Sazuki Nagihara, a 24-year-old sales representative at an advertising firm, lives in fear of her boss—the infamous department head Masato Watase, known for his ruthless perfectionism and cold demeanor. Every day he scolds her more harshly than anyone else, earning them a reputation as a disaster pairing.
But everything changes one night when Nagihara receives a mysterious message. "You did your best today." "You're doing just fine." The sender is Watase himself—her tyrannical boss hides a gentl
Secret Gentleness, Identity's Trap - Between Day and Night
Monday morning, the moment Nagihara Satsuki stepped onto the third floor of the Akasaka Toei Building, she felt her stomach tighten.
The events of Friday night wouldn't leave her head.
The overlapping hands in Watase's private office. The Liite icon glowing on the smartphone screen placed on the desk. And the message that arrived after she got home——"I've known you since long ago."
(Stay calm. It might just be my imagination.)
Telling herself this, Nagihara headed to her desk. But unlike usual, she couldn't quite settle down. For some reason, her eyes kept drifting toward the glass-walled private office in the back.
No one was there yet. Watase hadn't arrived at the office.
She wasn't sure if she felt relieved or disappointed.
She powered on her computer and opened the CosmosFlora project folder. There were leftover tasks from Friday's presentation. She should focus on work properly.
Just as she thought that, the intercom rang.
The number displayed on the screen——Watase Yuto's private office.
Nagihara's fingers froze. Before she could even deliberate whether to pick up, on the third ring she was already holding the receiver.
"Nagihara, come to my office."
"Y-yes... I'll be right there."
Short. Cold. His usual voice.
Taking a deep breath, Nagihara stood up.
She knocked on the office door, and a single word came back: "Come in." When she opened the door, Watase was already facing his desk, looking at documents. Dark brown short hair. Cold gray eyes. Tall, impeccably dressed in a suit——completely different from the "slightly more human" version she'd seen in his office Friday night.
He was in full demon-boss mode.
"For the CosmosFlora project, list up the points for improvement before we move to the next phase. By end of day."
His gaze remained on the documents. He didn't even look at Nagihara.
"Y-yes. Understood..."
She could hear her own voice getting smaller. As she started to stand, she found herself looking at Watase.
——He still wasn't looking at her.
(This person sends me messages like "your health is what matters most" at night?)
She couldn't believe it herself. But the Liite icon was burned into her memory.
Nagihara gave a light bow and left the office.
Throughout the morning, Nagihara tried to compile the CosmosFlora improvement list, but she couldn't concentrate at all. She'd type on the keyboard, then stop. Type, then stop. Her coworker Kashiwagi Kohei glanced at her sideways.
Kashiwagi had his chestnut-colored semi-long hair carelessly tied up as usual, his amber-colored eyes directed toward her.
"Nagihara-san, are you okay? You don't look well."
"Eh, ah, I'm fine! I was just... thinking about something."
She forced a smile, but Kashiwagi didn't seem convinced, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Don't push yourself. If something's wrong, talk to me about it, seriously."
Those words seeped gently into her heart.
(Kashiwagi-san is kind...)
But eighty percent of her mind was occupied with Watase. The coldness during the day and the gentleness at night. What was that gap? Why did her heart race every time she saw his face?
"Ah..."
Before she knew it, Nagihara had opened a completely different screen instead of the list. The Liite app page. She hurriedly closed it.
"What was that?"
"N-nothing at all! I'll get back to work!"
"Got it. Well, let's grab lunch together. For a change of pace."
Nagihara nodded obediently.
――
During lunch break, Kashiwagi led her to the employee cafeteria on the 14th floor, "Lighthouse Terrace." Toei Company's "Lighthouse Terrace" was a place with a nice view where Tokyo Tower could be seen in the distance, and it was packed with employees during lunch hour.
"I wonder what today's set meal is. Chicken maybe, or fish?"
"Ah, the set meal is 580 yen, isn't it?"
"It's cheap, really. If you eat out, it costs at least 1200 yen."
As they took a seat by the window and set down their trays, Nagihara's eyes drifted to the cafeteria entrance.
——Watase Yuto had just walked in.
Alone, looking for an empty seat. It seemed he was planning to have lunch in the office today.
Nagihara's entire body went rigid.
