Is loyalty impossible without a formal commitment?

The next day, the sky was a clear, vivid blue, as pristine as if it had been wiped clean. A long, straight contrail caught the eye, though the plane itself was nowhere to be seen; it had likely passed by only moments before.

Harano Tsukasa woke up naturally.

The biological clock is a mysterious thing. Unless one is in a state of extreme exhaustion, a few days of physiological adjustment or constant psychological self-suggestion can have an effect. At the very least, over the past two days, without setting any alarms and free from any pressure, Harano had been waking up much later than usual.

It was only when he leaned against the headboard to shake off the lingering haze of sleep and reached for his phone on the nightstand to check the time that a multitude of notification banners greeted his eyes.

Over twenty missed calls.
More than thirty unread LINE messages.

He hadn't heard a thing because he had set his phone to silent.

Harano raised an eyebrow, unlocked the screen, and began to scroll through them carefully. He realized that the messages were all from colleagues, mostly asking why he hadn't shown up for work today. Takizawa Ryota and Hiraga Genji had sent the bulk of them.

"Harano, are you really not coming in? The section chief came by personally to ask earlier, I nearly had a heart attack!"
"Senior, please reply when you see this."
"You're not actually spending your time drawing doujinshi, are you?"
"Harano-san, why weren't you here today?"
"What’s going on, Harano? Don't let things with Hoshino-san get to you. Come to work, and I can help you explain the situation to the section chief later."

Aside from Takizawa and Hiraga, there were a few messages from other colleagues as well.

He threw off the covers, got up, put on his shirt and trousers, and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. While brushing, he replied with one hand. It was then that he noticed the vast majority of the missed calls were from Sayaka Suzumiya herself.

The ward office, naturally, had a directory. Even though they hadn't exchanged contact information or spoken over the phone, it was effortless for a superior like Suzumiya to find his number.

Turning off the silent mode, Harano rinsed his mouth, put the toothbrush back, and let the faucet run.

*Ring, ring, ring—*

The screen instantly shifted to the call interface. It was Suzumiya.

It seemed this "ice queen" truly had a personality that was cold on the outside but hot on the inside—and unexpectedly impatient. Otherwise, she wouldn't have called over a dozen times.

Harano pondered for a moment before pressing the answer and speakerphone buttons. He placed the phone on the shelf next to the vanity, cupped some water to wash his face, and said, "Good morning."

"So you finally decided to answer?"

Even without seeing her face, the icy tone coming through the speaker revealed her suppressed anger.

"What's wrong?" Harano asked, lifting his head to wipe his face with a towel.

Listening to his indifferent tone, Suzumiya on the other end fell silent for two seconds before asking through gritted teeth, "Why aren't you at work?"

"Didn't I submit my resignation letter in person at the office last week?" Harano countered.

"I didn't approve it."

"Then I'm resigning effectively immediately. I don't need any severance pay or compensation, and you can freeze my social insurance." Harano shut off the faucet and spoke decisively.

Suzumiya’s breath hitched at his words, and she exploded like a powder keg, her voice rising several octaves. "Is it just because I didn't agree to date you!?"

"No," Harano said, wiping his face.

"Then what is it!?" Suzumiya’s voice sounded like molten lava erupting, her rage surging.

Given her volume, he no longer needed the speakerphone. After drying his hands, Harano picked up his phone and began to walk as he spoke. "I’ve thought it over carefully these past few days. My actions before were indeed impulsive."

"And?"

"We really aren't a good match."

Returning to the bedroom, he tossed his phone onto the bed and began to put on his shirt. As he tied his tie, he explained, "In terms of reality, even if I’m not entirely clear on the section chief’s family background, colleagues always gossip, and I know you come from a good family. In terms of status, I really don't measure up. Blindly pursuing you will only cause you trouble and waste my own time. I’m an adult; I shouldn't waste both of our lives this way."

In all honesty, if he didn't have the "Malice List" to discern Suzumiya's weaknesses, Harano wouldn't have been worth a second glance by her standards. But now, it felt more like he was being pursued. And it wasn't just a feeling; it was essentially the truth.

However, Harano didn't feel smug or carried away by the fact that this ice-queen boss was chasing him. He knew that for someone like Suzumiya, who harbored specific inner desires, satisfying them was one thing, but failing to do so could lead to a downfall—the losses might outweigh the gains.

Moreover, after their brief time together, he realized that Suzumiya, despite appearing worldly, didn't seem as complex as he had originally thought—though he still held some reservations about that.

Regardless, Harano had indeed taken plenty of advantage of her. Saying this now made him seem like a scumbag, but he was already standing in ruins; he didn't fear the house collapsing further, and he refused to be swayed by emotion.

Dozens of seconds later, Suzumiya finally digested what he had said. "So, you mean... you intend to give up on pursuing me?"

"That’s a fair way to put it." Harano gave a definitive answer.

"Scum... bastard..." Suzumiya cursed him in a fit of rage, gritting her teeth. "Don't give me those high-minded excuses. To put it plainly, you just moved on too quickly and want to run away now that you’ve gotten what you wanted, right?"

"I just don't want to hold anyone back."

"Can't you be loyal without dating?"

"Does the section chief want me to be a spare tire?"

"Which spare tire could touch..."

The words died on her lips. She seemed to have touched on a sensitive subject.

After a two-second silence, she asked, "I’ll ask you one thing: are you really not coming back to work?"

"Yes."

"Just you wait!"

"Wait."

"What? Scared?"

"No, there’s something I want to tell you."

"Speak!"

Harano organized his thoughts and said slowly, "Yesterday, after I returned from Takashimaya, your friend, Ms. Kurosaki, followed me all the way home. We were alone together for about half an hour."

Silence fell. If he hadn't been able to faintly hear Suzumiya’s breathing, he would have thought she had hung up.

Unexpectedly, Suzumiya was not angry. On the contrary, the topic Harano suddenly introduced seemed to soothe her agitated, angry state, and her voice became much calmer.

"What... did you two do?"

"Nothing much. Ms. Kurosaki said she wanted to test me on your behalf, so she intentionally created some rather intimate scenarios, seemingly to check if I was loyal to you. Once the test was over, she left."

"How... ho-how intimate?"

"We were sitting quite close. Well, I could see things that a normal man would want to see. That’s about it."

"And... what was the result of the test?"

"I failed."

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

Upon hearing Harano’s blunt admission, Suzumiya’s rage flared up instantly. She let out a fierce curse and slammed the phone down.

Clearly, she hadn't gotten the answer she wanted.

Looking at his phone as it automatically returned to the home screen, Harano thought for a moment before adding Suzumiya’s number to his blacklist. He had no intention of touching this explosive tree again for the time being.

The priority now was the "Gold-Digger Plan." Harano’s thoughts began to drift in that direction.