Hana stretched her back, cracking her spine that had been in the same position for too long.
She had watched helplessly, over the hours, as many of her colleagues left; until there were only a handful of people remaining on the floor.
Chief Kobayashi was long gone, and even among her colleagues, Mari and Yuuto had already gone home a long time ago. Ren had stayed for another hour, before getting up a few minutes earlier to make himself a last cup of coffee.
It was already almost 8 pm, and she had finally finished the task that her manager had given her. It was really ungrateful, to assign her something so unpleasant and complicated on the second day. But what could she do, after all?
He had decided to take it out on her, without her knowing exactly what she had done wrong. But at least she would show him that she was reliable and serious in her work. Maybe that would be enough proof of her value.
"Finally finished, Shinohara-san?" Asked Ren, big dark circles under his eyes.
In spite of the tiredness which could be read on his face, the distinguished man was always dressed and coiffed impeccably, as if he had not just spent a very long day at work.
Hana wondered if his physical appearance reflected the state of his body. Because if it did, she envied him for not having as much back pain as she did.
Or maybe it was because of working overtime, that he had become accustomed to supporting such a constraining posture; bent over his computer screen.
In any case, the young woman doubted that she would ever get used to it.
"Just now," she answered with a small smile.
"That impresses me," Ren then remarked. "I didn't expect you to be able to finish in time."
As he said this, he had finished his coffee and returned to his cubicle, gathering his things to finally go home.
Hana hurriedly saved the document, and turned off her computer. She didn't want to stay a moment longer, and alone, in case Ren decided to leave without waiting for her.
"Does Chief Kobayashi do this often?" She asked, while putting on her coat.
"Does what often?" Ren asked in return, unsure of what she meant by that.
"Picking on newbies like that..." Elaborated Hana.
She had retrieved her bag, and with Ren already slinging his satchel over his shoulder, they both found themselves heading for the elevator, each on one side of the row of desks. The older man took advantage of this moment of hesitation to think about his answer. He himself seemed to be wondering what was best to say or not say.
"Let's say... That he has his temper..." He said as they met in front of the elevator. "But I also know that he doesn't act without reason, contrary to what one might think."
Hana sighed heavily, wearily.
"That's just the problem..." She complained.
Ren took the opportunity to press the call button, although he was curious to know what the young woman was getting at. And sometimes, it was enough to remain silent, to push the other to confide.
Which turned out to be the right decision, because a few seconds later, Hana spoke again.
"I feel like Chief Kobayashi is mad at me for something, but I don't know what I did wrong..." She lamented.
"That is indeed problematic," Ren conceded.
"That's what I'm saying..." Insisted with weariness the young woman.
The elevator, until now stopped on the third floor, resumed its ascent. What allowed Ren to formulate a hypothesis.
"In this case, I think the best solution is to confront the problem face to face, without hesitation," he explained. "After all, maybe this is all a misunderstanding. But whether or not it is, it's not something you can just leave alone and hope it will work itself out..."
Hana pouted. But deep down, she knew that Ren was, in his accuracy, right. It was better to deal with the problem right from the start, than to let it consume you with each passing day. Especially since she really didn't know what she could have done to alienate the person she admired so much.
And maybe indeed, the only way to find out would be to directly confront the person she had so much affection for.
An electronic chime sounded, followed by the opening of the elevator doors, revealing a completely empty car. Obvious, since most of the employees had already gone home.
Seeing that Ren wasn't moving, Hana took this as an invitation to get inside first. She had almost forgotten that the man who was her senior in the company had many manners; gallantry was probably one of them.
Ren then flipped a series of switches before following Hana into the elevator, turning off all the overhead lights and thus plunging the entire floor into complete darkness; if not for the interior of the elevator's cabin where he rushed in. Seeing the huge room plunged into darkness was really strange, in the eyes of the young woman. But it also reassured her. Because it was the sign that she had done her work well.
The doors of the elevator closed on the two colleagues, the booth taking them to the ground floor of the building.
Outside, it was already completely dark, the surrounding office buildings still lit on some floors. Even though the administrative staff had left, that didn't mean the day was over. Far from it. Cleaning staff, but also security and night guards, were taking over; creating an endless loop of occupancy.
However, when the door to the stairwell opened, it was not a janitor or a member of the security staff who appeared.
An unknown individual, whose features could not be distinguished in the now darkened floor, walked between the rows of computers, obviously looking for something.
Then, after a few minutes, the person stopped in front of a particular workstation, and a few seconds later, turned on a computer screen.
His dark silhouette, cut by the clear halo of light coming from the monitor, was projected on the wall behind; and he continued to move, in total silence.