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uknowyato · 1 year

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Hatori Yoshiyuki no baai volume 1: chapter 4

This is a repost from my old blog. Old chapters will be coming every Thursday until I catch up. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer:‌‌ ‌‌I‌ ‌do‌ ‌not‌ ‌own‌ ‌Sekaiichi‌ ‌Hatsukoi,‌ Hatori Yoshiyuki no baai ‌and the characters within the stories. Please support Shungiku Nakamura by purchasing the official emerald releases. Thank you!

Raw cre‌dits go to the lovely Vera and Froggy!

Masterlist: {01 | 02 | 03 | 04}

Looking down at his watch, Hatori confirmed that he still had plenty of time to spare.

He was going to meet Nakahara at a café near a large terminal station. Instead of arriving in time, he was a little early.

They were not going to have such a detailed meeting today.

Hatori’s goal was to ease her nervousness with a face-to-face discussion. When it came to the issues of the mind, there was only so much one could say.

He was hoping that today’s discussion would make her feel more confident.

He hadn’t been able to contact Yoshino, who had run out yesterday. Hatori had tried to call him several times since this morning, but it took him all afternoon to get through to him.

Should I go to Yoshino’s house after this?

After all, if they were going to discuss such important matters it would be better to be face-to-face with him. Yoshino, who wasn’t good at keeping secrets, could convey how he felt over the phone, but Hatori wasn’t confident Yoshino would be able to fully express his feelings.

Hatori began to realize Nakahara might be feeling the exact same way. Perhaps she felt the need to raise attention to her concerns that could not be conveyed through email or over the phone.

He wanted his writers to feel comfortable with their works. Psychological factors played a large role, especially when it came to creative works. It was better to have as few negative factors as possible.

"Well, I’m looking forward to the rest of the story, so please do your best.”

“Yes, I will do my best!”

The discussion with Nakahara went smoother than he had expected, and Hatori was relieved to see that things weren’t at a standstill.

Once he got used to the situation, Hatori wouldn’t be as confused as he had been.

They talked about the specific plot revisions, but he thought there was more small talk. They talked about what kind of works she wanted to draw and what kind of manga artist she wanted to be, and so on.

Yoshino used to talk a lot about this, too.

Back then, Hatori would listen to Yoshino talk passionately about manga and his favorite works through the night. Hatori himself wasn’t the type to actively pick up manga, so he only read whatever Yoshino would recommend to him.

Perhaps because of that, Hatori theorized, his creativity became heavily influenced by Yoshino.

“It was a pleasure talking with you, Hatori-san.”

“It was a pleasure talking with you too.”

"Oh, um, can I email you during your day off?”

Nakahara’s timid question reminded him of Takano and Kisa’s concerns.

He was honored to be in charge of the project, but it would be troublesome if he were to start feeling the way they had mentioned.

She was a college student, just shy of 20 years old, just like when Yoshino made his debut. Hatori had wanted to be treated as someone who could be trusted with authority, but not viewed as an object of romantic interest.*

“I’m sorry, but I will be going back to my parent’s house for the New Year, so even if you send me your storyboard, I won’t be able to see it until after the New Year.”

Hatori decided it would be more understanding for her if he told her that his parents lived in Tokyo and that he wouldn’t be spending all of his time there.

“I understand…”

When Hatori told Nakahara he was going on vacation, she looked slightly disappointed. While he understood she wanted to finish her work as soon as possible, Hatori would have liked to forget about work during the New Year.

I’m sure Yoshino’s schedule will never be as flexible as it is now.

He wanted to spend as much time alone with Yoshino as possible during his vacation. Even though they would spend a day cleaning, they would still be spending time together.

“Um, I probably forced you out at such an unreasonable time. I’m sorry, I know it’s your day off and I’m being selfish…”

“I hope you don’t mind. After all, today is special.”

If one wanted to, there was plenty of work to be done. Hatori led a life that would have him labeled as a workaholic. He didn’t want to take his holidays for granted, since it was normal for him to work on his off days.

“Special-”

Hatori tried to tell her that this kind of response was unusual, but he regretted his choice of words when he saw the look on Nakahara's face.

“Ah, I’ll get the storyboard done before the company opens!”

