There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job

“I wanted an easy job. That was all. A job that wouldn’t burden me with unnecessary stress, that would leave my mind free to think about other things.”

The novel follows an unnamed woman in her thirties who, after burning out from her previous career, seeks a job that requires minimal mental and emotional effort. She finds herself in a series of peculiar temporary jobs, each with its own strange quirks and unexpected challenges.

First Job: Surveillance Work

Her first assignment is monitoring a writer suspected of illegal activities. She watches his apartment from a hidden office, but instead of uncovering wrongdoing, she becomes oddly invested in his mundane life. The job blurs the line between observation and obsession, forcing her to question her detachment.

Second Job: Writing Bus Advertisements

Next, she joins a company that produces bizarrely specific bus ads. Her task is to create promotional material for a local rice cracker shop, but she gets entangled in the shop’s eccentric owner and the mysterious disappearance of a former employee.

Third Job: Creating Erasing Services

She then works for a company that “erases” unwanted sounds from public spaces. The job seems simple until she encounters a man obsessed with eliminating the sound of chewing, leading her to reflect on society’s intolerance for minor annoyances.

Fourth Job: Postering in a Haunted Building

Her next role involves putting up posters in a supposedly haunted office building. The eerie atmosphere and rumors of ghostly encounters make her reconsider her skepticism about the supernatural, while also revealing the loneliness of urban workspaces.

Fifth Job: Working at a Hut in the Forest

Her final job is at a remote forest hut, where she assists a man who claims to predict disasters. The isolation and surreal nature of the work force her to confront her own avoidance of meaningful engagement with life.

Key Ideas

• The search for meaning in seemingly meaningless work
• The absurdity and alienation of modern labor
• The blurred boundaries between observation and participation
• The quiet loneliness of urban life
• The struggle to balance detachment with human connection