Chapter 22 : spring plans and old shadows

The office smelled faintly of fresh paper and coffee. Sunlight streamed through the large windows, dust motes dancing lazily in the warm spring light.Yui sat at her desk, laptop open, sketches and perfume sample vials spread around her. She tapped a pen against her notebook, reviewing her summer perfume launch plan.Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she drafted emails to the production team. She imagined the bottles lined up on polished shelves, the delicate scent wafting in stores, and the smile of her parents when the campaign succeeded.“Almost there,” she whispered to herself. “Just a few tweaks…”Her phone buzzed. A reminder popped up: Car service — today, 2 PM.Yui exhaled. She had almost forgotten. Her car had broken down unexpectedly. The thought made her stomach tighten slightly—she wasn’t particularly fond of cars—but she pushed it aside.Later that afternoon, a knock came at the office door.A man from the repair service entered, tools in hand, followed by a familiar figure carrying a small toolkit.“Good afternoon, ma’am,” the repairman said politely. “We’re here for the car.”

Yui blinked. Then her gaze landed on the woman behind him.

”Emiko ?”Emiko froze, eyes widening slightly. The same sharp, careful movements, the same expression Yui remembered—but a little older, a little hardened.“Yui,” her sister said quietly.

Yui showed them her car in the parking lot of the small company.

“I… I heard about the car, so I came.”

Yui’s throat tightened. Memories rushed back—the shouting, the arguments, the family pressure that had driven Emiko to leave home. Years of silence, broken only by distance and unspoken words.“I didn’t expect…” Yui’s voice trailed off.Emiko shrugged slightly, kneeling to check the car engine. “Neither did I. Life has a funny way of… arranging things.”Yui watched her work—confident, precise, calm. She hadn’t changed much. A part of her had feared this moment, feared resentment or blame, but all she saw now was… skill, focus, and the sister she had missed.“Do you… want some juice while you work?” Yui asked after a moment, her voice softer than she intended.Emiko glanced up briefly then at her boss who nodded softly. “Sure. That would be nice.”As Yui call her assistant for fresh bottle of natural juice, her mind wandered. The perfume launch, the meetings, the planning—all of it seemed distant compared to this small, unexpected reunion.

End of chapter 22