“I’m looking forward to it. Well, shall we go?”

“What? Ah, yes.”

Drinking his cool coffee, Hatori picked up the check. Since the meeting was over, there was no point in taking it easy now.

Hatori felt sorry for Nakahara, but he was distracted. All Hatori could think about was Yoshino. If he were to go to his home, they could be having dinner together.

“Thank you for the meal.”

After paying the bill at the cash register, Nakahara politely bowed at him.

“It’s getting late, so I’ll walk you to the ticket gate…Nakahara-san?”

As Hatori tried to walk away, there was no sign of Nakahara following him. Turning around, he found her standing in the same spot, head hung low.

“What’s wrong?”

There were many people in the café, and the air was stuffy from the heating. Perhaps she had gotten sick.

He wished he had noticed it earlier. When he walked up to her in concern, Nakahara looked up vigorously.

“Um, Hatori-san!”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know if these sorts of things bother you, but if you like these, then please eat them…!”

Hatori took it instinctively, but an alarm went off inside him.

Oh shoot! Was the one word that instantly popped into his head.

Nakahara presented Hatori with an adorable paper bag. Peeking inside, he found cookies wrapped in festive red and green Christmas colors.

“I enjoy baking. It’s a little past Christmas, but I baked some gingerbread cookies for you. Do you not like sweets?”

Hatori's eyebrows slightly furrowed at her words, which made Nakahara tremble with nervousness.

Nakahara's cheeks were slightly tinted pink as he gazed upward into her moist eyes. The sight made Kisa's advice come back to Hatori’s mind. The bad premonition had already turned into conviction.

I guess Takano-san and the others' concerns were right on target…

Hatori sighed inwardly. He had hoped that his fears would end up being groundless, but it seemed that Nakahara was aware of Hatori as a prospective love interest.

At this rate, if Hatori were to continue to speak clearly, he wouldn’t be able to continue to be in charge of her. It would be fine if she was the type of person who could separate work even if they were romantically involved, but it must be difficult for the young Nakahara.

"No, I don't mind sweets.”

“Great! I’m so grateful for all of your help, Hatori-san, and I worked very hard on these! I hope it suits your taste…”

“Does this mean these are specifically for me?”

Hoping she would deny, Hatori checked to be sure. If it were a commercial pastry, he could accept it on behalf of the editorial office, but if it were personal and handmade, it would be far too personal.

“Of course!”

“I’m sorry, but I'm not allowed to personally accept this gift. If you want to send it to the editorial office, I can accept it.”

“Oh, I see…”

Nakahara’s blatant excitement deflated.

The best approach was to speak nonchalantly. Subtly distracting her would help avoid the growing awkward atmosphere.

If he could tell there was no hope, he would not try and convey his feelings. Hatori pondered what he should say back to her.

It would be hard for Hatori, who had been in the middle of a long unrequited love, to say something so arrogant, but he did not want a momentary hesitation to interfere with the future of a promising young writer.

He didn’t want to be too harsh. But, as it turned out, that was an error of judgment.

“Um…I’ve fallen for you, Hatori-san!"

Footnotes:

(Translator note): This sentence is kind of hard to put it in a way that isn’t awkward in English without losing its original meaning. Here’s a small explanation. Shoutout to Paphnutius and others from the lame sihjr server for helping me out with this!

The sentence: 担当として頼りにはして欲しいけれど、異性として見て欲しいわけではない。

It basically translates to: Hatori had wanted to be treated as someone who could be trusted with authority, but not viewed as an object of romantic interest

But 異性 means “opposite sex” or “hetrosexual love” so basically Hatori doesn’t want to be seen as a romantic interest. Doesn’t sound that special or anything, but I just thought about this for a while haha.

#sekaiichi hatsukoi #sekai ichi hatsukoi #sih #sih domestica #torichia #hatori yoshiyuki #yoshino chiaki #hatori yoshiyuki no baai #it's the queue shot #lilly's translations

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uknowyato · 1 year

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Hatori Yoshiyuki no baai volume 1: chapter 2

This is a repost from my old blog. Old chapters will be coming every Thursday until I catch up. Please enjoy.

Raw cre‌dits go to the lovely youmeandteddybears ‌on tumblr.

