Chapter 79: Looking for Work as a Man in a Woman-Dominated World.
Noah spent the morning checking job listings on his phone, since after his disastrous first stream he had accepted that he needed a computer, a better microphone, and a stable connection.
The problem was money.
He had calculated how much he needed to save, and the amount was still far too high.
He couldn’t ask his mothers or Yume, Luna, or Iris, so the only reasonable option was to get a job.
Noah opened a job site and typed into the search bar.
[Jobs for men.]
The results appeared at once.
There were fewer listings than he expected, but still enough to keep him scrolling for several hours.
The first one was for working at a café.
[MALE WAITER WANTED, COMPETITIVE PAY, FLEXIBLE HOURS, IN-PERSON INTERVIEW.]
Noah opened the listing.
The location was in a remote part of Star City, and there were no photos of the place or even the company name, just an address and a contact number.
’That’s weird.’
He saved it to check later and kept scrolling.
The second listing was for a receptionist position at a clinic.
The third offered work at a clothing store.
The fourth was looking for male assistants for private events.
Almost all of them asked for the same things.
Show up in person, come alone, and don’t bring anyone with you.
Noah started to feel uneasy.
He opened one of the listings.
[CONFIDENTIAL INTERVIEW AND, DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE POSITION, DISCRETION IS REQUIRED.]
Noah closed the page.
"That doesn’t sound good at all."
He searched for reviews of the company but found none, so he typed the contact number into the search bar. The first result was a news article.
Noah opened the link.
[YOUNG MAN DISAPPEARS AFTER ATTENDING A JOB INTERVIEW.]
He read the entire article.
The victim was a nineteen-year-old man who had answered an ad for an administrative assistant. The supposed interview took place in an office rented by the hour.
When he arrived, several women held him down.
Afterward they moved him to another city and sold him to a group of single women looking for a husband.
The police found him three weeks later.
Noah stayed completely still and went back to the listing.
The address was different, but the contact number matched one mentioned in the investigation.
"I’m definitely not going there."
He searched for more information and other news stories appeared.
[FAKE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY USED INTERVIEWS TO KIDNAP MEN.]
[WORKER RESCUED AFTER BEING FORCED TO SIGN A MARRIAGE CONTRACT.]
[WOMEN PAID FEES TO MEET CAPTURED YOUNG MEN.]
Noah felt like every article was worse than the last.
In one case the kidnappers promised jobs overseas, while in another they offered very high salaries for simple work, but when the men arrived for the interview their phones were taken and they were locked up.
’Maybe I should look for jobs that have a known location.’
Noah changed his search terms.
[SAFE jobs for men.]
Several guides appeared.
Some recommended verifying the company’s registration, others advised going with a female relative, and they also suggested always sharing your location, avoiding nighttime interviews, and not accepting any drinks during the meeting.
Noah felt like he was reading survival instructions.
He kept searching.
He found an article about a man who had worked in an office and quit after constant harassment from his female coworkers.
The piece mentioned comments about his body, attempts to touch him, persistent invitations, and photos taken without permission. Some coworkers had even walked into the men’s locker room using excuses, but the company only stepped in when the worker’s family filed a formal complaint.
Noah opened the comments. Many users seemed concerned, but others wrote things that made him uncomfortable.
[Why is he working in an office FULL OF WOMEN?]
[If he knew he was THE ONLY MAN, he should have been more careful.]
[Men shouldn’t go to places like that alone.]
[HE COULD HAVE JUST STAYED HOME.]
Noah frowned.
"They’re blaming him!?"
He kept reading. Another comment said.
[His family should have gone with him.]
One more.
[Young men don’t understand the danger and then these things happen.]
Noah closed the article and opened another.
[BOSS FORCES EMPLOYEE TO ACCEPT MARRIAGE PROPOSAL TO KEEP HIS JOB.]
The worker had turned down several invitations from his superior, but after that he started receiving negative evaluations, schedule changes, and threats of being fired.
The woman finally told him everything would stop if he agreed to marry her, but the man recorded the conversation and filed a complaint.
Noah checked the comments.
[He shouldn’t have taken a job under a single woman.]
