Monday.
“President, I am so sorry.”
When Matsuyama opened the door to my office and stepped inside, her face was paler than I had ever seen it.
There had been a numerical error in the market analysis report Matsuyama had prepared. The client had made a decision based on that report, and as a result, they had suffered losses on the scale of several million yen.
I took Matsuyama with me to the client’s office that very day.
When we were shown into the reception room, the client’s president was waiting for us, arms crossed, with a grim expression on his face.
After a cursory exchange of business cards, I bowed deeply.
“We sincerely apologize for the immense trouble caused to your company due to our lack of oversight. We are truly sorry.”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
“Do you think ‘sorry’ settles this?”
He started quietly.
“My executives acted on the belief that your report was accurate. Do you have any idea what the result of that was? Everything the staff spent months building up was blown away in an instant.”
“…We truly—”
“Shut up and listen!!”
He cut me off as I tried to continue my apology. The president’s anger suddenly boiled over like a bursting dam.
“Have you even calculated how much the loss was?! Do you know how many of my employees worked through their weekends? Do you have any idea how exhausted the staff is because of you people?!”
He slammed his fist hard onto the table. Beside me, Matsuyama’s shoulders jumped in a violent flinch.
“This is absolutely unbelievable. To do such piece-of-shit work and still have the nerve to come here and apologize. Normally, people would be too ashamed to show their faces. It’s that kind of nerve that leads to mistakes like this.”
His heavy breathing continued. After a moment, the president slowly leaned back deep into his chair. There was an ominous pause, as if something had shifted.
“…You. Where did you go to college?”
It was an abrupt question directed at Matsuyama.
“…XX University,” she replied, her voice trembling slightly.
“Ah,” the president let out a quiet, slow snort of a laugh. It was a sticky, lingering smile, completely different from the roaring anger of a moment ago.
“Ah, I see. Just as I thought. That idiot university where you get in as long as you write your name on the application.”
His gaze traveled over Matsuyama’s entire body, as if he were licking her with his eyes.
“No wonder you can only produce garbage work. Well, I guess it was a mistake to expect anything from the start. Sending a stupid woman like this as the lead tells me everything I need to know about the quality of your company.”
I could see Matsuyama’s ears turning red.
“All chest and no brains. Girls like that usually do this kind of work. I bet you knew it yourself, didn’t you? That this was beyond your capabilities.”
Glancing sideways, I saw Matsuyama’s lips trembling faintly. Her eyes were beginning to well up.
“Excuse me,” I said, my mouth moving before I realized it.
“Would you mind retracting those statements?”
The president raised an eyebrow. He looked at me with appraising eyes.
“The fault in this matter lies undoubtedly with my company. I apologize sincerely for that point. However…”
I took a breath.
“There is no justification for insulting a valued employee of my company with such abusive language. We will decline any further business with a company that speaks in such a manner.”
The president’s expression changed.
“Huh? Who do you think you are, talking down to—”
“Furthermore, I have recorded your comments regarding Ms. Matsuyama. The handling of this recording will be left to my company’s discretion.”
“Eh… ah…”
The president’s mouth opened and closed silently. His face turned pale in an instant.
I gave a deep bow.
“If you’ll excuse us.”
I gently took Matsuyama by the arm and led her out of the reception room.
The moment we stepped into the hallway, Matsuyama’s shoulders began to shake uncontrollably.
My own hands were trembling slightly.
On the way back to the station.
Looking over, I saw Matsuyama walking with her head down, clearly devastated. Her face was ghostly pale, she was biting her lip, and her eyes were red.
Then, she let out a small, fragmented sentence.
“President, because of my mistake… I’m really sorry…”
After a deep sigh, she added, “But… thank you. Being called a ‘valued employee’… it made me happy.”
“It was nothing. Not something you need to be grateful for.”
I turned my face away from her brusquely.
“I think it’s a fact that I’m dragging you down… so, I’ll take responsibility and resign.” she said in a strained, choking voice.
“Is there any need for you to resign?”
The words slipped out before I knew it. Even to me, they sounded far too curt.
“What’s done is done. We just have to figure out what to do next.”
Matsuyama let a single tear fall, whispered a small “sorry,” and gave a slight, stiff nod.
In times like these, I don’t know how to offer kind words. I often find that when I try to comfort someone, I just end up spinning my wheels.
I truly believe I am not suited for the act of empathizing with others.
I smoked a single cigarette at the smoking area in front of the office to calm my nerves. But the trembling in the hand holding the cigarette wouldn’t stop.
Afterward, I gathered all the employees in the office to explain the situation.
When I finished speaking, deep sighs escaped from all corners of the room. The atmosphere, which had already been strained and prickly, grew even heavier.
An increasing number of resignations, failed fundraising, the cancellation of a major client contract.
Some of it was my own responsibility, but it was impressive how many troubles could happen in such quick succession.
I felt as if I were slowly sinking into a bottomless swamp.
9:00 PM.
I packed the remaining tasks into my laptop and left the office.
I didn’t realize I was hungry until I stepped off the elevator in my apartment building.
I walked down the hallway and unlocked the door with my key.
Click.
The moment I opened the door, a warm orange glow spilled out, and the faint scent of dashi brushed against my nose.
It was the gentle, soothing smell of simmered vegetables, like a blend of kelp and soy sauce.
The nostalgic aroma made the tension in my shoulders suddenly vanish.
“Hm, welcome home, Big Sis.”
A face popped up from behind the sofa.
It was Yuno. She seemed to have been lying down on the couch.
She trotted over to me as I was trying to take off my coat. Seeing what she was wearing, my hands stopped.
The cat-ear loungewear we had picked out together at the department store that day.
She had the hood pulled up; it was a bit too large for her petite frame, making the whole outfit look baggy. Her white, slender legs peeked out from the hem of the short pants.
Unexpectedly, my heart gave a sharp tug, and before I knew it, my hand reached out.
I gently pinched the cat ears through the fabric of the hood. The fluffy texture seeped into my fingertips.
“…What are you doing, Big Sis?”
Yuno tilted her head and looked up at me.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, teasingly.
“Nothing.”
But I didn’t let go. I continued to pet the cat ears with my fingertips. In silence.
I felt a certain warmth spreading in my chest.
“Pfft… ahaha!”
Seeing me like that, Yuno burst out laughing, her face twisting with mirth.
“What?”
“I mean, you’ve got this serious, scary look on your face, but you just keep petting the cat ears. You really are a weirdo, Big Sis.”
“…Did I look that scary?”
“Yeah, your eyebrows were all bunched up and your mouth was like this ‘inverted-U’ shape.”
As she spoke, she mimicked my expression.
If that were true, it certainly was a terrible look.
When I frowned and glared at her, Yuno just giggled again.
Looking at that innocent smile, I felt the sediment that had accumulated in my heart throughout the day simply wash away.