Masterlist: {01 | 02}

He didn’t want to go to work.

That was his first thought when he woke up in the morning. In the beginning of the week, Hatori felt unmotivated just like any other adult. Nevertheless, he had duties and responsibility, so he headed out for work.

It had been a long while since Hatori had spent the weekend like a normal couple would. Well, you could even say it was the first time they ever spent time like a normal couple.

We weren’t even disturbed by Yanase, which was unusual.

He stayed over at Yoshino's house on Friday night. They went to the grocery store on Saturday and he made Yoshino help prepare the meals. Then they stayed at home catching up with a TV series they recorded.

A delivery man came at noon, which was a surprise to him. Yoshino had ordered a cake from this popular bakery, Buche de Noel. Which meant he had planned this weekend beforehand. He was thrilled that his surprise was a success.

Seeing Hatori who couldn't hide his surprise, Yoshino said as he put on a smug face, “Didn't expect that, did you?”

“I can get things done when I put my mind to it!” in Yoshino’s own words.

To think that Yoshino actually cared about Christmas? And it wasn’t even for his manga’s story plot? Hatori wouldn’t be surprised if hell had frozen over.

If not, then this must be his imagination, or a dream. Although there was no sign that he would be waking up soon, so this must be reality.

It was almost time to finish up his work for the year. As long as there were no major problems, Hatori would be able to kick back and relax on New Years.

This year was definitely a lot more peaceful than usual. So far, none of his work was running late. In other words, Yoshino didn’t have any urgent tasks either. There was still time before the game packaging’s color manuscript’s due date, and the story plot finished up quicker than usual. There were no issues at this point, which only made Hatori worry something bad might happen.

...Thinking negatively won't do me any good though

Yoshino had been working hard, so he was making quite a lot of progress.

Meeting a set deadline should be a given, but when you’ve known him for so long it felt like a miracle. They were both tired of how they were always negative, but keeping their feelings for so long, they were not quite adjusted to being content and happy like now.

Going to the office on Monday felt harder than ever, but that didn’t mean he was going to allow himself to be late. Waking up at the same time each morning, riding the same train, and ploping on his desk before 9 o’clock was how he always operated.

When he walked up the slope heading for the office, he felt someone drawing closer from behind him.

"Good morning!” That lively voice, it must be Henmi from Sales. He slowed down and turned around.

"Good morning."

“Hatori-san, you're always early. Even though everyone else in the editorial department is more chill because of the flexible hours.”

“My head is clearer when I get there earlier.”

His work progressed better in the morning. Maybe because it was easier for him to focus when there was less people and noise around. Besides, if he was going to work the same hours it was better to come early and go home before it was late.

“Oh, by the way, I want to discuss Yoshino’s comics campaign next year, do you have time?”

“Sure, I think I can do that tomorrow morning. But I'll let you know after checking my schedule. Just in case."

He had a thousand things to do, but an hour shouldn’t be a problem. It was better to handle the smaller projects sooner rather than later.

“Thank you! Oh yeah, the book store was very pleased with the autographed illustration that Yoshino drew. Could you thank him for me?"

“That's good to hear. Let me know if you need anything else."

The other day, Yoshino did an illustration for the bookstore exhibition because he couldn't accept the offer to hold an autograph session. He felt awful for not being able to accept the invitation.

"Chiharu Yoshino" often got offers for autograph sessions. However he refused all of them without any exceptions because he didn’t want anyone to know he was actually a man.

He didn't mean to hide that fact at first, but it became more difficult to bring up as he gained popularity. He thought the fans would be accepting if it ever went public, however Yoshino didn’t want to ruin the image his readers had. He wanted the audience to purely enjoy his work without any assumptions.

That was the reason he only did written interviews, and any comments were kept to a bare minimum. In return, he was willing to go to lengths with the bookstore to please fans. No matter how busy he was, Yoshino would always accept.

“I apologize regarding the autograph session the other day.”

"No, don't worry about it. Many writers like to keep to themselves, right? The other day I was forced to fill in a host because they didn’t have enough people at an event. I understand it’s a lot of pressure to appear in front of people.”

