Noriko Takada works at a teaching materials sales company. She turns 39 this year and has been a full-time employee since her youngest child entered junior high school three years ago.
There were only two female employees, including Noriko and the office staff.
It was a small company with just a few employees, but the atmosphere was homey, and Noriko liked the environment.
That day was the beginning of everything.
The intercom rang.
It was Sakai, a client. She
had come to a business meeting starting at 3:00, but the person in charge of the meeting hadn't returned from a business trip yet.
"I'll be back soon, so please wait,"
she explained, and asked him to wait.
"Mr. Takada, you've lost a bit of weight,"
Sakai said.
This person has been the same person since Noriko joined the company, and Sakai herself is part of the corporation that runs the school.
Although she knows all the employees and talks to them, they all try to be considerate of this man.
He has a short-term, childlike personality and gets upset easily.
But Noriko is a woman, and when he tells her she's lost weight, she's happy.
"Really? Have I lost weight?" She
tried to hide her embarrassment, but it was inevitably revealed on her face.
Sakai looked at the shy Noriko with a warm gaze.
"Takada-san, if you don't mind, would you like to go out for a drink sometime?"
Noriko was confused.
Did he mean that just the two of them would go out for drinks? What was his intention in saying that?
"Then, maybe on the weekend..."
Noriko replied, but Sakai interrupted her.
"Would you like to go out for a drink just the two of you?"
Noriko felt her body temperature rise.
It was embarrassing.
There was no way she could go out for a drink just
the two of them. And besides, he was married with kids, so it was rude of him to ask her to go out for a drink just the two of them...
Noriko struggled to respond.
But she had no choice but to reply.
She had to be clear...
"I'm sorry, just the two of you are a bit..."
Noriko replied shyly.
But Sakai continued to press her.
"I didn't mean anything weird or anything. I had work to talk about, and I just wanted to go out for drinks with Takada-san,"
Noriko said again, hoping he wouldn't say it again.
"I'm sorry."
Amid an awkward atmosphere, the door opened and the employee returned.
Thank goodness. Why would he invite someone like me?
Sakai began talking with the employee as if nothing had happened.
That night, Noriko was exhausted.
Naive Noriko couldn't just let it go, and she was mentally exhausted.
It wasn't something she could talk to her husband about, so she continued to live her life as if nothing had happened.
It wasn't that she didn't feel any thrill when someone invited her out.
However, someone with a childish personality like Sakai was the type of person Noriko least liked.
Above all, she couldn't imagine going out for drinks alone with a man, even if he was related to work, when she had a family.
Noriko hadn't had any male friends since her student days, so men were a bit of a challenge for her, and she didn't know how to interact with them.
Noriko was shy, with only her husband and a boyfriend from her student days.
Because she attended an all-girls high school, she thought she didn't have any male friends, but even as an adult, she still doesn't really know how to socialize.
But now she's happy. She has two children and is looking forward to watching them grow up.
The next day, Noriko was called in by her boss at work.
She was shocked.
Sakai, her supervisor, called and complained that Noriko had embarrassed her.
After she explained the situation, her boss understood, but it seemed the problem wasn't over.
He went to the client to apologize, saying he couldn't let the big project stall.
Why should she apologize?
Noriko thought this, but she held back, knowing that it was the unfairness of society.
Upsetting Sakai would only hurt the company.
Although she hadn't been told anything specific yet, this was a client company where everyone was being considerate to her because he was persistently harassing her.
Why did she just turn down his invitation?
Noriko was on the verge of tears, but her boss and the other employees protected her.
Everyone understood. They comforted her.
But all the more guilty she felt.
I'll apologize next time I come.
Maybe I should have refused more politely. But how?
Is it normal to go out if you're going out for drinks?...
Sakai is coming again tomorrow for a business meeting. I just want this depressing time to pass quickly.
That's all I can think about. I didn't want to think about anything else.
I suppressed my frustration by working hard.
The next day, Sakai, who is in charge of the matter, came.
Since it involves the company, I should apologize first... After
the business meeting was over, Noriko tried to say something as she was leaving, but Sakai called her over instead.
"Takada-san, can I talk to you for a moment?"
he called, and they spoke at the company's entrance.
"Can we go out for a drink, even if it's just once?"
It was a shock, as she had been holding out the slightest hope that he might apologize.
There was no way she could say no in a situation like this...
Why did he keep inviting her even though she had refused?
Maybe he was just feeling depressed too.
But if she refused now... if it was just to go out for a drink...
"Um, I'm sorry about the other day. If it's just to go out for a drink, "
Noriko accepted the invitation, desperate to escape her gloomy mood.
If it was just to accompany him for a drink...
Sakai unilaterally told her the time and place to meet and then left.
With one last word, "Don't tell anyone at work!"