My childhood friend got me drunk and did it with me. I think it felt really good, so I continued being with her as well. ...Yandere? what is that? - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Expanding Horizons

[Natsume’s POV]

I sat at my desk in the sleek, modern workspace provided to me at Taira Corporation, staring at my phone screen in disbelief.

“We’ll increase your salary five times over, but you must not quit!”

That was the frantic message from my department head—sent in the middle of the night, no less.

It was as if they had only just realized how much I was worth.

I sighed, rubbing my temples before setting the phone down. Reina had to be behind this in some way. Or maybe it was just a natural consequence of my sudden and exclusive involvement with the Taira Corporation.

Either way, I needed answers.

The next morning, I walked into Reina’s office. She was seated behind her desk, a tablet in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, looking every bit the sharp and efficient executive she was.

She didn’t even glance up. “You’re early today.”

“I have questions,” I said, setting my phone down on her desk.

Now she looked up, her sharp eyes flicking over the screen before a small smirk played at her lips. “Ah. So they finally panicked.”

I crossed my arms. “You knew this would happen?”

“Of course,” she said, sipping her coffee. “Your company is shortsighted. They don’t realize an asset’s value until they’re at risk of losing it.”

I sighed. “And what exactly did you do to make them lose their minds?”

She set her tablet down, leaning back slightly. “I simply took you out of their ecosystem and placed you in an environment where your talents could actually shine. Naturally, they realized their mistake.”

“Five times my salary is a pretty desperate offer,” I muttered.

“It’s because they know I can take you if I want to.” Her voice was calm, confident.

I stared at her. “You mean that literally, don’t you?”

Reina smirked. “I’m part of a branch family of the Taira Group. If I wanted to make you an official part of our company, I could.”

The weight of her words settled over me.

The Taira Corporation was massive, influential beyond my current company’s league. If she really wanted to, Reina had the power to absorb me into their ranks.

“Why are you so invested in me?” I asked, my voice quieter.

Reina’s smirk faded slightly, replaced by something more thoughtful. “Because you’re good, Natsume. Exceptional, even. But you’ve been confined to a place that doesn’t recognize it. That irritates me. Also, just how many times do you want praises to come out of my mouth?”

She stood up, walking around the desk and leaning against it, arms crossed. “You have sharp instincts and strong analytical skills. But you’re still limited by what you know. If you want to really be someone in this industry, you need to expand beyond your current expertise. I don’t need to tell you all these now, do I?”

I frowned. “And by that, you mean—?”

“Coding.”

I blinked. “Wait, what?”

She tilted her head. “You work with data, but you don’t know how to shape it from the ground up. You analyze systems, but you can’t build them yourself. That’s a weakness.”

I hesitated. “I mean, I know some coding…”

“Not enough,” she interrupted. “If you really want to be irreplaceable, you need to understand more than just how things work—you need to know how to make them work.”

She crossed her arms. “I’ll teach you. I will also have you join some courses.”

I blinked again. “You?”

She arched a brow. “Who else?”

I hesitated. “I don’t know. Some kind of training program?”

Reina scoffed. “Training programs give you broad, generic knowledge. I can tailor it specifically to what you need to know.”

I stared at her, trying to gauge her seriousness.

“You’re… really willing to teach me?” I asked.

She shrugged. “It benefits me too. A more capable subordinate is a more useful subordinate.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “You really don’t hold back, do you?”

Reina smirked. “Would you prefer if I pretended otherwise?”

I snorted. “No, I’d probably be more concerned if you did pretend.”

She chuckled, a rare moment of amusement crossing her usually composed face.

And so, our lessons began.

It started simple—basic scripting, understanding syntax, logic structures. At first, I thought she’d be too busy to teach me one-on-one, but Reina was surprisingly thorough. She would sit beside me, correcting my mistakes, explaining the why behind each function, making sure I wasn’t just memorizing but actually understanding.

At first, it was purely professional. But as the days went by, something changed.

We started talking more.

Not just about work, but about things outside of it.

One evening, after I had finally managed to debug a particularly annoying piece of code, I sighed and stretched. “You’re relentless.”

Reina smirked. “And you’re stubborn. You refuse to give up even when you’re struggling.”

I snorted. “Would you prefer if I did?”

She tilted her head. “No. It’s one of the things I like about you.”

I blinked. “That sounds dangerously close to a compliment.”

“It is,” she admitted. “Don’t get used to it.”

I chuckled. “Noted.”

There was a pause before she added, almost casually, “You remind me of my younger brother.”

I blinked. “You have a younger brother?”

Reina nodded. “He’s still in university. Smart, but a bit of a brat.”

I chuckled. “Sounds like an interesting family.”

She smirked. “You have no idea.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Got any good family stories?”

Reina leaned back slightly, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Well… there was the time he tried to prove he was ‘independent’ by cooking his own meals for a week.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

Reina smirked. “He nearly burned the kitchen down on day two.”

I burst out laughing. “Seriously?”

She nodded, amused. “My mother banned him from touching the stove ever again.”

I shook my head, still chuckling. “Reminds me of my cousin. He once tried to impress a girl by pretending he knew how to fix a car. Ended up making it worse.”

Reina chuckled, shaking her head. “Men and their egos.”

“Hey,” I protested. “We don’t all have inflated egos.”

She arched a brow. “No?”

I smirked. “Well, at least mine isn’t as bad as my cousin’s.”

She laughed softly, a genuine sound that felt strangely… warm.

For a moment, the usual professionalism between us faded. It wasn’t just Reina Sakamoto, the powerful executive, and Natsume, the rising talent.

It was just two people, talking, laughing.

Then, just as quickly as it had come, the moment passed.

Reina straightened, clearing her throat. “Anyway. Back to work.”

I nodded, but as I returned my focus to the screen, a thought lingered in the back of my mind.

Reina was changing.

Or maybe… she was just starting to show me who she really was.

Later that night, as I was heading home, my phone buzzed again.

“We’ll double the offer. Ten times your salary. Just don’t leave.”

I stared at the message, exhaling slowly.

I had a decision to make.

And for the first time in a long while… I wasn’t sure what I was going to choose.