The Secret Between the President and Me in Our Office for Two
Rui Takane, a sharp and ambitious executive, has just been appointed the new president of a special division at the giant talent agency 'Hololive.' Her first order of business is hiring a personal secretary, and she chooses the most unlikely candidate: Kakeru Aoi, a timid and seemingly incompetent young man.
'You. You're my secretary from today.'
With that single, high-handed declaration, Kakeru's quiet life is thrown into utter chaos. Rui runs the office like a typhoon, scattering documents,
The Secret Between the President and Me in Our Office for Two - The Stolen Star and the Declaration of War Beyond the Rain
Monday morning. The air on the seventh floor of Hololive Central was heavy and cold.
The moment Aoi Kakeru stepped through the elevator doors, he felt it — silence. No. No, this wasn't silence. It was a suffocating, oppressive stillness, where everyone had shut their mouths and simply kept their heads down.
(What... what happened?)
Kakeru pressed a hand tightly against his stomach. He hadn't even managed to take his morning stomach medicine yet.
In the hallway leading to his desk, colleagues passing by averted their gazes awkwardly. Normally, they'd at least offer a "good morning," but today, not even that.
(Don't tell me...)
A bad premonition echoed in his chest like footsteps.
The large monitor in the conference room was visible even from the hallway.
Displayed across the entire screen was a lavish hotel banquet hall. Beyond a long table, beaming like a flower in full bloom — was Tachibana Kanna.
Hololive's top talent, the one they were putting all their energy into right now.
And the man standing beside her.
Tall, with a gesture of sweeping back his platinum blond hair that was unnervingly picturesque. His clear blue-gray eyes, seeming to see through everything, appeared to stare right through the camera, and Kakeru's legs froze.
Kamiya Ren.
The young, charismatic president of Stellaglow Entertainment.
Ren was smiling. Faintly, ever so slightly. A smile that touched only his lips, carrying no warmth.
*" — As of today, Tachibana Kanna will be transferring to Stellaglow Entertainment in pursuit of new possibilities."*
Ren's smooth voice flowed from the speakers.
For an instant, Kakeru felt the world before his eyes warp and distort.
(The poaching... it really...)
It was the worst-case scenario, one that had only just surfaced as a rumor last week.
Kakeru gasped sharply and looked toward the president's office.
The door was shut.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway.
"...Rui, President."
Kakeru's voice trembled pathetically.
When he reached the president's office, there wasn't a single sound from inside.
(Should I go in? But, right now...)
Steeling himself, Kakeru opened the frosted glass door just a crack.
Through the gap, he saw Rui's back.
She stood alone before a large monitor, the same one connected to the conference room screen. Her glossy black hair, falling to her shoulders, was neatly arranged as always. Her posture was perfectly straight.
But.
Her slender shoulders were trembling faintly.
"...Was my way... wrong...?"
It was such a fragile voice.
Not the voice that usually froze Kakeru with a curt "Obviously," nor the one that scolded him with "What are you spacing out for?" It was a voice that seemed to cling to someone, faint and vanishing.
It was the first time he'd ever heard a note of weakness from her — the perfectionist who always had to be stronger than anyone else.
Kakeru stood frozen, his hand still on the doorknob.
(President Rui... is crying?)
Deep in his chest, something ached with a grinding, wrenching pain.
(What am I — what am I even doing?)
He'd wanted to protect her. He'd wanted to work hard for her sake.
And yet.
Right now, he was just standing uselessly in front of the door.
Rui's words looped over and over in his head.
*"Was my way... wrong?"*
There was no way that was true.
Kakeru knew. He knew the sight of her, alone in the office late at night, unseen by anyone, quietly covering for all of his mistakes.
The sticky note written in rounded, almost childish handwriting: *"Your handwriting is neat, so hold your head high."*
There was no way that clumsy kindness could be wrong.
"...I'll."
Before he knew it, Kakeru had spoken aloud.
"I'll... get her back."
It was a vow directed at himself.
He quietly closed the door.
Rui still hadn't noticed him.
Without telling anyone, Kakeru rushed out of the office.
He no longer felt the pain in his stomach.
Akasaka, Minato Ward.
The moment he emerged above ground from the subway, Kakeru felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
Towering before him was a massive eighteen-story building, clad entirely in glass. Stellaglow Tower.
It was far newer than Hololive Central, and far colder. Its walls, reflecting the very blue of the sky, distorted Kakeru's figure as he looked up, as if about to crush him entirely.
(This is... the enemy's base.)
The first floor was a bright, open gallery space. Life-sized panels of their affiliated talents were lined up, all wearing dazzling smiles.
Among them, Tachibana Kanna's panel was already there.
That same smile that, just yesterday, should have been hanging in Hololive's conference room.
The reception desk was as refined as a luxury hotel front desk, with two uniformed women seated behind it, wearing perfect smiles.
Kakeru approached the desk on trembling legs.
"U-um... I'm Aoi, from Hololive. I'd like to see President Kamiya..."
His voice cracked slightly.
The receptionist glanced briefly at Kakeru's suit — a dirt-cheap one bought at a supermarket bargain sale for 3,980 yen. His tie was, as always, a little crooked.
"I'm very sorry. Without an appointment today... if an alternate representative would be acceptable."
A calm, perfectly reasonable refusal.
"E-even so! I absolutely must see him right now!"
Kakeru pressed further. His voice was surprisingly strong, even to himself.
The receptionist furrowed her brow in discomfort — and that was when it happened.
" — It's fine. Let him through."
The voice came from behind him.
Kakeru turned to see a man standing there, apparently just stepped off the elevator.
Tall. A perfectly silhouetted dark navy suit, probably worth a hundred times Kakeru's own. He swept back his slightly long platinum blond hair with a picturesque gesture.
