The alarm clock pierced through the three-bedroom unit of Corpo Sakuradai, a twenty-eight-year-old one-room apartment building in Sakuradai, Nerima Ward, on the third floor. Saori Misawa rolled around in her futon, staring at a single point on the ceiling. Morning sunlight filtered through thin curtains. 6:30 AM. The same time as always. The same scene as always. She rose and stood before the mirror—two strides away. What looked back was a twenty-six-year-old woman with an unremarkable face. Black short bob hair to her shoulders, deep brown eyes, and above all, an existence that the word "plain" fit perfectly. Navy suit, white blouse, flat black shoes, and only a simple silver necklace for accessories. Neither particularly beautiful nor particularly ugly. Her only distinguishing feature was a faint cherry blossom-shaped birthmark on her left wrist. "...Not this again." She murmured while straightening the wrinkles in her suit. She carefully adjusted the hem of her pleated skirt. This suit, purchased three years ago, was still in service. She brushed her teeth in the cramped unit bath and showered. The water pressure was weak, the temperature unstable, and she reached to adjust it several times. By the time she finished, it was 7:05 AM. She opened the refrigerator. Milk, eggs, natto, pickled cabbage. She microwaved leftover rice from last night and topped it with an egg. She stirred the natto in circles, added a pinch of pickled cabbage. It hardly qualified as breakfast, but this was fine. Sufficient. She glanced at an envelope placed at the edge of the table. Sent from her parents' home in Saitama last month. Inside was her younger brother's university entrance exam requirements. Tuition was 1.8 million yen per year. Her parents' allowance wouldn't cover it. She'd have to redirect part of her own salary. She ran the numbers in her head repeatedly. Salary: 380,000 yen. Rent: 63,000 yen. Food: 15,000 yen. Utilities: 5,000 yen. Phone: 3,000 yen. Miscellaneous expenses. What remained was... "Not enough." She murmured and brought the rice to her mouth. She left the apartment at 7:35 AM. The walk to the station took ten minutes. Walking down the tree-lined street, there were more people than you'd expect for a Saturday morning. An elderly couple on their morning walk, a young family riding bicycles. The same scenery as always. She arrived at Sakuradai Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. She gave a light bow to the station attendant and passed through the ticket gate. The platform was crowded with morning commuters. Not quite a packed train, but shoulders touched. Saori gripped the hanging strap and closed her eyes. The train began to move. Clack, clack—the rhythmic sound. Outside the window, residential neighborhoods bathed in morning sunlight flowed past. Nerima, Nakano, Shinjuku... The train headed west. Then, just past Shinjuku. "..." Saori's eyes opened, and her gaze suddenly fixed on something outside the window. Toward Chiyoda Ward. Bathed in morning sunlight, a massive tower gleamed. A thirty-eight-story building—Saginomiya Tower. The headquarters of the Saginomiya Group. The Saginomiya Group. A corporate entity operated by an old zaibatsu family that quietly supported this nation's economy. Founded in Meiji 28, it boasted over a century of history. Real estate, finance, hotel operations—all of it ranked among the nation's largest. And Saginomiya Tower was the headquarters building that served as the core of these diverse operations, the symbol of the corporate group itself. She saw it often on television. "Saginomiya Group Opens New Commercial Facility." "Saginomiya Chairman Holds Press Conference." "Saginomiya Vice President Enters ○○ Industry." For an ordinary citizen like her, it was an event from another world. A distant world, unrelated to her own. This morning too, that tower caught the morning light and gleamed brilliantly. —For some reason, today that light looked different. No—it wasn't the light that was different. It was her own feelings that had changed. A sense of unease in her chest. Like the night before something important happens, that kind of unstable mood. "...That's strange." She murmured and looked away. The train continued on, eventually arriving at Mejiro-dai Station. She descended onto a platform crowded with university students and office workers. Saori naturally flowed with the crowd. Five minutes' walk from the station. Into the business district of Shiba Park, Minato Ward. The destination building came into view. A relatively small fourteen-story office building. On the seventh floor was Kizawa Planning, where Saori worked. Kizawa Planning was a mid-sized consulting firm handling marketing strategy and product planning for corporations. Saori had worked here as a contract employee in the planning department for three years. The annual salary review was in April. Now it was January. Which meant she had to live on 380,000 yen for another three months. The first floor of the building was a café. "Bread & Cup Shiba Park Branch." Saori ate lunch here once a month. Chicken salad sandwich and iced coffee. 