#arioka

Even though he played around, Daiki was actually really good at his job. It was obvious, at least to you, that if he cared a little bit more about the job he could be one of the best marketing reps in the department. That kind of made you wonder why he had taken the job if he weren’t really interested in it. During some of his calls and even some of the meetings you had attended with him, he had spent a good bit of the time doodling. Heck, there was one day where you had finished your work early and he started a game of tic tack toe while he planned a new marketing deal over the phone, grinning mischievously at you when he won.

The only thing that caught you by surprise honestly was Ryosuke. The two of you didn’t really see each other around the office much since the organization department was on an opposite wing of the 3rd floor. When the two of you did run into each other, it was usually in the copy room where he would shoot you smiles and make idle chit chat while you each made copies of whatever document your boss needed that day. Or he would catch you in the elevator, wishing you a good morning or a nice evening.

You would always hear gossip about the handsome golden boy over in planning. Even though neither of you outright said it, there was a silent rivalry brewing between you. You would catch news of a deal he had helped get or the director he had impressed at a luncheon. For each one of his achievements, you made it a mission to try a little bit harder, asking Yuri if there was anything else he needed help with, anything else he or one of the other department members could teach you. Your news would make it to planning and the cycle would continue, each of you trying to outdo the other.

Your interactions for a while had simply been that. Silently challenging each other while wishing each other luck. You didn’t talk much and certainly never saw each other outside of work. However, one day he came into the marketing department, leaning against the side of the cubicle and watching you finish up your work for the evening. Most of the other people in your department had already headed out for the night, only you, Daiki and Yuri remaining.

“Are you all coming out tonight?” he asked. The three of you gave him a questioning look and he continued. “The boss is inviting everyone out for drinks since we sealed a pretty big contract today. He wanted everyone to be there.”

Ryosuke was talking to everyone but his eyes were focused on you, a certain light in his eyes you hadn’t seen before. Daiki noticed it, too, looking from you to Ryosuke and back at you before frowning a little. Ryosuke was charming and had caught the interest of pretty much every employee. Daiki couldn’t help but wonder if you would fall for his spell too.

“What do you say?”

It was Yuri who answered for you and Daiki, hopping up from his desk and shutting his laptop. “I think we’ve done a good job today and, if the boss is paying, I don’t see why not!” He smiled brightly at the two of you and you sighed. There was no getting out of it now, not when your way-too-kind boss seemed so excited about going.

And so you ended up in a bar, several tables pushed together for all of you, Yuya sitting directly in the center and you in between Daiki and Ryosuke.

“I’d like to thank everyone for coming and for all of their hard work,” Yuya said after getting everyone’s attention, “I know these past few weeks have been tough, so enjoy yourselves tonight.”

There was a bit of applause before everyone dissolved into their own little cliques. Daiki turned to you almost as soon as Yuya had stopped talking, surprised to see your attention already taken up by Ryosuke. The two of you were talking a bit about college and what had made you join the company and things like that, Ryosuke’s sudden interest in you still a bit of a surprise.

Ryosuke was pulled out of your conversation by one of the women from accounting who was very obviously flirting with him. When he started talking to her, you turned to ask Daiki, “Are company outings always like this?” By the time you got halfway through your question, though, you realized that Daiki was no longer beside you. You looked down the table where you spotted Yuri standing up talking excitedly to the organization section chief and then around for any sign of him.

You spotted him sitting on his own at the bar and, after excusing yourself from the table, you went to join him, climbing up onto the stool beside him. After ordering a drink for yourself, you asked him, “What are doing over here by yourself?”

He hadn’t realized that it was you at first, too absorbed in his own thoughts, but he smiled at you and took a sip of his drink. “Just had to get some space; it’s a little crowded over there.”

Daiki wasn’t wrong. It was definitely a bit overwhelming to be surrounded by that many people at once. You thanked the bartender when she handed you your drink and angled your body a bit so that you were facing Daiki.

“I’ve never been to something like this before,” you admitted. “We had department dinners in college, but I never went because they always felt so stuffy and I had no one to go with since my friends were all either in other departments or would graduate before me.”

