Three in the morning. The white ceiling of Residence Platine Shirogane came into view as Runa's eyes opened. She'd woken from a nightmare when she turned over. She couldn't remember what she'd dreamed. Only a suffocating sense of unease clung to her body. (I'm awake...) Lying on her back in bed, Runa stared at the ceiling. The meditation music that had been playing through the four speakers was gone. In its place, only silence filled the room. Tokyo's night wasn't complete silence. From far away came the wail of an ambulance siren, the sound of cars running through the late hours, the soft breathing of thousands of buildings. But inside this luxury apartment, it was truly quiet. Her throat was dry. Runa slowly rose from bed and slipped on a thin night gown. She passed through the guest room and stepped into the hallway. Her hand unconsciously touched the star-shaped scar beneath her left collarbone. It was a habit when she was tense. The kitchen lights came on softly. She drank water from the sink. Its coldness calmed her heart, just a little. Then. She noticed a faint light leaking from the back of the living room. Turning the corner of the hallway, the study door was slightly ajar. Through the gap, the light from a desk lamp spilled out quietly. Someone was there. It was Shunya. She approached the study door quietly and peeked through the gap. What came into Runa's view was the figure of an exhausted man. Shunya, wearing a dark gray shirt, faced the desk. Before a mountain of stacked documents, his hand was pressed to his forehead. Deep wrinkles were carved into that forehead—a profound exhaustion that seemed impossible to imagine from his usual expressionless face was laid bare. From time to time, his gaze fell to the documents, and as if noticing something, he moved his pen. Even that movement lacked his usual sharp precision, seeming heavy and sluggish instead. And then, a deep sigh. It sounded less like a sigh and more like a sound of despair leaking from the depths of his heart. (That person... every night like this...) Over the past week, Runa had sensed several times that Shunya was working late into the night. When he appeared at breakfast time, there were always dark circles beneath his eyes. She felt she could see just how much weight the title of president placed on his shoulders. A sensation of her heart tightening deep within her chest. It wasn't sympathy. It was something else. But Runa couldn't yet give that something a name. She returned to the kitchen. Without thinking, Runa had begun brewing coffee. She put grounds in the coffee maker, poured water. During that time, her heart wavered. (Should I bring it to him? But... would I just be in the way?) Even as she hesitated, her hands moved automatically. Warm coffee dripped into the cup. That exhausted expression from earlier wouldn't leave her mind. Cup in hand, she headed back to the study. She knocked. "...Come in." The response was immediate. So he must have already anticipated someone entering. She opened the door. Shunya looked up. The moment his chestnut eyes turned toward Runa, surprise crossed his face. That surprise vanished in an instant, but Runa saw it. "Your work... seemed difficult, so..." Runa spoke hesitantly. Her voice was smaller than usual. She held out the cup. Her fingertips trembled slightly. Shunya stared at the offered cup for a moment. His gaze moved from the steam rising from it to Runa's face beyond. "...Thank you." The words were brief, but they carried depth. Shunya took the cup. His hand and Runa's fingers touched slightly. Warmth transferred between them. Runa instinctively pulled her hand back and tried to leave the room. "Wait." Shunya's voice stopped her. She turned back. Shunya remained seated in his chair, holding the cup in both hands. That posture seemed surprisingly fragile. Not a president—just a tired man. "Would you... mind talking for a moment?" Runa nodded and sat in the chair beside the desk. An overwhelming silence. But that silence wasn't unpleasant—rather, it brought a sense of calm. Shunya drank his coffee and looked at Runa slowly. "Why did you... accept this contract?" It was an abrupt question. It was a personal matter not recorded in the contract. Runa's fingers moved toward the scar beneath her left collarbone. An unconscious gesture. "...For my family." She answered honestly. Life in Akabane. Her mother's medical expenses. Her younger brother's tuition. And the reality that an ordinary salary wasn't enough for them to live an ordinary life. It all fit into those words. "My mother's medical expenses and... my brother's tuition. With my current salary..." The rest wouldn't form into words. But Shunya seemed to understand everything. "...I see." Shunya nodded quietly and drank his coffee again. That quiet gesture calmed Runa's heart. "You are... kind." When those words left his lips, Runa's heart leaped. "That's... ordinary." Runa tried to be modest. But Shunya shook his head. "No. You are... truly kind." Those words sounded like some kind of confirmation. Shunya's eyes gazed directly at Runa. In that gaze was no coldness befitting a president—something else dwelled there. Runa couldn't look away. "I had... forgotten what it meant to do something for someone else." Shunya's voice was quiet. But beneath it, something seemed to burn. "To spend your time for someone. To wish for someone's happiness. How can you... do such things?" In the space after those words, Runa felt the loneliness of this cold man. A life spent within the title of president, never doing anything for anyone. Tears gathered in Runa's eyes. Not consciously—they spilled out on their own. For some reason, they wouldn't stop. "I'm... sorry." As she said this and tried to wipe her tears, Shunya said nothing. He simply took the tissue box from the desk and handed it to her. That gesture was certainly kind. Time flowed slowly. In the study in the dead of night, the two of them sat without speaking. Occasionally, the sound of Shunya drinking coffee faintly broke the silence. Beyond that, only the distant sounds of Tokyo remained. "You should sleep now." It was Shunya who said this. "But your work..." As Runa began to speak, Shunya shook his head slightly. "I've calmed down a little." In that voice, exhaustion certainly remained, but something else was mixed in. Runa couldn't tell what it was. The next morning. As Runa prepared breakfast in the living room, she saw Shunya appear. Just like the night before, dark circles remained beneath his eyes. But his expression seemed slightly softer than when he'd been at the desk in the middle of the night. "Good morning." When Runa called out, Shunya sat at the table. He gazed at the prepared breakfast. Grilled fish, miso soup, white rice. Simple Japanese cuisine. "...Thank you for last night." He said it again. Those words weren't the words of a president—they were the words of someone truly grateful. "No... thank you." As Runa answered, her heart was racing in a way that shouldn't happen in broad daylight. That heartbeat was telling her of the change within herself. (This person...) She couldn't yet speak the words that came after. But something had certainly changed. From the moment she'd seen that exhausted man's face in the study at midnight. Warm coffee rose slowly in white steam.