(What? He's coming here?)
As she checked where he would sit while holding her tray, Watase's gaze suddenly turned toward them.
——Their eyes met.
For a moment, time seemed to stop. Watase's expression was as expressionless as always. But his gaze——paused just slightly on Nagihara.
The next moment, Watase looked away and sat at a seat about three meters away from their table.
"Nagihara-san, let's sit."
"Ah... yes."
Nagihara took her seat. Kashiwagi across from her. Watase diagonally behind her. This arrangement made her uneasy.
"The director's been pretty harsh lately, hasn't he? I feel like he's been especially hard on Nagihara-san."
Kashiwagi said it casually while bringing his set meal to his mouth. His bright voice dissolved into the noise of the floor.
"Eh... is that so? It's always like that for me."
She laughed it off. But the food wouldn't go down her throat. She took a bite of white rice, but it had no taste at all.
She felt a gaze from diagonally behind her.
(It's just my imagination. Definitely my imagination.)
"Nagihara-san? Are you listening?"
"S-sorry! What were you saying?"
"I was asking if there's anything I can help with for the next phase of CosmosFlora. ...Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine, really. Um, for the next phase, I'm planning to dig deeper into the analysis of purchase motivation..."
While desperately continuing the conversation, Nagihara secretly checked behind her.
Watase was eating quietly. He was holding a smartphone instead of a newspaper. She couldn't tell what was on the screen. But——the thought that it might be Liite crossed her mind, and Nagihara hurriedly turned back to face forward.
"...Nagihara-san, are you maybe worried about the director?"
"N-no, I'm not!"
"I see."
Kashiwagi smiled. But for just a moment, behind that smile, she sensed something cool and calculating——though that might have just been her imagination.
As they finished eating and stood to leave, Nagihara looked back one more time.
Just then, Watase also looked up.
Their eyes met again.
This time it lasted a bit longer.
Watase's expression didn't change. But in the depths of his gray eyes——there was something. Something that couldn't be put into words.
Nagihara looked away first.
"Let's go."
"Y-yes."
As they left the cafeteria, Nagihara didn't look back again.
――
In the afternoon, Nagihara quietly worked on the improvement list. Today was for CosmosFlora——the new product "Luminache" promotion project, and she was compiling the issues to be identified before moving to the next phase. Target demographic purchase motivation analysis, campaign messaging angles, differentiation from competitors. She carefully put each item into words. When she could concentrate on work, she didn't have to think about unnecessary things.
At 9 PM, Nagihara submitted the completed list to Watase and left the office.
――
Third floor of "Maison Harukaze," a condominium in Omotesando. The moment Nagihara entered her room, she took off her coat and collapsed onto her bed. Beyond the balcony, the silhouettes of trees in Yoyogi Forest were visible. The quiet night air.
She took out her smartphone.
She opened Liite.
There was a notification. From "yoru_no_niwa."
——"You seemed down today. I don't want you to push yourself. Your health is what matters most to me."
Nagihara stared at the screen, unable to move for a while.
This person had been watching. Watching her today.
Three meters away in the cafeteria. That gaze.
"After all..."
The words came out. Without her even realizing it.
(This person is Director Watase.)
She was certain now. Watase during the day was cold and strict, someone she couldn't even look at properly. Yet at night——he sent such warm words.
Why?
Why was he so different between day and night?
And——what did "I've known you since long ago" mean?
Nagihara tried to recall her past. Memories from early childhood. Before starting elementary school. But it was like looking through fog——unclear. It seemed like she could remember, but she couldn't. Had she always been like that, or was there something——
(I don't know.)
With trembling fingers, she typed a reply.
"Do you really know me? Have we met before? In the past?"
She pressed send and kept staring at the screen.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes.
No reply came.
Just as she was about to give up and place the smartphone on her chest, it vibrated.
"Someday, I'll tell you everything. But it's not time yet."
Tears welled up at the corners of Nagihara's eyes.
"It's not time yet"——what did that mean? When would he tell her?
It was scary. She wanted to know. But if she found out, something might change——
This gentleness might disappear.
Nagihara closed the screen and gripped the darkened smartphone tightly.
The sounds of the night city drifted in from far away.
(What does Director Watase know about me?)
That question alone remained in the quiet room at night.
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