Daiki turned in his stool so that his back was against the bar and that he was looking back at the table where everywhere else was sitting. Yuya was throwing back shots and talking excitedly to one of the section chiefs. Yuri was laughing loudly at something a member of the planning department had said. Ryosuke was still surrounded by admirers, clearly uncomfortable but too polite to directly to say no.

“These things are always kinda the same once you’ve been working here for a while,” Daiki said, an amused grin on his face. Pointing to a slightly older man, he continued, “Nakamura is going to have to leave early because he forgot to tell his wife there was an outing tonight and the boss?” He moved to point towards Yuya whose cheeks were slightly flushed. “Someone’s gonna have to take him home because he likes to drink. It’s usually Watanabe or Okamoto who gets stuck doing it because they always lose rock, paper, scissors.”

Daiki continued to name different people and tell you small things about them, things you probably wouldn’t have noticed. You realized that, even if he seemed like he only played around, Daiki was very attentive. He remembered pretty much everything about his coworkers and their habits. Once he had made his way through the whole table, he finished off his drink and looked at you with raised eyebrows when you asked:

“What about you? What do you usually do at these things?”

Setting his glass down, Daiki shrugged. “Usually I’m with Nakajima and Yaotome, but neither of them came out tonight. If I’m not with them, then I do this.” He made a sweeping motion with his hand towards the table. “I watch.”

“How long have you been working here?”

“Four years.” His voice was dry as he said it and the number honestly surprised you. You would’ve thought that he was not that far above you considering his position. Hadn’t Yuri only started 2 years before and he was already Daiki’s boss? You started to ask him about it but felt like it would be rude so you stopped yourself.

He wasn’t sure if he felt comfortable with you because of the alcohol he had been drinking or because he just genuinely felt at ease with you, but Daiki found himself answering questions you hadn’t even asked him.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated high school. My parents suggested getting a marketing degree and, since I couldn’t think of anything else I would rather do, I did.” He sighed and gestured for the bartender to get him another drink. “I had some friends, Nakajima and Yaotome, who were applying here, so I figured I would, too, and I’ve just been here.”

“How come you haven’t been promoted?”

Again, he shrugged. “I don’t really care I guess? It’s a good job and I like the people but, I guess I’d rather not get promoted and end up stuck here.”

You nodded and bit down on your bottom lip. It made sense. If he didn’t care about the job, getting promoted would just give him one more reason not to leave, even if he wanted to. You watched him for a moment before asking your next question.

“What is it that you want to do? You know, if you didn’t have to work here, what would you be doing?”

Daiki thought about it, raking his brain for anything that had really interested him, that he could see himself doing if he had the chance. He hadn’t thought about it. For most of his life, Daiki had just followed the guidance of other people and had never put too much thought into it. Aside from the fact that he knew he couldn’t stay in an office forever, he had no idea what it was that he wanted. And he told you that.

“I’m not really sure…”

His voice was soft and his eyes a little sad. You gave a sweet and encouraging smile, though, and told him, “That’s okay. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Daiki stared at you, at your smile, and fought with himself on whether or not he wanted to tell you what he had been holding in for a while. That he found you attractive and liked how easy it was to talk to you, that he wanted to have dinner and drinks somewhere with you that didn’t include the entirety of the company. But before he got a chance to, someone called out your name. Looking back towards the table, you saw that most people were up and grabbing their coats, Ryosuke looking over at the two of you, finally free of his admirers.

“We’re heading out. Do you need a ride home?” He asked you.

“Actually-” you started, Daiki cutting you off, his words catching you and Ryosuke off guard.

“Actually, I was going to drive (Y/N) home.”

You looked between the two of them before settling your eyes on Ryosuke and saying, “Yeah. Thanks, though. I’ll see you on Monday?”

Ryosuke nodded slowly, obviously a bit upset that you had declined his offer, and headed for the door. Sliding down from your stool, you followed Daiki out of the bar.

“You don’t have to drive me home,” you said. “I was going to tell Ryosuke I could take a taxi.”

Daiki shook his head and opened the passenger door for you to get into his car. “I’d feel better if I knew you got home safe. No better way to do that than taking you myself.” He closed the door behind you, shooting you a cute smile, before walking around the front of the car and getting into the driver’s seat.

