“Mr. Hoshitani, would you like to go to the restroom to tidy up?”
Chinatsu Ayase’s voice rang out softly, carrying a hint of a well-timed reminder.
“Aina should still be waiting for you downstairs.”
She might have noticed the subconscious expectation in the man’s eyes as he looked at her — a dependency and longing similar to a drowning person grasping at driftwood, afraid it might let go.
But she intentionally acted as if she hadn’t noticed, merely offering the most ordinary and reasonable suggestion with a smile.
Hoshitani Kaoru started slightly upon hearing her words.
He had indeed been subconsciously hoping the young woman before him would say something like ‘I’ll continue to help you’ or ‘I’ll protect you from now on.’
But the moment he heard Chinatsu Ayase mention “Aina,” he snapped back to reality.
What time was it?
He hurriedly pulled out his phone. The moment the screen lit up, he saw the time — 6:28 PM.
What made his heart tighten even more was a message Aina had sent him just a few minutes ago:
“Akane, how much longer on your end? I’m going to wait for you in the first-floor lobby. No rush, take your time.”
He remembered now. Over one hour ago, he had called Aina to tell her he would be late, using the excuse that “the President suddenly arranged work for him, so he had to work overtime.”
He had originally wanted his girlfriend to go home directly after work without waiting for him.
However, on the other end of the line, Aina insisted she could wait for him at the Company so they could go back together. Unable to sway her, he had no choice but to agree.
He quickly sent a reply to his girlfriend:
“I’m coming down now.”
After sending the message, he looked up again at the exquisite and gentle face before him.
Those gray eyes were quietly watching him, without any urging, without any probing, and only a peacefulness that put one at ease.
Hoshitani Kaoru took a deep breath and thanked her solemnly once more.
“Today… I’m truly grateful to you, Miss Ayase.”
His voice choked up slightly. It was the relief of surviving a disaster and a heartfelt sense of gratitude.
He didn’t know how he could ever repay her, but he knew that without her, he might not have escaped that woman’s clutches today.
“It’s no problem.”
Chinatsu Ayase waved her hand, a warm smile blooming on her face.
In the soft afternoon sunlight, that smile appeared exceptionally sincere, making one want to trust and rely on her.
“Mr. Hoshitani can just treat me to a meal next time.”
She blinked, her tone turning slightly playful.
“Besides — if you ever need my help again in the future, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”
Hoshitani Kaoru’s eyes instantly lit up.
Surprise and gratitude filled those moist, deer-like eyes. He nodded vigorously, his voice becoming much lighter.
“Mm-hmm!”
Finally hearing the words he wanted to hear, it was as if a beam of light had pierced through the dark clouds in his heart.
He stole a deep look at the young woman before him, his gaze filled with inexpressible gratitude, then turned and walked quickly toward the restroom in the corner of the Office.
Although he hadn’t directly participated in the confrontation just now, the extreme fear and tension had left him with a thin layer of sweat, and the makeup on his face was likely ruined from crying.
He couldn’t let Aina see any sign of what had happened.
The lights in the restroom were very bright, revealing every detail of the person in the mirror.
Facing the mirror, Hoshitani Kaoru carefully took out his Makeup Bag and began to touch up his makeup.
In the mirror, that face gradually regained its mature look.
In less than five minutes, he had tidied himself up.
After a final careful check in the mirror to ensure there were no flaws, he took a deep breath and stepped out of the restroom.
Chinatsu Ayase was still standing there waiting for him.
Seeing him come out, she gave a small smile and turned toward the door.
Hoshitani Kaoru followed quickly, and the two entered the Elevator together.
The Elevator doors slowly closed, and the numbers on the display began to change: 17, 16, 15…
……
Meanwhile, in the Company’s first-floor lobby.
Aina Saiten was sitting on a dark leather sofa in the reception area.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the Tokyo evening sky. The sunset’s afterglow dyed the horizon in a gradient of orange and red, so beautiful it felt unreal.
She held a fashion magazine in her hand, the model on the cover smiling brightly.
However, her gaze did not fall on those beautiful pictures. Instead, she frowned slightly, staring at a void in front of her, clearly lost in her own thoughts.
Just a few minutes ago, she had seen a tall figure storm out of the Elevator and stride toward the Company’s main entrance.
It was a woman.
A woman with striking yellow hair.
Aina Saiten’s pupils contracted slightly at that moment — she recognized that face.
That was the granddaughter of the landlady of the shop where Akane used to work, the yellow-haired woman in the video… the woman who had made her feel uneasy for so long.
Why was she here?
Aina Saiten instinctively lowered her body, hiding behind the magazine, but her eyes closely followed the figure.
The woman walked very quickly, radiating a low-pressure aura that warned people to stay away, as if she had just experienced something that infuriated her.
She pushed open the glass door and disappeared into the night.
