Episode 107: “Who Loves Who, Exactly?”
I looked up at the skyscraper, towering above even the city’s other tall buildings, reaching toward the blue sky. This is the Holdings’ head office building — a fitting headquarters, I thought, catching my breath, for one of Japan’s largest corporate groups.
Waiting for us at the top of this building were Yui-san’s father, and Kitagami-san.
Just thinking about it, tension crept steadily up my spine.
In stark contrast to me, Yui-san was astonishingly composed.
“Oh, by the way, I let Yuki-nii know this morning too. That we’d be talking things through today.”
“Wait, this morning?”
“Huh, was that bad?”
“Come on, Yui-san, you could have told him sooner, couldn’t you? I mean, Yukiya-san went to so much trouble for us…”
“True. Well, we can go thank him properly some other time.”
Yui-san said it, laughing.
The single-pane glass elevator drew us upward, higher and higher into the sky.
Yui-san had one hand tucked into the pocket of her pantsuit, gazing out the window, looking remarkably relaxed.
Maybe Yui-san’s just the type who performs well under pressure. I’m sure she’s simply been through far more high-stakes moments than I have, but even so, her composure was genuinely impressive.
The elevator reached the top floor before I knew it, and I swallowed hard, my nerves flaring.
My heart had been pounding, loud and relentless, this whole time.
“Left as soon as you get off.”
Following her instructions, I stepped off the elevator and turned left, finding a heavy wooden door waiting there. The gold plate above the door, engraved with “President’s Office,” only stoked my nerves further.
“…It’ll be fine, Kanata. Let’s go.”
Noticing my feet had frozen up, Yui-san gently rested a hand against the small of my back. Feeling the warmth of that touch, I felt myself gradually regaining my composure.
I took a deep breath. It’s fine. Yui-san’s right here with me now.
I knocked, and President Ichinose’s voice answered from inside. Without hesitation, Yui-san turned the gold doorknob, pushed the heavy door open, and stepped through. I followed close behind her.
*
The office’s large windows offered a sweeping view of the Tokyo skyline. Bookshelves lined one wall, packed with thick volumes.
Inside stood an impressive wooden desk, and a large sofa set up for receiving guests.
This room might well be more than twice the size of Yui-san’s own president’s office.
President Ichinose, who’d been gazing out at the view, slowly turned to face us.
Kitagami-san sat on the sofa, hands clasped together, head bowed. Noticing us come in, he raised his eyes slowly, sluggishly.
He looked somehow worn down. Dark circles under his eyes, and his gaze held almost none of its usual sharp energy.
President Ichinose settled into his large leather desk chair and looked at me with a gentle smile.
“Kanata-chan, are you fully recovered from your injuries?”
“I’m sorry for causing you concern. Yes, I’m fine now.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”
Feeling Kitagami-san’s gaze on me, I looked at him. He immediately looked away, seeming uncomfortable.
I couldn’t help wondering if he might be feeling some guilt, but honestly, it didn’t matter to me anymore at this point, so I looked away from him too.
“I’ve heard the whole situation, from both Shinji-kun and Yukiya. But I want to hear your feelings, directly, from the two of you.”
Yui-san took my hand and gripped it firmly. There wasn’t a trace of hesitation or anxiety in it.
“…Three years ago, I asked you, Dad, to let me take over running this company, promising I’d definitely deliver results. That was because I wanted to prove I didn’t need Shinji. That, too, was all so that I could eventually break off the engagement with him.”
“…You’d already decided on this, that far back?”
“Yeah. At first, I was prepared to accept marrying Shinji. But… then I met Kanata, and I couldn’t keep lying to myself anymore. No matter what, I can’t give up on Kanata. My life has no meaning without her. …So please, I’m begging you — accept our relationship.”
Hearing Yui-san’s words, my eyes stung with heat. That fierce conviction came through vividly, transmitted through the hand clasped in mine.
President Ichinose listened, nodding repeatedly as if turning her words over carefully, and then turned his gaze to me.
“…I understand how Yui feels. But let me ask you too, Kanata-chan — you knew Yui was engaged to Shinji-kun, didn’t you? And you understood the possibility that you could be sued over this, fully aware of it?”
His calm voice struck something soft and vulnerable deep in my chest.
I’d known Yui-san had a fiancé. And still, I’d taken her hand, thrown myself into her arms.
Fully aware that none of it could be forgiven.
