Yamamoto cleared his throat, offering a polite smile as he looked toward Yoshi. "Akino-san, concerning this rollout, my assistant, Mr. Watanabe here, is highly impressed with Ms. Kira’s proposal. He suggested that for maximum coordination, Glacier would like Ms. Kira to lead the project directly and report her progress to him."

Yamamoto smiled politely, gesturing toward the man beside him as he introduced his team. "Watanabe-san is also our lead creative strategist. He is a renowned artist who graduated abroad and brings over twenty years of experience in design and marketing within the Japanese market. In fact, artistic talent runs in his family; his niece is also an active artist."

The moment the words left his mouth, a cold shiver of pure disgust washed over Kira, sending goosebumps down her arms. Sitting right opposite her, Hide Watanabe stared at her, his shiny bald head nodding slightly as if to say, You can't run from me, sweetie. That slimy, absolute creep. Disgusting.

While Kira was internally weeping, Yoshi’s voice calmly intervened. "Thank you very much for your high regard, Mr. Yamamoto and Mr. Watanabe. However, Kira-san is still currently on probation. Her professional business Japanese still requires quite a bit of polish before she can handle direct communication with a major corporation like Glacier. Therefore, to ensure this project rolls out perfectly, I will be personally supervising and working with you both."

Never in her life had Kira felt that Boss Yoshi was so cool and utterly badass.

After that, the meeting proceeded entirely in Japanese to keep things moving efficiently. Kira sat closely attentive, though she could only catch about sixty percent of the conversation, relying on Daiki to fill in the gaps whenever the business jargon grew too dense.

Between her frantic notes, her eyes kept drifting down to the business card held tight in her hands.

Hide Watanabe.

Right there in the corner, embossed elegantly into the paper, was a subtle, translucent sprig of apple blossoms.

Apple blossoms.

Hide.

Artist.

Niece.

Wait. No.way. There was no way her Hide could be that perverted, lecherous bald old creep. Kira’s hands shook uncontrollably, and she could no longer hear anything from the meeting.

"Kira! Kira!" Daiki’s voice called out, snapping Kira back to reality. Everyone was waiting for her to speak. But speak about what? She had not processed a single word for the past few minutes.

"Glacier will build their factory in Nagano, a region famous in Japan for fresh milk and fruits, especially apples, and it is also close to Tokyo, which is highly advantageous for logistics," Yoshi explained to her in English. "Does Ms. Kira have any ideas on how to incorporate these elements into the communication plan? We need the fresh perspective of a foreigner."

Kira forced down the lump of anxiety in her throat. She gripped her pen tightly and fixed her eyes straight on Yoshi.

"To be honest, working in Tokyo and fighting through the packed crowds every day is incredibly stressful. The factory in Nagano can consider planting more apples, or being located next to large apple orchards. We can introduce a signature apple-flavored line and convey a 'retreat' message. We can even open factory tours combined with orchard visits, transforming the factory into a travel and check-in destination rather than just a simple manufacturing facility and a mere promotional campaign with visuals. Glacier should not only carry a fun image, but also be a place to return to on the most tired and stressful days after a workweek."

Kira replied. She had no actual ideas in mind; she was simply voicing her own true desire. There were still three weeks until her vacation. At this rate, she feared she wouldn't be able to last that long.

Mr. Yamamoto nodded in agreement. "An excellent initiative, Ms. Reynolds. We will consider incorporating this idea when we report back to headquarters. Hopefully, by then, Mr. Akino will have signed an official contract with Ms. Reynolds and allow her to work directly with us." He looked at Yoshi and smiled, clearly not forgetting his earlier proposal.

Kira slid her phone under the table, unable to wait a single second longer. Her heart pounded violently as she opened Discord, her fingers hovering over the chat with Hide. Her mind was a chaotic mess of fear and denial. If he replied that he was nowhere near Shinjuku, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Kira: Is Hide anywhere near Shinjuku right now?

The meeting ended, and Kira still hadn't heard back from Hide. He hadn't sent her a single text since yesterday morning.

"Are you heading home?" Daiki called out from behind her.

"Ah, yeah, in a bit. I still have a few things to take care of."

"Yoshi just pinged the team on Slack. Are you coming to dinner? Might as well celebrate the project getting approved today. Everyone's heading down now," Daiki said, waving as he walked toward the exit. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Kira replied, forcing a smile. "You guys head on down first; I'll catch up with you in a second."

She glanced toward Yoshi’s office and saw he was already back at his desk. As she was gathering her things to leave, a notification from Hide popped up. She instantly opened it.

Hide: Yeah. But I'm tied up in meetings today, so sorry for the late reply, Kira.

Kira’s heart dropped clean through her chest.

He was in Shinjuku. And he was in meetings all day. Every single cosmic detail was lining up perfectly with that creepy pervert Hide.

Another message from Hide popped up:

Hide: I was in a meeting with a client today, and there was a girl who looked quite a bit like you. I wonder if we've ever run into each other in real life before.

Kira let out a muffled shriek of pure agony and faceplanted onto her desk, sending a startling thud through the entire room. She scrambled to apologize to the few remaining coworkers, hastily grabbed her bag, and rushed out, in no state of mind to text a normal response.

The moment she burst through the door, she ran straight into Yoshi by the elevator. He greeted her with a faint smirk on his lips: "You did a great job today, Kira. The whole team is already waiting down in the lobby. Shall we head down together?"

