The morning light was cold. Aya looked up at the high-rise cluster of Minato Central. The same scenery as always. The thirty-five-story glass walls of Sakaki Holdings' headquarters reflected the dull winter sunlight. (*I came anyway.*) That single sentence from last night wouldn't leave her head. *"Don't come to work starting tomorrow."* That was all Rinsuke's message said. No reason, no explanation. She'd spent the whole night trembling, staring at the Wisp screen. Had she been thrown away? Had Reika done something to her—she didn't know. But even though he'd told her not to come, she'd come anyway. (*Because I can't stop thinking about it. I want to know what happened.*) Aya pulled her coat collar tight and stepped through the entrance's automatic doors. —In that instant. The air changed. The first-floor lobby. A space normally filled with morning greetings now lay under a strange silence. As Aya passed by, the receptionist averted her eyes. As if looking at something filthy. (*Huh...?*) Gaze after gaze stabbed into her back like needles. When she stopped and turned around, a small rustle ran through the crowd. Someone suddenly stared at their phone. Someone went out of their way to take a detour to avoid her. "...What is this?" Her voice trembled. When she reached the twelfth-floor sales department, the air grew even heavier. The moment she opened the door, everyone's eyes gathered on Aya for just an instant. Then, like a wave receding, they all looked away at once. A ringing began in her ears. The distance to her own desk felt impossibly far. No one spoke to her. No one would meet her face. Only the sound of keyboards clacking echoed, strangely loud. With shaking hands, she booted up her computer. The moment she opened her work email, Aya's breath stopped. Sender unknown. No subject line. The body contained just a few lines. *"About Aya from sales admin, trying to seduce the president. It's a well-known story in the department. I always wondered why a mistake-prone, useless OL never got fired—but now I get it. Gross."* Her vision warped and twisted. "...What is this?" The voice that escaped her lips was terribly hoarse. It's not true. I never did anything like that—no, sure, we do have a physical relationship, but I've never once thought about using it to get ahead at work. If anything, I'm always getting yelled at— "Good morning, Aya-san." A sticky, cloying voice from behind her. She turned to find Tanabe standing there. A woman in her mid-thirties, a senior employee who was always harsh with Aya. Beside her stood Nakayama, a thin smirk on her face. "[sarcastic]Keep up the good work with the overtime today, won't you? For the president's sake, you can work late into the night, right?" "[laughing]Man, I just can't understand that world. That kind of thing." The two of them giggled as they walked off toward the break room. Aya stood frozen. On her desk, her clenched fist trembled. (*It's not true, it's not true, it's not true.*) No words would come out. The morning's work was hell. The documents Aya had requested to be handed over were ignored. Information that was supposed to be shared in the department chat somehow excluded only her. When she answered the phone, the moment the caller recognized Aya's voice, their attitude turned cold. (*Someone sent that email to everyone.*) But who? The answer came quickly. Lunch break. Aya's phone vibrated. An incoming call from an unknown number. "[scared]...Hello?" "[cold]Come to the first-floor lobby. Immediately. In front of pillar number three." She knew from the voice alone. The same cold, beautiful voice from that day when they'd faced off in the headquarters elevator hall. Aya's stomach clenched tight. The lobby had few people passing through. Reika stood in the shadow of a pillar. Her perfectly styled two-tone black and red long hair. Her tall, 172-centimeter frame wrapped in an expensive-looking white coat. The moment her golden eyes caught Aya, they narrowed faintly. It was the look one gave to garbage. "[cold]So you came. ...You look even shabbier than the last time you were here." "[scared]Um, the email... was that you?" Her voice pitched upward. Reika let out a small sigh. "[sarcastic]I didn't do it myself. I just 'provided some information' to someone. That alone was enough to turn your workplace into that. Fragile, aren't they—human relationships." Reika pulled a tablet device from her bag. The screen was turned toward Aya. Displayed on it was— Under the dim lighting of Noir Étoile, her own profile as she spoke with Rinsuke across the counter. Her figure from behind, being pulled by his arm at the entrance of the Hotel Arcadia Bay. A photo of herself in the president's office hallway, glancing around as if checking for witnesses. (*Since when—this many—*) "[cold]Maybe I should scatter these all over the company. Then your life would be completely over." Reika's voice was cold as ice. She couldn't breathe. Aya's lips trembled uncontrollably. Even when she tried to say something, her tongue wouldn't move, as if glued in place. "[cold]Rinsuke has absolutely no intention of breaking off the engagement. That man operates on business. If Saeki Corporation's capital disappeared, Sakaki Holdings' management would collapse. Do you think he doesn't understand that?" Reika took one step closer. The cloying scent of perfume stung Aya's nose. "[whispers]You're just a tool for stress relief. You knew that, didn't you?" The back of Aya's eyes burned hot. It's not true. She wanted to say it wasn't true. That man would never call me a mere tool—but the words wouldn't come. Because Rinsuke had never once told her "I love you." "[cold]Why don't you disappear while you still can? Submit your resignation. Otherwise, next time, these will circulate to every company's HR department." Reika tucked the tablet back into her bag and turned away. The sound of her high heels echoed loudly through the lobby. Aya could do nothing but stand there, rooted to the spot. Inside her clenched fist, her nails bit into her palm. It hurt. —Afternoon. The hell continued. Aya handed Tanabe the sales report materials she'd spent hours perfecting since yesterday. This week's sales summary, next week's appointment list, progress reports on client complaint handling. She'd checked it over and over, making sure there were no mistakes. "[cold]Let me just check this." Tanabe took the documents and skimmed through them on the spot. And then— *Riiip.