Bab 14: Mr. Akira went missing.
"I didn't want to tell you this but," Akira sighed as he lowered his voice and spoke, "I was invited here by Mr. Akira Kanbe. He wanted me to become the new brand ambassador. He said he was trying to steal the rival's face or something. I don't understand it that well but it seemed like a good deal so I wanted to discuss it further with him."
One of the guards looked to be shocked as he heard this and nervously looked around at the other guards.
This time, although they were still communicating with just their eyes, Akira could understand what was going on in their minds.
They were getting uneasy. They simply did not know what to do next. On one hand, they didn't want to get in trouble by letting this person go in, while on the other hand, they were worried that they would get in trouble for not letting him enter.
If they could just contact Mr. Akira, perhaps everything would be easily solved, however, since news about Akira's retirement had been headlining all the news channels, they already knew that they couldn't contact the man for such a thing.
Akira smirked as he looked at their worried expressions and spoke, "Just let me enter. It's not like I'm a spy or something. The repercussions of turning away a golden thigh are probably bigger than letting me go in."
The subtle threat had worked and the guards unwillingly allowed him to enter.
Once he had disappeared from their sight, one of the guards couldn't help but gossip, "Mr. Akira is living with him now...?! How can that be?"
"I wouldn't have normally believed it, but..."
"But?"
"But after he suddenly called off his engagement and quit his job, everything seems possible."
The guard gasped as he heard this and dramatically spoke, "Could it be...?!"
The other guard raised an eyebrow as if questioning what the other was thinking.
"Could it be that Mr. Akira suddenly realized his feelings for Yuzu? Perhaps he wasn't annoyed at the man because he was the rival company's face but because he was jealous of Mr. Kaito for having Yuzu by his side. He might have suddenly realized his feelings and decided to act upon them. He wanted to pursue his relationship with the man so he broke off his engagement and since he was embarrassed to have done so, he decided to make up for it by quitting his job and cutting all ties with KS. Maybe Miss Ayami also wanted revenge and so, she immediately got married to Mr. Akira's best friend. It all makes sense now!"
The other guard looked as if he was questioning his colleague's mental health, "You should become a fictional writer... You have quite the talent for it."
The guard innocently nodded his head, proud of the delusional theory that he had come up with.
As luck would have it, once Akira entered the building, he coincidentally bumped into Ayami Watanabe.
"Ayami-san? Good morning," Akira smiled warmly as he greeted the woman, trying his best not to seem suspicious.
Ayami turned to look at the man and looked to be a bit stunned. The dark circles under her eyes and the pale complexion on her face were proof that she hadn't managed to get any sleep. Her tired face almost made it seem as if she were not just shocked, but utterly horrified to see Akira.
"Yuzu? What are you doing here?" Ayami gave a polite smile as she asked.
"I was here to meet Mr. Akira."
As soon as Ayami heard the name of her ex-fiance, her eyes widened in horror and the smile on her face immediately disappeared.
It was as if she had seen a ghost.
"Is there something wrong?" Akira innocently tilted his head as he asked.
"N-no," Ayami immediately shook her head and responded as she snapped out of her thoughts, "Nothing's wrong. Why would you even say that?"
"So would it be possible for me to meet him?"
Ayami gulped as she heard this question and took a minute to respond, "Unfortunately, not. Akira has already quit the company and is currently out of reach. Perhaps you can come back another time."
Akira couldn't help but feel a little impressed by Ayami's acting. The woman could smoothly lie without even blinking an eye.
"It's no problem. I'll just talk to your father," Akira smiled as he replied.
"My father? Why would you do that? Is there something important?"
Akira nodded his head, "I wanted to sign with KS."
Ayami's eyes brightened up for a second. She knew how badly her father and Akira had tried to sign Yuzu, however, at the same time, such an opportunity coming to them at such bad timing was not something that she could celebrate, and hence, her excitement was rather short-lived.
"I don't think it would be possible for you to talk to him today. How about you come back another day?"
Akira frowned as he heard this and spoke, "But I had already made an appointment with Mr. Akira. I emptied my schedule just for this. To turn me away now would be disrespectful to me. I don't know if I want to come work with a company that does not respect me."
Ayami panicked a little as she heard this and immediately spoke, "I didn't mean to disrespect you in any way. I'm sure you have also read the news. Due to Akira's sudden retirement, everybody has been pretty busy. We would love to have you at our company and I'm sure you will love it here as well. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you can be a little more understanding. Do you think we can arrange a meeting on another day?"
Akira felt a little pity for the woman who was trying her best, however, at the same time, he was here on a mission and there was no way he was going to just listen to her and call it a day.
"I'll make it simple for you," Akira firmly spoke as he looked at the woman, "If I don't get to meet your father today, let's just forget this deal."
Ayami looked as if she could almost cry as she heard this.
"C-could you give me a minute?" Ayami stuttered a little as she worriedly asked.
Akira looked down at the watch that was wrapped around his wrist and spoke, "I'll give you half an hour."
Ayami immediately nodded her head and hurriedly thanked him before telling him to wait in the lobby.
After about twenty minutes, Ayami's secretary came to call Yuzu.
Ayami's father did not look to be pleased when he saw Yuzu. In fact, he didn't even bother greeting the man as he rudely asked, "What could be so important that you needed to meet me immediately?"
"I only insisted because it was important," Akira unhesitantly spoke as he confidently held his head up high and looked back at the man, "It's regarding Mr. Akira."
"I've heard," Ayami's father nodded his head with a sigh as he spoke, "You say that you were supposed to sign a contract with him today. However, I was not made aware of this."
Akira dryly chuckled as he looked down at all the magazines and newspapers lying on the man's desk.
The name 'Akira Kanbe' was printed on every single headline and Akira couldn't help but feel a little complicated as he immediately put the pieces together and guessed who was the mastermind behind these news articles.
"Mr. Watanabe, I am not here to sign a contract."
"Huh?" Mr. Watanabe frowned as he heard this and looked to be a little confused.
"I came here because of that," Akira spoke as he pointed at the magazines and newspapers, "There is no way Mr. Akira would suddenly retire like this."
"I also didn't know he could do such a thing," Mr. Watanabe spoke with a sigh, pretending to be innocent, "But humans are quite unpredictive. We can never fully judge a person's character."
"Mr. Akira went missing, didn't he?" Akira straightforwardly asked without beating around the bush.
Mr. Watanabe flinched as he heard this question but was quick to collect his composure.
"Well, he's not picking up any calls so you can say that, but I'm sure-"
"No," Akira interjected, not even letting the man finish, "That's not what I meant."
Mr. Watanabe clenched his fist as he heard this but didn't say anything.
"Something happened to Mr. Akira and now, everybody is trying to cover it up, isn't that right?" Akira tilted his head and asked with a small smirk.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say," Mr. Watanabe feigned ignorance and spoke.
Akira suddenly chuckled dryly, "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do if you say that."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
cherlyswan
cherlyswan What do you think Akira is trying to do?
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