If anyone needed a lead for a horror movie called Blue Monday, it would definitely be Kira. Monday was hellishly real. As usual, she had to trudge a kilometer to the station, cram into the suffocating crowd, and hold her breath, only for the train to be delayed by a technical glitch. In the end, she ran late. Everyone on the Glacier project team was already waiting for her in the meeting room.

"Now that everyone is here, let us begin. Due to an urgent weekend meeting with our partner, I sent over all our initial concepts, including the raw drafts, to provide them with a more comprehensive perspective. As a result, there was no time to share these slides with the team beforehand, and I ask for your understanding. The good news, as I announced on Saturday, is that Glacier has approved our new promotional concept centered around... uhm," Yoshi cleared his throat before continuing, "managing boss and employee conflict, positioning ice cream as the ultimate stress reliever. Glacier requested an urgent meeting this afternoon, so we need to align quickly and finalize the plan before we meet them. Since this idea belongs to Ms. Reynolds, please come up and explain it so the entire team is on the same page."

The room fell silent as collective nods followed Yoshi’s words. Kira knew better than to mistake this for actual approval or enthusiasm. Those nods simply meant they had processed what had just happened. Behind those perfectly polite faces, she could sense the unspoken consensus that a new hire somehow getting a wild promotional concept pushed through by the boss and approved by the client over a single weekend was completely unacceptable in Japan. Still, she couldn't help but feel a wave of gratitude toward Yoshi for fabricating a story just to cover up her carelessness.

Kira took a deep breath and stepped up to the stage. Yoshi sat there with his usual stern mask. Next to him, Natsuki Hayashi, her direct supervisor, was glaring daggers straight at her.

"Japan’s ice cream market is worth five hundred and fourteen billion yen, yet every major competitor completely ignores the premium Gen Z and office workers space."

Kira began, gesturing to the competitor matrix.

"Häagen-Dazs targets women 25–45 with aspirational lifestyle marketing. Glico's Pino targets young women 18–30 through Instagram aesthetics. Lotte's Yukimi Daifuku targets family nostalgia. Meiji targets all-ages value buyers. Gari Gari Kun targets childhood memory. Every major player in Japan's ice cream market has a defined lane, and not one of them speaks to the Gen Z office worker as an audience."

She glanced at Kenji Fujita, the Account Director, who was listening intently while adjusting his conservative suit.

"This leaves an enormous, untouched gap in Japan's five hundred and fourteen billion yen market: the overworked Gen Z demographic and corporate commuters of all genders."

"The industry assumes ice cream is a female-centric reward, yet the biological reality of workplace stress completely crosscuts gender lines. Market data shows that young corporate men aged twenty-five to thirty-four represent forty percent of premium impulse ice cream consumption in intense urban work environments. Stress does not discriminate, and neither does the human brain's response to dairy and sugar."

"Neurological studies from the Institute of Psychiatry in London prove that eating ice cream instantly activates the orbitofrontal cortex, the primary pleasure and reward center of the human brain. Furthermore, clinical research from the University of California, Davis demonstrates the exact biochemistry behind this comfort food effect. Consuming high-energy sweets directly suppresses the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, significantly lowering the secretion of cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone."

"The physical composition of the product directly dictates the efficacy of this relief. Low-fat, high-vegetable-fat blends like Meiji's offer zero physiological impact. Glacier, however, delivers a massive fourteen to sixteen percent butterfat content alongside a genuine American sugar profile. This specific, rich concentration provides an immediate, potent reduction in anxiety and cortisol reactivity upon the very first bite."

"We will develop Glacier as an immediate relief mechanism - "Scoop in the moment." And the science supports exactly that framing."

"With this positioning, Glacier claims the top-right corner alone because we are the only brand positioning ice cream as functional stress relief for every exhausted corporate employee in Tokyo, regardless of gender.

She clicked to the next slide, bringing up the product composition metrics. Hayashi’s posture remained unyielding, but Kira didn't let it slow her down.

"Japan's total employed reached a record high of 67.81 million in 2024. Workers aged 20–29 , the core working Gen Z cohort, account for approximately 13% of that total, or roughly 8.8 million people, based on population and employment rate data from the Statistics Bureau of Japan. That is Glacier's primary target audience, already inside the workforce and earning."

