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 - A Dramatic Confession and the Beginning of an Odd Couple
The proposal he'd finished that morning sat heavy in the inner pocket of his suit. No — what weighed on him wasn't the stack of paper. It was the weight of his own resolve.
In the elevator hall on the seventh floor of Hololive Central, Aoi Kakeru took a single deep breath. His stomach clenched tight. But this time, it wasn't the usual fear. It was more like the trembling anticipation before a battle about to begin.
The time was one in the afternoon. The office, just back from lunch, still carried a faint lethargy. Colleagues at their desks glanced at Kakeru, then quickly looked away. They still remembered yesterday's explosive fight. The papers scattered across the floor. Rui's furious shouts. The cold-war atmosphere that had followed.
But that was then.
Steeling himself, Kakeru knocked on the president's office door.
" President Takane. It's Aoi."
"Come in."
He opened the door. Takane Rui sat in full work mode, silver-rimmed fashion glasses on, her eyes fixed on her computer screen. Her shoulder-length black straight hair swayed gently in the breeze from the air conditioning. Her cool composure made yesterday's hysterics seem like a lie. But Kakeru understood now. This was just the armor she wore.
" The proposal is ready."
Kakeru pulled the folded document from his breast pocket and placed it carefully on Rui's desk.
A secret plan, drafted in a single night, to win back Tachibana Kanna — a large-scale live-stream collaboration with a popular game streamer.
Rui picked up the document. Behind her fashion glasses, her dark brown eyes widened slightly as she read.
" This is..."
" I'm going back to Stella Glow this afternoon."
Kakeru's voice didn't waver.
Rui looked up. Her expression was a mix of surprise and faint worry.
" You're going alone again? To that man?"
" Yes. This time, I'll make a proper appointment. It won't be a raid like last time."
Kakeru allowed himself a small smile. His stomach hurt. But strangely, he wasn't afraid. *I have this* — Kakeru's gaze fell on the proposal in Rui's hands.
Rui parted her lips as if to say something, then swallowed the words. Instead, she pushed up the bridge of her glasses with a quick motion — a habit of hers when she was embarrassed.
" ...Fine. But promise me you won't do anything reckless. Understood?"
" I promise."
Kakeru bowed deeply and left the president's office.
He immediately pulled out his phone and called the contact he'd received from Kirino Hana, the owner of Café Lirio Blanca. It was a direct line to Tachibana Kanna's manager.
After a few rings, the call connected.
" I apologize for disturbing you during such a busy time. This is Aoi from Hololive. Regarding Tachibana Kanna, I absolutely need to present a proposal to her directly..."
---
One hour later.
Kakeru stood before Stella Glow Tower in Akasaka, Minato Ward. The eighteen-story building, clad entirely in glass, scattered the afternoon sunlight in a dazzling glare. The last time he'd come here, he'd stood in this same spot, soaked by rain, legs trembling. Turned away at the door, he'd gone home having accomplished nothing.
But today was different.
He stepped through the automatic doors. The white-themed lobby was as quiet as water. At the reception counter sat the same two pleasant-looking female staff members he'd seen before.
" Excuse me. I'm Aoi from Hololive. I have a three o'clock appointment with President Kamiya and Tachibana Kanna..."
The receptionist's face flickered with momentary surprise. The man who'd been turned away last time had returned — and this time, with a proper appointment, no less.
" Yes, we've been informed. Please proceed to the president's office on the eighteenth floor. The elevator is that way."
A faint, almost admiring smile crossed her face.
Kakeru stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.
Inside the quietly ascending box, he could feel his heartbeat. Thump, thump — almost annoyingly loud. The proposal file in his hand was damp with sweat.
(*It's fine. I'm here for her.*)
— *Ding.*
The doors opened onto the same vast president's office as before, with its panoramic view of Tokyo Tower.
Minimalist furniture. A single computer on the desk. And standing with his back to the large window — a tall man.
" Well now, Aoi-kun. Glad you could make it. Just as promised."
Kamiya Ren wore a composed smile. He swept back his slightly long platinum-blond hair with a casual gesture — a motion that looked like something out of a movie scene. His clear blue-gray eyes studied Kakeru intently.
And there, on the sofa set in the center of the room, was another person.
She was there.
Tachibana Kanna. The ultra-famous talent who, just before signing with Hololive, had made a sudden transfer to Stella Glow. Petite, with a black bob cut that suited her perfectly. A beauty with a far calmer presence than she showed on television. Beside her sat a middle-aged woman in a suit — apparently her manager.
" Thank you for making time to see me. Tachibana-san, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Aoi, from Hololive's Talent Innovation Division."
Kakeru bowed deeply.
Tachibana Kanna returned a quiet nod. Her eyes held a mixture of curiosity and the faintest hint of wariness.
" So, what kind of interesting story do you have for us today, Aoi-kun?"
Ren leaned against the window frame, speaking with evident amusement. He was toying with him. His usual posture of absolute confidence.
Kakeru placed the proposal file on the table.
His fingertips were still trembling slightly. But he wouldn't run anymore.
" First, let me be frank. President Kamiya, your social media strategy is genuinely brilliant. In terms of reach and branding, you're at the very top of the industry."
Kakeru looked Ren straight in the eye as he spoke.
" However, it has one critical blind spot. The relationship between your talent and their fans is entirely one-directional."
Ren's smile shifted — by a single millimeter.
" Oh?"