The two of you drove in relative silence save for you giving him instructions on how to get to your place, your head resting against the glass of the window while you watched the street lights fly by. Every now and then, you’d sneak glances over at him. In the dim glow from the dashboard, he looked beautiful, skin glowing, features looking soft. You smiled a bit to yourself and sat up straight when he pulled to a stop in front of your apartment complex.

“Thanks for the ride,” you said, already on your way to open the door. Before you could get out, Daiki reached out towards you.

“(Y/N), wait!” You looked back at him, confused, and he swallowed before saying, “I just wanted to know if I could get your number. You know, so we can talk outside of work, if you wanted to….”

You nodded and tried to fight the smile that was spreading across your face. He seemed nervous which was kind of cute. The two of you exchanged mails and he waited in his car until you disappeared into your building, waving at him several times to let him know that you were safe.

In your apartment, Kei was sitting in the living room watching a movie, legs drawn up to his chest. When he saw you come in, he nodded at first before pausing his movie.

“What’s with that look on your face?” he asked, his voice smug. “Did something happen at that outing?”

“Nope,” you replied, even though you were still smiling. “Nothing happened. Yet.”

You disappeared into your room, leaving Kei on his own. He called after you.

“I heard his father owns part of the company, so he’s probably a shoe in.”

“Even if his father didn’t, he got his degree from Kyoto University. There’s really no beating that…”

You sat quietly, holding your interview packet firmly in your hands. The other applicants had been whispering since the secretary left the room. Their hushed rumors all circulated around the blonde sitting to your right. Ryosuke Yamada. He didn’t seem even remotely bothered by their talks, keeping his head down as he flipped through the interview packet.

If what they were saying was true, then they were right. He was basically guaranteed the internship. The fact that you had even been selected to move on to the interview round when you were up against people like him left you astounded. You tried not to look at him, but your eyes kept peeking over to him. He met your gaze once, giving you a smirk in return before going back to his reading.

They were doing group interviews and you knew based on the schedule that you were in the same round as him. You were honestly doing your best to not get nervous, to not think about it and focus. But you could see your chances getting slimmer the longer you sat beside him and listened to the others rattle off his list of achievements.

Before you knew it, the secretary came back out of the conference room, standing before all of you in the waiting room. “Next up will be (Y/N), Ryosuke Yamada, and Fuma Kikuchi. Follow me please.”

You stood, Ryosuke gesturing for you to go first before he and Fuma followed. The three of you were led into the conference room, taking your seats in front of the long table of executives, four women and two men. Your resumes were passed out to each of the execs, none of them batting an eye at Ryosuke’s. You hoped that meant that he wouldn’t get in simply because of his father.

Each of them took turns asking the three of you questions, noticeably focusing more on you and Ryosuke. The questions were simple things that you were glad you could answer without too much of a problem. They were things like why did you study what you did in college, why do you think you’ll be a good addition to the company, what do you think you can do for us, etc. You were amazed, though, at how great of a speaker Ryosuke was; he was definitely charming.

One of the female executives concluded the interview.

“Thank you. We’ll be in contact.”

As you were getting ready to leave, Ryosuke asked, “Just how many interns are you accepting again?” This made you stop, another wave of nervousness passing over you. Not phased, the woman replied, “We intend to hire only one.”

On the way out the door, you and Ryosuke exchanged looks, the same small smirk on his face.

“(Y/N), good luck.”

You hit refresh on your email for the hundredth time in the last ten minutes. Sitting across the table from you, your roommate Kei looked at your hand on the mouse and then at you. Lowering the screen of your laptop a bit, he asked, “How much longer are you going to keep doing that?”

You swatted his hand away and lifted the screen back up, hitting refresh one more time. “Until I get the email I’m looking for.”

“Which is?”

“Whether or not I got the internship,” you whined. “Results were supposed to be sent out at noon and it’s ten minutes after. What if I didn’t get it?”

Kei lowered your screen again, looking you in the eye. “We both know you’re going to get it, don’t say that.”

“But-“

“No buts!” he said seriously. “You’re so smart and more than qualified for a simple desk job. Don’t do this to yourself. Come have lunch with me. Maybe you’ll have something when we get back.”

You hesitated for a second before nodding. “But let me check just one more time!”

Between the look in your eyes and the pout on your lip, Kei couldn’t help but give in. Sighing and letting go of your laptop, he said, “I thought I was the cute one in this relationship…”

“You are. I just…” Your words were cut off halfway by an excited shriek. Kei jumped back, wide eyed. “I got it! I got the internship!”

