The car ride was… quiet. At least, for the first five minutes.

Taro, still groggy, leaned against the car window, watching the streets pass by. Meanwhile, Elian scrolled through his phone, completely at ease in the luxury car.

Then, suddenly—

Taro’s stomach growled.

Elian slowly turned to him with an amused smirk. “You just ate breakfast. How are you hungry already?”

Taro groaned, covering his face. “I’m not hungry.”

“Your stomach says otherwise.”

Taro sighed. “It’s called digestion, okay? My body is working hard.”

Elian laughed. “Poor thing. Should I buy you snacks like a school kid?”

Taro shot him a glare. “Drop me at work and go.”

Elian smirked. “Fine, fine. But if you collapse from hunger, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They pulled up near Taro’s office, a modest but well-maintained building. Compared to the luxury buildings Elian was used to, this place looked… ordinary. But Elian said nothing.

Taro stepped out, adjusting his bag. “Thanks for the ride.”

Elian leaned out the window. “Don’t miss me too much.”

Taro scoffed. “I’ll try to survive.”

As the car pulled away, Taro sighed and entered the office. Inside, the usual buzz of morning chatter filled the air.

“Fujimura! You’re late.”

Taro flinched as his coworker, Hayato, grinned at him from his desk. “Shut up, I’m on time.”

Another colleague, Aika, raised an eyebrow. “You look… different today.”

Taro frowned. “How?”

Aika smirked. “You got dropped off in a luxury car. Did you win the lottery?”

Hayato gasped dramatically. “Or did you finally get a sugar daddy?”

Taro groaned. “Shut up and work.”

Before he could sit down, a group of employees gathered near the office entrance, whispering excitedly.

“Did you hear?” one of them said. “Rylan Daemon Asano is coming back from abroad today.”

Taro paused. That name sounded familiar.

“He’s personally visiting the headquarters,” another whispered. “If anyone catches his attention, they could get promoted. Maybe even transferred to the main branch!”

Aika leaned toward Taro. “This is huge. He never visits small branches like ours.”

Hayato sighed. “Man, I just hope he doesn’t fire half of us.”

Taro wasn’t too interested in corporate politics, but he had a bad feeling. Billionaire bosses never came just for a friendly check-in.

As he sat down at his desk, his phone buzzed. A message from Elian.

Elian: Don’t work too hard, fragile boy.

Taro rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long day.