Chapter 118: The Unexpected Variable

The door slowly opened.

Reiji leaned closer to the laptop screen, his eyes narrowing.

"This wasn’t part of the plan."

Aoi, who was still sitting in front of Mayumi’s desk, immediately noticed the woman entering the office.

She was a beautiful woman with long dark hair that fell neatly over her shoulders. Her appearance was professional, but there was something about her calm expression that made Aoi instinctively straighten her back.

The woman stopped when she noticed Aoi.

Her eyes briefly moved toward Mayumi before returning to Aoi.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in the middle of an interview."

Mayumi adjusted her glasses.

"It’s fine. You can come in."

The woman stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

Reiji frowned. Something felt wrong. He quickly opened another window on his laptop and pulled up the company’s appointment records.

His eyes moved across the screen.

Then stopped.

"...Ah."

He remembered.

There had been another appointment scheduled for today.

A few days ago, he had noticed the appointment while going through the company’s internal system. He didn’t want anyone interfering with Aoi’s interview, so he had canceled it.

Or at least, he thought he had.

Reiji quickly checked the cancellation record.

The request had been submitted.

But the confirmation was missing.

His eyes narrowed.

He immediately pulled up the woman’s information.

Then he checked her phone activity.

"Her phone was switched off at the exact time the cancellation was sent?"

Reiji sighed.

"So that’s why."

The woman had never received the cancellation.

And now she was standing inside Mayumi’s office.

"Great." Reiji rubbed his forehead. "One problem after another."

Inside the office, Mayumi gestured toward the woman.

"Since you’re already here, I suppose there’s no point making you wait outside. What did you need?"

The woman smiled.

"I came for the Assistant Manager position."

Aoi’s heart skipped.

Reiji’s expression changed instantly, and he spoke in a reassuring voice.

"Don’t panic."

Aoi heard his voice through the earbud and took a deep breath, calming her racing nerves. She didn’t know why, but this situation felt even more dangerous than raiding Gates.

Mayumi looked between the two women.

"The Assistant Manager position?"

"Yes."

The woman nodded.

"I was informed that the position was still open."

Mayumi’s expression immediately became slightly confused.

"That’s strange. I was under the impression that we had already found someone suitable."

Her eyes moved toward Aoi.

The woman followed her gaze.

Then she noticed the resume lying on the desk.

Her expression changed.

She leaned slightly closer.

"May I?"

Mayumi handed the resume to her, a bit interested in what had caught her attention.

The woman carefully read through it.

Aoi swallowed.

Reiji’s fingers stopped above his keyboard.

Something was wrong.

The woman suddenly pointed at a section of the resume.

"This company."

Aoi’s heart nearly stopped.

Reiji’s eyes sharpened.

"Yes?" Mayumi glanced at the section. "What about it?"

The woman looked directly at Aoi.

"You worked here?"

"Yes."

Aoi answered exactly as Reiji had instructed her.

The woman frowned.

"That’s strange."

Aoi’s fingers tightened against her lap.

Reiji immediately began searching through the woman’s background.

"What is she looking at?"

His eyes scanned through multiple databases.

Then he found it.

The woman had previously worked with the company listed on Aoi’s fake resume.

Reiji’s face darkened.

"Of course."

The woman continued.

"I know this company."

Aoi’s heart pounded.

"And?" Mayumi asked.

The woman tapped the resume.

"The department you supposedly worked in didn’t have this position at the time you claimed to have worked there."

Silence.

Aoi’s mind went completely blank.

Reiji’s eyes widened.

"Damn."

His mind raced through various answers to the situation.

’Damn, this is messed up.’

For the first time since the interview started, even he didn’t immediately have an answer, but his hands still moved across the keyboard as if waging war on it.

Mayumi looked at Aoi.

Aoi looked at the resume.

The woman looked suspicious.

Reiji quickly typed something into the laptop.

Then his expression relaxed.

"Aoi."

She heard his voice through the earbud and answered softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes?"

"Don’t explain the resume."

"What?"

"Just answer her question."

Aoi hesitated.

Reiji continued.

"She isn’t accusing you of lying yet. She only noticed an inconsistency."

Aoi took a slow breath.

Then looked at the woman.

"You’re right."

The woman raised an eyebrow.

Aoi continued.

"That position didn’t exist under that department when I joined."

Mayumi looked surprised.

The woman nodded slightly.

"So you admit it?"

"No."

Aoi shook her head.

"I was transferred into that department later. The position was created after the restructuring."

She spoke word for word what Reiji was telling her.

The woman stared at her.

Aoi continued exactly as Reiji instructed.

"The records you’re looking at are probably from before the restructuring. The company changed the department structure after I joined, so the position wouldn’t appear under the original records."

The woman remained silent.

Aoi’s palms were sweating.

Reiji watched through the camera feed from the comfort of his bathtub, his laptop balanced carefully nearby.

"Come on..."

The woman finally looked back at the resume.

Then she checked something on her phone, and even Miss Mayumi opened her phone to cross-check the information.

Her expression slowly changed.

"Oh."

Mayumi looked at her.

"What is it?"

The woman gave a small, apologetic smile.

"She is correct."

Aoi nearly collapsed from relief.

Reiji leaned back in the bathtub with a grin.

"Perfect."

The woman looked at Aoi again.

"Your records were transferred during the restructuring."

Aoi nodded.

"Yes."

Mayumi stared at Aoi for several seconds.

Then she smiled.

"Interesting."

The woman looked slightly uncomfortable.

"But there is still the matter of..." Mayumi interrupted, "Actually, I think that’s enough."

She took back Aoi’s resume.

"I’ve already decided."

The woman blinked, "You have?"

"Yes," Mayumi looked directly at Aoi. "I like her."

Aoi froze.

Reiji smiled.

Mayumi continued.

"She stayed calm when her qualifications were questioned, explained herself clearly, and didn’t become defensive."

Her gaze shifted toward the other woman.

"Unlike someone who walked into my office halfway through an interview and started questioning my candidate."

The woman’s expression stiffened.

"I didn’t mean to cause trouble."

"I’m sure you didn’t." Mayumi adjusted her glasses. "But the position is already filled."

Aoi’s eyes widened.

Reiji’s grin became wider.

Mayumi placed the resume on the desk.

"Congratulations."

Aoi stared at her.

"You’ve been accepted as Assistant Manager."

"Thank you."

Aoi managed to smile.

Inside the earbud, Reiji quietly said,

"Good job, Butter Biscuit."

Aoi almost glared at the ceiling.

’Don’t call me that.’

But inside, she was incredibly happy.

Mayumi laughed softly, then her smile widened.

"Anyway, you’ll start immediately."

Aoi nodded.

"Yes, Manager Yamada."

The woman standing nearby remained silent.

She had arrived expecting to be interviewed for the Assistant Manager position.

Instead, she had accidentally helped Aoi secure it.

Reiji leaned back in his bathtub.

One unexpected variable had appeared.

And somehow, it had worked in his favor.

He took another sip of the soju Aoi had bought for him.

This time, instead of grimacing from the unfamiliar taste, he grimaced in joy.

"Not bad..."

Now all he had to do was make sure Aoi caused enough trouble to force Hina to return home early.

He looked at the company camera feed.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Phase one is complete."

Then his smile faded.

"Now comes the fun part."