Vol 3 Chapter 2 (1/2)

CHAPTER 2

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Today’s meeting to discuss sales policies had everyone on edge from the outset. Despite the air conditioner being on a low setting for purposes of energy conservation, the air still carried a chill to it, and with most everyone holding their tongues in this tense situation, the only one still continuing to deliver a thorough tongue-las.h.i.+ng was Kiris.h.i.+ma Zen, editor-in-chief of Monthly j.a.pun.

“This whole mess is all you people’s fault, so make up your d.a.m.n minds—I’m sure this is just one measly work out of thousands to the company, but to the authors themselves, each and every piece they put out is a battle. Take things more seriously!”

All present were far too frightened to even look Kiris.h.i.+ma squarely in the eye as he chewed them out. Perhaps because of how composed he usually kept himself, when he let his expression fall away, the guy was like ice—so much so that even Yokozawa was breaking out into a cold sweat, which meant that the others were surely shaking in their shoes.

Taking up his mantle as representative of the sales department, Yokozawa bowed his head low. “…We deeply apologize.” The entire reason that Yokozawa, widely known throughout Marukawa Shoten as the ‘Wild Bear’, was on the defensive from the get-go was simply because the blame lay entirely on the sales department’s shoulders.

They’d just realized their incredibly huge mistake only yesterday—several days earlier, an employee who’d been suddenly transferred to an affiliate corporation was apparently backed up with work. Given that everything that employee was involved with were issues that had needed to be handled long before, Yokozawa and the rest of his team had found themselves having to care of a mountain of post-processing.

Naturally, this wasn’t due to any error by Yokozawa himself—but nevertheless, the sales department’s inept.i.tude had clearly dropped the ball on this one, bringing down the entire department together.

To make matters worse, the head of the sales department had gone on vacation abroad the previous week, and as a result, despite there still being other sales department members superior to Yokozawa around, Yokozawa was the one in charge of comics sales and had therefore found himself shoved to the forefront of the battle.

They likely suspected that, given how close the two seemed to be, they might get off relatively lightly, but Kiris.h.i.+ma wasn’t the type to lessen his attacks for something as simple as that.

“I don’t suppose there’s any use crying over spilled milk—so rather than reflecting on the mess you’ve made, focus on fixing it. For the time being, bring me a revised version of the sales policies by the end of the day.”

Doubting his hearing, Yokozawa turned the question on the man across the table. “By the end…of today?” It was next to impossible to completely review from the bottom up in half a day a series of sales policies that it had taken months to compile in the first place. And more so—there were more than a few matters they still had to take care of to correct the errors that had been made.

“You heard me. If we don’t get things in order by the time the new volumes are released, then there’s no point to this at all.”

At Kiris.h.i.+ma’s frustratingly logical argument, the a.s.sociates to Yokozawa’s left and right quailed, holding their breath.

“…I’ll take care of it, then.” Had this been an issue with himself, Yokozawa would have continued to exchange caustic words with Kiris.h.i.+ma, but in an effort to save face, he had little choice but to duck his head and give in. He’d been shoved into the limelight like this with pleas from those around him not to make matters worse, leaving Yokozawa aching with frustration over having no choice other than to offer his half-hearted response.

“What the h.e.l.l’s with that vague response? If you’re so ‘busy’ you can’t even take a few days’ vacation, you should have no problem taking care of this, right? You’re married to your work after all, aren’t you?” Kiris.h.i.+ma pressed, watching Yokozawa swallow uncomfortably.

“………!”

“I’m asking you, personally. Can you do it—or can’t you? Which is it?”

“…All right then. I’ll be sure to have it to you by the end of the day, without fail,” he eventually relented, hands gripped into tight fists at his sides. His coworkers furtively released their collective breath, but this was a matter of personal pride on Yokozawa’s part now. There might be complaints later, but all he had to do was make sure to take personal responsibility now.

Plus—Kiris.h.i.+ma wasn’t the type of man to make impossible demands. The very reason he was being so persistent on this matter likely had to do with the fact that it was Yokozawa sitting across the table from him.

Besides—Kiris.h.i.+ma was right in this matter; if they didn’t make their move either today or tomorrow, the company would experience a significant loss.

Had the employee at fault been one of Yokozawa’s subordinates, this sort of stupid mistake would never have occurred in the first place—but he couldn’t go about bad-mouthing the errors of a superior for one thing, and for another, the person at fault had previously shown himself to be rather proficient at his job.

Given his impressive ability to spin a conversation, though, most everything around him was enveloped in a hazy smoke. It had only been recently that it had come to light that he’d been pus.h.i.+ng off his work onto unsuspecting newbies on the side, playing up everything as his own doing. On top of that, there were rumors of financial discrepancies as well.

Yokozawa and his group hadn’t been made aware of why the man had been transferred, but it likely had to do with a pile-up of such incidents. Really, they were actually late to realize all that had been going on, and regrets of if only we’d realized sooner simply strengthened as more came to light.