“Yes. I’m prepared to take responsibility for what I’ve done. But I fell in love with her so deeply that I couldn’t stop myself, even knowing all of that. …I feel exactly the same way Yui-san does. I want to live my life together with her, from here on, always.”
I looked back steadily into eyes the same color as Yui-san’s. There wasn’t a shred of hesitation in me.
The thread of fate connecting us might have been unbearably thin, unreliable.
And yet Yui-san never gave up, kept reeling it back in, believing it would lead somewhere someday.
That’s exactly why we’re here now. I’m able to stand beside her.
I could never let go of this hand again.
President Ichinose drew a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, then let it out slowly, deliberately.
I’d known from the start this wasn’t something that could be accepted easily.
But — no matter how long it takes, I won’t ever give up until he truly understands.
“Yes, I see… All right. I understand.”
The moment President Ichinose gave that deep nod, a sharp bang rang out through the room — the sound of a fist slamming against the desk — and I turned toward the sound with a start.
Kitagami-san had risen abruptly to his feet, storming up to President Ichinose’s desk with a face contorted in fury.
“President Ichinose…! I still can’t accept this. No marriage, no children, wanting to be together as two women — how can something so absurd even be considered!?”
Kitagami-san pulled photos out from inside his jacket and slammed them down on the desk. The force of it overwhelmed me, and I flinched, my shoulders jerking involuntarily.
“Look at these photos. If images like these of the two of them caught someone’s eye, got out to the public — do you understand what that would mean? Employees already know I’m her fiancé… this is a matter of credibility! Especially with something like this, two women together!!!”
“Employees already know I’m her fiancé” — weren’t you the one who deliberately let that out, a relationship that hadn’t even been made public? All because you want to use Yui-san for your own purposes.
What exactly is wrong with two women loving each other?
We’re not causing anyone any trouble. We just want to live our lives with the person we love.
In stark contrast to Kitagami-san, ranting on without pause, President Ichinose’s expression didn’t shift at all as he picked up the photos slammed onto his desk and studied them carefully.
Yui-san said nothing, simply watching the two of them with unshaken composure.
“What matters most to the Group!? Yui has a responsibility to inherit this company. That means she should get married normally, have children. Isn’t that right? This is nothing but a temporary lapse in judgment anyway. She’ll wake up from it soon enough — feelings like that are just an illusion. President Ichinose, please, make the right decision here!”
“…The right decision, hm… that’s a hard thing to hear.”
President Ichinose gave a wry laugh, lifting his face gently from the photos.
Then he turned his gaze away from Kitagami-san, toward Yui-san.
Noticing this, Yui-san quietly opened her mouth.
“…I’m not marrying Shinji. I’ll pay proper compensation too. I’ve done everything I possibly could these past three years. And if that still isn’t enough to be accepted, then I have no intention of inheriting this company anymore. I’ll live my life with Kanata, just the two of us. I won’t let anyone get in our way.”
“What—” I gasped, and looked up at Yui-san without meaning to. Not wanting to inherit the company — I never imagined Yui-san would go that far.
If Yui-san refused to inherit the company, the entire purpose behind Kitagami-san’s push for marriage would collapse.
Kitagami-san turned toward Yui-san, visibly shocked. His eyes went wide, lips trembling, speechless.
Amid the taut, strained air, President Ichinose suddenly let out a short laugh. He pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh.
“Won’t inherit it, huh. I see… Right. That makes sense. You never once complained about anything before, and suddenly you were saying you wanted to be president — I couldn’t figure out what you were thinking, but… so that’s what this was all about…”
Exasperated, but with something that looked genuinely happy underneath it, President Ichinose narrowed his eyes. It was the look of a father, filled with deep affection.
“…It’s only natural that you would be angry, Shinji-kun. For eight years, you’ve devoted yourself entirely to this company. I won’t forget that debt.”
Kitagami-san, who’d been staring blankly at Yui-san, slowly turned back to face President Ichinose. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling, but his shoulders trembled faintly.
“Your point is well taken. But… given what my daughter has said here, as her father, I simply cannot force her into marriage. I’m truly sorry. …I intend to make up for this in whatever way I possibly can.”
President Ichinose bowed his head, deeply, to Kitagami-san.
The taut tension in the room eased, and I let out a breath of relief without meaning to, pressing a hand to my chest, my heart still pounding.
I looked up at Yui-san, and she too looked relieved, the corners of her eyes softening into a genuinely happy smile.
Kitagami-san’s shoulders shook as he fought to suppress some overwhelming emotion, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white, veins bulging.
