[Kyosuke POV]
The meeting left a sour taste in my mouth despite talking about sweets. It was almost lunch time and I needed to get some of these incessant memories out of my head. I couldn’t exactly talk to my subordinates about it. They were already suspicious of my behavior this morning and I wasn’t about to give them more ammunition to use on me later. That left only one option.
I leaned back in my chair and glanced over at Furukawa-san who was carefully drafting our sales strategy to submit to the higher ups. For some reason they liked to know before I stepped in any office how I was going to attack. Fortunately, it was just to keep a paper trail. They never sent me on a call with an actual babysitter before.
“Hey, Furukawa-san.”
She stopped typing for a moment and turned to me with a bright smile that could melt any heart; mine included.
“Yes, Mizushima-senpai?”
“Would you head down to storage for me and pull out a couple of our old product catalogues? Just from the last 3 years.”
Her smile widened. Damn her and her unbelievable cuteness. I will ruin the man that ever dare to make her sad!
“Of course, senpai!”
Such a good, wonderful person. I needed those catalogues because sometimes in a display of confidence I like to show them to the client to reveal how different each year is and then tear them up in front of them. So far, it’s worked every time.
“Why are you avoiding the basement, boss?”
I involuntarily winced. Makino-san really had to make his voice heard in this conversation. Sadly, he was right. I was avoiding that place. Being back there might make the memories of last night appear even stronger. I was barely holding it together as is. There was no need for a reminder.
“I’ve got another meeting to attend.”
Both of my subordinates gave me a curious look. I paid them no mind as I stood up and graciously waved goodbye without looking behind me. Of course they were probably thinking I was making something up but in truth, I did have somewhere I wanted to go and someone I wanted to meet with. I just had to make one little pickup first.
I stopped by the vending machine in our break room and purchased some coffee. With the warm cans in my hand I headed towards the elevators and pressed the descent button. The elevator was all the way down in the basement. Before I could even ponder who could be down there, my blasted memory sought fight to remind me of what happened last time I was there.
Flashbacks of my encounter with the devil flooded my vision. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get them to stop. This was getting a bit out of hand so I definitely needed to unload all of these horrific thoughts and make some sense of it all or I might lose more than my job over this. My sanity was at stake.
I tightened the grip on the cans as the elevator doors opened. My finger feverishly tapped the button to the first floor, and I took a deep breath while closing my eyes as the decent began. I prayed for a quick descent.
The warm touch of the coffee in my hands suddenly reminded me of my last handshake earlier. Why did my mind go there all of the sudden? It was like anything I tried to do to avoid it made it that much more prominent in my memory.
I should be furious about it. She literally told me she hated my guts. And yet, I can’t stop thinking about her. Maybe I was the one possessed by an evil spirit.
The chime of my arrival and the doors opening pushed me back into reality. I sighed, stepping out and into the Research and Development department. The entire floor was buzzing with activity. I had already closed the F-Mart deal of twenty-five thousand units and now they were in the process of producing all of the packaging and prepping the area for next month’s wave of shipments.
A glance over to my left found that the Idol of Mikihara was not at her desk so I strolled over to their break room where I caught a glimpse of the pink-haired princess snacking on her lunch. It appeared to be a homemade lunchbox with a variety of items to choose from. I always knew she was a genius in the kitchen but I wonder how good her homemade food actually tasted.
I snuck up on her, pressing the warm can of coffee against her cheek and smiled when she yet out a cute yelp.
“Hey Fumi-chan. How’s it going?”
Her frown furrowed as she snatched the can out of my hands and cracked it open. I walked around the table and leaned against the cabinet to look at her directly while I opened my coffee.
“It’s just you, puppy-kun.”
I raised an eyebrow as I took a sip of that warm and bitter nectar. It was normal for her to add an additional insult on top of that for surprising her two days in a row. She was either tired or pulling her punches. I wonder which one it was.
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Fumi-chan appeared to just generally ignore my presence altogether as she continued digging into her lunch. I noticed there was a plate with a small pile of the ornamental pastries that I we were shipping soon. From a first glance they looked alright. These must have been the prototypes that had she had baked.
I reached down and picked up the green one in between my fingers and gave in a close inspection.
“Are these just some extras that came off the line?”
She stuffed a bit of rice in her mouth and spoke not caring about speaking and chewing at the same time.
“Those are some of the failures. The initial decorations didn’t come out precisely as I had developed.”
Failures? These looked good to me. I shrugged and rook a bite. The blissful tartness of raspberry filled my senses which was then cooled down by the creamy white chocolate.
“They look good to me. Taste even better.”
I took a swig of my coffee which was a nice compliment to the pastry.
“Are you seriously going to eat cake and coffee for lunch? You’ll devolve into a slug instead of a dog.”
“Right, right. Thank you for the meal.”
I chuckled a bit before taking another bite.
“Isn’t that what you say before you start eating?”
She almost sounded like my mother hounding me to eat and act properly.
The truth was I hadn’t even given any thought to what I was going to do for lunch. I didn’t have much of an appetite when I woke up, so I skipped breakfast altogether. Even now I wasn’t too interested in consuming anything else so this would be enough.
Wait a second. My mood and body have been feeling a bit off lately. Maybe Fumi-chan was right and my diet was affecting me. That could have been the reason why I’ve been completely out of sorts when it comes to dealing with that devil.
Fumi-chan! You are indeed a genius.
“So, what did you come down here for?”
She saw right through me. I finished the rest of the ornament and contemplated how I was going to go about this. It wasn’t easy to dance around this topic since Fumi-chan was incredibly intelligent and sharp so I had to pick my words carefully.