As he listened to Henmi, they arrived at the office building. They parted ways at the elevator, and he headed to the upper floors. As expected, there was no one on the comics floor yet. He hung his coat and sat on his desk. He turned on the PC and went through his emails. There were a lot of things that needed to be checked, as per usual.

Why were there so many things that needed urgent confirmation at the end of the week? Things would go a lot smoother if they send it on Friday morning at least. That was what he always thought to himself.

He couldn’t help letting his thoughts wander towards such inane things in the morning.

Just as we have our circumstances, they have their own.

As much as he was fed up with putting in the three-digit for new emails, he pulled himself together and started to sort through them. Sorting them by subject, he started replying to the ones with the closest deadlines.

He checked for any typos on the obi’s design for the campaign, along with forwarding it to the artist for confirmation. He also had to submit the advertisement design for the manga by the end of the day. That and print out a multiple paged proposal for confirmation. He would also like to finish the circulation request application and begin to put together the synopsis for the manga.

People think that being an editor was a highly creative job. Of course, that was one aspect of the job, but there was also a lot of negotiation with various departments and detailed paperwork.

The process of clearing away the piles upon piles of work and making it smaller was something he greatly enjoyed. He was always good at working hard, and can work better as long as he can see the results.

“Good morning, Hatori-san.” As he was immersing himself in his work, another editor had come to work. He looked up when he was approached, and saw that it was Onodera Ritsu, the youngest in the Emerald editing department.

“Good morning.”

He had joined the company midway through his career, and was apparently in charge of literature at his previous company. He had no experience in manga editing before coming to Marukawa Shoten, but his diligence and hard work have made him an indispensable member of the editorial department.

He had the title of “the son of Onodera publishing”, but it wasn’t a particularly important piece of information when it came to his work. His connections had nothing to do with his work.

“Today is the day of the magazine line up. I can’t get used to this day no matter how many times it comes. I always end up going to the bookstore on the day it goes on sale.”

“That’s right. I usually go to the bookstore on the day it goes on sale.”

“Wait, you too Hatori-san?”

“Of course. I’m interested in both the sales and the reactions.”

Hatori always felt anxious around the release date of magazines and comics, and he worried about the sales and reputation.

He appreciated the numbers given to him by the sales staff, but he felt a sense of relief when he could actually see them being taken to the checkout counter.

“I thought Hatori-san would have a more calm and composed attitude.”

"That’s not true. Well, I just don’t let it show on my face.”

Hatori had the normal emotional ups and downs like everyone else, but he had a hard time letting them show. Even as a child, he was often told that he was calm for his age, but that was probably because he had the expressive Yoshino by his side.

“Oh, that's right! The manuscript will be submitted as soon as the vacations are over. How is Yoshikawa-sensei's progress going?”

Onodera, who was in charge of progress, must have been worried about Yoshino’s work.

“It seems to be going better than usual. We're at the rough sketch stage.”

“Really? That’s amazing!”

“It’s been okay for now. You can relax, you’ll see what happens in the end.”

The reason he couldn’t let go was because of past experiences. It was only when you let your guard down that things got even worse. The more prepared you were, the less likely you were to panic when the time came.

He believed that Yoshino would come up with good work, and he didn’t believe that he was lying, but he didn’t trust Yoshino’s ability to manage his schedule at all.

“If you’re motivated, you’ll be fine. I’m very excited for the new year!”

Hatori couldn’t help but feel envious of Onodera’s sincerity to believe so honesty.

“I can only hope he will meet your expectations,” he said, staring at the calendar on his desk.

“It’s that time already…?” Hatori glanced at the clock on the floor and sighed.

He had planned to leave earlier, but he had been working for just a little longer, and now time had passed.

Hatori felt like he had more extra work to do than on a normal Monday. He was also frustrated by the fact that he couldn't make as much progress as he wanted to because he was busy checking details.

I guess when something good happens, there's always something bound to happen…

However, there was no end to it if he didn't cut it off at the right time. After reviewing the synopsis of the comic that he had just finished, Hatori decided to send the writer a confirmation email and call it a day.

He checked my unanswered emails, made arrangements for work tomorrow, and was about to shut down his PC when a new email arrived.

“Hmm?”

The email was from Nakahara.

Hatori had contacted her at noon to discuss the problem she was having. She seemed to have been in trouble, but he was able to solve it without as much trouble as he had thought.