" Your company's strategy specializes in beautifully curating and amplifying the 'image the talent wants to project.' That is one valid approach. But today's fans want more — they want to see the talent's 'real' self. They want to share in the failures, the doubts, the unfiltered emotions. In other words — two-way communication."
Kakeru opened the proposal.
Inside was a single slide. Its title — *Kanna × KEITA Live-Stream Collaboration Project*.
" I propose a large-scale live-stream collaboration between Tachibana-san and the popular game streamer KEITA!"
Tachibana Kanna's eyes lit up faintly.
" Kanna-san, in a past magazine interview, you mentioned that you actually love games and end up playing all day on your days off."
" Huh... you read that interview?"
Kanna's voice was a little higher than it sounded on TV, with an unpolished warmth.
" Yes! And KEITA-san is a super-popular streamer with over three million channel subscribers. The two of you playing a game together, reacting to fan comments in real time — laughing, messing up, maybe even arguing a little — fans watching that will think, 'Wow, Kanna is so human.' They'll empathize. They'll want to cheer you on."
Kakeru's voice grew passionate. The pain in his stomach had vanished.
" President Ren's strategy is genius at creating 'aspiration.' But what I want to create is 'empathy' and 'trust.' Making fans feel that the talent isn't an untouchable star, but a 'companion' who laughs with them and grows with them — I believe that's the talent image of the future."
The room fell silent.
Ren said nothing. His blue-gray eyes watched Kakeru coldly, appraisingly. The mask of composure he'd worn until now was beginning to slip, just slightly.
It was Tachibana Kanna who broke the silence.
" ...I..."
She leaned forward, staring at the proposal as if devouring it.
" I'm a huge fan of KEITA-san! And this — isn't this my absolute favorite horror game?! This part here — where it says 'screaming so much you throw the controller' — I would definitely do that!"
Kanna's cheeks flushed faintly with excitement. Her manager looked at her, astonished.
" Kanna, you..."
" This project is absolutely going to be amazing. Please, let me do this! Aoi-san — no, I want to ask President Takane of Hololive myself!"
Something deep in Kakeru's chest quietly burst open.
(*—It reached her.*)
What he felt — it had truly gotten through to her.
A complete reversal.
For the first time, Kamiya Ren's expression stiffened.
" Kanna-kun, about the contract..."
" President Ren. This is my decision."
Tachibana Kanna's voice was dignified.
" I want to do this project. Please let me nullify the Stella Glow contract. I'll cover the penalty fee myself."
Ren's left hand — his ring finger, where a silver ring gleamed — twitched.
Slowly, he turned back to face Kakeru. The composed smile had completely vanished from his face.
" ...Interesting, Aoi-kun. You've far exceeded my expectations."
Ren's voice was cold, yet carried a strange heat. Jealousy, hostility — and the faintest trace of respect.
" But don't you think it was just luck? Kanna-kun happened to like games. That's all there is to it."
Kakeru shook his head.
" No. I properly researched Tachibana-san. What she likes, what she values — I built this proposal based on understanding that. That isn't luck. It's effort."
Ren's blue-gray eyes narrowed.
The gentleman's mask was gone now. What remained was the cold, piercing gaze of a hunter eyeing its prey.
" Effort, is it. Fine. But in the end, you still don't understand anything. You want to protect Rui-kun? Don't make me laugh. You know nothing of her past, do you? The depths of darkness she carries. A soft-hearted boy like you could never protect her."
Those words were a cold blade.
They slid cleanly into Kakeru's heart.
(*President Rui's... past?*)
He didn't know. He didn't know anything about her. The temperature of the coffee she liked, the angle she preferred for stapling documents, the fact that she cried alone late at night — he'd thought he knew, but maybe he truly knew nothing at all.
Seeing Kakeru's agitation, Ren's lips twisted for the first time.
" Today is your victory. Congratulations. But remember this — the game has only just begun."
---
That night, nine o'clock in the evening.
Kakeru stepped off the elevator on the seventh floor of Hololive Central.
He was exhausted after a detailed meeting with Tachibana Kanna's manager. The stomach pain had returned. But it was the pain of fulfillment.
The floor's lights were almost all off. Everyone had long since gone home.
But from beneath the president's office door, a thin sliver of light leaked out.
(*She's still here.*)
Kakeru moved to knock softly — and stopped himself.
Instead, he simply opened the door.
Inside the president's office.
Takane Rui was slumped over her desk.
Buried in a mountain of documents, her shoulders trembling faintly.
Crying.
Killing her voice, crying.
" ...President?"
At Kakeru's voice, Rui's shoulders jolted.
She hurriedly raised her head. Behind her fashion glasses, her dark brown eyes were wet with tears, glistening like jewels.
" W-why are you here...! You could at least knock, you idiot!"
Rui shouted as she roughly wiped her tears with the back of her hand. But her voice trembled, and it wasn't frightening at all.
" I'm sorry... but why are you crying..."
" Kanna's manager contacted me. I heard about the proposal. That you went alone... and won against Ren..."
Rui lifted her face.
Another tear spilled over. It traced down her cheek and fell onto the documents on her desk, leaving a small stain.
" You idiot. Why? Why do you always, always do such reckless things for me..."
" That's... because I wanted to be someone you could rely on."
Kakeru's voice was clearer than even he expected.
" When I saw you crying tears of frustration... I couldn't just stand by. I didn't know what someone like me could possi
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