Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 67 Director Kiryu, Someone Wants to See You

Kouyu Tianyan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, having finished assigning tasks.

He was then escorted by his secretary and general affairs staff to a small conference room that was originally intended for VIPs of the head office to rest temporarily.

The space was quickly emptied and replaced with a fax machine, an outside telephone, a secure document box, and a temporary filing cabinet.

The staff in the general affairs department moved quickly, moving tables and chairs back and forth, replacing ink cartridges, and replenishing paper.

The secretariat numbered all documents related to the "Miyazawa Group case," labeled them with red tags, and categorized them into three types: "for branch manager's direct review," "for feedback from the main store," and "currently frozen."

Clearly, since Kouudahiko's arrival, the Osaka branch has entered a state of war.

"All staff in the financing department are not allowed to leave work on time tonight."

This was the first sentence spoken by Kiyoshi Ogaki, the head of the financing department, in the temporary meeting area on the fifth floor.

He spoke slowly, but everyone could tell that this was not a discussion.

"All matters related to the Miyazawa Group's credit lines, Rokko Golf Course development, Miyazawa tourism development, cross-guarantees, seal authority, and all historical complaints will be re-submitted."

"The General Affairs Department will cooperate."

"Someone from the debt management, review, and planning departments all need to stay tonight."

"If our store needs information, we have to deliver it to them faster than they can."

The section chiefs all bowed their heads in response.

"Yes."

……

Third floor, financing review class.

It was close to the end of the morning workday.

The drowsiness and laziness that usually occur in the afternoon were swept away today.

Next to the water dispenser were piles of old file boxes that had just been moved in.

The photocopier never stopped.

The fax machine also frequently sends out requests for replacement parts from the Tokyo headquarters.

The clock on the wall moved forward one notch at a time.

However, there was even less talking during the financing review session than usual.

Everyone is doing their own thing.

But Kiryu Yaya found himself with nothing to do.

There's nothing we can do about it.

Once the head office takes over the Miyazawa Group's case, the departments that get busy are general affairs, debt management, planning, and legal liaison.

On the contrary, he, who was in charge of acting as the director of the "Miyazawa Group Risk Review", had no specific work to do in the short term because he had already drawn up the required files and completed the first version of the risk assessment.

to be honest--

He's very famous now, but he does very little.

Kiryu Yaya sat at his workstation, flipped through two pages of internal documents he had already read, and glanced at his busy colleagues around him, feeling somewhat out of place.

……

Time quickly came to noon.

After making the necessary explanations in the morning, Keiko Miyazawa went home first.

Kiryu Yaya went downstairs as usual and went to the cafeteria.

Perhaps because of the rush to finish the work, there were an unusually large number of people in the bank's cafeteria today.

Many mid-level employees who wouldn't normally be in the cafeteria were also seen hurriedly eating lunch with their trays, clearly not wanting to waste any time even eating out.

As soon as Kiryu Yaya entered the cafeteria, he saw his usual spot near the beverage counter.

Mizuna Yayoi was already sitting there.

The familiar smile, the familiar dark blue cloth bag.

"Kiryu-kun, over here."

Mizuna Yayoi looked up and waved gently at him.

Her eyes lit up noticeably when she saw him approaching.

Kiryu Yaya sat down opposite her and glanced at the table.

"Are you ready today too?"

Mizuna Yayoi blushed slightly and nodded gently.

"Well... since you've been so busy these past few days, I thought I should at least have a decent lunch."

As she spoke, she untied the cloth bag and gently pushed one of the bento boxes in front of Kiryu Yaya.

Kiryu Yaya opened the lid and took a look.

The rice was a tricolor rice with chopped plum and shiso, and next to it were neatly arranged teriyaki chicken, thick omelet, boiled pumpkin, sesame spinach, and a few chopped cherry tomatoes.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Won't."

Yayoi Mizuna lowered her head and whispered:

"I'm glad you like it, senior."

After saying that, Yayoi Mizuna seemed to realize that her tone was a bit too intimate, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.

Kiryu Yaya smiled and stopped teasing her. He simply picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of teriyaki chicken, and put it in his mouth.

The taste remains consistently good.

The sweet and salty flavors were cooked to perfection, and the chicken was also very tender.

He nodded.

"It's delicious."

Upon hearing this, Mizuna Yayoi's tense expression visibly eased, and the corners of her lips curved into a smile.

The cafeteria was still noisy.

Just then, a familiar figure walked over carrying a tray:

Is anyone here?

Kiryu Yaya raised his head.

Arima Kishou stood there holding a tray, his face still expressionless.

His lunch, like himself, was simple to the point of being uninteresting.

White rice, miso soup, a plate of grilled fish, and a small dish of pickles—it's so standard it looks like a sample set for a cafeteria.

Kiryu Yaya stepped aside and asked:

"Where's Sasaki-kun? Why isn't he with you?"

Arima Kishou put down his plate, adjusted his glasses, sat down calmly, and looked at the table by the window not far away:

"There."

Kiryu Yaya followed his gaze and soon saw Sasaki Kenta.

Then, his expression suddenly became somewhat subtle.

At the table, Kenta Sasaki was sitting upright.

The posture was more like that of someone preparing for an extremely important job interview, with hands neatly placed on the edge of the table and a subtle smile on their face that was somewhere between solemn and nervous.

Sitting opposite him was a girl.

She was wearing the standard vest from the logistics department, with a light gray cardigan over it. Her hair was just shoulder-length, with the ends naturally curled inwards.

She wasn't particularly stunning in appearance, but she had delicate features, clean-cut eyes and eyebrows, a refined nose, and soft lips.

"Who is that?"

Kiryu Yaya withdrew his gaze and asked a question.

Arima Kishou glanced at it and said calmly:

"Shimazaki Miyuki from the Logistics Department, Sasaki-kun's new crush."

"Shimazaki-san?"

Mizuna Yayoi also glanced at it and whispered:

"Ah... I know her. I saw her once yesterday when I went to the general affairs department to deliver the documents. She seemed very gentle."

Seeing the two chatting and laughing, Kiryu Yaya raised an eyebrow:

"I think Sasaki-kun has a great chance this time."

……

After lunch break, Kiryu Yaya returned to the third floor and continued to slack off.

It's called "slacking off," but it doesn't mean doing absolutely nothing.

However, he didn't have any core tasks he could directly handle, so he went through the recent credit information for several small and medium-sized enterprises again and made a few marks.

Just after 2 p.m., the assistant from the financing review department quickly walked over.

"Director Kiryu will act as acting director."

"Um?"

"There's a guest in the reception area who specifically requests to see you."

Kiryu Yaya raised his head and was slightly taken aback.

"See me?"

"Yes, they are already waiting in the third reception room."

Kiryu Yaya put down the documents in his hand and mentally reviewed the possible candidates.

The Miyazawa family?

People from head office?

Or is it some customer who heard the rumors and wanted to sound them out?

He stood up, straightened his tie, and walked towards the reception room.