Actually, There’s Someone at Your Workplace Who Likes You ~ I’m Being Transferred to a Sales Office Filled With Only Beautiful Women!? - Chapter 79: How Far Did You Go With Hirarin?

“I understand. Hirabayashi Rinta-san. He really does seem like a wonderful man. Do as you like.”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Honoka was stunned and unable to believe what her mother had just said.

“But really, until now you’ve always said things like ‘there are no decent men around’ and such. Even when talking about the men you were dating, you’ve never talked about them as if you were head over heels in love before.”

“Ah… I guess so?”

“That’s right. For you to be so smitten with a man, Mom is interested too. I definitely want to meet him directly. Invite him over to our house.”

“Eh…?”

This was bad. This was really, really bad.

It was good that she got her mother to accept Rinta. She’d give herself a perfect score for that.

But she never expected her mother to become this interested in Rinta. That was completely unexpected.

Actually, we’re not even dating yet…

Honoka muttered in her heart in a monotone voice.

“Ah, no. He’s shy and all. It’s still too early!”

Honoka waved both of her hands and shook her head frantically, rejecting her mother’s proposal with all her might.

“But I did something rude to him, so I want to apologize properly.”

“I-I’ll convey that to him myself, so it’s fine!”

“No way. I want to apologize properly with my own mouth, and besides, I want to know more about him too. He’s… Hirarin, right?”

“Huh?”

“Honoka, you were calling him Hirarin earlier, weren’t you? Since he’s Hirabayashi Rinta-san, it’s Hirarin, right? You said you’ve only been dating for a short time, but actually you’re more intimate than that, aren’t you?”

Honoka’s mother smiled mischievously.

“Tell me the truth, Honoka. How far did you go with Hirarin?”

“Ah, how far did we go…”

Well, we’d gone to see the beach.

Honoka understood that wasn’t what was actually being asked.

But they’d really only went to the beach, and they hadn’t even kissed yet, so that waas the only way she could answer.

Of course, she had no intention of actually saying that out loud.

“Geez, Mom! You’re interfering too much with your daughter’s privacy! I won’t answer such things!”

“Ah, wait a minute, Honoka!”

Ignoring her mother’s words, Honoka stood up from the sofa and headed to her room.

But her mother was talking calmly and seemed to understand, so it would probably be okay now.

About how far she went with Rinta—

If something like that had really happened, there might come a time when she’d tell her mom about it.

For now, please forgive me… Honoka thought.

Returning to her room, Honoka took out her smartphone and sent a message to Rinta.

‘I talked properly with Mom. She seems to have given up on the blind date talk. It’s all thanks to Hirarin. Thank you!’

She tossed the phone onto the bed and lay down on her back.

Looking at the ceiling, she remembered today’s pseudo-date.

“Somehow… it feels like it was a turbulent day.”

But… she had still spent time with Rinta and even saw the beach.

Remembering that made her chest tighten.

This kind of feeling was really a first in her life.

“Did a reply… come?”

She sat up and picked up the phone by her pillow. She looked at her message to Rinta, but it hadn’t even been read yet. Well, it had only been a minute since she’d sent it, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Not yet.”

Honoka jumped down from the bed with a “heave-ho” and changed into her loungewear jersey.

After changing, she picked up her phone once again. She looked at the message, but like earlier, it still hadn’t been read. She dropped her shoulders with a disappointed expression.

“Ugh… what am I doing?”

She found herself checking for Rinta’s reply repeatedly in just a short time.

She knew that a notification would sound when a message came.

Yet she still thought that maybe a reply had arrived without her noticing, and kept checking.

After that, she frequently checked her phone, but Rinta’s message still hadn’t been read at all.

She wondered what Rinta was doing now.

If possible, she wanted to see Rinta’s face and hear his voice.

If that wasn’t possible, she at least wanted to stay connected through messages.

She wanted to see a reply message from Rinta soon.

Such emotions overflowed in her heart.

She couldn’t help but think about the man she loved so much.

She sounded just like an innocent middle or high school student.

“I’m hopeless. I’m becoming stupid.”

After saying that out loud, she suddenly realized.

Ah, but I was stupid to begin with.

She tried making a self-deprecating joke, but her heart didn’t feel any better.

Just then, her smartphone notification sounded.

It’s Hirarin!

She hurriedly reached for the device.

“Whoops.”

Because she grabbed the phone in such a hurry, she almost dropped it.

It bounced on her hand several times, but she managed to catch it without dropping it and felt relieved.

Honoka’s idol-like cute face broke into a soft smile. She then read Rinta’s message.

‘I see, that’s great! I was worried about it the whole time. I’m relieved.’

He’d been worried about it the whole time… she felt happy.

Honoka sent back ‘It’s thanks to Hirarin. Thank you’ once more.

After that, they exchanged trivial messages back and forth several times, and finally sent each other messages saying ‘See you tomorrow’.

***

The next morning. Monday.

Honoka felt the joy of being able to see Rinta’s face, but also a bit of embarrassment from having experienced something like a pseudo-date.

For her, it was the beginning of a new week carrying such feelings.

When Honoka arrived at the office, Rinta was already at work.

However, Reika-shochou was already there too, so she casually said “Thank you so much” as thanks for yesterday.

Rinta also casually returned a smile, saying, “You’re welcome.”

Soon after, Ruka also came to work, and a day that was no different from usual began.

And the everyday routine of work flowed by.

It was soon evening. Everyone had returned from their outside appointments, and all four were doing paperwork in the office.

Honoka, who was checking the sales progress analysis table, spoke up.

“Huh? Isn’t this total number that Hirarin entered wrong?”

“Hm?”

Rinta stood up from his desk and walked over to Honoka’s desk across from him.

He picked up the documents and checked them.

“Ah, you’re right. Sorry, Honoka. I was mistaken.”

“Geez, Hirarin! If that part is wrong, I’d have to redo everything I did beyond that. That was a lot of work done…”

“Ah… All the hard work Honoka put in has been wasted.”

“That’s right. Geez…”

For a moment, a tense atmosphere filled the office.

Usually, when something like this happened, Honoka would complain and be in a bad mood not only during the correction work but afterwards too.

Reika prepared to speak up immediately if the atmosphere became strange, keeping her hands on her work but her ears focused on their exchange.

Ruka was about to open her mouth to comfort Honoka.

At that moment—

For some reason, Honoka spoke in a gentle voice.

“Geez, Hirarin, you’re hopeless. Tell me the correct numbers. I’ll redo it quickly.”

“Ah, no. I feel bad for Honoka, so I’ll do the correction.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I always do this part, so Hirarin isn’t used to it, right? It would take longer instead, so I’ll do it.”

“I-I see. Sorry, Honoka.”

“Don’t worry about it. In exchange, I’m putting Hirarin in my debt for this. You’ll treat me to something again.”

Honoka narrowed her eyes and made a “mufu” sound.

“Oh, okay. Got it. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Reika-shochou and Ruka had stunned expressions on their faces.

What on earth was wrong with Honoka today?

Did something good happen?

With slightly bewildered expressions, Reika and Ruka watched the exchange between Rinta and Honoka.

=== End of Honoka’s Pseudo-Date Arc ===