Apparently, she was able to draw the storyboard of the piece they solved and sent it to him as soon as she could. The attached file seemed to be the new two pages.

I told her that she could send it to me only after he had finished it…

He knew it was painful to want to see him right away, but it was important to hold back and think for yourself. If she didn’t, she may become dependent on him.

At the end of the email from Nakahara, she wrote, "I would like you to directly instruct me on my storyboard.”

“Directly, huh…?” There was nothing in particular that he needed to discuss in person, but Hatori wondered if it would be better to see her again before he started work.

There were times when it was more reassuring to say the same words face-to-face.

Hatori had met her twice before, once when he brought her in and another time when she was assigned to him.

At that time, she was shy and didn't say much, but as they talked on the phone and via email, she seemed to relax.

Hatori, who had been pondering how to respond, came back to reality when someone suddenly called out.

“Tori. Are you gonna come to the drinking party the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, I will.”

The person who called out to Hatori was his coworker Kisa Shouta.

Kisa was older than Hatori, but his small frame and baby face made him look much younger. He was often mistaken for a part-timer by outsiders, but he was a full-time employee.

He was a cheerful and caring person in the Emerald editorial department, and he often helped to ease the tense atmosphere before the publication.

“Then, everyone’s attending. Be at the usual place at seven o'clock. Let me know if you're going to be late.”

“Okay.”

The day after tomorrow was the last day of work, and he was deeply happy to think that this year would soon be over.

Every year, he was so busy with his daily work that the year went by in a flash. Especially in December, the speed of the year was much faster.

“Hey, I know that serious face of yours. Is Yoshikawa-sensei's progress getting worse again?”

“No, his progress has been good so far.”

If Hatori had a problem, then it was inevitable that Yoshino’s situation would be suspected first.

“Seriously, it might actually snow before the end of the year…If it’s not Yoshikawa-sensei, then who is it?”

It was a horrible thing to say, but since Hatori thought the same thing, he supposed it was a normal reaction.

"It's not that I'm concerned about the progress.”

“Well, what are you so worried about? Tori’s sighing at work, what’s wrong?”

Kisa’s keen eye for observation was astonishing. To be honest, he didn't even realize he was sighing.

You’ve got me there…

It had been a while since Hatori had been in charge of a rookie, but he never thought he would have to worry about how to interact with an author.

“I'm having a little trouble with the author I'm in charge of now, Nakahara-san."

“Nakahara-san? Oh, you mean the new girl! She's really good at drawing, isn't she? Her prize-winning work was quite easy to read, it seems like she'll be popular if she makes her characters more traditional.”

“I think so too.” That was why he spent so much time on the plot. The story he was working on now was the first one that they were working on together.

In a world where fads came and went, no one knew what kind of work would be successful.

Still, he could use the know-how he had accumulated as an editor to widen the scope of his work and make its merits more visible to readers.

To put it another way, It was the writer's job to forge the jewel and an editor's job was to help polish said jewel. But he couldn’t teach her how to polish it and help her.

“Didn't Takano-san give you the OK for the plot the other day? Aren't you working on the storyboard now?”

Hatori had asked Kisa to read through the plot before it was completed. As the reader changes, so do their thoughts. Opinions from a different perspective were valuable.

“I heard that she was stuck on the storyboard. She has a lot of talent, but she doesn't seem to have confidence in it, so she's having a hard time.”

He couldn’t say for sure without seeing the final product, but at the moment Hatori didn’t see any major problems with the storyboard.

Hatori thought that the panels were a little too detailed, but it depended on the balance of the whole that he would fix. At that point, it was hard to judge.

The parts that were bothering him were things that he could overcome if he thought about it.

It would be easy for Hatori to intervene, but if she let the editor's opinion dictate everything, he would lose track of whose work it was.

“I used to say, "Well, you can't help it in the beginning. I'm often told, ‘The more you fix it, the less you understand it.’ I guess we'll just have to let them finish.”

“I told her that, but she kept asking me to check every second page. I'd give her advice, but it's hard to give partial advice.”

“Oh… that’s tricky… So it's the mental part that needs to be followed up on, right?"

