Saiga reluctantly stood up.
“Well, then I guess I’d better go,” he said, looking at Keigo like he’d rather stay. “Mr. Yuuki, I hope we can continue this conversation in the future.”
“I’d like that. We could get dinner or something.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” Saiga replied. Keigo watched him as he walked over to the department head.
“Would you mind if I sat down?” Saotome asked with a slight tilt of her head as she took a seat next to Keigo. “It seems you’re very popular, Mr. Yuuki.”
“I rarely get a chance to bask in the spotlight, so I’m enjoying it while I can.”
“Ha-ha. You stand out, so I’m sure you’re always in the spotlight.”
Saotome giggled, then suddenly stared at him.
“…What?” he asked, embarrassed by her prolonged gaze.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said, pressing her cheeks with both hands like she was flustered. “I was just noticing how tall you are. How many centimeters are you?”
“A little over a hundred and eighty, although I haven’t measured myself lately.”
“Wow, that’s amazing! I’m a hundred and fifty-five… That’s almost a thirty-centimeter difference!”
It was true—if they stood next to each other, they would look like an adult and a child.
“I wish I was taller,” she said.
Keigo figured she must have a complex about it.
“I mean…,” she went on. “The perfect height difference for kissing is about fifteen centimeters.”
Keigo nearly choked on his beer and slapped his hand over his mouth to avoid spewing it all over. He glanced at Saotome in disbelief, but she was still gazing up at him.
Is she making a move on me?
“Uh…”
As he glanced around looking for an escape, his eyes fell on Nagi, chatting happily with some coworkers a distance away. Under no circumstances did he want Nagi to know about this conversation. Should I just laugh and muddle through? But on the off chance she’s not joking, would that be rude? Remembering how affectionate Nagi had been with her earlier, he floundered for a good response.
“Mr. Yuuki? What are you looking at?”
Saotome craned her neck curiously.
“Yuuki! What’s the star of the show doing off in a corner?”
A senior member of the sales team he was already acquainted with wrapped his arm around Keigo’s shoulders. Thank God! he thought. As he chatted casually with the man, Saotome quietly vanished.
The party had been going for two hours. Voice hoarse from talking too much to too many people, Keigo headed to the restroom partly to take a break. Thanks to not enough food and too many people pouring him drinks, he was drunker than usual. As he rounded a corner in the hallway on unsteady feet, he bumped into someone.
“Oh!”
His heart skipped a beat. It was Nagi. She seemed to be on the way back from the bathroom.
“Oh, Keigo, it’s you. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yeah, everyone’s been great.”
“I’m glad,” she said, smiling. Then she suddenly stared at him with a serious expression. He didn’t know how to put it exactly, but it felt like she could see right through him. Ever since he was little, he’d had a strong impulse to look away whenever she stared at him.
“Drank a lot tonight?”
He tensed, and she grinned as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Why…? Is my face red?”
“No. It’s normal—but see here?”
Nagi reached out one of her long, thin fingers toward him. Her nails were trimmed short so she could type more easily. Her natural, unadorned finger gently touched the corner of his eye.
“Your eyes are slacker than usual.”
From the point where her finger touched his skin, an amorphous joy poured into him and filled his heart. This feeling of pure happiness, however, was instantly engulfed by a conflicting feeling of loneliness. He knew why. It was because being this close to her made him feel further away than ever.
“My eyes are slacker? What’s that even mean?”
Keigo flashed her a wry smile, and Nagi giggled in amusement. That’s when they heard it.
“…Really? You mean Yoroizuka was behind what happened with Mr. Kojima?”
The two of them froze at the sound of a man’s voice accompanied by multiple sets of footsteps coming their way from down the hall. Not good. Keigo grabbed Nagi’s hand and pulled her away from the approaching voices. Slipping into a semiprivate room that happened to be open, he covered her mouth as she shot him a confused look. They peeked through the curtains hanging in the doorway. Two men from System Development Division One were passing the room where they were hiding, probably on their way to the bathroom.
“That’s what everyone’s saying. Anyway, he was obviously harsh on her.”
Nagi’s shoulder twitched. After all the drama, Keigo had heard that Kojima voluntarily resigned, leaving the company just as Keigo entered the department. The company had found a new job for him, so he probably wouldn’t end up dead in a ditch—but unfortunately, since only the president and Keigo knew the real reason he’d left, everyone else was curious about it.
“Honestly, though, he was useless. I’m glad he’s gone. I bet the president had something to do with it.”
“It’s probably a warning. Mess with Yoroizuka, and you’re out.”
“She’s so lucky. I wish I worked at a company run by my relatives.”
They laughed as they passed the room. Keigo remained frozen in place.
“…Keigo, I can’t breathe.”
Returning to his senses at the sound of Nagi’s voice, he realized he’d been pressing her to him.
“Sorry!”
He abruptly let her go but couldn’t think of anything else to say. Nagi burst out laughing.
“Oh, don’t worry about them. They’ve been drinking, and anyway, they didn’t say anything bad about me.”
She might be able to laugh it off, but he couldn’t bring himself to share her attitude. True, they hadn’t trash-talked her, but hearing them say such things must not feel very good.
“…Do people say stuff like that to you a lot?”
She might be the president’s niece, but she would never take advantage of it. To the contrary, she was the type who genuinely hated when people walked on eggshells around her because of who she was. He’d assumed she’d handled the situation with skill and built good relationships with her coworkers, but now he wasn’t sure.
“People hardly ever say it to my face,” she said.
She was being evasive, but her words suggested the incident just now wasn’t unique.
“I know I got this job through family connections. It’s fine. Actually, it’s a good thing, because when people realize I can actually do the work, my reputation shoots up,” she joked.
He knew she didn’t want him to worry about it, so there was nothing more he could say to make her feel better.