She nodded, trying her best not to look too tense, but Yoshi still noticed. "The project is moving along pretty well, so why do you look so worried?"

"Ah, I’m just a little nervous, that’s all."

They walked over to a barbecue restaurant located in the basement of a nearby building. Hayashi had mentioned being busy at home and couldn't make it, so the group was down to just Hiro, Megumi, Daiki, Ryo, Kenji, Lin, Yoshi, and her. Since they had left the office thirty minutes early, the place was still mostly empty.

While everyone else was chatting animatedly about the project, Kira was completely checked out. The rich, savory scent of grilled meat and the smoke rising from the grills did nothing to ease the knot tightening in her stomach.

What was she supposed to do now?

Should she write a dramatic goodbye letter? Tell him she was leaving Japan entirely, then deactivate her Discord to focus strictly on work? Or should she just block Hide outright?

They ordered food and drinks. Before long, the table was filled with plates of barbecue meat and draft beer. Yoshi took the initiative to raise his glass, praising the team's hard work in getting the project approved so smoothly.

Hiro, Ryo, and Kenji nodded along, chiming in to discuss the next steps and the upcoming deadlines. Megumi and Lin stayed busy managing the grill.

As for Kira, she had absolutely no mental capacity for any of it. She just kept downing her beer like water, desperate to stop her mind from racing.

"Eat some more meat, Kira," Daiki said, dropping a piece into her bowl.

The work talk gradually gave way to lively chatter about their personal lives, families, and plans for the upcoming holiday. Ryo excitedly shared about his young daughter in second grade and his family's trip to Okinawa for the holiday. Lin was planning a trip back to Taiwan for a few days. Hiro was heading to Fukuoka, undoubtedly with Megumi. As for Daiki, he still didn't have a girlfriend and lived right here in Tokyo, so he had nothing special planned.

"How about you, Kira?" Hiro asked warmly.

Kira didn't know how to answer. Originally, she had planned to visit an apple orchard in Nagano with Hide, but now she would probably have to scrap those plans entirely.

"I'm not sure where to go yet. Do you guys have any recommendations?"

"Do you like crowded places, or do you have any specific preferences?" Kenji asked in a serious tone, showing his professional side as an account director.

"The fewer people and the closer, the better," Kira replied.

"Then Nagano is the perfect spot. It's beautiful, nearby, and not too crowded," Kenji said after a moment of thought, before turning his attention. "Shacho, why don't you recommend some places in Nagano for Kira? Isn't that your hometown?"

Yoshi set his chopsticks down, turning his gaze toward Kira. "If you prefer somewhere with fewer people and close to nature, Kamikochi is a great choice. It reopens in late April after the winter closure. The peaks of the Alps are still capped with snow. The cedar forests of Togakushi are also cool, hidden away, and have a very calming, mystical atmosphere." He paused slightly, then added, "Or, if you prefer historical streets, you can visit Narai-juku. It's an old post town from the Edo period with preserved wooden houses stretching along the valley, and it's much less crowded than other tourist spots."

"Hmm, that sounds nice. But I don't have a car. Can I get there by train or public bus?"

"Places with fewer people like those are deep in the mountains," Yoshi said, placing a piece of meat into his bowl. "If you take the train, you have to transfer and keep a close eye on the bus schedule. Miss one bus, and you're stranded on the mountain. Someone who is late for work every single day like Kira probably couldn't manage it alone."

Everyone froze for an awkward second before laughing it off. Even when offering advice, he didn't miss the chance to mock her.

"So, Shacho, do you have any plans?" asked Kenji, trying to ease the tension.

"No," Yoshi replied calmly. "I'm just heading back home."

"Well, then Shacho could just be Kira’s tour guide! Problem solved!" Hiro joked.

Yoshi shot a look at Kira and gave a half-smile. "What kind of employee actually wants to see their boss during a holiday?"

The whole table erupted in laughter. She couldn't tell if they genuinely agreed or were just reacting out of politeness.

By the end of the night, the alcohol had completely taken over. Kira had lost all track of time and the conversation around her. Everything became a blurry haze of loud laughter, clinking glasses, and heavy smoke.

Through the fog, she could hear someone calling her name. "Kira, are you okay?"

Okay? How could she be okay? Her stomach was doing backflips, acid rising rapidly in her throat. Like...

"Ugh..."

The world spun out of control, and she couldn't even see the street in front of her. Where did she just throw up?

She loved to drink, but her tolerance was absolute trash. In her hazy, drunken blur, she only had a vague, disconnected sensation of walking, sitting, sleeping, and being lifted up onto someone's back. Kira had no idea how she made it home. And after that?

Nothing.

The next thing she knew, sunlight was beaming straight into her face. She was going to be late for work. Kira groaned, her head pounding with a vicious hangover and her throat bone-dry. She slowly dragged herself into the bathroom, staring blankly at her reflection in the vanity mirror. Kira sniffed the air. She reeked of stale alcohol and sour vomit from head to toe. She was only wearing her T-shirt. How did she even get changed? She tilted her head to look toward the washing machine. Inside, her blazer, face towel, and shirt were all sitting there, already washed. Kira wondered if she had somehow done the laundry in her drunken state without remembering a single thing. She smacked her forehead, desperately trying to piece together the previous night.

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