"To capture this untapped premium space, our proposed promotional campaign for the client is called 'Genkai Scoop,' which translates to 'The Limit Scoop.' In Japanese corporate culture, 'genkai' signifies that exact breaking point where an overworked employee is pushed to their absolute psychological limit. The core concept turns this daily workplace frustration into a viral movement under the slogan: 'A bitter bite, like a boss's spite' which translates in the pitch to

'Nigami, joushi no ikari'

'苦み、上司の怒り'

Kira advanced the deck to reveal the conflict-based flavor descriptions, watching Megumi lean forward to scan the copy lines.

"The strategy suggests six core flavors, each tied directly to a specific boss scenario that consumers can laugh at when they hit their limit. For the standard lineup at four hundred and ninety-eight yen, we propose 'Boss Choco,' a dark chocolate flavor with the tagline: 'A bitter bite, like a boss's spite - dark as Monday, rich as the fight.' Next is 'Payday Strawberry,' which rhymes with 'red as payday, sweet as pay - strawberry carries the whole workday.' For a refreshing citrus calm, we suggest 'Pre-Snap Yuzu' as a FamilyMart exclusive to cool down corporate rage."

"For the high-margin, exclusive drops at five hundred and twenty-eight yen, the draft includes 'Overtime Matcha,' featuring the line: 'Green as the 11pm screen - the calmest scoop the midnight's seen.' Then there is 'Zero-Overtime-Pay Caramel,' delivering a profile 'sweeter than the hours you burned.'"

"Finally, our proposed Seven-Eleven exclusive at five hundred and forty-eight yen is 'Meeting Vanilla Mochi,' designed to feel 'soft as the sigh at closing time.'"

She paused, taking a quick breath while monitoring the reactions of the senior planners around the table. Ryo Matsuda, the digital planner, was twirling his AirPods, his eyes fixed on the strategic projection. Lin Shu-Fen, the Art Director, was already noting down layout ideas on her tablet.

"This conflict-driven framing will serve as the primary engine for the TikTok channel strategy we are presenting to Glacier this afternoon. We intend to pitch the #GenkaiScoop Challenge, utilizing the official Japanese hashtag #GenkaiSukuupu (The Limit Scoop) alongside a tactful inside joke. We are switching this secondary tag to #KyomoTsunda (Doomed Again Today), a phrase taken directly from our FamilyMart shelf concept. This phrase provides a humorous code for corporate workers to express their exhaustion. The mechanic is completely native to the platform because users film a visual tally of every unreasonable boss moment they experienced that day, and each offense earns them one scoop of ice cream to relieve that stress. The template writes itself: 'The scoop count rises, the boss count too, a tally of ice cream, a tally of you. Today: 6 scoops. Meeting: 1, Excel edit: 2.'

Right then, Kira was briefly distracted when Daiki Ono, a young designer who had freshly graduated from art school, was trying desperately to maintain his composure and suppress a laugh. Catching Kira's eye, Daiki intentionally held up a rough sketch of a mascot, a tired-eyed American ice cream cup with heavy, dark circles under its eyes from exhaustion. The gesture nearly made Kira burst out laughing right in the middle of her presentation.

"By proposing to partner with ten major creators for the simultaneous launch, we aim to trigger the algorithm immediately. Given that each initial creator video averages around five hundred thousand views, our collective baseline reach will comfortably secure five million organic impressions in week one. As the template-driven nature of the challenge takes off, the compounding network effects of secondary shares and user interactions will reliably scale that momentum to a total of fifty million impressions within the first thirty days, establishing Glacier as the definitive symbol of workplace stress relief across the nation."

Kira concluded her presentation. She took a deep breath, waiting for the team's counterarguments, but strangely, or perhaps predictably, as with almost every business meeting in Japan, no one spoke up.

Yoshi finally broke the silence.