Kisa folded his arms and fell silent with a serious look on his face. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he was sure she would be fine.

Of course, in the end, it was a problem that the writer had to overcome on her own. However, as her editor, there were some aspects that he could support.

What Hatori was worried about was that he may have interfered too much in the beginning, because he wanted to bring out the best in a talent that was still in its infancy.

"Are you sure you're saying it's interesting, or are you just being paranoid about compliments?"

There were times when Hatori felt so insecure that he felt as if every affirmation had an ulterior motive.

In such cases, he tried to make them understand that he was telling them the truth by sharing why he thought it was theoretically interesting or pointing out the parts that weren't so good.

In fact, it was more troublesome to have someone blindly follow you. Hatori didn’t want people to abandon their thinking and leave everything to the editor.

However, Hatori’s recent concern with Nakahara was that this tendency was becoming stronger.

“I've been wondering about that when you asked me to give you firsthand guidance.”

The fact that she wanted to meet with him meant that even though Hatori had tried to tell her over the phone and by e-mail that it would be interesting and that there was nothing to worry about, she still hadn't shaken off her anxiety.

“What? You mean the author asked you to meet her?”

“Yes. I think it might be better to talk to her face-to-face again to ease her nervousness.”

“...Are you sure about that?” Kisa gave him an uneasy look.

“About what?”

“Well, the fact that she asked to see you is a bit of a problem…”

“I'm worried that she's a little dependent on me, but I'm sure she'll calm down once she gets used to me.”

"No. But look, of course if Tori thinks meeting up is a good idea then you should go for it. But, you know, be careful and don’t get too involved.”

He knew what Kisa was worried about when he gave him such advice. To put it bluntly, he wanted to make sure she didn't fall in love with Hatori.

Not that he was being conceited, but it wasn't as if that hadn't happened to him before. He thought Kisa was worried about Hatori because it reminded him of the past.

Most authors keep their work and their private lives separate, but there were some who merge the two.

In the midst of the seriousness and closeness of the relationship between editor and writer, there was a tendency to perceive it as a personal tension.

“I know. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything rash.”

For now, Hatori didn’t plan on seeing her right away because Nakahara's progress wasn’t particularly urgent and there were many other things that were more pressing.

He was sure they would have time to discuss it when the storyboard was finished.

“I hope you're right. Tori is very popular with writers. Every time I go to a party, writers always ask me, ‘Is Hatori-san still single?’ You’re so honest and devoted that it would be deceitful to make them dream that you’re still single~”

“I'm just doing my job.”

Hatori did things differently depending on the type of author, but he didn’t give special treatment to any of the authors he worked with, and he didn’t dare cut corners.

Of course, as people, he didn’t do anything that might upset them. He was drawing a firm line in the sand.

......Except for Yoshino.

In fact, there was no author that took as much time to write as Yoshino. If you asked him, he would deny he was playing favorites. To be exact, he spent extra time with him due to his personal feelings.

Normally, Hatori wouldn’t cook a meal, clean the house, or do the laundry just because an author asked him to.

Of course, as his childhood friend, he was just helping out, but he had never thought of it as his job as an editor.

That was why Hatori made sure to switch it on and off and give Yoshino as much private time as possible.

“That’s just normal.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, what’s normal for Tori may strike a nerve with a girl.”

“I mean, you've got a lot of older authors who like you.”

“They just think I'm easy to tease and I'm not serious. It's fine if you're like Takano-san, but Tori's serious.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

Just as his name came up in Hatori’s conversation with Kisa, Masamune Takano, who had just returned from a meeting, walked by.

“Ah, welcome back Takano-san.”

“Here's a souvenir. So, what were you talking about with that serious face of yours?"

Masamune Takano was the editor-in-chief of “Monthly Emerald.” Although he was younger than him, he was Hatori’s direct superior.

There was an uproar in many ways when he joined the company.

One of the reasons was that he was a mid-career hire from another company who was selected as the editor-in-chief with great fanfare. But what attracted more attention was his appearance.

It was mainly the female employees who were in an uproar. Surrounded by these women, whose eyes had lit up, they were asked, "Does Takano have a girlfriend? Is he single?” He remembered well how Kisa crawled away from them.

