48

A few weeks after the unforgettable office party, the atmosphere in the company was charged with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. Work had resumed as usual, but there was a buzz of rumors about a major change coming.

Rafta, Haari, Ashi, and Oki were called to the boss's office. As they stepped inside, they noticed a man sitting comfortably in front of the boss's desk. The moment Rafta laid eyes on him, a mischievous grin spread across his face.

Without warning, Rafta delivered a hard slap to the back of the man's head. The sudden impact made the man's head jolt forward, bumping into the table. The boss and everyone else in the room flinched in shock.

"Oi! What are you doing here? And why are you sitting like some kind of VIP guest?" Rafta demanded, his voice brimming with disbelief.

"Rafta, what the hell?!" Haari snapped, eyes wide.

"Wait, don't tell me you don't recognize him?" Rafta scoffed, pointing at the man.

Haari narrowed his eyes, studying the man's face. Rafta, growing impatient, grabbed both sides of the man's face and forcefully turned it toward Haari. The poor guy's face squished like a potato under Rafta's firm grip.

Haari blinked, then suddenly realization hit. "Oh! I know him. Isn't he that new guy who does cleaning around the office?"

"Exactly!" Rafta nodded.

"Then… what is he doing here?" Haari asked, puzzled.

Rafta smirked. "This guy is an efficiency freak. One time, I invited him out for a drink, and you know what he said?" Rafta put on a mock-serious expression, imitating the man's voice. "'Sir, you shouldn't waste your time like this. Please focus on your work. It will help in the company's progression.'"

Haari, Ashi, and Oki exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. "Well… he's not wrong."

Meanwhile, the boss sat behind her desk, visibly annoyed, her fingers drumming against the surface. Her patience was wearing thin.

Rafta turned back to the man and scoffed. "Hey, go get me a glass of water. Also, who said you could sit while we're all standing?" With a light shove of his foot, Rafta nudged the man's leg.

Before anyone could react, a loud thud echoed through the office as the boss's fist met both Rafta's and Haari's faces at the same time. The force sent them staggering back, clutching their cheeks in shock.

"What the—?!" Rafta sputtered, rubbing his face. "Boss, what the hell was that for?!"

Ignoring him, the boss turned to the man and bowed slightly. "I sincerely apologize, sir. Please forgive their rude behavior." She quickly pulled out a chair for him, gesturing for him to sit properly. "As punishment, I'll deduct half a year's salary from these two idiots."

The room fell into stunned silence.

"W-WHAAAT?!" Rafta shouted, his voice cracking. "Half a year's salary?! All because of this—this Proboscis Monkey?!"

The boss's eyes twitched. "SHUT UP!" she roared, making Rafta flinch. "This man is here to help improve our company status."

Rafta opened his mouth to protest, but before he could utter another word—BAM!—another punch sent him reeling.

"Would you shut up already?" the boss hissed, cracking her knuckles.

"Please calm down, and there is no need to deduct their salary. They behaved like that because they didn't know me yet," the man said.

"You are too kind, sir," the boss said with a relieved smile.

Rafta rubbed the sore spot where he had been hit. "What are you, a vacuum cleaner? What else are you?"

"RAFTA!" The boss shot him a deadly glare.

The man stood up and straightened his posture. "Let me introduce myself. Hello, my name is Riku. I come from the national company."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, except for the boss, who remained calm.

Riku, a 25-year-old man with a sharp, confident demeanor, exuded an air of authority. "I'm here to help us take things to the next level," he said, his voice warm and inviting.

"What do you mean, 'next level'? Are we playing an RPG here?" Rafta scoffed.

Riku chuckled. "It's been a whole week since I arrived, and I've observed the working environment of this company. I've come up with some improvement ideas." As he spoke, his gaze briefly lingered on Ashi. His expression softened slightly, almost imperceptibly.

But Ashi didn't think much of it. To her, he was just another unfamiliar face, and his attention meant nothing to her.

Riku turned back to the others. "From now on, I'll be creating new teams to streamline progress."

"But aren't we already working as a team?" Haari asked, confused.

"Yes, but I'm restructuring them," Riku replied, handing slips of paper to Haari and Oki.

"What are these?" Oki asked, inspecting the paper.

"These are your new team assignments," Riku explained.

The room fell silent as he outlined his restructuring plans. "Haari, you've shown remarkable skill with documentation, so I'm assigning you to the documentary team."

Haari's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"You're going to do great," Riku said with a grin.

"Habi-san, I'd like you to lead the observation team. Your keen eye for detail will be crucial in tackling future errors," Riku added, shifting his focus.

Oki felt a mix of apprehension and excitement. Wait, what? "I'll do my best," she replied, her heart racing.

"Rafta, you'll join a team dedicated to arranging and storing files systematically," Riku continued.

Rafta beamed with pride until Riku turned to Ashi. "As for Miss Ashi, you will work in my team. You all can think of it as your promotion."

Rafta immediately grabbed Riku by the collar, lifting him slightly. "Hey! What's the meaning of this?" he growled, locking eyes with Riku.

" What, I'm doing what's necessary for the company's future," Riku replied calmly.

Rafta tightened his grip. "How is the company supposed to grow if you break apart our team?!"

