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

When Ruka said, “Even if I ask Rinta-senpai whether he has a girlfriend, I won’t tell you, Honoka-senpai,” Honoka opened her mouth in shock and screamed, “Wha—! Why would you say that!?”

“Why would I? Because, Honoka-senpai, you yourself said you weren’t interested in whether Rinta-senpai has a girlfriend or not.”

“Ah… y-yeah, that’s true… but…”

“But… what do you mean by ‘that’?”

Ruka, her face flushed from drinking, grinned mischievously—a devilish look she rarely showed given her usually serious and cool demeanor.

“I—I’m not really interested, but since we’re colleagues in the same sales office, I think it’s best to know a bit about each other.”

“Mmm… that’s a line I’ve heard somewhere before.”

“Is that so?”

Since she had just repeated the very excuse the other had offered earlier, she couldn’t really counter.

“Understood. If I do ask Rinta-senpai, then I’ll let you know as well.”

“Right. Yeah, do that.”

For a while, Ruka simply stared at Honoka, who was casually nibbling on a snack, with a blank expression. Then, out of the blue, Ruka spoke up.

“By the way, Honoka-senpai, why do you say that only handsome men count as men?”

Possibly due to the alcohol, Ruka suddenly launched this blunt question. She had long wanted to ask about the basis for the mysterious “Honoka Theory” that Honoka had been espousing.

Moreover, when it came to Rinta—who had just transferred—Honoka had initially said he wasn’t handsome and behaved rather coolly, though her attitude had since changed.

Ruka personally thought Rinta was fairly attractive, so she decided to set aside that issue for the moment. Perhaps she suspected that Honoka had retracted her “only handsome men are men” stance, which only made Ruka even more eager to learn its true basis.

“Well, when I say ‘only handsome men are men’, I might be exaggerating a bit.” Honoka’s tone was soft and a little wistful—likely thanks to the alcohol.

“Really? I had assumed you were completely serious.”

“Eh? If I were serious, then I’d be a crazy woman, wouldn’t I?”

Yes, she’d thought that she must be a crazy woman if she were that serious—but Ruka kept that comment to herself.

“One reason is… ever since I was little, my mom has always said, ‘Men have to be handsome.’”

“I-Is that so?”

“Yeah. My dad is actually pretty handsome. And he’s kind and a great father.”

“I see… so there’s a bit of a daddy complex involved.”

“Hey now, Ruka-tan. You can’t just go calling your senpai a daddy’s girl out of nowhere… Well, I won’t deny it, though.”

Her mother had instilled that belief in her from a young age.

And her wonderful father was handsome.

That made sense—Ruka could understand that.

But still, wasn’t it a bit extreme to dismiss anyone who wasn’t handsome?

Ruka couldn’t help but wonder.

“And also… I have a bit of a trauma…”

“Trauma…? What do you mean?”

“I was stalked three times in middle school and high school. By three different guys. But every time, it followed the same pattern. They confessed to me, I turned them down, and then they started following me, secretly taking pictures of me…”

“T-That happened to you…?”

Ruka had never heard about this before.

She realized now that Honoka had kept this painful past hidden, always putting on a cheerful front.

“And all three times, the guys were… well, kind of creepy-looking. So after that, I told my friends that I would never date anyone who wasn’t handsome. I thought my mom had been right all along. Well, I was young and dumb back then… Not that I’m any smarter now.”

Hearing her self-deprecating remark, Ruka couldn’t bring herself to agree or disagree. She simply waited for Honoka to continue.

“Then, word spread around school that Kozakai only went for handsome guys. And after that, the stalking stopped. Since then, I’ve dated a few guys, but they were all handsome.”

Ruka listened, stunned, to this side of Honoka she had never known.

“Look, Ruka-tan, I get what you’re thinking. Maybe the stalking stopped by coincidence. And I know that there are good guys who aren’t handsome, and even handsome guys who are jerks. But back then, it really did make me feel safer.”

“I understand, but then, why do you still say you won’t give guys who aren’t handsome a chance?”

“I know, logically… But I feel safe with handsome guys. And when I try to get close to guys who aren’t, those old memories come rushing back, and I start feeling anxious… I tense up and end up acting cold without meaning to.”

Ruka murmured, “Ah…”

She had never realized that Honoka was carrying such a deep wound.

The reason Honoka seemed cold toward “non-handsome” guys… was because they made her feel uneasy.

“And so, I end up trying to keep those kinds of guys at a distance as much as possible. I know it’s rude… but I just can’t help it. I must sound ridiculous, huh… Ahaha.”

“So that’s how it was. It wasn’t just personal preference.”

“Yeah. But, you know… I do understand that it’d be really rude to tell a guy to his face that I won’t give anyone but handsome guys a chance. So I only ever say it to other girls. Though, if it somehow spreads to the guys—like back in high school—and helps keep the non-handsome ones from approaching me, I wouldn’t mind that either.”

Honoka always seemed carefree, like she didn’t have a single worry in the world. But now, Ruka finally understood—she had been carrying this burden all along.

—But if that’s the case, then… how does Honoka-senpai feel about Rinta-senpai?

The question surfaced in Ruka’s mind.

“Honoka-senpai, you interact with Rinta-senpai normally now, don’t you?”

“Eh…? A-Ah… well, yeah. Though I don’t know if you’d call it ‘normal’ exactly…”

“…Then, does that mean you think of Rinta-senpai as handsome now?”

“Huh…? Ah, no—definitely not!”

Why was she so quick to answer that with absolute certainty?

Ruka felt a little irritated.

To her, at least, Rinta’s gentle features were more than decent-looking.

“Then why is it that you can talk to Rinta-senpai without feeling anxious?”

“Hmm… I wonder why?”

Honoka tilted her head slightly.