Chapter 69

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An Unexpected Meeting

—

I sat in the chair outside the CEO’s office, swinging my legs back and forth.

Toya had said she’d be out soon, but she showed no signs of returning. Just as I was getting bored and pulling out my phone—

> [Sorry, my talk with the CEO is taking longer than expected. It might be around 30 minutes?]

“…Thirty minutes, really.”

Thirty minutes was such an awkward amount of time.

Too short to really go anywhere, but too long to just sit around doing nothing.

Still, maybe wandering around would be better than sitting idly.

Once I made up my mind, acting on it was quick.

I hopped off the chair with a little bounce, and a person walking nearby startled and froze.

…All I did was jump down from a chair.

“Guess I’ll just wander around nearby…”

Going to other floors would be rude, so I decided to just stick to this one.

Hopefully I wouldn’t get mistaken for a lost child and end up in a lost-child center or something.

…Well, if that happened, Toya would come looking for me. She’s the one who left me alone to go into the CEO’s office after all.

And so began my little adventure.

Because of my height and manners, I didn’t go opening office doors randomly or anything.

“Still, there are a lot of empty offices, huh…”

I peeked into a room that was completely empty and quickly shut the door again.

Dark, empty rooms gave me bad memories. They always made me uneasy.

Okay, guess I’ve wandered enough. Time to head back.

Just as I turned to return to the CEO’s office, someone appeared in front of me.

“Hello, Ichinose-chan.”

“…Hello.”

Messy hair. Dark circles under her eyes.

The way she looked down at me gave me a slight sense of intimidation.

What was this pressure?

She didn’t seem like this the first time I saw her…

As I hesitated, unsure of what to say, she—Ragu-sensei—let out a deep sigh.

“…Um?”

“No, it’s nothing. Here.”

It was only then that I realized she had been holding something all along.

Wait—apples and oranges?

As I blinked at the contents of the basket, Ragu-sensei sighed again.

…Seriously, what is with this woman?

I debated telling her “You’ll lose luck if you keep sighing,” when suddenly she shoved the basket into my arms.

“Thank you—whoa…!”

The weight of it threw me off balance, and I ended up placing it on the floor.

I couldn’t even carry a simple fruit basket properly.

As I puzzled over how I’d carry it, the basket lifted smoothly off the ground.

“You really don’t have a guardian walking with you?”

“Toya said she’d be talking to the CEO for a while…”

“Well, can’t be helped.”

She reached out her hand toward me.

I stared at it for a moment, unsure, then slowly reached out mine.

She meant for me to hold it, right?

It felt awkward grabbing a stranger’s hand, but the atmosphere suggested something bad would happen if I didn’t, so I had no choice.

…It felt different from Toya’s hand. Awkward, like I thought.

“You said she’s in the CEO’s office, right?”

“Yes. Um, are you okay with that?”

“What’s there not to be okay about?”

Toya had told me that Ragu-sensei was the CEO’s ex.

Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable seeing your ex’s face?

But Ragu-sensei’s expression was calm, almost indifferent.

Didn’t seem like they broke up for any bad reason.

“You came from Korea, right, Ichinose-chan?”

“Yes…”

“Korea, huh… Nice place.”

“Have you been?”

“A few times, long ago.”

She looked nostalgic as she said it, and I quietly turned my head away.

Well, Korea’s right next door, so it wouldn’t be weird if she had visited once or twice.

Anyway, after a bit of walking, we finally arrived at the CEO’s office.

She was surprisingly good at matching my ridiculously tiny steps.

_Knock knock._

“Saito, I’m coming in.”

Without waiting, she opened the door.

The CEO’s surprised expression peeked out between the door before I could stop her.

Well, of course she’d be surprised—someone barged in mid-conversation.

Not that Toya looked bothered at all.

“She was wandering around alone, so I brought her back.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“You could’ve at least told me if you needed to go to the bathroom.”

“I didn’t, okay?!”

