“Whoa… I had no idea…”
She clasped both her hands to her cheeks, pressing her arms against her pounding heart. In her wildest dreams, she never would have imagined Keigo and Saotome together like that. She’d hardly ever heard Keigo mention women in the past, so she’d assumed he wasn’t very interested in romance. But maybe it was a different story if the woman was Saotome. It was only natural that even Keigo would fall for her.
“I see…”
She was oddly filled with emotion. If the two of them were dating, that was wonderful. As team leader, she knew she should congratulate them heartily. But now that Saiga was leaving, she realized sadly that she would be the only single person on the team.
She felt kind of down, but she knew she couldn’t sit in the bathroom avoiding her problems forever, so she steeled herself to go back to her desk.
“Huh…?”
Suddenly, she became aware of an odd sensation in her chest.
It was as if her heart was a piece of paper that had just been scrunched up into a ball. It must be shock from the combined bombshell of Saiga’s request followed by her discovery of Keigo and Saotome’s relationship.
“…Time to get back to work.”
Massaging the area above her heart, she pulled herself together and left the bathroom. She had to set aside Saiga, Keigo, and Saotome for the time being and focus on her job. After all, it was a very important day for her. But no matter how much she tried to psyche herself up, the strange feeling in her heart refused to go away.
Nagi shivered and pulled her Chesterfield coat tight as the cold mid-November wind pricked her cheeks. It was Friday, and the street lined with bars and restaurants was packed with workers off for the weekend. Her hair was in place, and she’d fixed her makeup in the bathroom before leaving the office. She was as ready as she could be. As she waited nervously, someone stopped in front of her.
“Uh…are you Ms. Nagi?”
She looked up. A man wearing a gray coat over his suit was peering at her. She had looked at his photo enough times to know right away that it was Nao Kousaka. He was as handsome as his picture—no, even more handsome in real life.
“Kousaka…right?”
“Yes. Good to meet you.”
Their greetings were stiff. She was hearing his voice for the first time. It was lower and gentler than she’d imagined.
As Kousaka headed toward the nearby restaurant where he’d made a reservation, she stayed half a pace behind, glancing at his tall form as he walked. She’d worn low heels just in case, but this precaution turned out to be unnecessary. She couldn’t care less herself, but apparently, a lot of guys saw her height of almost 170 centimeters as a deterrent to dating. She’d been dumped a number of times for just that reason. But she didn’t need to worry about that with Kousaka. As she let out a sigh of relief, he paused.
“Here we are.”
They were standing in front of a bustling, steam-filled bar. Beyond the timeworn door, customers were packed shoulder to shoulder, happily downing their beer and food. At a counter lined with an abundant selection of shouchuu and nihonshuu, someone who looked like the owner was grilling chicken with a practiced hand. What was this place? It was too good to be true!
“I had no idea a place like this was tucked in back here! I absolutely love bars like this where all kinds of people rub elbows—”
Suddenly, she stopped her excited flood of words. Kousaka was blinking in confusion.
“Um… Ms. Nagi, not that place. I meant the one next door.”
Nagi slowly looked around and belatedly noticed the elegant French restaurant sitting quietly to the right of the bar.
“…S-sorry…”
“No, I’m the one who should apologize. Now I know you like bars. Next time we’ll do that,” he said kindly, with a wry smile. She apologized again and followed him into the restaurant. Calming classical music was playing in the dim dining area. Shrinking at the refined ambiance, she sat down carefully in the chair the waiter pulled out for her.
“It’s prix fixe. Will that be all right?”
Nagi, who had been glancing around for a paper menu, looked up in surprise at Kousaka’s words.
“O-of course.”
“Great. What will you have to drink?”
Reading over the drinks menu he handed her, she recoiled in shock at the astronomical prices. She occasionally went out for French food, but the prices here were a step up…no, two or three steps up.
“Ms. Nagi, may I suggest the champagne? They’ve got some good ones here,” he prompted considerately as she sat frozen in front of the open menu.
“Oh, yes, that sounds good.” She nodded.
