There are ninety days left until your boyfriend, Kaoru Hoshitani, is stolen away.
——
Ninety days
……
“Aina, didn’t we say we’d pick a day after work to go out for dinner together? How about today? It’d be nice to unwind a bit.”
It was just after the lunch break had ended—a brief lull as the afternoon’s work was about to begin.
The Supervisor, a slightly plump woman with a kind face, stood behind Aina Saiten, who was sitting at her desk, about to start her work.
She reached out and patted Aina gently on the shoulder as she spoke.
“Ah… a dinner gathering…”
Aina Saiten was taken aback by this sudden suggestion.
A look of confusion flickered across her face; she had clearly forgotten about the casual promise the Supervisor had made in passing during a previous chat.
Now, having been brought up again in earnest, she struggled to recall the vague commitment from the recesses of her memory, her expression dawning with recognition.
Yet, in her heart, she was a hundred times unwilling to participate in these seemingly lively, but in truth exhausting, colleague dinners.
After all, in Neon City’s workplace culture, these after-work gatherings weren’t just about sitting down to share a meal.
Usually, after the main meal, by custom, everyone would move on to a second place—often an izakaya or a bar—for the Second Gathering, to continue drinking and chatting.
This after-dinner drinking would often last until late at night; eleven or twelve was standard.
For Aina Saiten, a homebody at heart, rather than dragging her tired body along, forcing herself to smile as she accompanied colleagues she didn’t truly connect with—some of whom were even secret rivals—making small talk that meant nothing…
She’d much rather go home early, shed her confining suit, take a hot shower, and then cuddle up comfortably with her fragrant, soft boyfriend on the sofa—watching dramas or simply basking quietly in each other’s warmth, feeling healed and at peace.
However, faced with a group activity that nearly all team members would attend, refusing on her own would be out of the question—it’d make her seem unsociable, like she didn’t fit in.
It could even subtly affect her already delicate work relationships, earning her the label of “difficult to approach” or “not a team player.”
Even though Aina Saiten was privately casting her net wide with résumés, actively preparing to change jobs, that was still an uncertain matter, not yet settled.
Until she truly left, it was still necessary to maintain surface harmony and moderately participate in colleagues’ social events.
“Aina’s coming too? That’s great! I happen to know a really famous izakaya—authentic flavors, great atmosphere. After dinner tonight, let’s go there for drinks.”
The one speaking was Yamada, a woman around thirty-five or thirty-six, unmarried.
According to whispered rumors among the office’s old-timers, she was a distant relative of a senior company executive.
Her actual work skills were average at best, but thanks to that connection, she held the position of Vice Group Leader in Aina Saiten’s team.
“Oh… is that so? Well… sounds nice.”
Aina Saiten replied in a flat tone.
She’d never had much of an impression of Vice Group Leader Yamada—in fact, she was rather put off by her.
She often overheard other colleagues in the break room gossiping about how Yamada, after drinking too much again, ended up passing out on a park bench, her dignity in shambles.
There were even rumors that her ex-husband had left her because he couldn’t tolerate her habitual drinking and neglect of family.
“Hey, Aina, don’t be so cold!”
Yamada seemed oblivious to—or simply didn’t care about—Aina Saiten’s distance. She leaned in, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret,
“Listen, that izakaya recently got a new male waiter, and they say he’s an absolute beauty! You’ll see for yourself when we get there.”
Hearing Yamada’s slightly frivolous praise, the Supervisor, ever the steady middle-aged woman, interrupted with a laugh:
“Yamada, didn’t Aina mention that she already has a wonderful boyfriend?”
“What’s that got to do with it!”
Yamada waved it off, her voice rising a bit,
“Beautiful things can be appreciated by everyone! It’s just looking, nothing more. Is Aina’s boyfriend the jealous type? Besides, having a drink while admiring a beauty makes everything better!”
But Yamada’s talk of the “beautiful izakaya waiter” instantly put Aina Saiten on high alert.
A vague, uneasy feeling began circling in her heart.
……
That evening, after a hurried First Gathering dinner at a decent restaurant downtown, Yamada eagerly took the lead, guiding the tired group through the bustling nighttime streets to the izakaya she’d so highly recommended.
Standing beneath a warm yellow lantern, gazing up at the rustic wooden sign reading “Kawasaki Family Izakaya,” Aina Saiten froze in her tracks.
Her expression grew strangely conflicted, tinged with resignation and a trace of barely concealed irritation.
She let out a soft sigh, her face seeming to say, “Of course—just my luck.”
“Hm? Aina, what’s wrong? You look so odd… Have you been to this izakaya before?”
The Supervisor, standing nearby and keenly observant, caught the awkward look on her junior’s face and stopped, lowering her voice curiously.
“Well… sort of… I guess I’ve been here before…”
Aina Saiten replied evasively, her eyes darting, clearly unwilling to explain further.
“Ding-a-ling—”
As the group pushed open the heavy wooden door, the copper wind chimes hanging above gave a clear, pleasant ring, briefly disrupting the din inside the izakaya.
“Welcome, thank you for coming…”
Kaoru Hoshitani, who had just finished serving a table by the window and was turning back with an empty tray, heard the chime and instinctively spun around, his face lighting up with the gentle, professional smile of a seasoned server, ready to greet the newcomers.
The dark blue kimono uniform fit him perfectly, accentuating his fair skin.
But the moment his eyes met the new arrivals, Kaoru Hoshitani’s practiced greeting seemed to choke in his throat, the latter half abruptly swallowed.
His clear eyes widened in surprise, gaze skimming over the unfamiliar colleagues at the front and settling with precision on the woman at the back—his girlfriend, Aina Saiten, who was staring at him with a complicated expression.
“Hello, could you get us a private room for six? Thanks, gorgeous.”
Yamada strode up to Kaoru Hoshitani.
Although it was her third or fourth time seeing the young waiter in his kimono, she couldn’t help but be freshly amazed every time, her eyes lingering on his elegant features and slender neck.
She even turned back to the others, winking smugly as if to say, “See? Didn’t I tell you he was a peerless beauty? Didn’t lie, did I?”
Their group had six members—only one male, the rest women.
At that moment, except for Aina Saiten, who was in no mood to appreciate anything, everyone else—including the lone male colleague—was quietly marveling at the young man’s striking looks and clean aura, their eyes drifting to him, openly or covertly.
But for Aina Saiten, there was no pride or joy to be found.
She was silently locking eyes with her boyfriend, whose look was tinged with confusion and question, her feelings a chaotic jumble.
How could she not sense the way her colleagues were now sizing up the man she cherished as a treasure?
It made her intensely uncomfortable.
She had always been careful not to mention Kaoru too much in front of her coworkers, let alone show them his photo, like a child desperately hiding her most precious treasure from prying eyes.
And now, with that hidden treasure suddenly exposed to the curious, appraising stares of others, a surge of violated possessiveness and unease instantly overwhelmed her.
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