The Framed Accountant and the Cold Vice President's Doting Love
One mistake was all it took to bring Ren Mise's quiet life crashing down. Six years of honest work at Katsuragi Corporation's Accounting Department mean nothing when a forged approval log bearing his ID surfaces—thirty million yen, funneled through a system he never had the authority to touch. With no way to prove his innocence and whispers spreading through the office like wildfire, Ren finds himself on the verge of resigning. But just as he's ready to give up, the executive elevator doors slid
The Framed Accountant and the Cold Vice President's Doting Love - The Ice Vice President Goes to the Abandoned Warehouse — I'd Rather Have You Than the Vice President's Seat
Katsuragi Tower, thirty-fifth floor. The executive boardroom — the "Katsuragi Boardroom."
Every leather chair sat empty. The wood paneling covering the walls swallowed the echo of footsteps. Beyond the windows, the high-rises of Minato. Afternoon light struck the polished floor and bounced back white.
Katsuragi Ryuichi stood in that light.
Salt-and-pepper hair in a buzz cut. Sharp black eyes. A large mole on his right cheek. A navy three-piece suit. His short legs planted firmly on the floor. Fifty-six years old, senior managing director. A man who carried the blood of the founding Katsuragi family.
"...Himuro-kun. We need to talk."
He called out to the man standing in the doorway.
Himuro Rei. Thirty-four. His silver-tinged dark gray hair slicked back, his blue-gray eyes narrowed. A small scar at the tail of his left eyebrow. His tall, hundred-eighty-five-centimeter frame wrapped in a black suit.
"I'll be taking a bit of your time."
A thick finger traced the surface of the table.
Himuro stood across the oval table, directly opposite, without a word.
"Give up the vice president's seat."
Himuro's brow didn't move.
"I don't follow."
"Don't be so cold. I'm saying this for your own good."
He pulled a smartphone from his pocket, worked the screen, and held it out toward Himuro.
"This look familiar?"
The screen — a dim warehouse. A man tied to a pillar. Black hair in a serious short cut. Clear brown eyes, wide open.
It was Mise Ren.
Himuro's blue-gray eyes wavered, just for an instant.
"Mise Ren from Accounting, wasn't it."
The smartphone was set on the table. On the screen, Ren's limbs were bound, a gag forced into his mouth.
"This man's been missing since this morning, apparently. An acquaintance of mine happened to find him in an abandoned warehouse on the bay."
The corners of Katsuragi's mouth lifted. Only his eyes stayed fixed, studying Himuro's face.
"I don't know what you think of this man. But if you give up the vice president's seat, he goes home safe."
Himuro looked down at him in silence.
"Otherwise, Mise Ren dies."
Clouds drifted past the window, casting shadows over the Minato high-rises.
Himuro slowly opened his mouth.
"...I recorded that call."
The smile vanished from Katsuragi's face.
"What?"
A small recorder Himuro had drawn from his suit's inner pocket. A red light blinked.
"Every word you just said in this room. All of it is recorded. Conspiracy to kidnap, coercion, and — a confession of being the mastermind behind the embezzlement. No one would blame them for reading it that way."
"Y-you bastard...!"
Katsuragi's face flushed red. The mole on his right cheek trembled.
"You set me up...!"
"You're the one who set the trap."
His voice was flat as ice.
"You framed Mise Ren as the embezzler and tried to take the vice president's seat. To do it, you used Kurabashi Atsushi. Am I wrong?"
Katsuragi gritted his teeth. His clenched fist trembled faintly.
"...How much do you know?"
"Everything."
The recorder went back into his pocket.
"Director Katsuragi. Your elitism, your obsession with the founder's bloodline — I don't care. But laying a hand on Ren is the one thing I will never forgive."
Katsuragi took a step back.
The blue-gray eyes fixed on him like a lance.
"I'll hand over the vice president's seat, as you wish. But I have one condition."
"W-what..."
"Release Ren. Now."
With that, Himuro turned his back.
"W-wait! We're not finished here!"
He left the boardroom, the voice trailing behind him.
The cold air of the corridor brushed his cheek. He pulled out his smartphone and connected to his secretary.
