Chapter 2: Ayami Watanabe

"Akira-san!~" The young man who was probably a year younger than Akira smiled as he greeted Akira.

"Ah! Yuzu?" Akira blinked with a bit of surprise as he immediately recognized the young man.

The young man called Yuzu smiled brightly and nodded his head. His right hand hooked around Kaito's arm affectionately as he looked at the man and whispered a question in his ear that Akira couldn't hear.

Kaito chuckled softly and nodded his head which made Yuzu smile even more brightly, however, Akira had no idea what the two were talking about.

Yuzu was actually a model who was well-known in the industry. He had worked with Akira's company a lot and as a result, they knew each other well enough to respectfully greet each other if they randomly came across one another.

Akira would say that his relationship with Yuzu was quite good.

Yuzu had a stunning face that looked as if the gods of beauty had carefully carved it. His height as a model was perfect and his body was also perfectly sculpted from vigorous diets and hours of training. He looked so perfect that he was often nicknamed "aphrodite's great-grandson", but his looks were not what impressed Akira.

Yuzu certainly had a perfect appearance but his personality was even more perfect. He was well-spoken, kind, and hard-working. Akira had worked with the young man so he would naturally know how refreshing Yuzu's personality was.

However, there was still one thing about Yuzu that Akira disliked.

This young man would often turn down invitations and job offers from KS because of the man who was standing beside him at this moment.

Yuzu seemed to be a big fan of Kaito and he would often only take jobs from the man's company. If he had a bit of free time to kill, he would go over to KS but if he didn't then he would ruthlessly turn Akira's company down just so that he could go over to Kaito's company.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Yuzu asked politely as he looked at Akira and Akira smiled as he nodded his head.

"It's great," Akira lied with an honest face.

"Really?" Yuzu chuckled as he responded, "But I swear I saw you getting ready to leave earlier."

Akira didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry as he heard the man calling out his lie so ruthlessly.

There was certainly one more thing that Akira didn't like about Yuzu and it was the fact that the man was a bit too honest. He didn't care who was standing in front of him, he would say whatever came to his mind.

"It's not because of the party," Akira chuckled dryly as he tried to save himself, "I'm just feeling a bit tired today and my fiance keeps calling me."

"Is that so?" Yuzu tilted his head as he responded, "Then I guess it can't be helped. Tell Ayami-san that I said hi."

Akira nodded his head as he heard this, "I'll make sure to relay it to her."

Akira got ready to use this opportunity to sneak away but was stopped by Kaito who suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Wait," Kaito spoke and it surprised Akira who looked up at the man who stood taller than him.

"Eh?"

What the hell does he want now...?

Kaito looked to be a bit surprised by his own actions and immediately let go of Akira's hand as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"It has been so long since we've seen each other. Would it be okay if we were to have lunch sometime this week when you are free?" Kaito asked politely.

Akira gulped as he thought about it and although he did indeed have some free time to spare, he shook his head as he responded, "I'm afraid I won't be able to make it this week. My schedule is fully packed."

Akira didn't want to waste any more time conversing with this man so he pursed his lips into a thin smile and bowed his head as he apologized before taking his leave.

Having lunch with your rival... Of course, it was going to be awkward!

Kaito sighed as he looked at Akira's moving back which soon disappeared from his sight.

"Why are you even bothering yourself with this?" Yuzu also sighed as he questioned, pointing out, "It's something that doesn't concern you. Whether Akira-san is betrayed or not, you shouldn't be the one to worry about it."

"Still..." Kaito mumbled and it looked as if the man had a lot to say but he refused to voice it all out.

Yuzu, "Seriously, you should stop looking out for him. Are you just pretending not to notice it? He hates you."

Kaito sighed as he heard this but said nothing more.

It was because he pitied Akira... But Kaito would naturally not say this out loud. Especially not to Yuzu.

"Let's just go," Yuzu clicked his tongue as he spoke, "Even if you tell him, he would probably not believe you. Some people are just bad judges of character. They can't see what's good for them and what's not."

Kaito nodded his head as he heard this and although he still wanted to help Akira, he didn't bother arguing about it with Yuzu.

A few days passed after the party and the days went by pretty normally. Akira and Kaito didn't meet each other again and since Yuzu was currently not working on any project with KS fashion group, Akira and Yuzu also didn't cross paths.

Since they didn't cross paths with each other again, Kaito never got to warn Akira of the betrayal that he would soon get to face...

Today was a normal day as well, however, Akira was soon forced to think otherwise when he suddenly got a text from his fiance.

"Ah..." The man muttered in disbelief as he saw the text informing him of the party that had been organized for him later in the evening today.

Akira sighed as he didn't bother texting a response and instead, decided to call Ayami.

"Did you get my text?~" She picked up the phone after a single ring and asked enthusiastically.

"About that," Akira cleared his throat as he questioned, "Would it be okay if we postponed it?"

"..." The woman suddenly went silent as she heard this question.

Akira could hear her breath which became the only way for him to know that his call hadn't been cut off.

Akira sighed as he informed, "I'm a bit busy today."

"Akira... It's your birthday..."

Akira didn't dare say anything as he heard the woman's calm and serious voice which was always a bit scary to hear.

"What now? Do you want me to shove you back into your mother's womb and postpone your birthday?!"

There was no doubt about it... Ayami-san was mad at him.

Akira gulped as he heard the woman scolding him.

"You better be here! I don't want to hear your excuses!" Ayami didn't even bother waiting for a response as she said what she wanted to say and hung up the phone.

Akira sighed as he rubbed his head and looked at all the paperwork that was piled up on his table.

He could understand Ayami's frustration, but at the same time, no matter how many times he was scolded by the woman for doing something like this, he was still unable to get used to it.

Ayami Watanabe was Akira's fiance and also the beloved daughter of KS fashion group's chairman.

Their relationship was not formed because of their mutual love for each other, it was formed because the chairman liked and trusted Akira.

The chairman was old and obviously a man, so it was not proper for him to divorce his wife and go after Akira, who was the same age as his daughter, so, he decided to marry off his daughter to Akira instead.

He wanted Akira to enter the family and this seemed like the only method through which he could secure a hard-working and passionate man like Akira.

After all, Akira was the one who helped make the KS fashion group into what it was today. He was considered to be the backbone of the company and if it weren't for him, KS fashion group would not have been able to stand at the top of the fashion industry.

The chairman needed Akira and so he got ready to marry his daughter off to the man.

Akira was also not innocent since he had agreed to marry the woman not because he was in love with her but because he knew that he would finally be able to have a strong backing in this industry.

Just like how he won't betray KS, by marrying the chairman's daughter, he could rest assured that the company would also not betray him.

More than the start of a relationship, it was like the start of a contract, however, luckily enough, it seemed that Ayami Watanabe was quite fond of Akira and Akira also felt that Ayami was a good person who would make an excellent wife.