Second to None

40. valentine

With the end of the year arrived a flurry of festivities—Christmas, New Year and the Australian Open, the first game of the World Series. Both Ryoma and Tezuka were invited to compete, yet having been caught up with business at the association, neither came out as the top contender. As much as they hated to admit, tennis had fallen second place to their executive duties.

In February, a sea of heart swallowed Tokyo. Everywhere Mayu went, there were advertisements for Valentine's Day outfits, meal deals, theme nights and assorted chocolates. Mayu and Tezuka booked a two-night stay in a traditional inn in Hokkaido as their mutual gift for each other. For Ryoma, she secretly bought an expensive tie from Hermès and had it shipped to his home address. That done, she wondered what she would discover in her mailbox within the week.

That week, she got a knock on the door and found Sakuno at her office door.

"Ohara-san, do you have a minute?"

Mayu motioned for her to come in. On this wintry afternoon, Sakuno was wearing a single braid, a loose turtleneck and formless trousers that made her look more frumpy than usual. Thankfully, she didn't wear glasses that would've made her look middle-aged.

Redirecting her attention to the file at hand, Mayu stopped her judgments and asked, "What can I do for you?"

"Could you please review and approve the draft plan for the All Japan Junior Tennis Tournament by tomorrow? It's set to take place next month and the team needs your approval to start contacting the stakeholders."

"Why am I only hearing about it now if the timeline is so compressed?"

"The team didn't finalize the participant list until yesterday."

"Did they not plan in wiggle room for the sign-up period?"

"I believe they tried, but there has been a number of delays. I'm not too clear on the details..."

Mayu picked up the file and scanned the pages. "What about the venue? Has that been decided and estimated funding been approved?"

"They were done last week."

Looking up at the younger girl, she said, "Let me guess, you made those arrangements."

Sakuno reddened then nodded.

"And this team sent you to take the bullet on their behalf."

When she noticed Sakuno was about to speak, Mayu shook her head, "That wasn't a question."

She read through the plan while Sakuno waited with visible anxiety. Within a matter of minutes, Mayu highlighted problem areas and made two comments in the margins. "Don't let them take advantage of you, Ryuzaki-san. Other people are trying to slack off while tossing the blame to you. You really ought to pay attention rather than mindlessly working hard and having others steal your credit."

Sakuno listened with several nods and thanked Mayu for her advice.

Closing the folder, she passed it to Sakuno. "Tell them to address these comments. You can bring it back to me tomorrow for approval."

Sakuno accepted the folder with both hands. "Would it be okay if someone else returned with the updated file? I'll be off from tomorrow until the 16th."

This caught Mayu's attention. "Oh? You're going on vacation?"

Sakuno nodded.

"With your boyfriend?"

"We're going to Thailand for a few days. Ryoma-kun mentioned the weather is especially pleasant there at this time of the year and said we could use the time away from the cold. We'll be staying in a bungalow on one of the islands."

Mayu pretended to open another file in order to keep her expressions neutral and the wild pace of her heart under control. Even without making eye contact, she could imagine the younger girl's starry eyes and sense her excitement emanating outwards, filling up Mayu's office until the air smelled like the love that didn't belong to her.

"Are you going anywhere with Tezuka-senpai?" asked Sakuno at the end.

"I'd rather not talk about my romantic life when I'm at work," replied Mayu. Noticing the harshness in her voice made the younger girl flinch, she softened her tone and said, "Have fun on your trip. It's fine if someone else brings the file tomorrow."

As soon as Sakuno was out of the office, Mayu closed the door and breathed deeply until the burn in her chest disappeared. When she opened her eyes, they landed on today's date showing February 12.

It was two days before Valentine's Day and there was neither a gift nor a message from Ryoma. She knew they wouldn't be coming at all because he was leaving tomorrow.

***

It snowed heavily on Valentine's day. In Hokkaido, Tezuka and Mayu couldn't do much except for snowshoeing through the nearby forest, reading in their suite and soaking in the outdoor bath. Yet what should've been a peaceful time was interrupted by several of Tezuka's work calls. During this time, no message came from Ryoma. Met with a blank screen each time she checked, Mayu felt like chucking her cellphone into the snow. 

Enraged with nearly a month of silence, she ignored all of Ryoma's messages when they were back in Tokyo and cut up hotel keys he sent her way.

Having been stood up twice and without a word from her, Ryoma intercepted Mayu after their monthly department meeting. "Can I talk to you?"

"As I mentioned during the meeting, I have nothing to report this month," she said stiffly.

"I don't mean work."

"Then no. Because we're at work."

He seized her wrist. "You left me waiting in a hotel without warning or explanation. What's gotten into you? Why don't you respond?"

She shook him off. "You shouldn't be asking me that here."

"You know that and you leave me with no other choice anyway," he said. "You're trying to torture me."

"Because you deserve it," she didn't hesitate to say. "Don't expect to have fun with another woman in Thailand, forget about me and not even so much say thank you for a gift you receive and expect everything to be fine."

"I see." He looked at her long and hard. "You're mad about Valentine's Day. But what could I do? I couldn't exactly do nothing with Sakuno—"

"Right. You couldn't do nothing with her, but you could with me because I'm nobody. Thanks for making that distinction." That said, she brushed past him and stomped down the hall.

***

Silence ensued for the next week. With no words from Ryoma, Mayu thought it was over and laughable that the "second love" she supposedly found was this fragile. 

On Friday afternoon, she routinely received files approved by Ryoma and opened up the top one to find a ticket to Hakone. She picked it up and immediately closed her office door. Back at the desk, she studied the ticket and noticed his booking precisely coincided with Tezuka's upcoming business trip and Sakuno's day off to throw a birthday celebration for her grandmother.

A note in Ryoma's writing accompanied the ticket: I'm sorry this came late. You are important to me. Believe me, I mean it.

Mayu read his note twice, wanting to forgive him yet couldn't help but wonder how many more of these hells she had to endure, all because she was the other woman.