To my surprise, we arrived at the airport in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps because I didn’t own a car myself—and thus didn’t normally ride in one—I’d always thought they took a lot longer than the train.
Issa pulled into a reserved parking spot.
“Are you just going to leave your car here?” I asked.
“I’ll have my secretary come pick it up,” Issa replied casually. He threw in a wink for good measure and added, “I am a CEO, after all.”
“Give me a break…”
Maybe this guy’s a little more devious than I thought…
Or maybe he’d simply let his guard down enough to joke around with me. When I thought about it that way, it seemed like a good thing.
And our exchange had made Sayu smile.
It would be nice if this friendly atmosphere lasted for the whole journey, but things probably wouldn’t be so easy.
The closer we drew to our destination, the more Sayu would have to think about.
I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she followed Issa toward the airport’s entrance and decided to do my best not to interrupt her thinking time.
Once we were inside the airport, things went by in a flash. Our carry-on bags were inspected, our luggage was checked, and we boarded the flight in no time at all.
Then, when we reached our seats, I was blown away.
“This…is business class…,” I mumbled.
“Yes, of course,” replied Issa. “It’s a long flight. I wouldn’t want you to get tired out in those cramped economy seats.”
“But this is way too much to ask…,” I said. Though frankly, it would have been difficult for me to pay for such a seat myself… Issa just laughed as though he saw right through me.
“You’re coming all the way to Hokkaido for Sayu. This is the least I can do. And besides…” Issa paused meaningfully as one corner of his mouth raised to form an affected smirk. “I am a CEO, after all.”
“Enough already. I’m begging you!” Sayu laughed loudly, snagging one of the large reclining seats. “Oh my gosh, this is amazing…! It’s so comfy!” she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.
“Why don’t you try yours out, too, Mr. Yoshida?” Issa urged me, and I timidly took the seat next to Sayu’s.
The spacious cushion was neither too hard nor too soft. The only word to describe it was comfy.
“This is…pretty great,” I admitted, and Issa nodded with satisfaction.
“Please make yourself comfortable. If you need anything, just let me know.”
With that, he pulled a thin laptop from his carry-on bag.
I stole a quick glance at the screen, and it was clear that he was reading his emails. A CEO of a large company probably had an extraordinary amount of mail he needed to attend to.
And yet, as busy as he was, he had still made time to escort his sister home to Hokkaido. It was clear he really cared about her.
Seeing Issa totally at home in his business-class seat made it clear to me that this man lived in a totally different world than I did.
Sayu, however, seemed excited and nervous at the same time. Her eyes were darting around the cabin.
“Not used to flying business class, Sayu?”
I hadn’t put much thought into this question before I asked it, and the moment it left my lips, it occurred to me that, realistically, no high schooler was likely to be a seasoned business-class flier.
As expected, Sayu shook her head. “This is my first time flying on any plane, let alone in business class,” she replied.
“Huh? Really? I assumed you would have at least flown somewhere on vacation.”
“Nope. We never really did…family vacations.”
Her expression instantly turned gloomy.
I panicked, thinking I’d inadvertently soured the mood, but Sayu was back to normal in no time at all.
“That’s why this flight’s kinda exciting. But maybe I’m not taking things seriously enough, considering the situation…”
“Nah, I get it. I’m an adult, and I’m still pretty excited to fly business class.”
Sayu nodded in agreement, then went back to taking in all the fixtures around her seat.
Without fully taking my eyes off her, I let out a sigh, quiet enough so Sayu wouldn’t hear. I knew that I’d unwittingly touched on a dark part of her past, and I regretted not being a little more considerate.
But it seemed she was telling the truth about being excited for her first flight. She was brimming with curiosity as she stared out the window and played with the monitor on the back of the seat in front of her.
It was refreshing to watch Sayu act like the kid she was. Seeing her now reminded me that she was still a child in a lot of ways, regardless of how hard she fought to hide it from the adults around her.
At the same time, I guessed that the excitement of her first flight had allowed her to hold off thinking about what would happen after we landed.
It was difficult to gauge how Sayu really felt. But for now, she seemed to be having fun, and I didn’t want to get in the way of that.
Instead, I decided to focus on enjoying my first time flying business class.
I reclined my seat as far back as it would go.
“Whoa, it’s so chilly…”
After two hours in the air, we landed in Hokkaido. The first thing I noticed was how surprisingly cold it was.
The temperature in Tokyo was only just beginning to cool off, and so I’d planned to simply bring along a fall jacket. Sayu, however, had repeatedly advised me to take something more suited to winter weather.
“If I’d only brought my fall jacket, I would’ve been in trouble,” I admitted.
“Riiight?” she teased, snickering.
Sayu was wearing a cardigan over her school uniform, a hooded jacket on top of that, and her blazer over everything else, forcefully staving off the cold.
As bulky as this was, she still made it look fashionable. High school girls really can pull off any look, I thought.
After we picked up our luggage and left the airport, Issa suddenly turned to Sayu and me.
“I’m sorry. There’s a little business I have to take care of. Would you mind waiting here until I’m done?”
His sudden announcement left me flabbergasted.
“B-business?” I blurted out, despite myself.
I’d expected us to head straight from the airport to Sayu’s family home.
Issa’s expression as he replied was apologetic.
“My company has a branch office in Sapporo. I’m going to drop by for a little inspection,” he explained, appearing a bit embarrassed. “Even I can’t leave Tokyo without some sort of…work-related reason.”
His words reminded me once again that, while he may have been Sayu’s older brother, he was still the CEO of a major corporation.
It was clear he took both roles very seriously.
“Gotcha,” Sayu replied, jumping in before I had the chance. “How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Two or three hours, I suppose. Sorry to make you wait.”
Sayu smiled in response to her brother’s apology and shook her head.
“It’s okay. You’ve already done so much for us just bringing us here.”
Issa’s eyes went wide with surprise for a moment, then a pleased smile came to his face.
“If you say so,” he conceded with a nod. He turned to me. “I’m sorry, but could you do me a favor and look after Sayu for a few hours?”
“Of course.” I nodded. Issa bowed slightly and thanked me. Then he took out his smartphone, making a call as he strode off in a hurry.
“And there he goes…,” Sayu said, watching him.
“His job seems very busy, but he still made time to come all the way here for his little sister… He must really love you.”
The corners of Sayu’s mouth turned up in a bashful smile, and she nodded silently.