Office Diaries

The city looked bright and cheery as expected. Even if Japan didn't have Christmas, the people still celebrated the season on their own. Thus, it was normal to see the office transformed into a winter wonderland with its bright lights and merry decorations.  

Yanee just stepped out of the taxi in her white dress and tall boots, partnered with her brand new c.h.e.s.tnut winter coat, a gift from someone special that she just received yesterday. Thinking of the events of the day before, the already rosy hue on her cheeks deepened as a smile spread on her face.

She was a very pretty girl, and it was more evident when she smiles.  With her face and her impressive height for a girl, it was no wonder the people around her thought that she's a model or an idol.

Yesterday, she's been out on a date with a coworker she'd been seeing for a week now. When she started working for one of the popular magazines in Nagoya, she was only expecting herself to throw all her time and energy into her job. She never really thought she'd have time for other things until she realized she's already involved.

It started in her first week at the job. The guy was so sweet, the one who was in charge of the new recruits. She had messed up many times, but he was so sweet and patient with her. At first, she thought he was just naturally kind. She really didn't think much about it until he confessed to her.

Of course, she didn't say yes immediately. She just started working, and she wanted to do a lot of things before getting into a relationship. It took more than a year of getting to know each other before she finally said yes, and yesterday was their first week together.

White crystals starting falling from the sky and Yanee looked up in surprise. It's gotten warmer in recent years and so they never get to experience much white Christmas in the past years.

Beautiful…

The snowflakes fell and melted on her face, but she didn't mind. She felt too warm to be bothered by it. In fact…

She looked up and saw the very gorgeous building in front and found the snow slowly piling on the ground adding only to the attractiveness of the place. She was in Oasis 21, in Sakae, Nagoya, a poplar building adjacent to Nagoya Tower.

In reality, the architecture was mostly underground, but there was a gorgeous and unique infrastructure above. There was a large oval glass structure that floats above ground level which served as its roof. It was filled with water that created an interesting visual effect and served to reduce the heat of the temperature for the place in summer. Below it was a shopping center and a huge public space known as the "Milky Way Square".  

Why was she here?

In reality, Yanee came here weekly to check out a store. She's a hidden otaku, a fan of Japanese anime and manga. The reason why she loved this place was because it's the closest to her apartment with a Studio Ghibli and Shonen Jump stores. Since she's a frequent patron, one of the sales clerks working in the shops had exchanged numbers with her and informed her thru text messages if they had new items and stocks of things Yanee wanted to collect.

Today's a Sunday, and it was a good thing that her boyfriend said he's very busy and couldn't accompany her. Because if he's free, she wouldn't be able to come here and shop without worry. She still hadn't told her boyfriend that she's an otaku since the word had a negative implication to it.

Most people looked down on geeks, and Yanee was not yet ready to tell her boyfriend that.

Anyway, she started walking towards the stores below, when a familiar figure caught her eye, and she frowned.

Ahead was a man walking with a woman. The way they held hands of course wouldn't take a genius for anyone to know that they're in a romantic relationship. What else? The man wore a blue jacket that was obviously a pair with the woman's equally blue jacket. Both looked good, physically and appearance-wise. They looked harmonious as well as they laughed and talked while they walked.

But what was wrong with this seemingly perfect couple image?

"Isn't that…"

Yanee's thoughts trailed off as she took a good view of the man.

Kyo.

The man looked familiar because it was her own boyfriend. Her heart constricted as she watched them go to a café and settled there on one of the tables. Yanee, even if her heart already hurt from what she'd seen, refused to accept things as it was. She still hoped that she might be wrong and that there was an explanation as to why her Kyo was with another woman.

Biting her lip, Yanee moved to the side so the people in the café couldn't see her and thought of her weirdly. She calmed herself down, and when she finally did it, she decided to go into the café, not to confront her boyfriend but to sit next to their booth. The seats were on the same side so the tall divider hid her from the others' view. She quietly ordered a drink from the waitress and stayed quiet as the two talked.