"I understand that sudden change is difficult. If I were in your place, I'd react the same way. But this is necessary for progress," Riku said firmly.

The boss glared at Rafta. "Let go of him and apologize."

Rafta met Riku's gaze before finally releasing him.

"Apologize," the boss repeated.

"There's no need," Riku said, adjusting his collar. "It's natural for people to lose their temper over change. One more thing—your work will be transferred to the 16th floor. I assumed you wouldn't like being separated so suddenly. When the 16th floor is fully operational, all of you will work there with your new teams, so you can still interact as before."

A week had passed since the restructuring, and things were slowly settling into place. Haari sat at his new desk, fingers gliding over the keyboard as he finished up the last of his reports. The office was quieter than usual, with only the occasional sound of typing and distant chatter filling the air.

"Sir, I've completed all the documentation as you asked. And… thanks for your help earlier," Ane, said.

Haari barely looked away from his screen. "Please, don't call me that."

Ane tilted her head. "But you're our team leader. It'd be disrespectful not to address you properly."

"It's just awkward to be called 'Sir.' Just talk to me normally—I'm working with you, not above you." Haari stretched his arms, trying to shake off the stiffness from sitting too long.

Ane giggled. "That's exactly what the team likes about you, Kichiro-san."

Haari frowned, pausing for a second. "Wait… what?"

Before Ane could respond, a loud thud interrupted them. Rafta had pulled a chair beside Haari and collapsed onto it dramatically, looking like he had just run a marathon.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be drowning in files right now?" Haari raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Come on, man. Let me breathe for a second," Rafta groaned, leaning back and letting his arms dangle off the chair.

Ane stifled a laugh and excused herself, leaving them alone.

Moments later, Oki appeared, holding two steaming cups of coffee. She placed one in front of Haari before taking a seat on the table between Haari and Rafta.

"Kichiro-san," she greeted casually.

Haari took the coffee with a nod. "Thanks."

Oki's gaze shifted to Rafta, who was slumped in his chair. "And what exactly are you doing here?"

Rafta waved a lazy hand. "Slacking off, obviously."

Oki raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of her coffee. "That's unexpected. Since when did you start admitting it?"

Rafta groaned dramatically. "I'm just a bit tired. Organizing files is a nightmare—there's a literal mountain of documents stacked in the storage room."

Haari smirked. "Well, Riku did something we couldn't accomplish in years—he actually made the company's laziest guy work."

Oki chuckled. "That is impressive."

Rafta scoffed, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't have to do all that work if my team wasn't so useless. I swear, they don't know a thing—nothing!"

Haari and Oki laughed at his misery, while Rafta groaned in frustration.

From a distance, Ashi sat at her desk, glancing toward them. Her gaze lingered on Haari and the others as they laughed together. A strange feeling twisted in her chest—an unease she couldn't quite place, as if she had lost something precious without realizing it.

"Nicawa-san," Riku's voice was smooth as he placed a steaming cup of coffee on her desk. "Here."

Ashi blinked, startled. She had been so lost in her work that she hadn't even noticed him approaching.

"Huh? There was no need for that," she said, glancing between Riku and the cup. Her voice held a mix of surprise and gratitude.

"I'll kill him if I see him outside the company," Rafta muttered under his breath.

Oki and Haari burst into laughter again.

"You seem a lot more relaxed than usual, Habi-san," Haari observed.

"Yeah, my new team is really good at their work. At first, it was hard, but they're adapting faster than I expected. Now they do most of the work—I only guide them at some points," Oki said, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Same for me," Haari added.

"By the way, hey Oki, where's my coffee?" Rafta suddenly asked.

"What? I didn't know you were here too. I only brought coffee for Kichiro-san because he hardly moves from his place," Oki replied with a smirk.

"Then give me yours," Rafta demanded.

"Why don't you get your own coffee?" Oki countered.

"Come on, I'll only take a little ship, I really need at moment," Rafta pleaded.

"No, I won't," Oki said firmly.

Just then, a member of Oki's team approached her. "Ma'am, the files you asked for are ready."

Oki took the file from him. "Thanks." She placed her coffee cup on the table and started flipping through the pages. "Great, you did really well. Keep up the good work," she said, handing the file back to him.

"It's all thanks to you, ma'am," he said before leaving.

Oki reached for her coffee again—only to find it missing. "Huh?" Her eyes darted toward Rafta, who was casually sipping her coffee with a satisfied expression.

"HEY! Give it back! Who told you that you could have my coffee?!"

Before Rafta could respond, a shadow fell over him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" A stern voice interrupted.

Rafta turned to see a man glaring at him. "I told you to bring the files—what are you doing?"

"I'm collecting the files," Rafta replied innocently.

"I don't see how that's what you're doing," the man scoffed.

Rafta pointed to a stack of files placed near Haari's desk. "Look over there."

The man sighed. "Then hurry up and move them."

Rafta groaned, standing up and picking up the heavy stack of files before trudging away.

"Well, I'm going back to my work too," Oki said, standing up.

"Okay," Haari replied casually. As Oki left, Haari's gaze wandered toward Ashi's desk.

Riku chuckled, leaning casually against the edge of her desk. "You've been staring at that screen for way too long. Thought you could use a little break before your brain fries."