Twenty minutes later, a black moved quietly and smoothly up the sloped road of in , the engine sound low and controlled, almost as if the car itself understood that it was carrying someone important and should not disturb the surroundings, and then it came to a steady stop in front of a three-story building that was still under construction, where scaffolding surrounded the exterior, construction materials were stacked near the entrance, and workers were moving in and out with tools, showing clearly that the project was still in a rough and unfinished state, full of uncertainty and ongoing decisions.
The car door opened, and a foot wearing flat leather boots stepped onto the ground first, steady and precise, followed by Satsuki stepping out calmly, her movements neither fast nor slow, but perfectly controlled, giving people the impression that she was someone who never wasted motion or emotion, and today she was not wearing her school uniform, but instead a simple black turtleneck sweater and dark grey straight-leg wool trousers, paired with a cream-colored cashmere scarf draped loosely around her neck, and although there were no decorations or jewelry on her body, the simplicity of her outfit did not make her look ordinary, but instead made her appear even more refined and distant, like someone whose value did not need to be displayed openly.
Two men in black suits stepped out from the escort cars in front and behind her, quickly positioning themselves to follow her while maintaining a respectful distance, and at the entrance, Endo, who had clearly been waiting for quite a long time, hurried forward immediately, wiping sweat from his forehead as he spoke in a tense voice, unable to hide his anxiety.
"Eldest Miss… inside, they're still arguing."
He did not dare to say more, but his expression already made it clear that the situation inside had become very bad, and after speaking, he quickly turned and led the way, as if afraid that even one more minute of delay would make things worse.
Satsuki did not respond with words, only giving a small nod before walking inside, her expression unchanged, as if this kind of situation was already expected and not worth reacting to emotionally, and as she stepped into the construction site, the strong smell of sawdust and fresh paint immediately filled the air, while the originally open first-floor space had already been divided by several newly built plasterboard walls, creating narrow passages and separated areas that made the entire layout feel complicated and restrictive.
Before she could walk further, a loud, angry voice suddenly echoed through the entire space, filled with frustration and impatience, making even the workers nearby freeze for a moment.
"I'll say it one more time! Tear them down! Tear down these damn mazes!"
Tadashi Yanai stood in the center of the site, holding a tape measure in his hand and waving it as he shouted, his face tense and his voice sharp, clearly already pushed to his limit.
"This is a sales floor! Not a place for hide-and-seek! We want customers to see all the goods at a single glance! Efficiency! Do you understand efficiency?!"
Standing opposite him, Suzuki, the designer wearing a beret, gripped his blueprint tightly as if someone might snatch it away, his face flushed red with anger as he refused to step back even slightly.
"Mr. Yanai, please stop insulting design with your supermarket theories! This is Shibuya! What we want to create is the joy of exploration! A sense of private prestige! If everything can be seen at a glance, what's the difference between this and a countryside warehouse?!"
Yanai immediately shot back without hesitation, his voice even louder than before.
"What's wrong with a warehouse? A warehouse is the most perfect sales floor!"
Suzuki's expression twisted in frustration as he raised his voice again.
"You're being completely unreasonable! This is a destruction of the Saionji Family's style!"
The two of them stood facing each other, neither willing to back down, their argument going in circles without any progress, while the workers around them held their tools and looked at each other helplessly, completely unsure whose orders they were supposed to follow.
At that moment, a calm voice cut through the noise, not loud, but carrying a force that made everyone instinctively stop.
"Stop it, everyone."
Satsuki's voice was steady and cold, and as soon as she spoke, both Yanai and Suzuki fell silent at the same time, turning their heads toward her as she walked in slowly, her expression unchanged, her gaze calm, but impossible to ignore.
Suzuki reacted first, as if he had finally found support, quickly taking off his beret and hurrying toward her, pointing at Yanai as he spoke with clear frustration.
"Eldest Miss! Please be the judge! This Mr. Yanai insists on turning this place into some 'American-style big-box store.' He wants to tear down my carefully designed layout and even use the cheapest fluorescent lights! This is practically trampling the Saionji Family's face into the ground!"
Yanai also stepped forward, hanging the tape measure on his belt, his posture stiff but his tone controlled.
"Eldest Miss, it's not that I want to save money. It's that he doesn't understand what we're selling. A 1,900 yen T-shirt paired with this kind of high-end decoration? Customers won't even dare to enter. And even if they do, they'll think the price makes it fake."
Satsuki did not respond immediately. She walked past both of them and moved toward the center of the site, looking around slowly, observing every detail of the environment, from the walnut flooring under her feet to the recessed wall designs and the planned lounge areas with velvet curtains, and after a moment, she spoke calmly.
"Mr. Suzuki."
Suzuki straightened immediately.
"Yes!"
Satsuki looked down at the floor and asked directly.
"This flooring, how much does it cost per square meter?"
Suzuki answered without hesitation, his tone proud.
"This is black walnut imported from North America. It costs 25,000 yen per square meter. Only this kind of tone can show the stable heritage of the Saionji Family."
Satsuki repeated softly.
"Twenty-five thousand."
She then walked to a corner where a box of sample products had been placed, bent down, and took out a plain white T-shirt, holding it briefly before throwing it directly onto the expensive walnut floor.