Kamiya Ren.
His blue-gray eyes stared intently at Kakeru. As if appraising him.
"Aoi... Kakeru-kun, was it."
He deliberately placed a slight pause before the name.
Kakeru felt his heart about to leap out of his mouth.
(He knows... my name.)
Ren's lips twisted faintly — truly, just faintly.
"That loose thread on your suit is a bit of an eyesore. You should fix it next time. ...Well, no matter. You're an amusing one, so I'll give you ten minutes."
Ren turned on his heel and began walking toward the executive elevator.
Unable to think of anything, Kakeru followed after him.
The top floor. The eighteenth floor.
The moment the elevator doors opened, the Tokyo sky spread out across his entire field of vision.
The president's office was endlessly vast. Perhaps eighty square meters. Beyond the wall of glass windows, Tokyo Tower stood out clearly in the white daytime air.
The furniture was minimal, yet Kakeru could tell that each piece was outrageously expensive.
"Sit."
Ren sank deeply into his president's chair, his back to the window, and gestured Kakeru toward the guest sofa.
Kakeru timidly perched on the edge of the sofa.
"U-um! I've come to beg you about Tachibana Kanna! Please, could you make this transfer as if it never happened...!"
Kakeru bowed his head.
Ren smiled.
"As if it never happened? Even after we've already held the press conference?"
"Even so! She's a vital talent for us, for Hololive...!"
"And what exactly was Hololive able to do for her?"
Ren's voice was quiet, like ice.
"Her total social media followers now number three million. Do you honestly believe your company's outdated management can maintain those numbers?"
A document slid smoothly across the desk.
Rows of numbers. Graphs.
To Kakeru right now, all of it looked like sharp blades.
"The best you can do is land her minor TV roles and sell merchandise at event venues. I can offer her a much larger 'world.'"
Kakeru couldn't say anything back.
It was infuriating.
But everything Ren said was completely correct.
Kakeru's clenched fists trembled faintly on his knees.
"And besides, Aoi-kun."
Ren leaned forward from his chair and peered into Kakeru's face.
His blue-gray eyes narrowed coldly.
"You're simply not up to the task."
Something burned hot at the back of Kakeru's head.
"That woman — Takane Rui-kun — has always needed someone to protect her. Ever since her student days, she'd study desperately, try to rise above everyone else, and yet she'd immediately shoulder everything alone. To protect someone like her, you are far too... powerless."
Ren gently traced the silver ring on his left ring finger — a ring heavy with implication.
"So, I'll be taking her. The business — and the woman herself."
Kakeru felt the world go pitch black before his eyes.
This was a declaration of war.
Not just business.
A declaration of war in love.
"...I..."
His voice failed him.
(Can I... protect her?)
Rui's tears. Ren's ridicule.
Everything swirled chaotically in his head, and he couldn't think at all.
"Time's up. The conversation is over. ...It was a good learning experience, wasn't it?"
Ren was no longer looking at Kakeru. His gaze had dropped to the documents at hand — the signal that the game was over.
Kakeru stood up.
There was no strength in his legs.
When the elevator doors closed, Kakeru collapsed on the spot.
His knees gave way.
*"You're not up to the task."*
*"Far too powerless."*
*"I'll be taking her."*
Ren's voice repeated in his head, over and over, again and again.
The moment he passed through the hotel-like lobby and stepped outside.
*Whoooosh —*
It was pouring rain.
It should have been clear just moments ago.
The sky was covered in leaden gray, and rain, as if someone had overturned a bucket, pounded against the asphalt.
Kakeru didn't have an umbrella.
But it didn't matter anymore.
From Minato Ward to Chiyoda Ward.
A distance that should have taken thirty minutes at most — Kakeru spent over an hour walking it.
The rain beat against his entire body.
His drenched suit felt terribly heavy.
"...I'm... not up to the task, am I."
He murmured it over and over as he walked.
Rui's tears and Ren's ridicule, mingled with the rain, continued to pierce Kakeru's heart.
(Ah, I see. I'm —)
His feet stopped.
Cold rain streamed down from his neck to his back, steadily robbing him of body heat.
(I'm in love with her.)
It was such a quiet certainty.
Not respect, not gratitude, not a desire to protect.
A messier, hopelessly selfish emotion.
I want to be by her side.
I don't want to hand her over to someone like Kamiya Ren.
I want to protect her.
With my own hands.
How far had he walked?
Before he knew it, he was standing in front of Hololive Central.
The workday had long since ended.
He passed through the lobby, lit only by emergency lights, and boarded the elevator.
The seventh floor.
The office was empty.
The lights in the president's office were off, too.
Had Rui already gone home?
Still soaking wet, Kakeru opened the door to the reception room.
In the pitch-dark room, onto its floor —
Kakeru sank down.
His body was trembling.
Not from the cold.
He was trembling uncontrollably from frustration, from shame, from his own powerlessness.
"...I want... to protect her..."
His voice shook, and tears spilled over unbidden.
He'd thought he should stop thinking things like *someone like me*, but still, somewhere in his heart, he couldn't help feeling so terribly small.
"President Rui..."
As tears dripped onto the wet floor, Kakeru put his feelings of love into words for the very first time.
That voice.
In the pitch-dark president's office next door, where she had been waiting alone for a report — it reached Rui's ears. Clearly, unmistakably.
The next morning.
Kakeru sat at his desk, dazed.
Perhaps because of yesterday's rain, his head ached a little.
He didn't even have the energy to take his stomach medicine.
That was when the door to the president's office flew open with force.
" — Aoi Kakeru!!"
Rui's voice, trembling with rage, echoed across the entire floor.
When Kakeru looked up, Rui was glaring at him, her dark brown eyes behind her silver-rimmed fashion glasses burning with
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