Toya’s nonsense made me snap, and she just laughed.

Read the room, Toya! Read the room!

I felt the subtle tension between the CEO and Ragu-sensei and began inching away.

If they were finished talking, maybe it was time to leave.

I tugged gently at Toya’s sleeve, trying to give her the hint. Her eyes softened into a gentle smile.

“What, this is fun.”

“This isn’t fun at all!”

Not even a little bit!

She seemed to understand what was going on, but had no intention of leaving her seat. Evil.

She was sitting there like she was watching a soap opera. Ridiculous.

This kind of scene is only fun when it’s on screen—not in real life. In real life, it’s just awkward and kind of scary…

“It’s been a while, Saito.”

“…It has. Have you been well?”

“Getting by. You… not so much, from the looks of it.”

Ugh, this is too much.

I don’t even have dating experience—let alone breakup experience—why am I witnessing this?

I started tugging at Toya’s sleeve again.

Let’s disappear quietly. Please.

Sensing my desperation, Toya finally got up from her seat.

So you _can_ listen to me, huh, Toya?

“Well then, we’ll be heading out.”

“Toya?!”

“What? It’s polite to say goodbye, right?”

Sorry for interrupting your tense scene…

I avoided eye contact as much as possible and shuffled away.

Toya, of course, was grinning happily for some reason.

“Oh, take this.”

“Apples and oranges?”

“They’re good for asthma, so make sure she eats them.”

“Thank you, Ragu-sensei.”

Apples and oranges are good for asthma, huh.

Wait… how did Ragu-sensei know I have asthma?

And she even brought this fruit basket? It didn’t seem like she brought it after watching today’s stream…

Holding hands with Toya again, we left the office.

“Do you think the CEO and Ragu-sensei aren’t on bad terms?”

“Maybe not.”

“…You’re not even sure?”

“Well, they’re childhood friends.”

Pretty bold behavior for someone who’s not sure, Toya.

Still, “childhood friends,” huh… That phrase has a nice ring to it.

Back at the orphanage, I had someone kind of like a childhood friend too.

Though they got adopted not long after.

I was a little sad back then, but I was happy for them, so I tried to keep it as a good memory.

“Childhood friends are nice.”

“…Yeoreum, you had one?”

“Yeah? Uh, yeah. I guess?”

Toya’s expression sharpened the moment I mentioned it.

Um, what’s with the sudden intensity?

She looked like a predator guarding her territory.

Was she… jealous of my childhood friend?

“We got separated when we were really young, so I don’t remember much.”

“…I see.”

“Why? Are you jealous?”

She didn’t react when Nagisa or Inari hugged me, but the mention of a childhood friend and _this_ was her face?

Feeling strange, I stared at her—and Toya turned away, cheeks flushed.

So she _does_ realize she’s being ridiculous.

Still, that’s part of what makes her Toya.

“Wanna eat the apples and oranges when we get home?”

“…Why are you saying it like _you’re_ treating me? Ragu-sensei gave that to _me_, you know?”

“She handed it to me, so it’s mine~”

What are you, a kid?

I gave her a tired look as she wiggled the fruit basket in front of me. She smiled sheepishly.

Well… fine. That’s also part of her charm.

Besides, she’s the one who has to carry it, so I guess she has some claim to it.

“As an apology, I’ll cut the apple into a rabbit shape! How’s that?”

“The orange?”

“The apple!”

“Just kidding.”

Like anyone could cut an orange into a rabbit.

We kept trading silly jokes like that as we headed home.

Even though I’d only been gone half a day, I missed home like crazy. I even started rushing Toya to walk faster.

We only played games all day, but I’d definitely used up a lot of energy.

…If only I hadn’t been so startled, maybe everyone could’ve had more fun.

“We’re almost home.”

“Our home?”

“Our home.”

“Pfft…”

Toya burst out laughing at my words, and I tilted my head.

Seriously, I’ll never understand what makes her laugh.