"Look."
She pointed at the contrast between the floor and the T-shirt, her voice calm but firm.
"Against this 25,000-yen floor, what does this look like?"
Suzuki froze for a moment, staring at the scene, his expression uncertain.
"It… it looks like…"
He hesitated, unable to finish his sentence, and Satsuki said it for him without any hesitation.
"It looks like a rag a servant accidentally dropped on the floor."
The words landed heavily in the silence.
She continued, explaining clearly, without raising her voice.
"When the environment is too luxurious, it makes cheap products look worse, not better. When customers step into a place like this, they will think everything here costs at least 50,000 yen. Then when they see a 1,900-yen T-shirt, they won't think it's a good deal. They will think something is wrong with it."
Suzuki opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Satsuki then turned to Yanai.
"And you, President Yanai."
Yanai straightened slightly.
"Yes?"
She looked at him directly.
"I heard you want concrete floors, exposed pipes, and supermarket iron shelves. You also want to pile clothes in baskets like salted fish."
Yanai pushed his glasses up.
"That's for efficiency. Americans—"
Satsuki cut him off immediately.
"This is Tokyo, not the countryside."
Her tone remained calm, but there was no room for argument.
"People here care about image. If your store looks too cheap, they won't even walk in. Because it will make them feel like losers."
She paused briefly, then said clearly.
"It cannot be too expensive, and it cannot be too cheap."
She looked at both of them.
"What we need is not luxury. What we need is not cheapness."
"It is rationality."
From that moment, her tone shifted from explanation to command.
"Endo."
Endo immediately stepped forward.
"Yes!"
"Have someone smash all these partition walls."
Endo hesitated.
"But… we already spent a lot of money on them…"
Satsuki did not change her expression.
"Smash them."
Endo swallowed and nodded.
"…Yes."
Satsuki continued walking as she gave instructions, her voice steady and precise.
"Open up the space completely. I want customers to see all the way to the back at a glance."
She stepped on the walnut floor.
"Remove all of this. Replace it with light-colored wood like birch or maple. It should look clean and bright."
She pointed at the walls.
"No wallpaper. No decorations. Paint everything white. The purest white."
She looked up at the ceiling.
"Remove the complex ceiling structures. Make the space as high as possible. Paint all pipes white."
Then she raised her hand slightly.
"Lighting."
Suzuki instinctively responded.
"Yes?"
"Throw away all those warm yellow lights. I want bright white fluorescent lights. As bright as a hospital or a dental clinic."
She paused, then said clearly.
"We are going to turn this place into a white box."
She then signaled Yanai.
"Open the boxes."
Yanai immediately ordered workers to open them, revealing stacks of colorful T-shirts.
Satsuki picked up a red one, then a blue one.
"The decoration will come from the products themselves."
She held them up slightly.
"We will build white shelves with many compartments, all the way to the ceiling."
She continued, her voice becoming more vivid.
"In each compartment, only one color. Stack them neatly, like bricks."
She looked at the wall.
"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple… arranged like a rainbow."
"From the floor to the ceiling."
"Creating a wall made of color."
The workers, Yanai, and Suzuki all stood still, imagining the scene.
"In this pure white space, under bright light, the cheap feeling will disappear."
"It will be replaced by order."
"And abundance."
Silence filled the site.
Satsuki concluded calmly.
"This is our design."
"It is called ultra-rationalism."
She then added.
"Customers will see everything clearly. They will trust the quality because nothing is hidden."
"They will feel free because no one will disturb them."
"This is not indifference."
"This is the privilege of not being disturbed."
Finally, she turned to Yanai.
"We will change the name."
Yanai blinked.
"…Change the name?"
"This place cannot use the Saionji name."
She asked him.
"What was your store called in Hiroshima?"
Yanai answered.
"Unique Clothing Warehouse. Uni-Clo."
Satsuki picked up a board and wrote.
"Change one letter."
She showed it to him.
"Uniqlo."
Yanai stared at it.
"Uniqlo…"
Satsuki handed it to him.
"This name is yours now."
"Don't disappoint me."
Yanai took it with both hands, his expression changing completely, then bowed deeply.
"Yes! I understand!"
He turned immediately, his voice full of energy.
"Remove the floors! Paint everything white!"
"Order the shelves! A thousand of them!"
"The lighting must be the brightest!"
Seeing his renewed energy, Satsuki allowed herself a small smile and walked toward the exit, but before leaving, she stopped and looked back at Suzuki.
"Mr. Suzuki."
Suzuki straightened instantly.
"Yes!"
Satsuki pointed at a basket nearby.
"Those red shopping baskets are ugly."
Suzuki froze.
"…Ah?"
"Redesign them."
She spoke calmly.
"Use black metal mesh or dark grey plastic. Matte handles."
She looked at him.
"If we are selling dignity, customers cannot carry vegetable baskets."
"Even if the clothes cost 1,900 yen, they should look like they are carrying something valuable."
Suzuki immediately bowed deeply.
"Yes! I understand!"
Satsuki then turned and walked out of the construction site, stepping back into the busy streets of Shibuya, where people continued their lives without noticing anything unusual, but inside that unfinished building, a completely new idea had just taken shape, quiet but powerful, ready to change everything.