“President Ichinose… I’ve thought about the Ichinose Group more than anyone. I’m the one who’s right for her! I genuinely, truly love Yui, from the bottom of my heart!”
Right as Kitagami-san shouted this, half-hysterically, the door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.
Every eye in the room turned toward it at once.
“Yui! Why didn’t you tell me sooner, come on!”
The one who’d suddenly burst into the president’s office was Yukiya-san.
“I got stuck in traffic, and then reception tried to stop me… honestly, you’d think they’d at least recognize the president’s own son’s face.”
“Yuki-nii, why are you—”
“I figured Shinji was probably making a scene again, so I came to back you up.”
Yukiya-san said it, grinning broadly.
Kitagami-san stared at him, stunned, as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Oh, is that the famous photo?”
Yukiya-san walked over to President Ichinose’s desk and picked up the photo lying there, peering at it.
“Huh, this came out nice. Shinji, you might actually have a knack for photography. Look, you two look genuinely happy in this.”
Laughing as he said it, Yukiya-san held the photo out, and Kitagami-san snatched it right out of his hand. Then he glared at Yukiya-san, eyes bloodshot.
“Yukiya, this has nothing to do with you anymore. Don’t go sticking your nose in now, of all times!”
“Yui’s my sister. There’s no way this has nothing to do with me. And actually, I’ve got some good stuff of my own too.”
Saying that, Yukiya-san, ignoring the two of us standing there dumbfounded, pulled a stack of photos out from inside his jacket.
Then, smiling cheerfully, he laid them out one by one across the desk.
“This one’s Nurse Rika, right? This one’s Miyako from the girls’ bar. And this one is… what was her name again? There’s too many of them, I can’t keep track. Wow, Shinji, you really are popular, huh. This many girlfriends? I’m almost jealous.”
The color drained instantly from Kitagami-san’s flushed face, turning ghostly pale.
What are these photos — curious, I peered over at what Yukiya-san was holding, and found a whole stack of photos: Kitagami-san and various unfamiliar women, bodies pressed together, walking into hotels.
I gasped, caught off guard.
I mean — I’d sort of assumed there had to be someone, given how Yui-san never let him lay a finger on her.
President Ichinose picked up one of the photos and studied it, silently.
Sweat had beaded on Kitagami-san’s forehead despite the room not being warm at all.
“So? Who loves who, exactly?”
Yukiya-san said it, eyes narrowing into a bright, almost disarmingly cheerful smile.
“President Ichinose, it’s not what it looks like, this is—!”
“You really don’t know when to quit, huh. Shinji, you should just give up and bow out gracefully already. Neither of you has any actual love for each other, so this marriage is pointless anyway. How about we call it even, both sides at fault? Yui’s not planning to demand compensation either, right? Breaking off the engagement clean, with no hard feelings — that’s definitely the better move here.”
“Yukiya, shut up!!!”
Kitagami-san, flying into a rage, grabbed Yukiya-san by the collar. Yukiya-san shook the arm off forcefully and glared back at him, eyes sharp.
“Don’t get too cocky, Shinji. You don’t actually think this is all the ammunition I’ve got, do you? I could go after you completely, your father included, hard enough that neither of you recovers.”
The moment his father was mentioned, something in Kitagami-san’s expression flinched, just for an instant. Watching him suddenly go quiet, subdued, out of the corner of his eye, Yukiya-san straightened the collar of his rumpled jacket.
“Yukiya, Shinji-kun, please, calm down. Shinji-kun, I have no intention of blaming you for any of this, of course. Yui, you feel the same, don’t you?”
Yui-san gave a single nod.
“There’s fault on our side here too. In exchange for letting this matter go unquestioned, I wonder if you’d be willing to accept the broken engagement. If you would, I’ll do everything in my power to grant you whatever you wish for. You’re a hard worker, a genuinely excellent man. Even without marrying Yui — I believe you’re indispensable to this Group, someone who’ll go on to carry its core, in time. My confidence in you hasn’t changed.”
At President Ichinose’s words, Kitagami-san looked up, startled.
“See? Good for you, Shinji. Well, case closed then. Congratulations, you two.”
Yukiya-san turned to face us, smiling with genuine happiness.
Hearing President Ichinose’s words, Kitagami-san bowed his head and turned his back on us without a word.
Then he walked past Yukiya-san, his steps unsteady, faltering.
As he trudged out of the president’s office, shoulders slumped, Yukiya-san gave his retreating back a bright, cheerful wave.