Mahjong Stars

Yesterday, I played mahjong at a certain parlor. It had been a while since the last time I had issues with the way the game was being played. In fact, this was probably the first time that I encountered this sort of trouble as a customer at this parlor.

 

The problem was the way that a certain male customer in his late-twenties gave out his point sticks. It certainly did not look like his first parlor visit; in fact, he seemed like a pretty experienced player. But, when he was paying me, his toimen, he threw the point sticks onto the middle of the automatic table.

 

Usually, it is preferable to have the staff caution people like this, as things might get hairy if you try to settle things yourself while playing on the same table. But since this was such a trivial thing, I thought there would be no reason for a dispute to occur. I cannot remember having an argument over something like this in the past.

 

And so, the second time that it occurred, I told the customer “If you put the point sticks there, they might fall into the automatic table. Could you please place them a little closer to me?” Upon hearing this, the customer clucked his tongue. I had a feeling something unpleasant was about to happen.

 

“This is probably something that’s better said by the staff.” I thought to myself. And so, I decided that the next time I got out of my seat to head to the toilet, I would also explain the circumstances to the staff.

 

However, shortly after that thought I again won another hand from the same customer, and again he placed the point sticks in that same location. I mentioned again “Sorry, could you please place the sticks a little closer…” to which he replied, “Isn’t it fine to place the point sticks wherever?”

 

I’ve asked the same thing to others many times before, but this was one of the first times in my life that someone has refused so obstinately.

 

And so I called over a staff member and explained the situation, to which the staff gave the customer a warning, but without saying anything he just kept the same silly grin on his face. The voices of the players that took my side were also being blatantly ignored. In some sense, I was amazed by his mentality (and stubbornness).

 

Slightly shocked, the staff member said: “anyways, please behave properly.” As soon as the staff member left the table, I won another haneman tsumo.

 

Only after the staff member prompted him did the customer finally place the point sticks closer to my side. He threw the point sticks onto the table so hard that the players at the neighboring tables looked over to see what the fuss was about.

 

Usually, I would be the first to say “I’m about to leave,” or “sorry, this is the last game I’m playing today.” However, for some reason, I was very tempted to continue playing.

 

This is not to say that I was being a man or anything. Rather, I had a boiling feeling in my stomach that I could not ignore. “I want to beat them to a pulp.” With those thoughts in mind, there was no way that I could leave my seat.

 

That said, just sitting in that spot was trying enough for my patience, even though I usually pride myself for my patience in mahjong. This was a little different, I suppose.

 

But, mahjong is really the weirdest thing. Rushing into the next hanchan with these thoughts clouding my mind turned my play from a good condition where I did not let the other players win a single hand, to one where I was consistently regretting my decisions.