Episode 184: A Chat with Masaomi-san

Sara-san’s coming home today!!

That was the first thing on my mind the second I woke up.

Like we talked about on the phone last night, she won’t be staying over tonight, but I’m still just happy that I get to see her.

But before that, I have one last job… if you can even call it that. I have my promise to Masaomi-san.

He went out of his way to clear his schedule for my selfish request, so I have to keep my head in the game and not let my mind wander off to thoughts of Sara-san.

I checked my phone and saw a message from Sara-san, just like always.

「Good morning, Kazunari-san. The day has finally arrived. I look forward to seeing you today. From your Sara.」

「I’m really happy I get to see you today, too. I’m already counting down the hours.」

I sent a reply, but the timing was off again and it didn’t show as read. She’ll probably read it whenever she gets a spare moment.

Alright, time to get ready.

Since I don’t have any actual labor today, I went with something closer to my everyday clothes. Then I took off the bandage Todo-san wrapped around my right hand yesterday to check my palm.

The worst part is near the base of my ring finger, followed by the base of my middle finger… there’s no doubt it gets worse every time I work, but I only have to endure this a few more times.

I ate some toast for breakfast and checked the room since I still had a little time.

The laundry from the last two or three days is all bundled up, but it’s still sitting there. Mayumi-san offered to do it for me, but I only actually took her up on it once.

「Honestly, you really do prefer Sara-chan, don’t you?」

She sounded like she was sulking, but her face was smirking, so I knew right away she was just teasing me.

I had a few reasons for holding back, but the biggest one was that I felt awkward having her mother do that much for me while Sara-san was away.

I already tucked the laundry Mayumi-san did for me neatly into my dresser.

As an aside… since Sara-san started doing my laundry, our detergent is the same brand as the Satsukawa house, so everything smells the same too.

Next, the kitchen.

It’s spotless. Not a surprise since I don’t cook for myself.

…That should be fine for now.

Based on experience, I don’t think I can keep a secret from Sara-san 100%.

She’s going to grill me after her birthday anyway, and since I’m planning to talk to her about having a proper chat with Masaomi-san, it’ll all come out then.

The main thing is just making it to her birthday.

Masaomi-san called to say he was on his way to pick me up.

I’m already prepared, so I lock up and head out.

While I’m waiting in front of the apartment as usual, I eventually spot the familiar sedan heading my way.

「Sorry to keep you waiting, Takanashi-kun. Hop in.」

「Thank you.」

The car stops in front of me. I exchange a few words with Masaomi-san through the open passenger window, get in, and buckle my seatbelt immediately.

Masaomi-san confirms I’m set and starts the car, speaking up after we’ve driven a little bit.

「Sorry it’s not a real job today.」

「Not at all. I’m the one who made a selfish request.」

「I appreciate you saying that. It’s really nothing major. It’s just a bit of a chat, so please, just relax, okay?」

I’d braced myself a bit since this talk was a substitute for work, but judging by his tone and the atmosphere, it really does seem like just a casual chat. We might talk a bit about the work I did, but maybe it won’t be that intense…

While we’re talking casually, the car arrives at the Satsukawa house.

The garage shutter opens, we park, and I follow Masaomi-san inside.

Masaomi-san calls out「I’m back」toward the back of the house, and the only response is a「Welcome home.」It looks like Mayumi-san is busy with something.

When we enter the living room, Mayumi-san’s in the kitchen, moving around busily.

「Welcome, Takanashi-san. I’m sorry, I’m a bit tied up right now.」

「No, it’s fine. Is something going on?」

「My daughter’s coming home from her school trip today. It’s been a week, so my wife’s prepping a massive dinner to celebrate.」

「I’ll be done in just a bit, sorry about that.」

It looks like I made the right call.

There’s no way they wouldn’t be happy to see their daughter after a week away. Given how close the Satsukawa family is, they must have been looking forward to this.

…What should I do? Maybe I should stop Sara-san from coming over today even if I have to force it.

I’ll be lonely too, but seeing Masaomi-san’s happy face and Mayumi-san going all out, it’s not hard to imagine this turning into a family house party.

I felt a tiny bit of regret for witnessing this scene…

Mayumi-san finished her prep and brought tea to Masaomi-san and me while we sat on the sofa.

She even brought out some cake, which she apparently made while multitasking with the dinner prep.

Her housework skills are honestly amazing as always.

「Well then… Takanashi-kun, once again, good work. I didn’t think you would finish everything, but I checked it yesterday and didn’t find a single mistake. You even added your own touches; I’m completely satisfied with the result.」

「No, I’m the one who should thank you for giving me the work. It really helped me out.」

Masaomi-san and I bow to each other from the sofa. It wasn’t intentional, but we both looked up at the exact same time, which made us both crack a smile.

「And from me as well. Takanashi-san, thank you so much for your hard work. If it were just me, it would have taken a month. Looking at you this past week… being serious is great, but you really have to make sure you take proper breaks during work, okay?」

「Y-yes…」

I’ve learned that lesson well. I’d really like to avoid getting any more punishments… seriously.

If Sara-san ever saw something like that, I’d never hear the end of it…

「Well, you’ll get used to that eventually. More importantly, that seriousness toward your work and the flexibility to add your own improvements will definitely serve you well in the future. Please don’t forget that.」

「Yes, thank you very much.」

I guess it’s okay to take that as a compliment… even if it’s just flattery, it makes me really happy to be recognized for my first part-time job and my first real work experience.