Yokozawa had commended himself for rising through the ranks to take on responsibilities overseeing comics sales over someone above him in both age and years employed at the company—but considering everything now, he couldn’t discount the possibility that his superiors had simply realized that these duties couldn’t be entrusted to that man.

The moment the meeting ended, everyone scattered like spiderlings, likely eager to remove themselves from this atmosphere as quickly as possible. Yokozawa would have liked to have done the same, but he still had a piece of his mind to give Kiris.h.i.+ma.

With a glance to ensure that they were alone in the meeting room now, he called out, “Kiris.h.i.+ma-san,” to the man still seated across from him.

“Hm?”

“A word, if you don’t mind?” Despite having already ensured that the door was shut, he kept his voice low in case anyone was still dawdling outside the room. He absolutely could not have anyone else in the office overhearing the conversation they were about to have. Taking a small breath, he hazarded, “I really…am sorry for this issue happening, and you’re perfectly within your rights to berate me for it—but I’ll thank you not to bring your personal issues with me into the meeting room.”

“Ah, so you noticed, did you?” Kiris.h.i.+ma scratched the back of his neck almost purposefully, s.h.i.+fting his gaze off to the side. His expression now showed absolutely none of the cold indifference he’d worn only moments before, and feeling a sense of relief at this fact, Yokozawa allowed himself to release a sigh.

“Like h.e.l.l I’d miss it.” Thankfully, it seemed no one else in the room had noticed, but Yokozawa had fully grasped the subtle jab Kiris.h.i.+ma had delivered.

The whole married to your work ridicule had likely been targeted in response to Yokozawa arguing just the previous day that it would be difficult for him to manage to take a few days off together.

Several years prior, Marukawa Shoten had instated a system where one had to submit an application in advance to be able to take vacation time, with everyone submitting their desired days off and subsequently being notified of their fixed vacation interval. Kiris.h.i.+ma had suggested that they align their days off and go on a family trip together, but Yokozawa had no clue when he’d be able to tear himself away from the work he was dealing with right now, so he’d had to turn the guy down for the time being.

Yokozawa had taken over much of the responsibilities that the transferred employee had been in charge of, and there was little hope of him being able to put everything in order in only a few days. Plus, when they’d visited the matter of taking a vacation yesterday, they still hadn’t even learned about the issue they’d just been discussing in the meeting only moments before.

“Well, you look so cute when you’re in trouble—I couldn’t help myself.”

“Don’t think you’re getting off with ‘I couldn’t help myself’!”

Of course, the only reason Yokozawa was able to have such a frank discussion with someone who was technically his superior was purely because of the secret relations.h.i.+p they were currently engaged in. While he hadn’t confessed as such to a single soul, certain matters had led to the two dating for the past few months, and despite being unable to shake the sensation of how unbelievable their situation was, it was nevertheless the unadorned truth.

“It’s your fault for being so cold~” Kiris.h.i.+ma pouted when Yokozawa unthinkingly raised his voice, and the unbecoming expression only served to further irritate.

It was likely that no one had ever entertained the notion that the charismatic editor-in-chief who managed to control his brigade of individualistic editors could behave in such a childish manner—and Yokozawa had lost count of how many times he’d wished he could just snap a picture and flash it about the office to prove as such.

With a fit body and height enough to him to compete with Yokozawa’s 180-plus centimeters, no one could dispute how handsome he was. He had a calm atmosphere about him exceeding his 30-some-odd years of age, and the voice issuing forth from his slender lips was beautiful with its low, gentle timbre.

However, while he remained forever unruffled despite what troubles cropped up in his work, he exhibited a surprisingly wide range of emotions in private—so clumsy he couldn’t even peel the skin off an apple, and yet p.r.o.ne to intense jealousy as well. Perhaps the only ones privy to that side of Kiris.h.i.+ma were his family and Yokozawa.

“And it’s not like I could help any of this—after flailing about the way we did yesterday over this matter, if I don’t handle it, you’ll be the one catching h.e.l.l for it.”

“Work and play are separate matters.”

“Says the guy who just mixed them superbly five minutes ago?”

“Did I…?”

“…Geez, you…” Yokozawa’s brows furrowed deeply at Kiris.h.i.+ma’s insistent, illogical quibbling, and he ma.s.saged his temples.

The issue at hand had come to light just as the pair had been heading home the previous evening, right as they’d been discussing the matter of taking vacation time for their trip. Yokozawa had had little choice but to turn down the invitation, leaving Kiris.h.i.+ma in a foul mood.

After receiving the call, Yokozawa had left Kiris.h.i.+ma behind and promptly returned to the office, where he’d remained with his coworkers until well into the evening checking and rechecking doc.u.ments, all the while unable to get ahold of the employee in question and winding up having wasted their entire night.

“I’m sorry but just—can you wait on this vacation thing at least until everything settles down here? I can’t just drop everything and run off on a trip right now.”