[Why didn’t he look for a work-from-home job?]
[HIS PLACE WAS TAKING CARE OF HIS KIDS.]
[Men want independence and then complain when something goes wrong.]
Noah set the phone down on the desk.
"This is ridiculous."
He thought about his own situation.
He didn’t have kids and wasn’t married, yet plenty of people still seemed to believe men should stay home to avoid putting themselves in danger.
Noah picked the phone back up and searched for experiences from male workers.
He found entire forums dedicated to the topic. Some users talked about normal jobs where they never had problems, others recommended only working at family businesses, and several said they always brought someone with them to interviews.
There were also men who described how their female coworkers started spreading romantic rumors after a polite greeting.
Noah remembered his first stream.
Several viewers had tried to figure out where he lived after watching him for less than an hour.
’Maybe working in person isn’t that simple.’
He thought about streaming from home.
That had risks too, his family could interrupt him, viewers could dig up information about him, and without a computer he couldn’t even start properly.
To buy a computer he needed money, and to get money he needed a job.
Noah rested his forehead against the desk.
"I’m stuck."
He spent several more minutes checking listings.
Every time he found one that looked interesting, he searched for news about the company. In several cases complaints turned up; in others there wasn’t enough information.
The listings that seemed safest required work experience, your own equipment, or full availability.
Noah closed every tab.
He needed to stop thinking about kidnappings, forced marriages, and harassing bosses.
He stood up and walked over to the window.
The weather was nice, so he could go out to clear his head, but then he remembered the news.
Fake interviews, women following men, kidnappings.
Noah looked down at the street.
’Maybe I shouldn’t go out alone.’
The thought annoyed him.
Until now he had moved around Star City plenty of times without serious trouble, but he had also been kidnapped twice by Nozomi, and that didn’t exactly help him feel safe.
Noah left his room and walked down the hall.
Ava’s door was open. She was sitting in front of a mirror, fixing her hair while checking her phone.
Noah knocked on the frame.
"Ava."
She turned.
"What’s up?"
"I’m going out for a bit."
Ava narrowed her eyes.
"With who?"
"With no one."
Ava’s expression changed.
"You’re going out alone?"
"That was the plan."
"Where?"
"Downtown."
Ava set the comb on the table.
"What for?"
"I just want to walk around."
Noah hesitated. It felt strange asking her for help after trying to gain more independence, but the articles he had read were still on his mind.
"C-Can you come with me?"
Ava froze. Noah waited for an answer.
"Me?"
she asked.
"Yeah."
"You want to go out with me?"
"That’s what I just said."
Ava’s eyes widened a little.
’He’s inviting me...’
Her heart started beating harder.
’He came straight to me...’
Noah continued.
"I just want to clear my head, and I don’t feel all that safe going out alone."
Ava heard the second part, but her mind had already gone in another direction.
’He trusts me!’
She stood up quickly.
"Of course!"
"Can you be ready soon?"
"Yes."
"Perfect."
Noah went back to his room to grab his wallet while Ava closed the door and looked at her closet.
’This is the first time he’s the one suggesting we go out.’
She started pulling out clothes.
The first outfit looked too plain, the second seemed too formal, and the third was cute, but she wasn’t sure if Noah would notice.
Ava spent several minutes changing.
She fixed her hair, put on a little makeup, chose understated accessories, and when she was done she studied herself in the mirror.
’I shouldn’t overdo it.’
She changed her shoes again.
Noah waited in the living room. After almost half an hour Ava came down the stairs.
He looked at her.
"You got really dressed up."
Ava felt her face heat up.
"I just picked something comfortable."
Noah looked at her clothes. It didn’t look like the kind of outfit she would wear for a spur-of-the-moment walk.
"It looks good on you."
Ava smiled.
"Thanks."
’He noticed.’
They left the house, and Ava took Noah’s arm almost right away.
He looked at her.
"What are you doing?"
"I’m walking with you."
"You can walk next to me."
"It’s safer this way."
Noah remembered the news articles and didn’t argue further, but Ava interpreted his silence differently.
’He doesn’t mind!’
They walked to the station and took the train toward downtown.