Everything started with that damn fight early in the morning. Typically we’d exchange a few words, some sharper than others but big blow offs like that are rare. Her biggest point of contention this week was that I went downstairs to R&D.
Hold on a second. How did Devil Shoko know I went to R&D? Talking with Fumi-chan was part of her Monday morning routine so there was no one else on her staff that could have spilled the beans. That lead me to only one conclusion.
I tapped the empty can of coffee on the table, leaned back and crossed my arms while glaring upon her petite frame.
“An apology.”
The rolled-up omelet between her chopsticks slipped from her grasp and fell back down into her lunchbox. Fumi-chan was frozen in place and I couldn’t help but smile at that site. She looked like a computer that had just stopped working and was trying to reboot.
I pounced, continuing to push it further. My glare turned menacing as I continued.
“You know, my Monday really took a turn for a worse after that. You have no idea what I went through.”
Fumi-chan began to shiver in her seat. She hadn’t moved since I originally asked for the apology. As much as her social skills needed work, disappointing people is what she hated the most. I knew deep down she valued our friendship as much as I did despite outward appearances. Still, I didn’t mind teasing her every once and a while.
“I-I’m sorry.”
The words came out so meekly I don’t think I would have heard them if I wasn’t anticipating their arrival. I quietly laughed to myself before leaning in and giving her a small pat on the head.
“I-I’m only allowing this as a compensation.”
Her face reddened a bit. She could be very cute when she wants to be.
“Right, right. So I’ll make sure to enjoy this one.”
I removed my hand and returned to leaning back against the cabinets. A hefty sight left my nostrils as I continued contemplating how to broach the delicate subject I came down here to talk about. Fortunately, she broke the ice and got things started.
“You know, things would be easier if you just settled down got along with Shoko-san.”
Me? Get along with her? Why should I? She’s the one that started it!
That’s what I would have normally said and with strong conviction but instead I took a moment to think about it. I had to be very careful on how I approached or else I’ll be the one on the receiving end of punishment.
“Hey, do you think someone who argues with you all of the time really hates you?”
Fumi-chan took a bite of fried chicken and waited until she finished chewing to respond.
“I think anyone that cares enough to raise their voice at you cares enough not to actually hate you.”
She made a good point. In my experience, apathy was way worse than hatred. Still, I couldn’t get Abukara’s words to me out of my mind.
(“I really HATE YOUR GUTS!”)
Tensions were flaring pretty heavily between us. Now I’m stuck debating whether she said that purely out of anger or she finally had a chance to reveal her true feelings for me.
If that were the case, then why hasn’t anything happened after we kissed?
My face became hot for a moment as the memories of our embrace reared their ugly head back in.
“Do you think Shoko-san actually likes you?”
I convulsed where I stood realizing I had given the irreverent Idol of Mikihara an opening. Anger got the better of me and I spoke before I even thought about what I was saying.
“Absolutely not! She’s not my type.”
Fumi-chan took another bite of rice and spoke while chewing again.
“Eh? So, what is your type then?”
That was a good question. I hadn’t actually thought about it to be honest. My last serious relationship was way back in high school. She was cute, smart but a little shy and insecure. In fact, that’s what inevitably led to our breakup.
I had initially thought that not getting into the same university as I did was the reason, but it turns out, there was something else that I was too naïve and blind to realize at the time. She always thought she was chasing me instead of being on a level playing field. It wasn’t that I thought she wasn’t good enough but that she would never be good enough for me. I might be able to change her mind but there was no changing her heart, so we parted ways right before graduation.
And I haven’t had a serious relationship since.
I leaned back, folding my arms over my chest and was finally ready to give her an answer.
“Someone smart and cute obviously. A bit demure at times would be nice. I wouldn’t mind someone who was coquettish as well.”
I knew it when the words left my lips they were just some of my minor preferred traits. What I truly desired was something else entirely. My head sulked as I closed my eyes to envision my ideal woman.
“But actually, all I really want is someone confident enough to stand beside me.”
“You’ve just described Shoko-san”
I stumbled nearly falling to the ground as Fumi-chan’s terrifying words hit my ears.
“T-T-There’s no way in hell I was describing that devil!”
She merely shrugged, closed her eyes and indulged in a sip of her coffee. Mentally she must really be enjoying watching me squirm after I had gotten her earlier. I really couldn’t let my guard down around her.
“Either way, you can’t continue on like this. Your relationship with her needs to change. This company is not big enough to contain both of your egos.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Fumi-chan was right. If our last fight was any indication, things between us were going to reach the inevitable breaking point where management would have to step in and make a decision. As much as I didn’t want to leave this company I had to bite my lip and ask if the company could survive with just one of us?
There was no use dwelling on it now. The real challenge was getting through today. Who knows? Maybe they won’t have to wait long to make that decision and I’ll be gone by the end of the day.
I sighed, pushing myself off the cabinet and heading out of the break room.
“Thanks for the meal.”
The coffee can left my grip with a gentle toss and landed perfectly in the recycling bin. I stuck my hands in my pockets and made my way back to the elevators.
“Good luck, puppy-kun.”
Fumi-chan’s parting words didn’t weigh on me as much as the ones prior. However, with all of those thoughts dancing in my mind, I couldn’t help but go back to thinking about my ideal woman and wondering why my heart immediately jumped at hearing Abukara’s name.
Maybe Fumi-chan was right. I had been eating too poorly. That was the excuse I went with anyways. There was no way I was going to admit that after all of the barking I had done, she might have actually been right.