The cold touch of the sheets woke Aya. Her eyelids were heavy. Every part of her body was filled with a lethargy she'd never felt before. Still burying her face in the pillow, Aya slowly pulled at the threads of her memory. Last night — Noir Étoile, a club tucked away in the back alleys of Kagayakidoori. A high-end members-only establishment, referral-only, without even a sign outside. Deep crimson curtains and black marble floors. The orange glow of chandeliers. And that man. Silver hair, cold violet eyes. A tall frame that must have been around 185 centimeters. A dark suit fitted perfectly to a face sculpted like marble. The man who called himself Ryousuke had taken Aya by the hand, led her out of the club, and seated her in the passenger side of a sleek black luxury car. *"I don't want to let you go tonight."* A low, resonant voice. She couldn't refuse. No — she couldn't even think of refusing. The car slipped through the cluster of high-rises in Minato Central and glided into the entrance of the Hotel Arcadia Bay. A suite room said to cost 150,000 yen a night. Outside the window, the night view of Tokyo Bay glittered like countless grains of light. And after that. *(Stop — don't think about it.)* Aya pulled the blanket over her head. Her face was burning. Her heart pounded violently deep in her chest. The sensation of his large hands unfastening the buttons of her blouse, one by one. His fingertips tracing the nape of her neck, following her collarbone, gently cupping the swell of her breasts. Her skin, touched by someone else for the first time, trembled uncontrollably. *"Are you nervous?"* That low voice whispered in her ear. Every time his breath brushed against her, a shiver ran through her lower back. *"……I'm scared."* Aya answered in a voice as thin as a mosquito's whine. *"You don't need to be scared."* He said that, and then pulled down the zipper of her skirt. The fabric slipped off smoothly. His violet eyes gazed intently at Aya, now left in nothing but her underwear. It wasn't a look that appraised her. It was something else — the eyes of a predator. The cool sensation of the sheets when she was pushed down onto the bed. His weight pressing onto her, the clasp of her bra undone. The moment his tongue touched the exposed tip of her breast. "Ahh…" The voice that escaped her own lips still clung to her ears even now. He caressed Aya's entire body as if handling a treasure, confirming every part of her, one by one. The inside of her thighs. The hollow of her stomach. Behind her ears. And then — when the pad of his finger traced over her most sensitive place through her underwear, Aya was struck by a sensation so intense her hips lifted off the bed. *"You're already wet."* He laughed quietly. Her panties were removed, her legs spread open. She felt like she might die of embarrassment. And yet, when his fingers slowly entered her, Aya let out a shameless cry. *"You don't have to hold back your voice."* "— No, ahh, there, you can't…!" The wet, squelching sounds echoed through the room. Each time more fingers were added, each time the movements grew faster, her mind went completely blank. Who she was, where she was — none of it mattered anymore. And then — that sense of pressure when his penis slowly entered her. It hurt, but it felt good. Tears welled up at the sensation of being filled deep inside her body. *"It's all in."* "Ah… aaah…!" Once he started moving, she couldn't think about anything anymore. Aya gripped the sheets tightly and simply clung to him. Every time his hips thrust against her, a sweet numbness surged up from deep within her body. *"Are you close?"* "I don't know… ah, ah, aaah—!" Her whole body convulsed. Her vision burst into white. The first climax of her life was so frighteningly intense that Aya lost consciousness right then and there — — Remembering it now, Aya pressed her face into the pillow. "[scared]This is the worst…" Her voice trembled. She had given her body so easily to a man whose name, job — whose anything — she didn't even know. What a cheap woman she was. She looked beside her. No one was there. The sheets had already gone cold. She didn't even know when he had left. On the side table by the pillow, a single sheet of hotel memo paper had been left. *'I've arranged a taxi. The fare is paid.'* That was all. No name, no contact information, nothing. A sharp little pain pricked deep in her chest. *(I knew it was just a fling.)* She told herself that. But the pain didn't go away. Aya slowly sat up and gathered the clothes scattered on the floor. A white blouse. Black slacks. Her usual, unremarkable office lady clothes. Being in a luxury hotel suite dressed like this suddenly felt utterly ridiculous. *(Today is Monday. I have to go to work.)* Reality came rushing back. Sakaki Holdings. Sales Administration Assistant. The usual photocopying, data entry, and snide remarks from her seniors. If she showed up at the office in this outfit, would people say something? She was already on Tanabe-san and Nakayama-san's radar as it was. Aya lowered her deep brown eyes and unconsciously touched the small earring on her right ear. A habit when she was troubled. Then, she fidgeted with her short black bob. "[sad]Haa…" A sigh escaped her. She checked out and got into the taxi arranged by the front desk. The cluster of high-rises in Minato Central reflected the cold morning sun through the car window. Twenty-five years old, no boyfriend, bad at her job. And she had committed a one-night mistake. *(I'll never see a man like that again.)