Chapter 719 - 719: Departure, The Banquet

After dropping Haruno off at work, Ichin headed to the company and immediately got busy with the day's tasks.

He had quite a heavy workload today.

Although he had finished part of it last night, there was still a considerable amount left over that needed to be completed alongside today's assignments.

At this rate, he might even have to sacrifice some of his afternoon tea break.

However, he had barely worked for a few minutes when someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

Turning around, he found Kō Yagami and Hazuki staring at him.

"You two don't have any work to do? What are you doing here?"

"Hehe~~"

Kō grinned and casually draped an arm around Ichin's shoulders.

"Come on, confess already. What were you up to yesterday afternoon? It's rare to see you disappear from the company for an entire afternoon."

Hazuki immediately chimed in.

"Exactly. And it definitely wasn't work related. Right after you delivered lunch to Haruno, you suddenly announced you weren't coming back for the afternoon."

She smiled teasingly.

"Come on, Ichin. Confession earns leniency~~"

Ichin looked at the pair speechlessly before shaking his head.

"You're overthinking it. It's nothing like that. I just had something to take care of for once."

"Alright, alright, get back to work."

"I've still got plenty to finish, so stop bothering me."

Unfortunately...

The more he tried to brush it off, the more convinced they became that something had happened.

Although Ichin shooed them away, both women left wearing wide smiles.

Kō winked at Hazuki.

"Hehe... should we call Haruno sometime?"

Hazuki had been thinking the same thing.

She smiled and nodded.

"Let's do it at noon, after lunch."

Finally free from the two gossip lovers, Ichin was able to focus on work again.

Five minutes later, Umiko and Nene also arrived at the office.

Unlike Kō and Hazuki, however, they weren't nearly as nosy.

Although they were just as curious, work came first.

Still...

Ichin didn't get much peace.

By the afternoon, Kō and the others had somehow already learned about what had happened between him and Haruno.

Holding his milk tea, Ichin froze.

...How did they find out so fast?

His phone vibrated inside his pocket.

Taking it out, he immediately understood.

Sure enough...

Haruno had been the one to tell Kō.

Ichin could only sigh helplessly.

He had wanted to wait a little longer before letting everyone know.

Just then, Kō leaned over and nudged him with her shoulder.

"Hehe."

"You're amazing."

"You even managed to win Haruno over?"

Ichin rolled his eyes.

"Not to that extent."

He shook his head.

"Did Haruno tell you something?"

"I have a feeling she exaggerated a bit."

"Huh?"

"Really?"

Kō clearly didn't believe him.

She lowered her voice.

"So... you two are now..."

Ichin coughed awkwardly before replying just as quietly.

"We're still in the beginner stage."

The moment she heard that, Kō immediately lost interest.

"Tch..."

"So that's all?"

"Then I'll ask again after some time."

She really did love gossip.

Ichin couldn't understand what Haruno had been thinking.

Not only had she actually told Kō...

He didn't even know how much she'd revealed.

Looks like I'll have to interrogate her properly after we get home.

By the time work was almost over, Ichin had finally finished all the tasks that had carried over from yesterday.

He let out a huge sigh of relief.

After packing up his things and shutting down his computer, he looked toward Umiko, who was also waiting for the workday to end.

"Umiko, I'm heading out first."

"Don't stay too late."

Umiko nodded.

"Go ahead."

"I'm waiting for Aoba and the others to finish up."

"We're going out for dinner together afterward."

"We'll take care of locking up."

"Sounds good."

"See you."

Leaving the company, Ichin drove straight home.

The moment he stepped into the living room, Haruno, who had been relaxing there, immediately noticed the way he was looking at her.

Her instincts kicked in.

She instantly stood up and tried to run upstairs.

"Stop right there!"

Knowing Haruno's personality all too well, Ichin immediately put down the things he was carrying and chased after her.

Just as she reached the bedroom and was about to close the door, he blocked it with his foot and slipped inside.

Looking at Haruno, who had jumped onto the bed, Ichin said helplessly,

"Why are you running?"

"The house isn't that big."

"Where exactly do you think you can escape to?"

"Or are you planning not to eat dinner?"

"And dressed like that, it's not like you can run outside either."

Haruno was wearing a nightgown as well.

It was obvious she'd gotten off work early and come home ahead of time.

Only then did Haruno realize something.

...That's right.

Why am I running?

Immediately relaxing, she hopped down from the bed and looked at him.

"So..."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Nothing much."

"I just wanted to ask you..."

"What exactly did you tell Kō this afternoon?"

"Now everyone knows about us."

"I originally wanted to wait a bit before making it public."

Hearing that, Haruno crossed her arms with a cheerful smile.

"What?"

"You don't want everyone to know?"

"Am I not pretty enough?"

"Or what?"

Ichin spread his hands helplessly.

"No, that's not it."

"I just feel like it's happening a little too fast."

"Back when Yukino and I got together, it was quite a while before everyone found out."

"That does seem to be true."

Haruno nodded.

She understood what he meant.

Still, she didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

Patting him on the shoulder with a smile, she said,

"Relax."

"It's no big deal."

"Everyone already sees you that way anyway."

"One more woman won't make much of a difference."

"Come on."

"Dinner's almost ready."

"Let's not keep Utaha and Yukino waiting."

"..."

Watching Haruno casually walk out of the room, Ichin could only shake his head and follow after her.

Time quickly passed until Saturday, the day they were scheduled to attend the banquet together.

Haruno's evening gown had been delivered the night before.

It was a sleek, form fitting black dress that perfectly matched her elegant temperament.

As for Ichin...

That was much simpler.

There were already several suits at home that Utaha and the others had bought for him.

He simply picked one, and it matched Haruno's outfit quite well.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, a chauffeur from the Yukinoshita family arrived at the villa.

Ichin and Haruno were already dressed and ready.

Before leaving, Ichin looked toward Utaha and Yukino.

"We're heading out."

"You two can handle dinner yourselves."

"Haruno and I will be back a little later."

Utaha smiled and nodded.

"Got it."

"Actually..."

"It wouldn't matter if you didn't come back tonight either~~~"

Ichin rolled his eyes at her before getting into the luxury sedan with Haruno.

After the car drove away, Utaha turned to Yukino.

"So..."

"What should we do for dinner?"

"Just eat something simple?"

"Or should we invite Eriri over?"

"We could have a barbecue and order some takeout."

Yukino nodded.

"Sounds good."

"I'll take the meat out of the refrigerator and start preparing the skewers."

"I'll call Eriri."

Even though Ichin wasn't home...

There was no doubt that the girls already had an enjoyable evening planned.

...

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