「Whoops, sorry. I’ve gone and made the conversation all stiff again. Anyway, I’m just really glad I asked you to do the job. That’s all I wanted to say.」

「Yes, sir.」

「Now, enough serious talk, let’s have our tea. Today’s cake is one of my best.」

Today’s cake was a cheese tart.

Just like Mayumi-san said, the taste was so good it wouldn’t be out of place in a specialty shop.

While enjoying the cake, I decided to take the opportunity to ask about Masaomi-san’s position, which had been bugging me for a while.

「The title of Senior Managing Director means I’m an executive, but there isn’t a concrete definition of the daily workload. If I had to put it simply… I’m the President’s assistant. So my job is basically doing whatever is needed to act as a bridge between the employees, the various departments, the President, and the other executives.」

「That’s a huge range of things to do. It sounds tough.」

「Since there are no clearly defined duties, if you give this position to someone who doesn’t take the initiative, they can end up being a total corporate leech. We even have a joke term for it, a ‘Do-Nothing Director.’」

A pun… though it’s not like Masaomi-san was trying to be funny, it’s just a term that exists.

「By the way, my uncle is the President of that company. But he doesn’t have a son… because he’s doted on me since I was a kid, the position of Senior Managing Director eventually came my way.」

His uncle is the President… I can’t even imagine the President of a massive corporation like that.

Ah, but Nishikawa-san is a genuine CEO’s daughter, so naturally, she isn’t the kind of person someone like me should even be hanging out with. I’d never seen someone actually call their father「Otou-sama」in real life until her.

But listening to the story, does that mean Masaomi-san is in a position like the current President’s son?

Meaning, the next President?

…No, I’m definitely overthinking it.

「So, to make sure no one calls me a ‘Do-Nothing Director,’ I try to be proactive about listening to the various departments and taking their reports and materials to the board and the President. Though, I took in so many that it ended up in that disaster you saw…」

I see, so that’s how that mess happened…

It’s just a general idea, but I feel like I understand Masaomi-san a bit better now. He calls me serious, but I think he’s pretty much the same.

Our time was finally coming to an end.

For some reason, he asked me a few more things about the departments and sections partway through, but other than that, it really was just a casual chat.

「Well, shall we wrap this up? Here, Takanashi-kun, this is for you…」

Masaomi-san pulled an envelope from his inner pocket. I obviously knew what it was, so I accepted it honestly without holding back.

「Thank you very much.」

「Make sure you check the contents, okay?」

I thought it’d be rude to open it right here, but Mayumi-san told me to, and Masaomi-san was nodding along, so I followed their lead.

I’m actually nervous…

Thinking about it, since this was my first part-time job, this was my first time ever receiving actual cash as a reward for my labor, my first paycheck. It gave me a weird sense of tension.

I was careful not to rip the envelope as I opened it and pulled out the contents…

Wait. This feels like it’s more than planned…

No, it’s not just a feeling. Without even counting, it’s way more than planned!?

「U-um!! This is too much…」

「Hm? No, it’s not. Well, since there was no contract or anything, I decided the amount myself. Even the hourly wage we talked about at first was supposed to be ‘at least’ this much, right?」

It’s true he said「I’ll prepare at least this much for the hourly wage,」but that meant I only heard the minimum amount and never a specific number. I thought that was already plenty, so I’d been calculating based on that minimum.

「But this is…」

「Takanashi-kun, this is the payment for your labor plus an additional bonus for producing results that went beyond my expectations. There’s nothing strange about it, and you have every right to receive it.」

Masaomi-san acted like it was the most natural thing in the world, but I wondered if it was really okay for me to take this.

Of course, I intended to do the work properly, and if I do say so myself, I think I did a decent job.

「Takanashi-san, please just take it. My husband decided on this after carefully considering your results, so there’s no need for you to hold back at all, you know?」

Now even Mayumi-san was trying to convince me. At this point, it would be rude to keep refusing.

Besides, if I think about it, making him take back something he already gave me would basically be an insult to Masaomi-san’s honor, wouldn’t it?

In that case, I should just accept it gratefully.

「……I understand. Thank you so much.」

I put the envelope in my bag, and Masaomi-san gave a satisfied nod with a smile.

「Yep, that’s better. Alright, I guess this is really the end.」

「Yes. Thank you so much. It was only for a short time, but thank you for everything.」

I stood up from the sofa and gave a polite bow.

「No, thank you. I intended it as a favor, but I feel like I’m the one who got saved.」

I shook the hand Masaomi-san held out.

He really is a great father. I wish my own dull dad would take a page out of his book and be at least half as cool…

「I wonder if we’ll meet again? I might end up wanting to ask you to do some more part-time work, after all.」

Masaomi-san said those kind words with a light, almost joking tone.

I also felt really bad about the idea of just saying goodbye without saying anything at all… plus, I intend to give him a proper greeting soon.

「Masaomi-san… I have something to tell you the next time we meet.」

「Hm? Is that so?」

「Yes. Because of some circumstances, it’ll have to be next time…」

「No, that’s fine. It just gives me a reason to see you again. In that case, let’s not say goodbye today, but ‘see you next time’ instead.」

「………Yes!!」

I’ll definitely tell him the truth the next time we meet.

And I realized for the first time in my life that if I’m going to grow up, I want to be the kind of adult Masaomi-san is.