Episode 13: Countdown
“That’s why — I’ve been saying this since last week. It really causes problems, being told things like that at the last minute.”
“And that’s why — I told you well in advance that I’m swamped with handover work. I don’t have the bandwidth. If you’re that desperate, just do it yourself.”
“…Fine. Yes, understood.”
“…Excuse me? What was that sigh for. I’m the one who wants to sigh here.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“That tone is what I’m talking about.”
“Who’s the one with the attitude? Always in a bad mood.”
“I’m sorry?”
Here we go again.
Inukai and Saruwatari, at it again.
At this point it’s fair to call it a feature of the office landscape. How they manage to find fresh material for an argument every single day, I genuinely don’t know.
Every time their voices started rising, the sound of keyboards around them would quietly stop, one by one.
I could feel the atmosphere of everyone hesitating over whether to step in.
Can’t be helped. I’ll stop them.
I closed the laptop with a soft click, let out a long sigh, and pushed back my chair.
“Alright, you two, that’s enough——”
“Hey hey, what’s going on, Inukai-chan, Saruwatari-chan? Something happen?”
The one who cut in was Saeko.
Her voice bright and energetic, not a moment’s hesitation — and yet somehow not the least bit overbearing.
“Well, I’d asked Inukai to put together the materials for today’s appointment, and she’s saying they’re not done.”
“I’d told her well in advance that I didn’t have the capacity because of the handover backlog. Being asked to drop everything at the last minute is what I’m saying doesn’t work.”
Something strange happened: with Saeko in front of them, the edge in both their voices just fell away.
Saeko tilted her head slightly, as if thinking it through, then spoke.
“Hm, okay, I hear you. Let’s work through this. Can we do a full rundown of all the tasks? I bet there are things we can automate or hand off to someone else — I’ll think it through with you.”
Taking both sides at once, pointing toward how do we solve this. Warm and constructive.
Under Saeko’s steady tone, the temperature of the argument between Inukai and Saruwatari came gradually down.
The whole office went quiet, like it was breathing again. Laughter even broke out somewhere.
I felt bad having Saeko take on mediating fights on top of everything else — and yet I was helplessly grateful.
At moments like this, Saeko’s handling of things looked to me like something close to magic.
＊＊＊
Between appointments, I headed to the smoking area outside the office.
Drew the smoke in, let it out slowly.
White smoke drifted and curled, blurring into the fluorescent light.
The sliding door opened and Saeko came in. She took her cigarette case and lighter from a small pouch, lit up with practiced ease, and let a thin stream of smoke rise.
“Thanks for before.”
After exhaling, I said it quietly.
“Not at all,” said Saeko, shaking her head.
“I’ve seen that kind of thing a lot. At my old job too. Everyone’s just pushed to their limit and running out of room. If I helped even a little, I’m glad.”
She tapped ash into the tray and glanced over with a quiet smile.
“The new accounts coming in are a help too.”
“Mm. Three more appointments this afternoon, and I’ll bring them all in.”
“That’s confidence.”
Saeko grinned at that, teeth showing, and took another drag.
In the one week since Saeko had arrived, five new business relationships had been established. The company was heading in the right direction, without question.
A genuine comeback. A saviour.
That was what Saeko was — for me, and for the company, right now.
“Oh, speaking of which — you mentioned you had someone living with you, right?”
“Ah — yeah. More or less.”
“How did that come about?”
Saeko remembered and asked, tilting her head.
I gave her the broad outline — finding Yuno in the rain, the fact that she’d been moving from place to place.
Going into more than that felt like more than I wanted to share, so I stopped there.
Saeko listened, and went somewhere vague and distant. Like she was turning something over in her mind. Eyes a little far away, smoke drifting.
“…Saeko?”
“…Hm? …Oh. …It’s just — something similar happened to me, I was thinking. I started thinking about that girl for a second.”
“In your case, it wasn’t picking someone up — wasn’t it more like luring them in?”
“Ahaha, harsh. Well, maybe that’s how it looked to her at the time.”
My little jab and Saeko laughed, eyes creasing.
The same bright smile as always.
She stubbed out the short remains of her cigarette in the tray, said “right, off to sales,” and waved a hand over her shoulder as she walked out.
＊＊＊
My feet on the way home were considerably lighter than usual.
I opened the front door and a good smell met me. Something like dashi and soy sauce — familiar, and warm. I looked into the kitchen. Yuno was stirring a pot.
“Welcome home. You’re a little late today.”
“Things ran over a bit. Smells good.”
“Oyakodon. Soft-boiled egg okay?”
“Whatever’s fine.”
I meant it as a throwaway answer, but Yuno smiled and said “soft-boiled it is, then.”
We sat down across from each other at the table.
Eating the oyakodon, I talked idly about what the day had been like — nothing in particular, just how it went.
When I mentioned Saeko, Yuno’s eyes went wide and she said “wow, sounds like quite a person.” It was nothing much to talk about, and yet it was, for some reason, oddly enjoyable.
“Oh, that’s right.”
Yuno said it between mouthfuls of oyakodon, as if just remembering.
“I found a part-time job.”
She tilted her head and gave a loose smile.
Thud.
My heart gave one loud beat.
“Oh.”
“Yeah. I had an interview today and they offered me the position on the spot. Looks like I’ll be starting shifts from next week.”
“So…” Yuno looked down slightly, the corners of her mouth lifting. Long lashes cast a shadow beneath her eyes. She added, quietly:
“Once I’ve found an apartment, and once my first pay comes in — I’ll be moving out.”
My chopsticks, which had been moving well, came to a dead stop.
“…Understood.”
My throat was dry, and what came out was barely a sound. That was all I could manage.
Until her pay comes in.
About a month, then.
A countdown had started — and thinking that, for reasons I truly couldn’t explain, my chest began to throb, and throb, and throb.
＊＊＊
After clearing up from dinner, I headed to the bathroom.
I turned the shower tap, and after a brief delay warm water came raining down.
I worked shampoo through my hair, lathered it up, rinsed slowly.
“Once I’ve found an apartment, and once my first pay comes in — I’ll be moving out.”
The whole time, Yuno’s words from a little while ago were going round and round in my head.
And then —
From behind me, the click of a door opening.
I stopped my foam-covered hands and turned slowly around.
“…Eh?”
Long, slender white legs came into view.
Knees, thighs, a gentle curve at the waist.
My gaze travelled upward, naturally, and stopped without meaning to — at the soft swell of her chest and its pink centre.
Standing there was Yuno. Completely bare.