And they did…

Yanee had no idea how she was able to take the contents of their conversation without losing her sanity and confronting them. She had found out so much at that time.

First, she realized based on their conversation that her boyfriend was not who he said he was. He was not an employee of their magazine but the son of the owner. He just pretended to be a lowly employee so he could learn the ropes before he took over his father's position as the president. How did she find out? It's because the girl asked him until when was he going to play like an ordinary office boy and basically revealed his identity.

Second, Yanee found out that the woman was not his mistress. She was his legitimate girlfriend. To be exact, it was his fiancée.

Yanee sat there listening to the two as they discussed their wedding preparations. She wanted to cry, she wanted to lash out. But she didn't. As soon as she finished her coffee, she stood up, and without a care walked towards the door normally, passing by the two as she did.

Yanee glanced nonchalantly at them with a blank face that revealed nothing and had an internal celebration to see the man falter and inhale sharply as he looked at her with a horrified expression. He was evidently guilty and shocked that she was there, proof that he was totally aware that he was doing something so despicable.

In the periphery of her eye, she saw the man stood up and took an involuntary step as if to run after her, but she ignored them. She didn't even acknowledge them.  In any case, the moment Yanee found out that she had been tricked, she had been numb.

When she got out of the café, the streets outside were almost painted in white. Yanee lifted her hands to catch the snowflakes and they melted into her palm. However, she didn't feel them anymore. Why?

She turned to the side to find a homeless woman crouched on the ground, shivering. Without a thought, Yanee removed the jacket her liar of an ex gave her yesterday and handed it to her. The old lady looked her with gratitude but at the same time with worry. It was snowing after all, but she smiled at her reassuringly.

"I'll be fine," she told the woman as she left.

It was also a promise she had made to herself. She'd be fine in the future, she believed that. But for now, she was grateful to the cold snow falling from the sky. The ice that soaked her clothes enveloped her heart and numbed her pain.

Ding Dong Ding Dong…

Yanee stirred in the huge, comfortable bed as the sound penetrated her ear and she rolled over, taking the pillow with her to bury her head under. She tried to block the sound but it wouldn't stop.

Ding Dong Ding Dong…

Huh?

Yanee sat up on the bed, looking totally disoriented.

What in the world…

Ding Dong Ding Dong…

Seriously…

Yanee glanced at the clock on the far wall which told her it was only seven in the morning. Then she glared at the door, wishing murder towards whoever was ringing that bell now.

She and Tohru arrived at the hotel at midnight last night, and it took a while for her to sleep because she was thinking about many long-forgotten things. Also, she had a restless sleep as she dreamt about a sordid past she uncannily remembered after many years.

Ding Dong Ding Dong…

Yanee wanted to scream. Then again, she had a suspicion about who was behind that door, and she mentally cried.

"Don't tell me…"

She reluctantly grabbed a bathrobe and padded across the room without bothering to wash her face. She opened it with a scowl.

"Good morning Ms. Lee!"

Tohru James looking so fresh in his pair of white shirt and jeans nearly blinded her as he stood outside. She slammed the door to his smiling face.

Ding Dong Ding Dong…

Yanee realized she had closed the door on her boss and mentally cried as she opened it once more.

"Boss… do you have any idea what time is it?"

"It's seven! Quick! Go get dressed. We'll go to the market as soon as you're ready."

Er… Yanee wanted to tell him she's not going to be ready until two more hours, but she doubted if this man would let her get back to sleep.

"Isn't it too early for us to go there, boss?" she asked, hoping she'd be let off even for a fifteen-minute power nap.

"What are you talking about? We're going now. The earlier the start, the better so we could see a lot and try a lot of food."

Well, Namdaemun Market was indeed big. But Yanee was still upset.

"Boss? Are you that excited to get kimchi?"