The Beautiful Kuudere Woman Who Always Reads Books While Standing Next to Me at the Laundromat Turns Out to Be the Vice President of One of Our Clients
The TechFrontier office is bustling with energy from early in the morning. As I was doing a final check of my documents at my desk, I heard light footsteps approaching.
“Tsukishima san ! Good morning !”
The voice belonged to Tanaka san from the Human Resources Department. She brought a chair from a nearby desk and sat down next to me.
Her large eyes sparkled with curiosity, as they always did.
“Tsukishima san, you look even more beautiful than usual today ! …Wait, there’s also a wonderful scent. Is it a new perfume? It’s floral, and somehow…calming….?”
Tanaka san said this, then, as if she had forgotten the meaning of the word ‘modesty’ leaned her face close to my shoulder and sniffed the scent.
“…Really? I didn’t put anything.”
“No way, you did ! My nose is sensitive ! It’s like…the scent of laundry dried in the sun, a happy scent… Hmm, the top note is bergamot, the middle note is jasmine and rose, and the base note is musk and amber, maybe? Maybe it’s a little different…but it’s a really nice scent !”
Tanaka san’s passionate speech continues. He even goes into detail about the scent analysis.
“Well, as long as it doesn’t smell bad, it’s fine.”
Our company is open and transparent. That’s the good thing about it. I shouldn’t get worked up over something like this.
◆
In the afternoon, Minato san came in for the regular meeting. It went smoothly without any issues.
The schedule isn’t delayed, and Minato san is clearly identifying issues with data and logical analysis, so there’s nothing to complain about.
As the meeting ended and I was about to stand up to gather the materials,
It was a good timing, or rather, a bad timing in this case.
Tanaka san, who was standing by the meeting room door, bowed to Minato san as they passed each other.
She sniffed as if she had sensed something.
Then she looked at me with interest.
As I walked down the hallway to see Minato san and the others off at the elevator lobby, Tanaka san came up beside me.
“…Hmm? I could smell the same scent on Minato san as on Tsukishima san. Wait, are you two using the same perfume !? Or perhaps…!”
“Ah…”
A nice scent, the same scent. It was definitely the scent of detergent or fabric softener used at the laundromat.
“Guh…it’s a coincidence, a coincidence. Well, it’s a popular product, so it’s possible that other people use it too, right?”
I was surprised at how fast I was talking.
“Not your ex-boyfriend…eh, then that means !?”
“I-I don’t understand what you mean. It’s fine to speculate based on a coincidence, but that’s just a delusion.”
I tried to brush it off confidently, but I needed to stay on my guard.
“See you tomorrow~!”
As the elevator doors closed, she said it with more enthusiasm than usual, and it ended up sounding like something a sports club member would say.
Just before the doors closed, I’ll never forget the surprised look on Minato san’s face as he looked at me. It’s all because Tanaka san’s intuition is too sharp.
◆
Weekend. The usual late-night coin laundry.
When I entered with my laundry, Tsukishima san was already reading a book while the washing machine was running. However, she didn’t seem to be making much progress with her reading, going back and forth between the same pages.
I set up my laundry and sat down next to her as usual. Tsukishima san spoke to me as if she had been waiting for me to do so.
“…Minato san.”
“Yes, what is it?”
When I turned my face toward her, she continued without looking up from her book.
“It seems we have the same scent.”
“The same scent…?”
I couldn’t help but look puzzled.
“You mean our personalities are similar?”
It sounded like a slight insult.
“No, not in a metaphorical sense, but more physically. The detergent and fabric softener are the same, right? I was told that today. You know Tanaka san from HR, right?”
“Tanaka san…oh, yeah. Tanaka Jun. She looks cute, isn’t she?”
“Huh? Cute?”
Tsukishima san glared at me.
“I said she looks cute…I wasn’t saying she was cute…”
“Then, okay.
“It’s not like I’m going to lay hands on a client or anything…”
“Well, I’m also from a client company.”
“I’m not making a move, am I!? I’m just reading here !”
“Hmm….well, that’s true.”
“So…did Tanaka san tease you again, saying that me and Tsukishima san have the same scent?”
“Yeah. That’s it. The circumstantial evidence is piling up. If this continues, either the coin laundry friendship will be exposed within the company, or the unfounded cohabitation rumors will deepen.”
“Why not just declare it as a laundromat friendship…”
“Well, it’s a hassle…every time I try to explain why I haven’t replaced the washing machine, I just get told, ‘The best time to buy is when you want it.'”
“Then just replace the washing machine…”
“Well, that’s a problem.”
Tsukishima san said that with a serious expression, hiding her true intentions.
“Why don’t you distribute the same detergent and fabric softener to all employees as part of your welfare program? It’s the ‘All Employees Same Scent Plan.’ That way, no one will suspect us.”
It was a sudden idea, but I felt like she might actually do it.
“That’s an abuse of authority…”
When I pointed out the obvious, she looked a little bored.
“…Hmm. Yeah, you’re right. What should I do…”
“The most realistic option is to overwrite the scent with another one, right? Like adding a fabric softener with a different scent.”
At my suggestion, Tsukishima san puckered her lips as if she couldn’t believe it.
“I really like this one. Are you telling me to give up this gentle scent? That’s…well, it would lower my personal quality of life, I guess…but is it really the same scent?”
Tsukishima san said that and buried her face in my shoulder, sniffing the scent. She probably wasn’t aware of it, but it’s natural to feel a little flustered when someone suddenly gets so close.
“H-how is it?”
“Hm…..it’s odorless.”
“That’s probably because your nose has gotten used to the same scent…”
“So it is the same after all…”
“….Well, it’s not like it’ll affect your work if it’s discovered. We’re just laundromat friends, after all.”
“Then the reason for not buying a washing machine…..I realized we were going in circles.”
“Want to try breaking out of the loop?”
“How?”
“I’ll start using a different laundromat from now on. There are others if I look for them. That way, I won’t be laundromat friends, and the detergent will be different too.”
When I suggested that, she looked startled for a moment, then quickly looked away.
“…I don’t think you need to go that far. No matter which coin laundry you use…you’ll still come here once you start washing, right?”
“Is that so !?”
“Well, if that’s not the case, I can’t accept it. Stay here. I don’t mind the same smell…in fact, it’s nice. Well, there’s no advantage to it, but there’s no disadvantage either.”
Tsukishima san said that with a blush. Her words and expressions made my heart leap like laundry dancing in a washing machine.
The same scent. It might indeed be a slightly troublesome issue.
But if she says it’s not something she minds.
Maybe enjoying this strange, slightly special secret a little longer wouldn’t be so bad.
Maigetsu