Actually, There’s Someone at Your Workplace Who Likes You ~ I’m Being Transferred to a Sales Office Filled With Only Beautiful Women!? - Chapter 16: Ruka Actually Liked Soccer

Back in my high school soccer days, I had a lot of trouble, and it left me with a bit of a trauma. That’s why I didn’t really like talking about that time.

While I was thinking about that, Aido-san said—

“Um… I actually love soccer.”

“Oh, really?”

Huh, I didn’t expect that.

Just as I was thinking that, Honoka, who was a little farther away, also spoke in a surprised voice.

“Huh, Ruka-tan, you like soccer? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Yeah, since this office is mostly women, I figured no one would be very interested.”

“Nope, not interested at all!”

She answered instantly with a big smile. Seriously, Honoka-san…

Still, I was surprised that Aido-san liked soccer. She didn’t seem like the sporty type—I thought she was more of an indoor person.

“Well, I do love soccer, but only watching it.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yeah.”

Aido-san looked happy, and for some reason, a little shy.

“Here you go, Hirabayashi-kun, coffee.”

“Huh?”

At Honoka’s sudden words, I turned around and saw that she had placed a cup of coffee on my desk. I had been hearing some clattering sounds earlier, and it turned out she was making instant coffee.

“Oh, thanks.”

“Wh-what’s going on, Honoka-senpai?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… I’ve never seen you make coffee for a guy before.”

“Ah, no, um… W-what are you talking about, Ruka-tan!? I-I do make coffee sometimes! You just happened to never see me do it before!”

“Really…?”

Aido-san gave her a suspicious stare, and Honoka started panicking. She was actually struggling against her junior. I always thought she was really strong-willed and fearless, but maybe that was not entirely true.

She might actually be a bit timid… and a kind person.

“Y-yeah! Ah… I mean, this is just my way of thanking Hirabayashi-kun for apologizing on my behalf.”

I see, so that’s what this was about. Honoka was actually a pretty thoughtful person.

“Thanks, Kozakai-san. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Ah, yeah…”

When I looked at Honoka with admiration and thanked her again, she suddenly gave a small shudder. Then, looking embarrassed, she averted her gaze.

Hmm… I didn’t quite get it.

Would she really be that flustered just because people found out she made me coffee?

Well, she usually acted so bold and reckless. Maybe showing this “nice person mode” to others was embarrassing for her. I see… that made sense.

—I came to that conclusion.

“I’m back.”

“Oh, welcome back.”

After a while, Director Jinguji returned.

Aido-san greeted her right away, but the director had a stern expression and seemed to be in a bad mood. What happened?

“Hono-chan, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Fwaaai~”

As soon as she sat down, the director called out to Honoka in a blunt tone. Honoka got up and moved next to the director.

“These are your recent sales numbers. You’re nowhere near your targets, are you?”

“Ah… yes…”

The director suddenly started speaking strictly. Her naturally sharp, cat-like eyes became even more piercing—it was intimidating.

Even Honoka, who had just been responding with a carefree “Fwaaai~” as she approached, now looked tense.

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I-I’ll do my best next month…”

“Hono-chan, you said the same thing last month, didn’t you?”

“Y-yes…”

“So, what’s your plan for next month?”

“Um… well… uh…”

Yikes. The usually confident Honoka was completely flustered. Her face and posture were stiff with nervousness.

I didn’t know all the details yet, but I remembered the sales manager mentioning something before I transferred. He had said that while the Shimizu Sales Office had talented people, their performance had been struggling.

“Um, Director Jinguji, may I say something?”

“What is it, Hirabayashi-kun?”

The director turned her beautiful but severe gaze toward me, glaring sharply. Scary…

“I also need to start improving my own sales performance, so how about I sit down with Kozakai-san to discuss the current situation? We can come up with a strategy together and figure out our next steps as a team.”

“Huh…?”

The director looked at me in surprise.

As expected of someone with model-like features—even her surprised expression was stunning.

“That’s right, Director! That sounds great! Let’s do that!”

Honoka, who had been completely frozen just moments ago, suddenly started speaking in an overly cheerful voice. This girl… was she really taking this seriously?

—I was starting to get a little worried…

“Well, I suppose so. It’s important to think and act for yourselves. Go ahead and discuss it together, then report back to me.”

“Thank you, Director Jinguji.”

“Roger that! Director! Leave it to us!”

As I bowed my head in gratitude, Honoka, for some reason, put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and acted all high and mighty. Her large chest even bounced slightly…

Wait, no. That wasn’t important. Why did she look so confident? We hadn’t even started yet.

Just as I was watching her in confusion, she suddenly leaned in toward the director, bending at the waist.

“By the way, Director~”

“What?”

“Did something bad happen to you?”

“Huh?”

“Because you’re in a bad mood today. Something must have happened, right?”

Whoa. How was she talking to the director like that? She was just getting scolded a moment ago. This girl… she was unbelievable in some ways.

“No, it’s not like anything bad happened…”

“Oh, I know! You said you had a big business negotiation today, right? It didn’t go well, did it?”

“I… no… um, yeah. That’s right.”

“Knew it! Spot on!”

“Listen, Hono-chan! I wasn’t scolding you because I was in a bad mood. I’m telling you this because you haven’t changed your approach at all since last month!”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it!”

“Do you really understand…?”

The director let out a long sigh, her beautifully shaped eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Still, it didn’t seem like she was seriously exasperated. These two must have some level of trust between them.

“Alright then, Director Reika! To lift your spirits, let’s cut work short today and go to Hirabayashi-kun’s welcome party!”

“What are you talking about? We need to finish our work first!”

“A… ah… fwaaaai…”

Getting firmly shut down by the director, even Honoka finally looked a bit deflated. She really did change expressions so quickly.

At first, I thought she was just “a completely unpredictable person,” but I guess I was starting to get used to her. In fact, I was even starting to find her behavior a little cute.

—Wait. If I was thinking that her unpredictable behavior was cute, I might be in trouble. I needed to be careful.

After that, we finished up our remaining work for the day. And now, we were heading to my welcome party.

Even so—

With these three unique girls around me, would this drinking party really end peacefully…?

With a hint of unease, I made my way to the gathering.