"Todo. Draft a delegation of authority for all approval rights. Immediately."
"Huh? A delegation, sir?"
"I'm temporarily delegating my approval authority to the president. I'll bring the paperwork myself later."
"W-what happened?"
"No time to explain. Have it ready in thirty minutes."
He ended the call. The elevator button. The doors opened, and he stepped in.
Thirty-five, thirty-four, thirty-three. The floor numbers counted down.
He looked at his own hand. His fingertips were trembling faintly.
(Ren...)
(I will save you. No matter what.)
The elevator stopped at the first floor. He crossed the lobby at a near-run and headed for the taxi stand.
"The abandoned warehouse on the bay. Hurry."
The car pulled away. The streets of Minato streamed past the window, and Katsuragi Tower shrank behind him.
He took off his jacket and loosened his tie.
(Wait for me, Ren.)
———
The bay area. The abandoned warehouse.
The smell of the tide mixed with the cold air.
Mise Ren sat with his back against the pillar, his limbs still bound. The blindfold was off. The gag was gone. But the ropes around his wrists and ankles still bit in tight.
Old wooden crates and steel frames lay scattered through the high-ceilinged space. Rusted hooks on the walls. Black stains on the floor.
Ren slowly steadied his breathing.
A faint light came through a small window high on the wall. Dawn had broken.
(Kurabashi-san said he'd report to Director Katsuragi.)
Last night's conversation replayed in the back of his mind.
"I'll finish it off tomorrow morning."
(Tomorrow morning... that's now.)
A cold shiver ran down his whole body.
He bit his lip. His teeth chattered.
(I'm scared. I'm scared to die.)
He searched for Himuro's voice inside himself.
"I will protect you."
Those words, that day, in the vice president's office.
(Himuro-san...)
He rubbed his bound wrists against the corner of the pillar.
Scrape, scrape.
The rope ground against the rough concrete surface.
(It's fraying, little by little.)
He'd been at it since last night. The corner of the pillar was bare concrete, and every rub loosened the fibers.
(I won't give up. I absolutely won't give up.)
He clenched his teeth and kept working his wrists.
"Yo, Mise. You awake?"
Kurabashi Atsushi emerged from the back of the warehouse. Thirty-four. A gentle face. But his eyes weren't smiling.
Ren stopped moving his wrists.
"You've been awfully quiet. I figured you'd be screaming and crying."
He crouched in front of Ren.
"...Kurabashi-san."
His voice was hoarse.
"Mise, this is your fault. If you hadn't dug into things you shouldn't have, none of this would've happened."
"The KFN logs. You found them. You got in Director Katsuragi's way."
"In his way...? I just wanted to clear my name..."
"That's exactly what's in the way."
He grabbed Ren by the collar.
"Because of you, I... I...!"
Kurabashi's face twisted with pain.
"I've got debts. If I don't pay them back, my family... Director Katsuragi lent me the money. In exchange, he told me to pin the crime on you. I couldn't refuse...!"
Ren looked into his eyes.
(This man is backed into a corner too.)
(But that doesn't give him the right to kill me.)
He spoke in a trembling voice.
"Kurabashi-san. I don't know what circumstances you're carrying. But killing me won't make your debts disappear. Director Katsuragi is just using you."
Kurabashi's grip loosened for an instant.
"...Shut up."
He let go of the collar.
"This has nothing to do with you. You're finished."
He stood and pulled out his smartphone.
"Hello, Director Katsuragi. It's Kurabashi. The preparations are ready."
Ren's heart leaped.
(Finish it...)
He pressed his wrists against the pillar's corner.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
(Come on, fray.)
"Yes. We'll do it at the usual place now... Yes. Understood. I'll sink all the evidence in the sea afterward."
(Fray. Fray. Fray.)
The rope loosened bit by bit.
"Understood. Then, later."
The call ended.
"Mise. Sorry, but you're going to die here."
He looked down at Ren.
"Two of my men are waiting outside. They'll help sink you in the sea."
Ren looked up at Kurabashi. Fear brought tears to his eyes.
He bit his lip hard.
"...I'm not going to die."
