“Do you have a few minutes right now?”
I re-read the message from Kuze-san.
“Yes. I’m free.”
As soon as I sent my reply, it was marked as read.
“Thanks. I’ll head over to your desk.”
I saved the document I had open and tidied up my desk.
Before long, Kuze-san walked over.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Shiraishi-san.”
“Not at all. Is something up?”
“I wanted to ask you one thing about that document from earlier.”
Kuze-san pulled up the vacant chair next to mine and sat down.
“Did you come up with this analysis from scratch, Shiraishi-san?”
“Yes. I referenced previous files, but I put the structure together myself.”
“I knew it. The angle was different from last time, so it caught my eye.”
“Was there an issue with it?”
“No, quite the opposite.”
Kuze-san pointed at a section of the screen.
“You didn’t just look at competitor trends; you even factored in changes in the customer base.”
“Yes. I felt that relying solely on overall market growth rates wouldn’t be enough to accurately predict future demand.”
“Mm. I completely agree.”
She nodded in satisfaction.
“You didn’t just line up numbers; you actually thought through what could be read between those lines. That’s a really great perspective.”
“…Thank you very much.”
“You’ve been entrusted with a lot more work lately, haven’t you, Shiraishi-san?”
“I still have a long way to go. There are so many things I still need you to check for me, Kuze-san.”
“Checking your work is part of my job, too. You don’t need to worry about that.”
Saying that, Kuze-san offered a light smile.
“Besides, doing this well in your third year is more than enough.”
A gentle warmth bloomed deep inside my chest.
Getting praised wasn’t entirely rare.
Even so, words coming from Kuze-san were always special.
“…Kuze-san.”
“Hmm?”
“Have I grown even a little bit since I first joined the company?”
The moment the question left my mouth, I felt ridiculous for asking such a strange thing.
Kuze-san blinked in surprise for a brief second, and then her expression softened into a quiet smile.
“It’s not just a little bit.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. Back when you first started, you used to apologize instantly every single time something happened.”
“Ah…”
“Now, you can clearly communicate your own thoughts, and your decision-making is so much faster.”
There was a hint of nostalgia in her tone.
“I keep a pretty close eye on you, you know.”
My head snapped up reflexively.
Kuze-san was already looking back down at the document as if she hadn’t just said anything out of the ordinary.
…That was unfair.
When she said things like that, it made me want to hope.
Of course, it was just work.
I knew that.
Even so, the simple thought that she was watching me filled me with an uncontrollable happiness.
“Speaking of which,” Kuze-san said, closing the document. “What do you usually do on your days off, Shiraishi-san?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, I was slightly startled.
“My days off?”
“Yeah. I realized we only ever talk about work, so I surprisingly don’t know much about you.”
“That’s true… I usually just stay home and read books or watch movies.”
“Oh. So, you’re an indoor person.”
“Yes. I guess I’m not really someone who goes out very often.”
“What kind of books do you read?”
“Mostly novels, I suppose? Things like mysteries or romance.”
“You read romance novels, too?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s a little unexpected.”
“…Is it?”
“Just a feeling. I kind of pictured you reading much more complex, difficult books.”
Kuze-san let out a playful laugh.
“It’s nothing like that. I read ordinary novels, too.”
“Fufu, I see.”
She tilted her gaze upward as if pondering for a moment.
“I occasionally read them, too. Though I haven’t been able to lately since I’ve been short on time.”
“What kind of books do you like, Kuze-san?”
“Hmm—I read a bit of everything, really. But I do quite like stories with complex human relationships.”
“Like works with heavy psychological descriptions?”
“Exactly. It’s fun trying to imagine what the characters are thinking.”
That was a bit unexpected. I had always assumed Kuze-san was the type to prefer self-help or business books.
“…That’s actually kind of surprising.”
“Eh, why?”
“I just had an image of you reading books related to work.”
“Ah. Well, of course I read those too,” she said with a small shrug. “But if I kept thinking about work all through the weekend, I’d get exhausted.”
“That’s true.”
“Make sure you get proper rest, too, Shiraishi-san.”
It was just casual small talk.
And yet, it had been a very long time since we had talked this much about something outside of work.
I still barely knew anything about Kuze-san.
Her favorite foods, how she spent her weekends… even whether she had a partner or not.
…Actually, no.
That last one—part of me wanted to know, and another part of me was terrified to find out.
“Shiraishi-san?”
“Yes?”
“Fufu, what’s wrong? You suddenly zoned out.”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing.”
“Is that so?”
Kuze-san tilted her head in mild curiosity.
“Well, I should probably get back to my desk.”
“Ah, right. Thank you very much for taking the time.”
“Same to you. It was nice getting to talk about a few different things.”
She stood up from the chair.
“Be sure to recommend a good book to me sometime.”
“…If you’re okay with my taste.”
“Of course,” Kuze-san smiled warmly. “I’m curious to see what kind of books you find interesting, Shiraishi-san.”
With that, she walked back toward her seat.
For a while, I sat there staring blankly at the closed document.
A book recommendation… Saying something like that meant I was going to spend a long time agonizing in front of my bookshelf tonight.
…I really was so simple-minded.
A conversation lasting just a few minutes, and I was already floating on cloud nine.
“Shiraishi-san.”
Hearing a voice from the side, I looked up.
Minami-san was looking at me with a slightly amused expression.
“What were you and Kuze-san talking about?”
“…Huh?”
“You two looked like you were having so much fun.”
Flustered, my mind raced to scramble for an answer.