Even now, he seemed to have many fans within the company, and there were several female employees who tried to give him gifts on his birthday and Valentine's Day.

Takano refused all birthday gifts, and on Valentine's Day, he accepted gifts from the entire editorial department, but every year there were a few gifts that looked to be chocolate.

He didn’t keep track of his private life, but he guessed a man like Takano had a certain partner. He must be having a smooth relationship.

His work ethic was nothing short of talent. He was one of the best hit-makers in the company, strict with himself and others, and Hatori had never seen him cut corners.

At his previous company, he had been an editor of a boys' magazine and had no experience with girls' magazines, but he was able to turn around Monthly Emerald, which was on the verge of collapse due to a drastic drop in circulation, within a year.

Everyone acknowledged that the Monthly Emerald of today would not have been possible without Takano. That was why the editorial staff, including himself, were following him.

“I told Tori to watch out for her, because he was popular with writers.”

"What, are you being pursued?”

It seemed that Takano's perception was not so different from Kisa's. Looking at it from the other side, Hatori wondered to himself if he was so naive.

“No, that's not what I meant…”

“I'm not sure yet, but I'm pretty sure he will be. I feel like his guard is looser than before."

“Wait. I'm not so sure about that.” He countered Kisa's assurances with certainty, but he was starting to feel a little unsure.

“Because that's what you want to see at this time of year.”

“By ‘this time of year,’ do you mean Christmas? And it's not like I said she wanted to see me.”

“To be precise, she said, ‘I want you to help me directly’” The nuance was a little different. If she was more concerned about the event, she would have approached him earlier.

"Is it like asking for direct guidance? In fact, I wanted you to ask me to meet with you, but it didn't work out, so you asked me yourself.”

“I think that's too much of a guess…”

Perhaps because of Hatori’s profession, the editor of a girl's magazine had a slow imagination when it came to this kind of topic. The reason he couldn’t just laugh it off as overthinking was that Kisa's suspicions were highly accurate.

“Tori, you're very popular with serious and reserved girls, aren't you? Many of the girls who go for Takano-san are fans, but in Tori's case, there are a lot of serious girls.”

"That’s true.” He was at a loss for words to reply when Takano so bluntly affirmed.

“So, who asked you to meet up?"

“…The new rookie I’m in charge of, Nakahara-san.”

“Oh, that's her. She used to be shy, but she's grown quite fond of Hatori, hasn't she? I mean, you just finished the plot the other day. What do you do for immediate guidance?”

“It seems that the storyboard is not going well, and she's getting impatient. At the moment, it's about a third of the way through…”

“Yes. I think it’s a bit too frequent.”

“To be honest, I’m worried too.”

“What?”

“You seemed to be in touch with her a lot. You've been answering the phone with a despondent face, and I've been wondering about it.”

When he was on his desk and answering the phone, it was easy to guess who they were talking to. Takano, the chief editor, seemed to be concerned about Hatori’s situation.

To be honest, he wasn't without his concerns, but Hatori didn't expect him to be that concerned about him. He may be in a more precarious situation than he realized.

It was his belief that when he was in charge of something, Hatori should put all his effort into it. However, if that caused misunderstandings, then he needed to reconsider how he interacted with them.

"I'm sorry to have caused you so much concern.”

“No, it's my fault for assigning her to you. I should have been a little more discerning of the type. If Kisa is right, you might want to take over as soon as possible.”

“...You’re right.” It was true that it was harder to do things when there were feelings that were non-work related. It may be necessary to take her feelings into consideration.

It was very possible that she was just respecting him as her first editor.

“Well, there's no point in mulling it over. Now is not the time. I'll just have to accept it.”

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“It pains me to be bothering you with something outside of work. It's my own inadequacies that make me worry.”

“It's not your place to apologize. There’s nothing for you to apologize for, but since we're going to make something good, I hope it goes well.”

“Yes.”

Hatori surrendered to Takano's encouragement. Hatori told himself that the only thing he could do was to do his best to produce the best product.

Edit- 05/14/2024: Added the illustration

#sekaiichi hatsukoi #sekai ichi hatsukoi #sih #sih domestica #torichia #hatori yoshiyuki #yoshino chiaki #hatori yoshiyuki no baai #it's the queue shot #lilly's translations

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