Chapter 120: Hangover?

Reiji slowly opened his eyes.

His head was throbbing. Not enough to make him want to scream, but enough to make every movement feel slightly annoying.

He frowned and brought a hand to his forehead.

"Do Awakened even get headaches?"

He slowly sat up.

The throbbing in his head seemed to follow the movement, making him wince slightly.

"What the hell..."

Reiji rubbed his temples.

He had never really experienced something like this before. His body had become far stronger after becoming an Awakened, and with his current physical stats, something as ordinary as a headache shouldn’t have bothered him. Yet here he was feeling like someone was gently hammering the inside of his skull.

His gaze shifted toward the nightstand. His phone was lying there. Reiji reached for it and checked the time.

"4:44 a.m."

He stared at the screen for a few seconds.

"4:44..."

He let out a tired yawn. His eyes slowly moved around the room. That was when he noticed someone lying beside him.

Reiji’s eyes widened slightly.

’Aoi?’

She was still asleep, her body curled slightly beneath the blanket.

Reiji blinked.

He stared at her for several seconds.

"How did I get here?"

He couldn’t remember. His memories from last night were extremely blurry. He remembered drinking. He remembered sitting on the couch.

After that, h remember absolutely nothing.

Reiji scratched his head. "Is this what a hangover feels like?"

He loooked around again, his expression became complicated.

"My memory is completely blurred. I can’t even remember how the hell I ended up in this bed," He remained sitting there for a while, quietly trying to piece together what had happened.

The harder he tried to remember, the more confusing everything became.

Eventually, Reiji gave up.

There was no point forcing himself to remember something his brain clearly wasn’t giving him.

His gaze slowly returned to Aoi.

The faint light from lamp illuminated part of her face.

Her long hair was slightly messy from sleeping, with several strands resting across her cheek.

Reiji stared at her and without realizing it, he muttered softly, "She’s really beautiful."

He reached out and gently brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.

Aoi didn’t move.

Reiji’s fingers lingered for a moment before he slowly pulled his hand back.

He leaned closer. His face approaching hers. Just as he was about to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, Reiji suddenly stopped.

His expression changed. "What am I doing?"

He immediately pulled himself back.

Reiji shook his head and got out of bed.

He made his way into the bathroom and brushed his teeth before splashing cold water across his face.

After washing up, he changed his clothes and headed downstairs.

However, just before leaving the bedroom, Reiji paused.

He glanced back at Aoi.

"I hope she didn’t wake up in the middle of the night."

With that, he quietly closed the door behind him. The moment the door closed, Aoi’s eyes opened.

Her face was already red.

She had been awake for several minutes.

When Reiji had woken up, she had pretended to remain asleep because she was far too embarrassed to face him after what happened during the night.

And when he had turned toward her, she had immediately faced the other direction.

Now that he was gone, she finally released the breath she had been holding.

Aoi tightly grabbed the blanket and pulled it closer to herself.

Her face became even redder as she remembered what had happened.

"That idiot..."

She covered her face with both hands.

"I can’t believe that happened."

She remained like that for several seconds.

Then her thoughts drifted back to Reiji.

More specifically to that moment. The sweet french kiss.

—Mwah. (It sucks to be single)

Aoi’s cheeks burned.

The image of Reiji kissing her and saying she was beautiful played in her head repeatedly.

She quickly shook her head.

"No, no, no!"

She buried her face deeper into the blanket.

"Why am I thinking about that?!"

Aoi slowly sat up. Her heart was still pounding. She touched her lips unconsciously before immediately pulling her hand away.

"I’m no better than his fans."

—The Night Empress fans btw.

She covered her face again.

"Why does he have to be so..."

She stopped herself.

"No."

Aoi shook her head.

"Forget it."

She quickly got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. She needed to get ready for work. A short while later, Aoi came downstairs.

The moment she entered the dining room, she stopped. Her eyes widened unconsciousl, the dining table was already filled with food.

Reiji had prepared breakfast. Not only that, but everything had already been served.

Aoi stared at the table. "I thought he went to exercise."

For a brief moment something warm stirred in her heart.

Reiji was already sitting there. He looked completely normal. As if he hadn’t been drinking nearly twenty bottles of soju the night before.