“Yeah yeah, I know. …Dammit, I can’t believe that a.s.shole—running off and leaving everyone else to clean up his s.h.i.+t…” While he might have understood the situation, it was obvious he couldn’t contain his displeasure. His irritation with Yokozawa seemed to have just been blow-back from this matter in general. “All right; I’m gonna head back to my division and sort things out with my people, so get back to your desk and sit tight—though I’m sorry to say I probably won’t be able to let you off early tonight.” Really, though, the one who needed to be apologized to for her father having to stay late with overtime was Hiyori. “Oh—also, just put together a report on the status of everything for me some time tomorrow. I’m sure there’re a lot of things you’ve got to discuss, so just send me what you’ve got before you leave tonight.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll talk with the editing team and see if we can’t help out somehow, then call you later. Just ring up my extension if you need to ask anything; I’ll make sure I’m available.” The rapid-fire delivery left Yokozawa bewildered. Was he just imagining things, or was thiscompletely different from what had just been discussed in the meeting?

“But, earlier you said you wanted…”

“Nah, I was just blowing off steam with your sales people—I mean, my editors have to figure out how to explain this to our authors now, you know? Plus with your boss out of the picture, you people needed a fire under your a.s.ses. I’ve noticed some of them s.p.a.cing out lately, after all. Sorry I took it out on you.”

“Oh…no, that’s…really, it’s fine.” He’d been caught off guard, hardly expecting Kiris.h.i.+ma to actually apologize, and just as Kiris.h.i.+ma had pointed out, he couldn’t deny that the tension between them had eased by several magnitude.

“I just didn’t want them thinking that they could put you up there and things would just magically work out somehow. They’re way too reliant on you, you know.”

“………!” Yokozawa gaped, finally realizing what exactly had put Kiris.h.i.+ma into such a foul mood. He’d obviously adopted the att.i.tude he had with full knowledge of what had been going on around Yokozawa, and while his personal feelings had undoubtedly come into play in his irritation with Yokozawa, he must have been feeling equally frustrated with the fact Yokozawa had been put up there as a punching bag.

“Also—my mother’s taking care of Hiyo tonight, so you don’t have to worry about things at my place.” Kiris.h.i.+ma’s parents lived only a stone’s throw away, and it was thanks in large part to their help that he’d been able to raise his daughter while still managing a vibrant career. His mother was a good-humored, bright woman, treating Yokozawa with all the kindness in the world despite his shamelessly making himself at home—and while he’d never met Kiris.h.i.+ma’s father, he’d heard that, unlike his son, he was a rather quiet sort.

“All right then; I’m sure I’ll be staying late as well, so I’ll just head straight back to my place when I’m finished. Mind looking after Sorata for me?”

“Sure, I’ll take good care of him. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate—but I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me—just who do you think I am?”

“Then I’ll expect great things from you—Takafumi.”

“………!” Yokozawa felt a shudder ripple through him when Kiris.h.i.+ma fixed his gaze squarely on Yokozawa as he stood, and the casually delivered use of his first name left him feeling shaken. No matter how he might consider himself well-composed, he could never keep up appearances in front of Kiris.h.i.+ma. It was frustrating beyond expression how he felt like he was some schoolboy with his first crush—but those feelings of unease flickered away only a moment later.

“Geez, this really was the worst timing. Suppose it can’t be helped, though—we’ll just have to save this for later.”

“—?! Don’t just grope people’s a.s.ses in pa.s.sing!” Kiris.h.i.+ma’s flirtatious gesture completely ruined the moment, dispelling any warmth that had cropped up in his chest. He slapped Kiris.h.i.+ma’s hand away and took a few steps back to ensure the guy couldn’t cop any further feels.

“What’s the big deal? I’m just playing grab-a.s.s with my lover—ohwait. You’re married to your work, aren’t you?”

“Enough already!”

At Yokozawa’s raised voice, Kiris.h.i.+ma released a loud guffaw. Despite knowing it was never going to happen, he really wished the guy would stop toying with him like this. Sometimes it was next to impossible to tell just how much of Kiris.h.i.+ma’s words and actions were joking—was he actually that laid back, or only feigning as such? There was no telling.

Regardless, it did nothing to change the fact that Yokozawa hadn’t a clue how best to respond at times like this.

“Ah…” Just as he released a sigh, he recalled suddenly that he’d had something he’d meant to discuss with Kiris.h.i.+ma—he’d meant to take care of it the evening before, but with everything going to s.h.i.+t like it had, he’d missed his chance.

He opened his mouth to speak—but just at that moment, the sound of Kiris.h.i.+ma’s ringtone echoed through the meeting room, and he quickly snapped his mouth shut again. If it was a call regarding work matters, it wouldn’t do to get in the way. He’d really wanted to get this out of the way before Kirsihima returned to the editing floor, but it seemed he’d missed his chance once again.