The next morning, Kenji and Shinju were already taking interviews inside the old lab.
By then the place no longer looked abandoned. The floor had been swept, the front desk had been arranged, two tables had been cleared for work, and the room finally looked more like a small office than a dead repair shop.
Kenji sat behind a desk while Shinju stood to one side with a file in her hands.
The first candidate lasted less than five minutes.
"Can you manage records, calls, invoices, and delivery notes?" Kenji asked.
The man scratched his neck and said, "I can learn, but I mostly worked door security."
Shinju asked two more questions and quietly marked him out.
The second candidate was Sera Nalin.
She had worked at a small parts counter before the shop shut down. Her answers were short, neat, and practical.
"If this office is still being built," she asked, looking around the room once, "do you want someone who waits for orders, or someone who starts arranging things before being told?"
Kenji looked up properly for the first time.
"The second kind," he said.
"Good," Sera replied. "Then I can do it."
That answer stayed with him.
The third candidate was Davin Merek, thin, restless, and far too alert to be lazy. He had sold cheap appliances, repair plans, and service packages before losing his last job.
"Can you speak to clients who don't trust you?" Shinju asked.
Davin gave a quick smile. "If they already trust me, I don't need sales."
Kenji almost smiled at that.
The fourth candidate talked well but asked about fixed raises before asking what the company even did. By the time he left, Kenji had already decided.
When the door shut behind him, Shinju looked at Kenji and said, "Sera for administrative operations. Davin for sales."
"Same thought," Kenji said.
They called both back immediately.
Sera returned first, composed but cautious. Davin came behind her, trying and failing to hide his nerves.
Kenji stood. "We're selecting both of you."
Then Davin blinked. "Today?"
"Now," Shinju said. "If you're joining, you're joining now."
Sera's eyes moved over the office again. Relief showed there before she hid it.
They had both been without stable work for too long. Even this modest office looked like a real chance. After weeks of being turned away elsewhere, that was enough.
Kenji showed them the place. "This front room handles calls, files, and meetings. The back tables are for sorting samples and preparing presentations. We're at Unit 14, Old Switch Lane, Lower Works District. Memorize it."
Sera repeated the address under her breath. Davin nodded.
Then the work was divided.
"You handle call logs, appointment records, receipts, and whatever basic office order we still need to build here," Shinju told Sera. "Also, no document leaves this room without being copied first."
Sera nodded.
Kenji turned to Davin. "You come with me for meetings, listen more than you talk, and speak only if you can add something useful."
Davin's throat moved. "Understood."
Then Shinju checked her file. "I've only spoken to three places so far. Two meetings are set for today. The first is with LumenVista Display Branch. They're new here, but their main company is overseas. If anyone might listen, it could be them."
Shinju closed the file. "I'll stay here. I still have legal calls to make, and Sera needs the first records arranged. You take Davin."
Sera nodded. "I'll handle the office side."
That alone mattered to Kenji more than he wanted to admit after the morning had started slipping away.
Kenji looked at both of them, then gave a short nod. "Fine. Davin, you're with me."
An hour later they were inside LumenVista's building.
The place was much larger than their own office and polished enough to make Unit 14 feel poorer by comparison. A receptionist took their names, checked a list, and asked them to wait in a glass meeting room.
Kenji kept his file on his lap and tried not to show how tight his hands had become.
'Don't stumble. Not on the first real pitch.' Kenji thought.
After several minutes, a broad-shouldered procurement executive entered. His name was Arven Holt, and he sat down with the calm expression of a man who already expected to say no.
"You have ten minutes," Arven said.
Kenji began anyway.
He explained their company, their planned supply model, and their intention to build a reliable chip route for growing manufacturers. But halfway through, hesitation crept into his voice. This was his first real room, and he could feel the rejection waiting.
Davin noticed.
So when Kenji paused to turn a page, Davin leaned forward slightly and said, "What we're offering is not size yet. It's attention. A smaller supplier reacts faster, adjusts faster, and values your volume more."
Arven listened, but his face did not change.
When they finished, he folded his hands and said, "I'll answer plainly. I agreed to this meeting because a personal acquaintance asked me to hear you out. But our parent company already supplies our chips. There is no reason for me to create a second line through you."
He stood as he said it.
That was the end.
By the time they were back on public transport, Kenji felt the rejection sitting in his chest. Davin tried to lighten it, but Kenji barely answered.
When they returned to Unit 14, Shinju was already at the desk with papers spread out while Sera had arranged the front side of the office properly.
"Rejected?" she asked.
Kenji gave one short nod.
"Then learn from it," Shinju said. "One refusal is not a verdict."
Sera added quietly, "At least you reached the room."
That steadied him a little.
Kenji went over the pitch again, adjusted two pages, and made Davin repeat the stronger parts back to him. By the time he finally picked up the next file, his face had hardened.
Then only Kenji and Davin stepped out for the second meeting.