Aoi couldn’t help but stare at him, "Good morning."

Reiji looked up. "Morning."

Aoi sat down. She quietly began eating while Reiji did the same.

After a few minutes, Reiji spoke.

"You’ll need to stay at the company for a few days before we begin phase two."

Aoi paused. "A few days?"

"Yeah." Reiji nodded as he took a bite of the braised pork. "We need to understand how things work inside the company first. If we start causing problems immediately, it’ll look suspicious."

Aoi nodded. That made sense.

But just thinking about spending several more days under Mayumi’s supervision made her feel exhausted.

Yesterday had already felt exhausted. She had only worked for a single day, yet her body felt like she had been employed there for decades.

Aoi sighed.

"Alright."

She took another bite but added, "But you have to stay on the line."

Reiji looked at her. "Why?"

"Because I don’t know what she’ll throw at me next."

Aoi shuddered slightly. "Yesterday was only my first day. I managed because I had watched a lot of business videos and short reels online. That’s basically how I knew how to handle some of those situations."

She sighed.

"But every day could be different. What if she gives me something I’ve never seen before?"

Reiji smiled. "Then just let me know."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

Aoi nodded.

Reiji continued eating then he noticed something.

"But why are you leaving so early?"

Aoi paused, she glanced at the time. "I’m not sure."

"You don’t know?"

Aoi shook her head. ’Maybe it’s because yesterday was so exhausting that my body already thinks I’ve been working there for years.’

She laughed awkwardly. "Maybe it’s just a habit."

Reiji raised an eyebrow but he didn’t say anything.

Aoi stood up after finishing her meal.

"Don’t think about it too much."

Reiji didn’t argue.

While they had been eating, he had already ordered an Uber for her.

A few minutes later, Aoi left for work.

***

Aoi arrived at the company earlier than she had the previous day. She entered the building and immediately noticed Mayumi standing nearby.

Aoi quickly greeted her.

"Good morning, Manager Yamada."

Mayumi turned toward her. Then smiled warmly.

"Good morning, sister."

Aoi blinked. "Sister?"

Mayumi chuckled. "Good to see you again."

Aoi couldn’t help but smile.

The woman standing before her looked completely different from the terrifying manager she had encountered yesterday.

"Are you tired?" Mayumi asked.

"A little."

"You shouldn’t push yourself too hard. It’s your second day."

Aoi stared at her. Her heart warmed slightly. Maybe yesterday had just been because she was new. Maybe Mayumi really was a nice person as she said.

Aoi suddenly felt motivated. "I’ll work hard today."

Mayumi smiled. "That’s the spirit."

She gently placed a hand on Aoi’s shoulder.

"And don’t stress yourself too much, alright?"

Aoi nodded she felt like crying. "Yes. Manager."

She genuinely felt touched. Then they entered the company building. They stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.

Aoi looked at Mayumi. Mayumi looked at Aoi.

The elevator slowly ascended.

Aoi was still smiling. Then the doors opened. They stepped onto their floor.

The moment Mayumi entered the office, her entire expression changed.

The warmth disappeared. Her smile vanished. She calmly picked up a thick stack of documents from a nearby desk and handed them to Aoi.

"Start with these."

Aoi froze. She stared at the documents, then at Mayumi.

"Eh?"

Mayumi walked toward her desk, "I want them finished before lunch."

Aoi’s eyes twitched.

"Before lunch?"

Mayumi sat down.

"Yes."

Aoi stared at her. A few seconds ago, this woman had been telling her not to stress herself.

Now she was handing her enough paperwork to bury her alive.

Aoi slowly sighed. ’She’s a demon.’

She sat down at her desk and began working.

***

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Reiji was lying lazily on the couch.

A large bowl of snacks rested against his stomach.

He picked one up and tossed it into his mouth.

Crunch.

He happily chewed simply enjoying himself. He reached for another snack.

Crunch.

He smiled. "This is nice."

But the system had other plans for this bum.

Ding!

[Urgent Quest Activated!]

Reiji froze. The snack stopped halfway to his mouth and his expression slowly changed.

"...What?"

Ding!

Reiji stared blankly at the system notification and the so called urgent quest and his relaxed mood instantly disappeared.

"You’re a freaking masochist you know that!"