His voice was shaking. But his eyes were straight ahead.
"Huh?"
"I'm going to bring the truth to light. I'm going to restore my honor. And I'm going back to Himuro-san's side."
Kurabashi flinched for a moment.
"...What are you talking about..."
CLAAANG!!!
The iron door burst open with a deafening sound.
Morning light came flooding into the dim warehouse.
In the light, a black silhouette.
Silver-tinged dark gray hair. Ice-cold blue-gray eyes.
"Kurabashi Atsushi."
His suit jacket was off, his white shirt sleeves rolled up, his tie removed.
"H-Himuro... Vice President...!?"
The blood drained from his face.
Himuro walked slowly into the warehouse.
"Laying a hand on Ren will cost you dearly."
A quiet voice. That quietness was more terrifying than anything.
"Y-you two! What are you doing! Get him, now!"
Two men came charging in from outside the warehouse.
One with an iron pipe. The other with a knife.
"Uwooooh!"
The pipe swung down. Himuro dodged, grabbed the man's wrist, and twisted it up.
"Guaaah!"
The pipe clattered to the floor. Himuro seized him by the collar and slammed him into the wall.
Thud.
"You're next."
The man with the knife backed away.
"H-hiii...!"
Himuro stepped in.
"D-don't come near meee!"
The knife slashed wildly. Himuro evaded it, caught the arm, and threw him over his shoulder.
Boom.
The knife spun away with a clatter.
"P-please, Vice President Himuro... f-forgive me..."
He stayed flat on the floor, trembling.
"I'll contact the police later. You two wait here."
He turned. Kurabashi was backing away, his face pale.
"W-wait! I was only following Director Katsuragi's orders...!"
Himuro grabbed him by the collar.
"You laid a hand on Ren. That fact doesn't change."
He slammed him into the wall.
Thud.
"I don't care about your circumstances. Anyone who hurts Ren — anyone — I will never forgive."
The blue-gray eyes pierced through Kurabashi.
Kurabashi collapsed, shaking violently.
Himuro released him. Turned around. Went to Ren.
Ren, still bound to the pillar, looked up at Himuro. His vision blurred with tears.
"...Himuro... -san..."
Himuro knelt in front of Ren.
"I'm late."
The ropes around his limbs were untied, carefully. They fell to the floor.
Red, scraped marks ringed Ren's wrists. Marks worn raw against the pillar's corner.
Himuro's fingers traced them.
"...You tried to fray the rope yourself."
"...Yes. So I could be free, even a little."
Tears spilling, he smiled.
"I believed you would come."
His voice was thick with sobs.
Himuro cupped Ren's face in both hands. His thumbs wiped the tear-streaked cheeks.
"Yes. I will always come. For you, Ren — anywhere."
Ren buried his face in Himuro's chest.
"Himuro-san...!"
He clutched the shirt and cried out loud. Arms wrapped around his back and held him tight.
"It's all right now. I'll protect you."
———
Some time later.
In Himuro's arms, Ren slowly steadied his breathing.
"...Ren. Can you stand?"
"A-ah, yes... I'm fine."
Supported, he got to his feet. His legs were still trembling.
"Don't push yourself. Can you walk?"
"Y-yes. My legs are just a little numb..."
He tried to take a step and staggered.
"...Here."
He was lifted clean off his feet.
"Wha—!? W-wait, Himuro-san!?"
Ren hurriedly clung to Himuro's neck.
"Be still. I'll carry you out of the warehouse."
"B-but I'm heavy..."
"You're light. Have you been eating properly?"
"Huh... um, yes. More or less..."
Ren buried his face in Himuro's chest.
He could hear his heartbeat. Thump, thump.
(Warm.)
(Himuro-san's arms are warm.)
They stepped outside the warehouse. The sea breeze wrapped around them. The sky was clear and blue.
"...Ren. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Looking down at him, Ren raised his face.
"...Yes. Actually, while I was locked up, I found something."
He pulled a small USB drive from his pocket.
"What's this?"
"Kurabashi-san dropped his tablet on the floor. When he wasn't looking, I pulled it over with my foot and checked what was on it."
He gripped the USB dri
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.