* The paper tore. "...Huh?" Right in front of Aya's eyes, Tanabe ripped the documents clean in two. And then, again, and again—. The shreds fluttered down across the floor. "[angry]The sales department's evaluation dropped again because of you! You jinx!" Her voice rang across the entire floor. Someone will stop her. For just a moment, Aya hoped. But no one—no one pretended to see. One person fiddled with their phone, another hastily got up and left their seat. (*Why. It's not true. I didn't do anything wrong.*) Tears nearly spilled over. But Aya bit down hard on her lip and endured. If she let her guard down, she'd collapse crying right here. Tanabe tossed the shredded remains of the documents at Aya's feet. "[cold]Clean that up." With trembling hands, Aya gathered the scraps of paper. One piece, then another. She couldn't see her hands clearly through the tears. (*I can't do this anymore.*) Inside her head, she heard the sound of something snapping. Without waiting for the end of the workday, Aya fled the building. She couldn't bring herself to care about anyone's eyes anymore. She headed for the luxury tower apartment a five-minute walk from Minato Central. "The Minato Residence." Its fifty stories of cold glass walls towered into the twilight. Before the entrance concierge could even glance her way, Aya jumped into the elevator. Her destination: the top floor. The penthouse where he lived. The finger pressing the intercom trembled. After a few seconds of silence, the heavy door opened. The man who appeared had silver hair. Cold violet eyes. His suit was casually disheveled, and for once, he looked just slightly tired. "[cold]...I told you not to come." His low voice fell coldly upon her. "[crying]But... I didn't understand what that message meant... at work, I'm already... I..." Her voice became a mess of tears. She couldn't speak properly. Tanabe tearing up her documents, Reika threatening her, being isolated at work—there was so much she wanted to tell him, but her throat seized up and the words wouldn't form. "[serious]Don't get involved right now. I'll handle it." Rinsuke said only that, and moved to close the door. "[angry]Handle what!? I'm not a thing!" Aya screamed. She thrust her hand into the gap of the closing door. Rinsuke's movement stopped for just an instant. His violet eyes wavered, ever so slightly. But— He said nothing. Not "trust me and wait." Not "I'll stay with you." He simply stared down at Aya with those cold eyes, and then—quietly, closed the door. *Click*, went the sound of the lock. "...Huh." Only the cold air of the hallway wrapped around Aya. She leaned against the wall. Slowly, she crouched down on the spot. The strength drained from her knees, and she sank down onto the flooring. "[crying]...Why." The tears wouldn't stop. *Just a tool for stress relief.* Reika's words repeated in her head. She wanted to say it wasn't true. But if it really was— (*I can't confirm it. He won't tell me anything.*) How long had she stayed like that? By the time the hallway lights automatically turned off and only the emergency lights dimly illuminated her, she finally stood up. Her legs felt heavy as lead. Forty minutes swaying on the train. By the time she returned to her apartment in Chitose City, "Maison Sakuragaoka," it was already past nine at night. From the neighboring unit, she could hear the cheerful laughter of college students. That brightness, paradoxically, squeezed her chest with crushing force. Entering her room, she collapsed onto the bed without even taking off her coat. For a while, she just kept crying. The pillow grew heavy and sodden with tears. (*I can't stay at the company anymore. I can't see him anymore, either.*) How much time had passed? Aya slowly sat up. She opened a drawer and took out white stationery and an envelope. With a trembling hand, she gripped a pen. *"Due to personal circumstances—"* The moment she wrote that far, a tear dropped onto the paper, blurring the characters. (*I'm quitting. With this, it all ends.*) Just as she placed the stationery into the envelope, her phone vibrated. She looked at the screen. The name read: *Kusunoki Kento*. Aya pressed the call button with fingers wet from tears. "[excited]Long time no see! How are you?" A bright voice. A gentle voice. Kento's voice, unchanged since they were children. The moment she heard it, a sob escaped from deep in Aya's throat. "...Nn, uu, uuu..." "[worried]...Aya? Are you crying?" The voice on the other end of the line suddenly turned serious. "[crying]N-no, I'm not... sorry, I'm sorry..." She couldn't speak properly. Her voice, a mess of tears and sniffles, was swallowed by the receiver. "[serious]Where are you now? Home? I'm coming over right now. Tell me where." "[crying]No... don't come, I'm, right now..." "[gentle]Aya. Back when you got lost at Chitose Shrine, I was the one who found you crying then too. It's okay. Wait for me." The call ended. Still clutching the envelope, Aya stared at the screen for a while. Then, slowly, she stood up. She threw on her coat and put the envelope in her bag. She had to see Kento. She had to tell him. —That right now, she had nothing left. The streets of Chitose at night were bitterly cold. The light from the police box in front of the station glowed dimly in the winter darkness. Aya stopped in front of i