Hanako stared at the confusing mess of metal and screws strewn across the living area of her apartment. Just a few short hours ago she had been browsing the bookshelves at IKEA with Hisao, as their new apartment needed one to hold all of her books, which were still packed away in boxes. She had chosen a simple black metal frame with glass shelving and completely forgot she and Hisao would have to assemble it. Now that she knew just what she was getting herself into, she was beginning to regret this whole endeavor, but it was too late to turn back.

Hisao was sitting on the ground amongst the mess, his brow furrowed in thought as he attempted to read the IKEA instructions, which were really just a series of confusing pictures. He groaned slightly, reminded forcibly of those LEGO play sets his parents had bought for him as gifts when he was younger. He noticed Hanako watching him and smiled sheepishly. He didn't want to seem like he was totally out of his element in front of her. "It's not that difficult," he tried to convince her, though not sounding at all sure himself. "Honestly, it'll go by much faster with both of us working on it."

"If we can…figure out…these instructions," she grumbled as she took the booklet from him and briefly scanned the pictures. They looked confusing and convoluted. She was regretting not requesting the IKEA assemble service. "This looks…very…difficult…This will…take…all night…and then some…"

"It won't be that bad," he attempted to reassure her while he gathered all the loose parts into a pile on the coffee table. The daunting metal frames remained scattered on the carpet. Hanako stared at the instructions, trying to figure out the very first step.

"Um…It seems…we…we take the ends of the shelf…and…attach the foot doohickeys…to the bottom of the legs…" she announced quietly and immediately stared at the jumble of parts on the coffee table, seeking out the needed pieces. She hesitantly picked out two similar looking pieces and laid the end frame of the shelf in the middle of the floor, then screwed the feet into the base.

They continued to take turns reading the instructions and putting the pieces together for a few hours. One of them would occasionally put in a piece backwards or upside down and the other would gently correct them. The bookshelf was starting to look recognizable when Hanako noticed the alarming amount of screws left on the table. "Hisao…why are there…so many screws left….?" she asked uncertainly as she stared at the massive metal bookshelf, willing it not to collapse on them.

"I don't know, Hana," he replied absentmindedly while he was trying to figure out how to attach the metal bottoms the the shelves. "We didn't have to screw in everything, so I guess they just gave us extra."

She stared at him in horror. "Yes…we did…have to screw in everything! That's why…there are…so many screws…!" She began to go through every hole in the metal frame and jammed screws through everything with her screwdriver hastily, not wanting to spend any more time on this project than was necessary. Hisao sighed and reread the directions, so tempted to just call it a night. But then they would have to deal with this mess in the morning.

After another hour of putting in shelves and tightening the screws, a slightly lopsided bookshelf stood before them. It seemed to be tilted to the right by a little bit, but neither of them decided to comment on this. They were just happy it was completed. "Are you going to stay up and put your books on our new bookshelf?" Hisao smiled down at her playfully.

"No…I'm worn out…from building it…" She yawned hugely to accentuate her point. "Let's just…head to bed…"

"Sure thing," he pecked her cheek before they headed to their bedroom, tired but pleased with themselves for building their new bookshelf.