[CH.18] Expelled colleague (Part 2)
"Ah..."
Nishina-san turned pale and her mouth opened and closed in shock.
This harassment had gone too far. Were they deliberately doing this knowing it would hurt her...?
What a terrible thing to do.
Our eyes met, and I stammered, "I-I..."
"Alright! Since it's the end of our working hours, let's go grab dinner, Nishina-san!"
I think both Nishina-san and I were in a state of confusion.
It was an impulsive remark. Nishina-san nodded, so I decided to put work aside for a moment and head outside.
I informed the manager and Kuhou-san and left the office.
As we walked together, we remained silent.
Seeing Nishina-san, usually so cheerful, fall completely silent made me realize that this situation must be quite serious.
I tried to calm my thoughts and think about what we should talk about.
It's difficult... In creative work, you can often use time to skip over complicated parts, but in reality, things aren't that easy, and I keenly felt that.
We decided to go to a teppanyaki restaurant behind the office.
"...This is my first time here."
It seemed to be Nishina-san's first time as well.
At first glance, it looked like a casual place, and it didn't seem like the kind of restaurant where a girl in a suit would go after work.
But once we stepped inside, we saw that they had private rooms, and it turned out to be quite relaxing.
Even when I was in the Tokyo headquarters, I made it a hobby to explore the restaurants near the office.
We were shown to a private room.
"When I came here the other day, the pork steak was really good. Skewers are great too, skewers."
"Hanamura-chan, did you come here alone?"
"Well, it was a weekday..."
Since most of my local friends have moved to Aichi, Osaka, or Tokyo, I tend to do things solo. Even during my time in Tokyo, I was so busy with writing that I couldn't make friends outside my creative circle. So, I often ate alone, and I'm even comfortable dining alone at a yakiniku restaurant like this.
The finished dishes were lined up on the hotplate, sizzling enticingly. I drizzled some sauce over them, and the delightful aroma filled the room.
"The smell sticks to our suits."
"Tomorrow's a day off, so we can get them cleaned."
Coming here on a Friday was also because of the timing. It would get busier if we waited a bit longer, so it was a good idea to eat now.
"Oh, this is delicious."
"Isn't it?"
"Yeah."
Looking into those round, sparkling eyes, I couldn't help but think how lucky I was to be having dinner like this with my idol of a colleague, Kazuha Nishina. She's so... really cute.
We're colleagues, but Nishina-san graduated from a junior college, so she's two years younger than me. She'll turn 24 this year. It's quite different from me, who's approaching my mid-20s.
"By the way, Hanamura-chan..."
At the sudden words, my gaze naturally turned toward Nishina-san.
...She hesitated slightly before speaking, as if she were contemplating whether to say it out loud.
"Do you know that I'll be staying at this Hamayama Sales Office until my transfer is confirmed?"
"Well... I didn't know that until the transfer was confirmed. I always thought you'd be in the headquarters' general affairs department."
Honestly, I was quite surprised when I heard about the transfer from our boss.
"Yeah... I guess so. Actually, it's kind of like I've been exiled from the general affairs department."
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