When Tetsuya saw Soyo appear at the studio at eight in the evening, he wore a rather surprised expression.
"Soyo?! Why are you here at this hour?"
"I came to bring you something... Hm?"
Soyo first looked around, then couldn't help but ask:
"Where's Sakiko?"
"Sakiko won't be coming for the time being."
"? Why?"
Soyo walked over to Tetsuya's workbench and placed the bag she was carrying on top of it.
"Is she not feeling well?"
"No, actually..."
...
"I see..."
After listening to Tetsuya's explanation, Soyo understood the full story.
"That's wonderful! I knew Sakiko hadn't given up on music! Well... it's a little lonely that she's composing for someone else, but at least it slightly increases the possibility of us performing on the same stage again someday."
She said, sitting down happily next to Tetsuya.
"But will this be okay? Without Sakiko's help, will the costume production be affected?"
"It will probably slow down a bit, but I still have plenty of time, so it's fine."
Tetsuya put down his needle and thread.
"So, what did you come to deliver? For you to make a special trip at this hour..."
"Coffee beans, and a hand-grinder coffee set."
Soyo opened the bag and showed the contents to Tetsuya.
Although they were all new, unopened products, from the exquisite, all-English packaging, it wasn't hard to tell that the coffee set was expensive and refined.
It was just...
"Um, this is a bit embarrassing to say..."
Tetsuya scratched his head.
"I've never made hand-ground coffee before, and I have no idea how to use any of this..."
"It's alright, because these aren't for you to use anyway."
Soyo said, re-tying the opening of the bag.
"Your housekeeping skills are too poor. If you tried to grind coffee yourself, you'd definitely make a huge mess. I've already sent the instructions on how to use them to Anon. She can handle this task on a daily basis."
"Uh, I-I see..."
"And then on the weekends, I'll come and brew coffee for you myself."
"Okay, I understand... huh?"
Tetsuya couldn't help but wear a dumbfounded expression.
"You mean... you're going to come to my house every weekend to make me coffee?"
"Mhm."
Soyo nodded nonchalantly.
"Is there anything strange about that?"
"It's extremely strange!"
Tetsuya couldn't comprehend Soyo's composure.
"Coming all this way on your precious day off just to make me coffee? No matter how you think about it, that's weird, isn't it?!"
"Of course, it won't just be coffee. I'm also planning to take care of the cooking."
Soyo's tone remained perfectly calm, as if she were talking about the most normal thing in the world.
"After all, managing your physical health is also part of my job."
"No, no, no, this is really going too far!"
Tetsuya continued to shake his head in protest.
"My intention in signing that contract wasn't to add unnecessary burdens for you. Just coffee and cooking aren't enough of a reason for you to sacrifice your rest time."
"Well then, what if we add the documents from the various manufacturers and distributors that my mother is helping to contact?"
As if she had predicted Tetsuya's reaction, Soyo continued almost without hesitation.
"Or would you prefer that my mother use her precious work time to personally coordinate these tasks with you, tasks that I could easily handle on her behalf?"
"Ugh..."
At that, Tetsuya immediately lost the confidence to continue refusing.
He was already immensely grateful for receiving so much help from them. How could he possibly do something that would cause them more trouble now...
"Soyo..."
"Yes?"
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Tetsuya asked with a sense of helplessness.
"You could have just said you were coming to deliver documents on the weekend, right? If it was for official business, I definitely wouldn't have refused you."
"But if I had mentioned the documents first, then I would have lost my bargaining chip. You definitely would have found a way to refuse both the coffee and the cooking. But now, forced to concede, you will logically accept the little conditions you didn't intend to accept before."
Soyo explained with a triumphant smile.
"This is the art of negotiation, Mr. President."
"...Ah."
Just as Soyo had said, once he realized he had no reason to refuse, he had naturally accepted the first two conditions as well, completely forgetting his earlier objections and refusals.
Could simply adjusting the order in which conditions are presented really have such a major impact on the outcome of a negotiation...?
Tetsuya stared at Soyo, dumbfounded, for a long moment before he finally asked:
"Did... your mother teach you all this?"
"Mhm. She taught me specifically before I came to deliver the items."
Soyo answered with a smile.
"She told me that while these are just the basics of business negotiation, they would be more than enough to 'deal with' you."
"..."
Tetsuya was completely speechless.
If the "difference in strength" brought by Hoshino Ai that day had made him feel a sense of masculine defeat for the first time, then falling into Soyo's "negotiation trap" this time was a heavy blow to his status as an adult...
...
Something felt a little strange.
When he first met Ai at the orphanage, he had definitely been the one protecting and caring for her as an older male figure. However, as time went on, Ai had somehow become more and more assertive, to the point where she would now take forceful measures against him.
It was the same with Soyo. When he was first helping her and Sakiko reconcile, he was still able to guide her with ease and help her resolve her issues. But now, less than a month later, not only had she inexplicably become his private consultant, but she was also beginning to barge into his life with a force he found impossible to refuse...
"Do I really look like that much of a pushover?"
He couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
"Hm? What did you just say?"
"Nothing..."
Tetsuya first coughed twice to cover it up, then quickly asked:
"By the way, how are you getting home later? Do you need me to call a taxi for you?"
"It's alright, I've already booked one."
Soyo took out her phone.
"You can just focus on your work."
"...This consultant job seems a little too demanding."
Tetsuya shook his head.
"Having to travel a long way to someone else's house every weekend... the physical toll alone must be exhausting."
"It's fine. It'll only be for a short while, anyway."
Soyo said, unconcerned.
"Once you start your own personal brand, I'll move to a place near you to make work more convenient."
"...Eh?"
"Ah, the taxi I booked is here. I'll be going then. See you on the weekend, my President."
With that, without waiting for a response, Soyo stood up and walked straight towards the studio door.
Tetsuya just stared blankly at her back, and it wasn't until her figure had completely disappeared that he belatedly murmured:
"You've got to be kidding me."
It seemed the contract he had signed not long ago was far more significant than he had ever imagined.