Your roommate smiled at you, rubbing his ear. “Congrats. Now you can afford to buy me lunch.”

A week later was your orientation. You were told to show up at 9 am to meet with the general manger who would appoint you to a department. You were up early, determined to get to work on time and make a good first impression, dressing up to the best of your ability.

When you got to the office building, the secretary from the day of your interview was sitting at a desk in the main lobby. She took your picture and printed out a temporary ID for you, telling you that your official one would be ready for you by lunch. Then she directed you upstairs to the manager’s office.

A plaque outside of his door declared him to be Yuya Takaki. When you knocked on the door, you were greeted by a taller man with neatly styled, long brown hair. He was handsome but the seriousness in his face came across as a bit intimidating.

“(Y/N), have a seat,” he said, gesturing for you to come inside. You nodded politely and took a seat in front of his desk. Yuya handed you a welcome packet and took his seat, but before he got a chance to say anything else to you, there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”

The door to Yuya’s office swung open and you heard an apology from the doorway. Turning around, your eyes widened at the sight of Ryosuke. He smiled at you before turning his attention to Yuya.

“That’s okay, Yamada,” Yuya said, handing him a welcome packet as well. Ryosuke took the seat beside you and you did your best to straighten out your expression before looking back at your manager.

“You’ve both been selected as interns.” He was stating the obvious at this point but you nodded all the same at Yuya’s comment. “We were originally planning to only hire one person, but the board was split on which of you to hire. So, we decided to place each of you in different departments.”

You wanted to be upset that you had tied with him for the position, but you were more proud of yourself than anything else for being able to compete with someone from his background. At the very least, three people on the board had been so adamant about hiring you they had no choice but to take you both.

“Yamada will be in Organization and Planning under Yabu Kota. (Y/N), you will be in Marketing under Chinen Yuri. If you have any questions, ask them before coming to me.”

You and Ryosuke both nodded and Yuya dismissed the two of you after telling you where each of your departments were. Outside of Yuya’s office, Ryosuke turned to face you, sticking out a hand for you to shake. You took it tentatively as he smiled at you.

“I can’t wait to work with you.”

The marketing department was not at all what you expected it to be. Shoved off into a corner of the 3rd floor, your “department” was nothing more than a couple of desks and a few filing cabinets. From what you could tell, the majority of the work in this department was handled by 5 people, 6 including yourself.

When you entered the area, 3 of the 5 were either typing away on their computers or taking phone calls. Another, a man with shorter brown hair and a younger face, was covering his area to make it look like he was working but, when you looked closer, he was obviously playing a computer game. The plate on his desk, almost hidden behind a stack of folders let you know that his name was Arioka.

It was the man sitting the furthest away from you, his desk positioned in front of the large window, that acknowledged you first. Looking up from his computer, he jumped up at the sight of you, a polite smile on his face.

“You must be (Y/N)!” he said, approaching you. “I’m Chinen Yuri, marketing section chief. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. I’ll do my best.”

“Great!” He gestured towards the smaller desk beside Arioka’s, the surface empty except for a computer and a small cup full of pens. “You can take a seat there and Daiki can tell you a bit about the department, once he stops playing solitaire.”

Arioka flinched a little at the sound of his name, suddenly drawn out of his card game and back into the office. Yuri’s expression was more tired than disappointed, and the fact that he hadn’t even looked at Arioka when he made his comment made it obvious that this was a usual occurrence. Arioka laughed a bit to shrug off his embarrassment. While he was used to and not really bothered by getting caught by Yuri, it would be better to not make a bad impression as your senior.

Yuri gave you his welcome once more before going back to his desk, giving Arioka a silent look that said “Behave yourself.” Angling his chair so that he could better face you at your desk, Arioka properly introduced himself, a warm smile on his face.

“My name is Daiki, it’s nice to meet you.”

Daiki ran you through your basic responsibilities, where things went and, the most important thing, how to use the copy machine. From what you could tell, he was definitely going to be the most approachable of all the people in your department. He knew how to get his job done and was good at it but also wasn’t nearly as serious as everyone else. With your desk being directly beside his, you felt a bit at ease about your internship.