"Wait, Kaori? I'm sorry, I don't think I follow..."
"I'm saying we want to install greenery on every single floor of the Soleil headquarters," Kaori repeated, her voice crackling over the phone. "And I'm asking if your family's shop can handle the contract. Chika, are you even listening?"
"I—I mean, Soleil HQ? Every floor? You're joking. How does a receptionist have that kind of executive authority?"
Kaori let out a sharp, melodic laugh. "Stop, you're killing me! Of course I don't have that kind of power. There's only one person who can make a call like that on a whim."
"Oh... wait, do you mean Hikigaya-kun? But how did he even know my family runs a florist?"
"Are you serious? You told him yourself back when we were all in Kyoto! Honestly, Chika..."
"Oh..." Chika trailed off as the memory resurfaced.
The conversation had happened earlier that morning. Chika sat on her bed, clutching her phone as if it were a winning lottery ticket.
"But Kaori, we're just a local neighborhood flower shop. Is this really okay? Usually, a contract that size goes to a major corporation. The budget alone must be astronomical."
"Why are you worrying about our finances?" Kaori countered. "Hikigaya said he wanted your shop to do it, so that's that. He also mentioned he wanted you guys to handle the ongoing maintenance."
"Maintenance too?! If the annual service fees are what I think they are... my God, my family could live comfortably on that contract alone."
"Then consider it a done deal. I've passed along the word," Kaori said.
"Thank you! Seriously, thank you! I'll talk to my parents right away!"
Chika practically flew down the stairs, bursting into the living room, gasping for breath.
"Dad! Mom! You won't believe it!"
"Chika? What's with the shouting? You're out of breath," her father said, looking up from his newspaper.
"And no running in the house!" her mother added.
"This is no time for lectures!" Chika blurted out. She quickly explained the offer from Soleil—the massive installation and the long-term maintenance contract. But to her surprise, her parents didn't look nearly as excited as she was.
"I don't know, Chika..." her father said, his brow furrowing.
"Exactly," her mother agreed. "In this day and age, a deal that sounds this perfect always has strings attached. There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"Chika, are you sure you and Kaori-chan aren't being conned by this Hikigaya person?"
It wasn't that Chika didn't understand their caution; the offer had indeed come out of thin air. If this had been the "old" Chika, she might have shared their cynicism. But she knew Hachiman now. She knew that even if she thanked him for this, he'd probably just look a little embarrassed and say:
'Sorry for dumping such a big job on you. Let me know if I can help with anything.'
The image of the current Hachiman overlapped with her memories of him from high school—the boy who had endured their petty insults with a stoic face, never once lashing out, just to keep the atmosphere from turning sour.
She tried to persuade them, her voice rising in desperation, but her parents remained stubborn, refusing to even entertain the idea. Finally, Chika fell silent, her shoulders trembling with suppressed emotion.
"You don't even know him..." she whispered.
Her parents jumped when they saw her face. Tears were streaming down Chika's cheeks.
"C-Chika...?"
"Why won't you understand? He's just being kind! Why do you both judge everything based on impressions? Why won't you look at the facts right in front of you? You're acting just like I used to!" She wiped her eyes, her voice cracking. "I hurt him once. I swore I'd never do it again, but now you're getting in the way of me making things right!"
"We didn't mean it like—"
"I don't care what you meant! You've been sitting here calling him untrustworthy without listening to a single word I've said! You're both being idiots! Huge idiots!"
With that, Chika turned and bolted back to her room, her heart heavy with anger and grief. The tears wouldn't stop. She imagined what Hachiman would say if she had to turn him down. He'd probably look troubled and apologize to her.
'I see. I guess it was a bit sudden, wasn't it? I'm sorry for the trouble, Nakamachi-san.'
She was certain of it. Even though he had done nothing wrong, he would take the blame.
"Now that I think about it, he apologized the second we met again in Kyoto, too... even though I was the one who owed him an apology."
She wiped her face with her sleeve, her resolve hardening. She couldn't let him apologize ever again.
"If I give up now, he'll just laugh at me. Well... no, he wouldn't laugh. He'd probably try to comfort me. Compared to the despair of being trapped in a death game, this is nothing. I have to convince them!"
She gave her cheeks a firm slap to psych herself up. Just then, there was a soft knock on her door.
"Chika? It's us."
"We're sorry, honey. We were wrong."
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