650 yen total. She took the elevator to the seventh floor. "Good morning, Saori!" The moment she sat at her desk, a voice called from the neighboring one. Miho Totsuka. A colleague in the same planning department. Twenty-eight years old. Short permed hair, bright features. The kind of woman who looked like she could handle work anywhere you put her. "Good morning." Saori replied lightly while checking emails. "You're early again. You come in at this time every day, so why don't you get promoted?" Miho said with a laugh. It was without malice, merely an observation. Saori said nothing and powered on her computer. Twenty minutes until the morning meeting. In that time, she'd continue yesterday's materials. Check the graph values, organize the research data. There was always more to do. Mundane, tedious work that she could only handle with sincerity. Day after day of such work. "Hey Saori, do you have time during lunch break?" "Yes, I do." "Actually, I need to talk about something important. At the café downstairs. Could you definitely come?" Miho's expression as she said this was different from usual. The brightness had vanished. Something serious. Like she was facing some major decision. That kind of atmosphere. Saori nodded hesitantly. "Understood. During lunch break." "Thank you. Really, thank you." Miho returned to her seat. From the emphasis in her response, Saori sensed this wasn't a typical workplace consultation but something personal and important. Saori filed away that exchange in a corner of her mind and returned to creating materials. But somewhere in her heart, she felt the unease she'd sensed this morning spreading larger and larger. That day at lunch break. Saori and Miho descended to the café on the first floor. They sat facing each other at a window seat. Saori held a spoon before her 380-yen daily lunch—today's salad set. Miho also had a sandwich before her but hadn't touched it. "Saori, um..." Miho opened her mouth. Her face was truly troubled. Worried. Like she was facing some enormous decision. That kind of expression. "Actually, I'm... quitting Kizawa Planning this month." Miho's words shook Saori's world. Saori froze, spoon still in hand. Miho continued. "I've been agonizing over it. ...Actually, I got an offer for a different job. An approach from a major corporation. The salary and conditions are good. I have to decide by the end of this month. But I couldn't decide to quit without telling you, Saori." Miho removed her glasses and pressed her eyes. "I wanted to tell you first, at least. That's why I tried to talk to you yesterday. But I couldn't say it right then. Sorry." Saori still couldn't find words. On the way home. The tower appeared in the train window again. 6 PM. The sun still lingered in the sky but was about to set. Saginomiya Tower reflected that light, gleaming in a different hue than this morning. She arrived home after 8 PM. It had been a day with much overtime. She warmed frozen pasta in the microwave and moved her fork mindlessly at her narrow table, alone. After eating, she gazed at the night view from her window. Nerima's night view wasn't particularly glamorous. Dark residential streets with neon lights scattered here and there. Beyond that—far to the east—the light of Saginomiya Tower. With nighttime lighting, it shone even brighter, even more prominent. Saori's gaze was drawn into that light. "..." Without words, she simply stared at the glow. Why? Why did this tower's light bother her so much today? She showered and prepared for bed. She got into her futon at 11:30 PM. But sleep wouldn't come. She lay staring at the ceiling as time passed. Her thoughts went in circles. Miho's expression. The major decision to resign. The reason she'd told only her. What would happen to them afterward. What would happen at work. Eventually, consciousness began to fade. Past midnight. —She began to dream. Beneath a luxurious chandelier. Lighting that gleamed gold. She was there in that light—except she wasn't herself. Someone had dressed her in a deep crimson evening gown. A dress so glamorous she would never wear. A long, flowing skirt. A deep neckline, a bare back. A finish that didn't feel like her own body. Gazes gathered around her. Men's gazes. Women's gazes. And—there were two men. One had cold eyes. Dressed in a black suit, his mouth curved like a red rose, smiling just slightly. In his eyes was the light of appraisal. A gaze that looked at things. That kind of stare. The other—had a gentle face. But. In the depths of his eyes. Something. Immeasurable. Dark. Her breathing became difficult. "..." She tried to speak, but no voice came. The cold-eyed man took a step closer. The gentle-faced man also took a step closer. Trapped between them. No escape. Her breathing grew shallow. Her chest ached. —Gasp! Her eyes opened. Sweat poured from her entire body. Her futon had been kicked away. Her heart raced. The clock on her nightstand read 3:05 AM. It took time to steady her breathing. In the dim room, she stared at the ceiling, calming herself. "...Just a dream." She murmured. Just a dream. She told herself that. But that sensation—that cold gaze—wouldn't fade. It surfaced in her mind again and again. Eventually sleep returned, and she drifted toward morning. The alarm clock woke her. 6:30 AM. The same time as always. The face in the mirror was—the same plain face as always. "It's a world that has nothing to do with me." She told herself this while changing into her suit. She placed the same silver necklace around her neck and gently touched the cherry blossom birthmark on her left wrist. A message notification arrived on her smartphone. 【From Miho Totsuka】"Sorry about yesterday. The conversation got pretty heavy. But I'm glad I told you, Saori. Let's do our best at work today too." Saori read that message over and over. Something was beginning to move. That premonition was stronger than yesterday. She glanced toward Saginomiya Tower. The building bathed in morning sunlight gleamed. Brighter than yesterday. Larger than yesterday. Just a building. Just a corporation. A separate world, unrelated to hers. —Or so it should have been. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The walk to the station was the same as always. But something was different. The air was different. A premonition she could feel on her skin. As she boarded the train, that tower appeared again. Today its light felt special. For some reason, Saori found herself drawn to that light, staring at it. Not knowing. That her ordinary life was about to change completely.