Short-timer

Season

01

Episode

03

Air date

April 20, 2018

Episode guide
Previous	Next
A Good, Hard-working Girl	Walking Down the Aisle

Short-timer is the third episode of the Netflix Original series Aggretsuko.

Netflix SynopsisEdit

"Retsuko loses the will to tackle the daily grind after Puko asks her to join a new business venture. A fed up Retsuko talks back to her supervisor."

SummaryEdit

The episode opens with a reporter out in Shibuya, asking people their opinions about their "annoying bosses at work". The reporter coincidentally comes across Retsuko, and asks her information about her work - albeit her face censored and voice in high-pitch while her answers were broadcast on TV. Retsuko eagerly vents out her complaints about Director Ton, mentioning how he always left work on her right before she had to leave, makes fun of her just because she's a woman (though doesn't have an issue with Tsunoda's flirting), and just sweat in his desk while talking about golf. Retsuko finishes her complaints by grabbing the microphone out of the reporter's hand and...

"I hope your ears are burning!

You lazy male chauvinist!

Waste of flesh!"

After her encounter with the reporter, Retsuko is working at the office as she happily fantasizes over the proposed imported goods store Puko offered her to join the night before, and unintentionally attracting Kabae's attention, who begins to interrogate her as to why she's so happy. Retsuko, aware that Kabae is known for quickly spreading rumors, decides she can't take the risk to have her find out she plans on getting a new job and tells her she was only happy that she was finally able to go the bathroom after five days of being constipated. Her explanation convinces Kabae, who lets her go.

Retsuko recovers from the close call in the women's bathroom, where she encounters Fenneko. To Retsuko's annoyance, the "bathroom issue" had already started spreading, as Fenneko comments it to her. Fenneko also mentions that she saw her "annoying bosses" interview on TV, despite her face being blurred. Retsuko tries to deflect but denying she did it and tell her she hadn't been to Shibuya, only to not convince Fenneko - who didn't mention Shibuya at all. Retsuko realizes she has had another close call, and acknowledges that she has to play cool and prevent trash-talking Ton while she still works at the office.

Later that day, Haida rushes into Retsuko's working space in a frenzy. Haida frantically asks her if it was true that she "had a baby yesterday morning". Retsuko, confused, dismisses the rumor - asking him if she actually looked pregnant in the first place - much to Fenneko's amusement. Retsuko tells him she did go through "something rough" that morning, but nothing as rough as a delivery. Haida is left relieved, but then asks her what her actual problem was.

Retsuko is saved of having to answer that question, but not quite relieved, when supervisor Tsubone asks to have a word with her. Tsubone heavily reprimands Retsuko for several mistakes in one of her accounting ledgers, accusing her of only coming to work to have fun. Retsuko - in her mind - admits that she shouldn't have made those mistakes, but knows that the work Tsubone dumped on her wasn't supposed to be her's to begin with. Retsuko - fed up with putting up with Tsubone - talks back to her, telling her that she should've just done the ledger herself. Tsubone takes a heavy blow from Retsuko's response, and recoils.

That night, Retsuko is walking towards her karaoke room - happy that she's not holding back and gave Tsubone a piece of her mind - and begins to sing...

"I am triumphant!

Hahahahahahaha!"

Afterwards, Retsuko is having dinner with Puko at a restaurant, with Puko complimenting Retsuko for confronting someone above her at work despite their status. Retsuko happily seizes the chance to ask Puko about the imports shop she had mentioned before. Nevertheless, Puko admits that there was going to be no imports shop, saying she couldn't afford paying the rent for a store right off the bat and is making internet sales, saying that they could have the shop in a couple of years. However, even if the shop would become a thing, Puko tells her that she wouldn't get too high of a pay until the business starts rolling - which would force Retsuko to move back in with her parents as she wouldn't be able to pay her monthly apartment rent. Retsuko - her dreams of leaving her job crushed - is dismayed.

The next morning, Retsuko glumly walks through the office hallway when she encounters a frantic Tsunoda asing her if it was "true she's quitting her job right away". Retsuko is left frozen in shock, and races to the office when Tsunoda tells her she got the information from Kabae.

Retsuko asks her why she spilled such information, but Kabae tells her that she wouldn't spread a rumor that would put her in such a bad position like that. Instead, she got the information from Komiya and only told Tsunoda (mistaking her as a close friend of Retsuko's). Shortly after, Komiya comes to Retsuko, telling her Ton would like to have a word with her.

Retsuko meets with Ton, who's calculating how much money the company has invested in her "education" with an abacus.

...Retsuko flashbacks to the night before, telling Puko she couldn't work at her dream shop. Puko is hardly bothered, and compliments her for being the "responsible" type that keeps the economy going and leaves the rest able to hit the "snooze" button. Retsuko, content, tells her she'll pay for their drinks - and the two happily laugh...

Ton finishes calculating the money - and him and Komiya show Retsuko her browsing history and cache full of searches complaining about her poor work atmosphere, browsed within office. Ton realizes Retsuko had been planning to quit and confronts her about it. Ton tells her that that as of that day, he'd be calling her "calendar", because "her days were numbered".

Retsuko, silent, knows that she's in trouble...