* That's what she thought. At that moment, at least. --- Sakaki Holdings Head Office Building. A thirty-five-story glass-walled skyscraper. Floors one through five were commercial facilities, floors six through thirty were office floors, and floors thirty-one and above were executive-only floors. The Sales Department, where Aya belonged, was on the twelfth floor. As always, she punched her time card and headed to her desk. "Oh my, Aya. How was your weekend?" Aya's shoulders jumped at the voice from behind her. Turning around, she saw Tanabe-san, a senior OL, standing there. Twenty-eight years old. Always with perfect makeup and a crisply pressed suit. A beautiful woman, but her eyes never smiled. "[scared]Uh, um… it was normal." "[sarcastic]Hmm. Isn't there something different about your vibe today?" Tanabe-san stared openly at Aya. Nakayama-san, standing beside her, twisted her lips. "[cold]Maybe she got herself a man. Not that it's possible." At Nakayama-san's voice, the colleagues around them snickered. Aya looked down. Her face was hot. Her heart was pounding an unpleasant rhythm. *(Did they find out? No, there's no way. But still…)* "[serious]All employees, assemble in the first conference room. There's a morning meeting." The section chief's voice rang across the floor, and Aya looked up, feeling saved. Tanabe-san and the others reluctantly headed toward the conference room. --- The first conference room was on the thirty-fifth floor. The top floor. Nearly four hundred employees had been gathered in that room, normally used only for executive meetings. A restless buzz filled the air. "Why a sudden all-hands morning meeting?" "It's a greeting from the new president. Apparently, the previous one quit suddenly, so they recruited him from outside." "Is that the guy rumored to be a demon president…?" She could hear the whispers around her. Aya felt her throat go dry from tension. She hated crowds. Besides, there was something about this thirty-fifth floor — a coldness that seemed to hang in the air. "Quiet, please." At the emcee's voice, the room fell silent. "Starting today, we will receive a greeting from our newly appointed President and CEO, Shiraishi Rinsuke-sama." Shiraishi Rinsuke. A name she'd never heard before. Aya gazed up at the podium absentmindedly. — And then. The moment she saw the man standing on the podium, Aya's heart stopped. Silver hair. Closely cropped, it gleamed coldly under the conference room's fluorescent lights. Cold violet eyes. A tall frame of 185 centimeters, perfectly dressed in a dark suit. A small gold ear cuff on his left ear. *(No way.)* She couldn't breathe. *(No way, no way, no way.)* The words spun around and around in her head. The man who had held her last night — the one who called himself Ryousuke — was standing on the podium. The new president? "I am Shiraishi Rinsuke." Rinsuke's voice echoed through the room via the microphone. Low, cold, emotionless. She couldn't believe it was the same voice that had whispered *"You don't need to be scared"* in her ear last night. "[serious]Under my leadership, incompetence will not be tolerated. Those who think the status quo is acceptable should pack their things immediately." The room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath, frozen by Rinsuke's words. "[cold]Sakaki Holdings is not a place to soak in lukewarm water. Those who cannot produce results, those who neglect effort, those who drag the company down — such people have no right to be here." Rinsuke's eyes moved across the employees in the room, one by one, as if licking them over. Aya couldn't stay standing. Her legs trembled. Cold sweat ran down her back. *(Please, don't look this way.)* She stared at the floor with a prayer-like feeling. But Rinsuke's gaze — stopped at Aya. A moment. Just a brief moment. But it clearly stopped. Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her throat. Aya was aware that her face had gone completely pale. The colleague standing next to her looked at her curiously. "[serious]That is all." Rinsuke stepped down from the podium without ceremony. The room remained frozen. "What was that? So terrifying." "The demon president rumors were true." "Are layoffs going to start or something?" The air finally began to stir with murmurs. But Aya alone was trembling from a different kind of fear. *(The man from that night… was my company's president.)* She couldn't believe it was real. --- The morning meeting ended, and the employees filed out of the conference room in droves. Aya walked down the hallway on unsteady legs. *(What do I do, what do I do, what do I do.)* Her mind was in a panic. Last night, he was a man whose name she didn't even know. And she, carried away by the alcohol — no, she wasn't even drunk. She was sober. She took his hand of her own free will. *(I slept with the president.)* That fact bore down on her heavily. It was because she was lost in thought. Her heel caught on a slight step in the hallway. "— Eh?" Her body tilted. In that instant, someone's arm swiftly reached out. Her wrist was grabbed with a strong grip, and she was pulled close. Aya's falling body collided against a hard chest. "[whispers]…So it's you." A low whisper in her ear. She looked up. Right before her eyes were violet pupils. Cold, yet with heat deep inside them. The same eyes as last night. Aya lost her voice. Her body was frozen, unable to move. Rinsuke's hand, still gripping her wrist, was terribly hot. "[cold]Be careful." Saying just that, Rinsuke let go of her hand. Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned his back and walked away. Left behind, Aya felt like she was about to collapse on the spot. *(Why… is this happening…)* Fear, bewilderment, and — a tiny bit of exhilaration she didn't want to admit even to herself. A jumbled mess of emotions swirled around and around in her chest. --- Past noon. On the Sales Department floor, Aya stared blankly at her computer screen. She couldn't focus on work. She had been retyping and deleting the same cell's numbers over and over again for a while now. "Aya-san." Suddenly called by name, Aya's shoulders jumped. Looking up, she saw a woman who was apparently Rinsuke's secretary standing there. A woman in her mid-thirties with glasses and an intell