Watching the glass door slowly close, Aina Saiten felt a wave of complex emotions.
But what bothered her even more was the software that had suddenly appeared on her old mobile phone.
That software, those videos, and the mystery that still haunted her.
She still hadn’t figured out what was going on with that video.
It certainly looked forged, but the images, the expressions, and the atmosphere were so realistic that even she — the person most familiar with Akane — found it difficult to tell.
Although it was clear that the two of them couldn’t have had any contact after Akane resigned from that Izakaya.
But now, that yellow-haired woman’s identity had coincidentally become the daughter of the President of Izumi Mori.
And currently, Aina Saiten and her boyfriend both worked at Izumi Mori, and that yellow-haired woman appeared in the company from time to time as well.
All these coincidences forced Aina Saiten to be suspicious.
She felt as if there were a pair of invisible hands controlling everything from behind the scenes.
Every step hit the mark, and every coincidence was so precise it was unsettling.
But she couldn’t understand — if someone was intentionally arranging this, what was the purpose?
Was it targeting her? Targeting Akane? Or something else?
Every sign indicated that Akane and that yellow-haired woman didn’t know each other at all before he went to work at the Izakaya.
She had confirmed this repeatedly. Akane wouldn’t lie to her, nor would he have had the time to get to know such a woman.
However, the appearance of that video happened right before Akane went to work at the Izakaya.
Since they didn’t know each other at the time, who would forge such a video? Why forge it? What was the goal?
These were questions Aina Saiten simply couldn’t figure out.
Frowning, she unconsciously rubbed the smooth cover of the magazine with her finger, lost in thought.
Just then, her peripheral vision caught the Elevator that led directly to the top floor — the indicator light above the door lit up, showing the Elevator was descending.
Her gaze was involuntarily drawn toward it.
17, 16, 15… the numbers flickered.
Finally, the Elevator stopped on the first floor.
The doors slid open slowly.
Two people stepped out of the Elevator.
One was her Akane — wearing that black Secretary Uniform, with exquisite makeup and a slender figure, looking like someone who had stepped out of a painting.
The other was Chinatsu Ayase — wearing a light gray skirt suit, her long hair draped over her shoulders, with a faint smile on her face.
The two walked out side by side, their steps synchronized and their postures natural. They looked… strangely harmonious.
Aina Saiten’s fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of the magazine.
‘Has Akane… been getting along very well with Junior Chinatsu lately?’ she wondered silently.
Lately, Akane had mentioned Junior Chinatsu often, saying she took good care of him at the Company, that she was a good person, and that he enjoyed talking to her.
At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it, simply feeling it was a good thing Akane could make friends at the Company.
But at this moment, seeing them come down together from the top floor — the floor where the President’s Office was located, the most core and private space of the Company — a sudden, inexpressible sense of strangeness welled up in her heart.
‘Also… why is Junior Chinatsu coming down from the top floor with Akane, who was supposed to be working overtime?’
She frowned.
‘What does the overtime arranged by the President… have to do with Junior Chinatsu?’
She watched the two of them walking toward her, seeing the relaxed smile on Akane’s face — it was a smile she was familiar with, but at this moment, it felt slightly foreign.
She watched Junior Chinatsu walk beside Akane, the distance between them so close that even she, his girlfriend, felt a bit uneasy.
An idea, like a seed, was quietly planted in her heart.
A seed called “suspicion.”
It was very small and fragile, seemingly insignificant compared to Aina Saiten’s trust in Akane.
But it truly existed now, finding a foothold amidst the layers of coincidences and mysteries.
It only needed a little water and a bit of sunlight to take root and grow strong.
“Aina!”
Hoshitani Kaoru had already seen her and quickened his pace toward her.
A bright smile was on his face, and his deer-like eyes were filled with the joy of seeing her. He quickly reached her and reached out, naturally taking her hand.
“Have you been waiting long? I’m sorry to make you wait so long.”
His hand was warm and soft, and his focused, gentle gaze was the same as always.
But as Aina Saiten looked at him, and at Chinatsu Ayase who was nodding and smiling behind him, that seed that had just been planted in her heart stirred quietly.
“No,” she said, forcing a smile as she stood up. “I had some things to handle for work too.”
“Then let’s go home.”
Hoshitani Kaoru squeezed her hand, his voice soft with a hint of playfulness. “I’m hungry.”
“Okay.”
Aina Saiten nodded and let him lead her toward the door.
Behind them, Chinatsu Ayase politely said goodbye.
“Aina, Mr. Hoshitani, get home safely.”
“Thank you, Chinatsu.”
Aina turned back and nodded to her.
Then, holding Akane’s hand, she walked into the Tokyo night.
Behind them, Chinatsu Ayase stood in place, watching the receding backs of the two, watching their intertwined fingers, and watching the way the man leaned into his girlfriend.
The corners of her mouth curled up into a very slight arc…