"Thank you, Ms. Reynolds," he said. "Since the Glacier team has already reviewed and agreed to this concept, what we need to do right now is develop this draft into a complete plan. Daiki Ono-san and Megumi Yamasaki-san, the two of you please assist Ms. Reynolds in adjusting the Japanese text to better fit Glacier's target audience. Hiro Nakamura-san, and Lin-san will be responsible for adjusting the promotional campaign and design across social media platforms. Ryo Matsuda-san, please assist the team to estimate the budget. It is now 9:00 AM, and we only have five hours left to prepare for the afternoon meeting. Therefore, I ask for everyone's cooperation to get to work immediately and complete the plan by 12:00 PM, so that Hayashi-san, Kenji Fujita-san and I will have time to review it and make edits. This is still not the final version, but to make the best possible impression on this particularly important client, I expect everyone to do their absolute best. We will conclude the meeting here."

As everyone began to disperse, Daiki slipped past the corner of the table. He leaned in and whispered into Kira's ear, "You were amazing!" Daiki winked and walked back toward his workspace. A few paces away, Hiro raised a thumb to give her a silent nod of encouragement, while Megumi simply offered a gentle smile.

By now, Kira felt like she could completely master Blue Monday. Time to get to work. Fortunately, she had Hide's help, and admittedly, Yoshi's market analysis data wasn't half bad either. The way he worked was genuinely quick and decisive.

❀

Working with Daiki and Megumi went much smoother than she expected. Daiki was absolutely thrilled about the concept, so much so that he had already started designing the moment he received Yoshi’s email on Saturday. Megumi, on the other hand, had spent her entire weekend out on dates, so thanks to Daiki, the team managed to finish the work ahead of schedule.

"Are you having lunch with me later, Kira? I'm really starting to like you," Daiki said with a mischievous grin, nudging her arm.

"Deal. But let's make it quick so we're ready for the afternoon meeting. Are you coming with us, Megumi?" Kira said, turning to look at him.

Naturally, Megumi didn't join them. Hiro was already waiting for her by the elevator.

Kira and Daiki dropped by a nearby convenience store for a quick lunch. The moment they sat down at the window counter, Daiki couldn't hold back his curiosity. Leaning on his hand, he asked, "How did you even dare submit this idea to Akino-san? It's absolutely insane."

Kira gave a forced smile. She had no intention of telling him everything, only sharing the parts he needed to know. Even so, Daiki practically shrieked in disbelief.

"Akino-san is amazing! I've never seen a CEO so cool. Normally, any other boss would just let Hayashi-san lead everything and stay out of it. You're so lucky he's managing you directly."

Kira looked up from her half-eaten takoyaki. "Really?"

Daiki pouted. "Duh. What did you expect? There's no way a new hire who's only been here for a month gets to report directly to the CEO. Even if this is a small agency."

Daiki’s words left Kira lost in thought. Hayashi had completely twisted the truth about her, and Yoshi hadn't given her a single chance to explain herself. Yet, he was the one who demanded she report directly to him. Did he already know the two-faced nature of Japanese corporate culture all too well?

Kira glanced at her watch. It was only 11:30 AM. The other teams probably weren't finished yet, so she should head back up early to help them out. Yoshi was likely still in his office, eating lunch alone. Or maybe he wasn't eating anything at all.

Kira stood up, telling Daiki to wait a moment while she grabbed a few more items.

"Are you getting chocolate too?" Daiki asked, turning around as he noticed the items in her hands.

"Oh, these aren't for me."

Kira gave a light smile and nudged his back to hurry him toward the cashier.

❀

Yoshi was still sitting there working, showing no sign of stopping for lunch. Kira gave a light knock on the door. Yoshi looked up from his monitor, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Is something the matter?"

Kira stepped inside, placing the chocolate bar on the corner of his desk. She offered a gentle smile.

"Otsukaresama desu. Just some sweets to help you recharge; please enjoy."

Yoshi looked at the chocolate, then back at her, giving a brief nod. "Thank you."

Without waiting for further questions, Kira turned, and out she went.

❀

Finally, everything was ready. The afternoon meeting commenced, and the Glacier representatives had arrived.

Yoshi introduced each of them. "Everyone, this is Mr. Yamamoto, Glacier’s representative in Japan. And this is his assistant, Mr. Hide Watanabe."

For a split second, Kira thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She simply couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man named Hide Watanabe slowly approached her, extending his hand with a slow, smug smirk. That face, that bald head, and that belly looking like a six-month pregnancy... there was absolutely no mistake. Wasn't this the exact same pervert who had groped her on the train last Friday? How on earth did he end up here?

Kira secretly wished she could bleach her own eyes.

❀