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

By late September, evenings were neither hot nor cold, with a slightly cool breeze blowing by. Sitting on a bench in the station plaza, that breeze felt nice as it cooled my flushed, alcohol-warmed cheeks.

The weight and warmth of Shochou’s head on my arm felt pleasant as well. While thinking about such things, I gazed at her beautiful sleeping face, which was resting on my arm.

Hmm… She really was as beautiful as a model, with perfectly balanced features.

—How much time had passed, I wondered?

It felt like I’d been watching Jinguji-shochou’s sleeping face for a long time, but perhaps it was actually just a brief moment.

Suddenly, she sat up with a startle and moved away from me. She looked around restlessly, with an expression that suggested she had no idea what was going on.

Her eyes, usually slightly upturned, now drooped pitifully. And her lips, normally firm and composed, hung open.

This somewhat pitiful face of Shochou, contrasting with her usual dignified beauty… was actually quite cute.

“Huh…? Hirabayashi-kun?”

“Yes, it’s Hirabayashi.”

“Where… is this…?”

“This is the station near your home, Shochou.”

“Huh…? Huh…? Huh…? Oh, you’re right. Why is Hirabayashi-kun here?”

Shochou’s eyes were wide with surprise. It seemed she had no memory of how she got here. She was still drunk, of course, but she seemed considerably better than before.

“You were stumbling and it looked dangerous, so I escorted you here.”

“Ah… now that you mention it… vaguely…”

“Yes.”

“Oh… could it be… I called you without honorifics, and even called you Rinta-chi…?”

“Yes.”

Since Jinguji-shochou seemed to be remembering, I responded with a smiling face.

“Ugh, this is the worst… so embarrassing…”

She pressed both palms against her cheeks, squeezing her face from both sides. Her lips were trembling, and her eyes were welling up, like she might cry any moment. She seemed so embarrassed that this was getting serious.

“Um… Shochou…”

She hurriedly jumped up from the bench and clasped her hands together in front of her face with an exaggerated motion. Then she bent at the waist and bowed her head deeply with another dramatic movement.

“Hirabayashi-kun! I-I’m soooo sorry!! For calling you without honorifics, for making you escort me here, for everything, everything, I’m so sorry!!”

Even after her intense apology, Jinguji-shochou continued apologizing to me with a remorseful voice, her head still bowed.

“I shouldn’t have drunk so much… the alcohol was enjoyable and I got carried away… I’m sorry.”

I stood up as well and waved both hands in front of me to dismiss her concerns.

“No, no. Please don’t worry about it. I’m happy that you said you enjoyed our drinking time together.”

Hearing my words, Shochou suddenly raised her head.

“Ah…”

She had bowed so energetically despite being drunk, and then raised her head so quickly that she wobbled and began to pitch forward.

—Oh, she was going to fall.

“A-are you alright?!”

“Eek!”

I stretched out both hands toward her who was falling before me, but somehow she slipped past my arms and…

—Thump.

She fell right into my chest. In her panic, Shochou wrapped both arms around my back and clung to me tightly.

She pressed her face against my chest, and it felt warm. A sweet fragrance wafted from her black hair. There was also the smell of alcohol, but…

—No, no, even so, for someone like me with zero experience being embraced by a woman, this was too much stimulation.

And she was such a beautiful woman, too. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. My head was spinning; I couldn’t make sense of anything. No, pull yourself together, me!

“S-s-sorry, Hirabayashi-kun!”

Shochou suddenly released her hands and moved away from my body. The sensation of her body heat still lingered on my chest, giving me a somewhat cool, tingling feeling.

“Ah, no. I’m fine. Are you alright, Shochou? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Oh, yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”

“Shochou… would you like… me to escort you home?”

“Huh…?”

She froze, staring at me with wide eyes. Perhaps she misunderstood, thinking I had improper intentions? I was purely concerned about whether she would make it home safely.

She was a serious person. And as I learned today, she had some distrust toward men. If I didn’t explain properly, she might misunderstand me as someone with bad intentions.

“Ah… y-yes…”

Shochou nodded slightly. Without needing an explanation, she understood I had no ill intent. Good… that was a relief.

Just as I opened my mouth to reply “understood”, she hurriedly shook her head.

“No, that’s not allowed, Hirabayashi-kun! I’m your superior, so I can’t let you escort me home or anything like that. That’s not permissible. So no!”

“Huh?”

What did she mean? Did our company have some internal rule that superiors couldn’t be escorted home by their subordinates?

I’d never heard of such a thing…

“No, um… having a subordinate escort their superior home is something that power-harassing bosses from a bygone era would do… right?”

“No, Shochou. I’m not being forced by my superior to reluctantly escort you, so please don’t hold back on my account. I’m concerned about whether you’ll make it home safely.”

“No, really, Hirabayashi-kun! I’m fine now! Having you escort me this far is already something I think shouldn’t have happened, but I don’t remember it, so I’m sorry. Besides, it’s only about 2-3 minutes from here, so I’m really fine!”

She said this while putting her hands together and bowing her head again.

I see. She felt uncomfortable having a subordinate escort her home and was being considerate of me.

She really was a good person. She was speaking quite coherently now, and her earlier stumbling seemed to have subsided.

She seemed to be alright now. So I’d respect her feelings and head home from here.

“I understand, Shochou. Then I’ll take my leave now.”

“Yes, I’m sorry. No… thank you, Hirabayashi-kun. You’ve helped me again… Hirabayashi-kun, I’ll definitely make it up to you.”

“What are you saying, Shochou? We’re all in this together, we’re a team. Please don’t worry about it.”

“But as the team leader, I shouldn’t make such blunders. I’ve done something embarrassing as your superior.”

Those words are so typical of the responsibility-conscious Shochou.

And she was genuinely shrinking her shoulders in embarrassment. Just like a child caught in mischief, it was a bit cute.

“If Hono-chan and Ruka-chan found out, they’d be appalled…”

“Ah, Shochou. Don’t worry. Let’s keep this between us, as our little secret.”