Kousaka called the waiter over and ordered a brand of champagne she’d never heard of. When the man returned with their glasses, the liquid inside was a lovely, appetizing golden color. Unfortunately, the quantity, too, was elegantly restrained.
“Cheers.”
When she brought her lips to the rim of the glass, Nagi took great care not to drink down the entire contents in one gulp. As one would hope when paying such a high price, it was delicious: not too sweet, but dry and refreshing.
“I hope our dinner isn’t interfering with your work. You seem to stay late a lot,” Kousaka began after carefully setting down his glass.
“Oh, not at all! I finished up at top speed today, so everything’s fine!”
“That’s good,” Kousaka said with a smile, but then the conversation stalled. Nagi had been genuinely looking forward to meeting him, but now she was so nervous she had no idea what to say. When she was with other women, she could talk about makeup or clothes or something, but that didn’t work with men. Although the conversation never dried up with Keigo.
“Mademoiselle, your appetizer.”
The waiter broke into her restless thoughts with a plate of food.
“That looks delicious!” she said. Thank goodness, she thought as she took a bite.
“By the way,” Kousaka said. “It’s gotten colder lately, and it seems we’re already at the end of the year. How do you usually spend the New Year?”
Nagi thought back to the previous winter.
“Well…last year, we got together at my mom’s house with some neighbors and watched boxing on TV.”
Keigo’s family had come over on New Year’s Eve, and they’d all been shouting and cheering over the heated match. Maybe because their parents were such good friends, they usually spent the holiday at one or the other’s family home.
“…Do you like boxing, then?” Kousaka asked. She didn’t notice the slightly subdued tone of his voice.
“Oh, I love it!” she replied. “Do you follow any sports?”
“I don’t watch much…although I do enjoy snowboarding and rock climbing.”
She hadn’t tried either, and she racked her brain to think of something else to ask him about. She had to find a shared interest! What did men like to talk about anyway? If she were talking to Keigo—
Suddenly, his face popped into her mind.
“Oh, that reminds me. Last year on New Year’s Eve, we all played mahjong!”
He looked surprised.
“You play mahjong?”
“Yes, although I’m not very good.”
Keigo’s father loved the game and always suggested they play. It was another annual tradition for Nagi, Keigo, and his mom and dad to sit around the table until dawn. Keigo’s parents usually won, while Keigo and Nagi competed for last place.
“When we play,” she went on, describing the happy memory, “the rule is that the two in last place have to drink nihonshuu. Last year, me and Keigo…oh, he’s my childhood friend…anyway, we got crushed and ended up drinking a whole bottle between the two of us.”
Slowly, the smile faded from Nagi’s face.
“Huh… That sounds fun.”
Kousaka didn’t look like he thought it sounded fun at all. Crap.
“H-how do you spend the New Year?” she asked in a panic.
“Well…last year, I watched the fireworks at Disney World in Florida with some friends.”
She almost spat out the champagne she was so cautiously sipping. What kind of a poster child for success was this man?
“Um…did you grow up in a good family…?” she asked, a bit embarrassed. He chuckled.
“Not at all. I like having fun, so that’s what I spend my money on.”
“Having fun…you mean like traveling?”
“Yes. Last year I went to Bali and Hawaii…oh, and Australia. After all, when else in our lives will we be so free to use our time as we please? I think it’s such a waste to just sit around and let the clock tally up our precious hours. That’s why I always strive to be active.”
He lifted his glass and grinned. For Nagi, who preferred to hibernate in her apartment on her days off, his words sounded like a foreign language.
“Do you like to travel, Ms. Nagi?”
This was the question she had been dreading. Her heart pounded.
“Um, well, I suppose… Ah-ha-ha…”
Traveling was fun, but it was also exhausting, so she didn’t much like it. If she was going to go anywhere, it would probably be to a hot spring resort where she could relax.
“Ah…I see.”
Her answer must have been too negative, because he didn’t say anything else on the subject. As they finished the appetizer and waited on the next course, the conversation continued to stall. Nagi was getting the sense that their interests didn’t match, and Kousaka probably was, too. Neither of them wanted to risk opening up a new topic.