had enough of stifling city life and obsessive office culture. She had always yearned for adventure, she wanted something… more. She wasn’t sure what, but she knew that she just imagined more than this sad life that she had. And, after all those years of aimlessly wandering around, Hana was finally on her own path. Took her long enough, right?
And Hana knew the first thing she was going to do when she got to her Grandpa’s farm was to explore that mountain cave.