“Huh? Are you looking for work too?” — Job-seeking girl

At this point, I can only assume that Yu walks to school each day expecting to hear something cool. Either Yosuke flags him down for an early morning guilt trip, or some Unnamed Students wax poetic about the systems of Persona 4.

Part-time jobs! Remember how the gas station attendant talked about part-time jobs? You can’t get a job at the gas station, though. She lied about that.

On 4/23, Yu was irritable. He wasn’t in the mood to go into the TV. He still has time! And maybe that’s selfish. But Yu was feeling selfish. A last-ditch plea for guidance was firmly rejected in yesterday’s Shrine Incident, and he wasn’t terribly excited to risk his life in a world that didn’t care about him.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I have something I really need to do, I look for distractions. Here was a distraction that landed in Yu’s lap. Part. Time. Jobs.

Immediately after school gets out, Yu runs over to the shopping district to check the board. He’s feeling pretty confident. He saved Yosuke! He saved Chie! He… is going to save Yukiko! Kou totally has a crush on him! He’s the It Kid. More than that, he’s versatile. Give Yu a task, and he’ll crush it. Nine times out of ten.

He was looking for something that paid well, but also something a little creative. Glancing at the list of available jobs, one stuck out.

“ORIGAMI CRANE FOLDER”

Perfect! Just the right amount of manual labor and just the right amount of artistic integrity. A balance is struck. Let’s just grab this flyer, and…

Uh. What? No, I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding here. Yu is the hero. What kind of hero can’t make origami cranes in his spare time?! Diligence?! Yu has diligence for days!

Shouting at a job board, unfortunately, cannot get you a job. The last in a long line of defeats, Yu settled on the worst job he could find.

Making envelopes. Like origami without the passion.

Yu started the day irritable, sure. But now he’s angry. Angry, and extremely near to that fucking shrine. Somebody’s got to pay.

It’s so much nicer at the shrine during the day. There are a couple kids hanging out, talking about bugs. It’s not spooky like it is after dark. Not even the natural beauty on display could get through to Yu. He runs up to the place he knelt hours ago. What on earth could the shrine have to say for itself?

Real classy, shrine.

Yu manages to channel all this pent up aggression into basketball practice. No further developments with Kou, but he did manage to stumble backwards into raising his diligence. Only slightly, though. Not enough to reach that tantalizing origami paper. Not yet.

One last stop before his room. He knows what he’ll find.

Or rather… what he won’t.

From a purely psychological standpoint, 4/23 might have been Yu’s hardest day yet. All his attempts to take his mind off Yukiko blew up in his face. He couldn’t get the job he wanted. God continued to toy with him. Kou didn’t want to cuddle. The only thing he secured? A Saturday night alone in his room, making envelopes.

But then! His cell phone rings! Does Chie want to hang out?

Yosuke, King of the Guilt Trip.