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 project to design a new personnel system at TechFrontier was like sailing in a storm.
Using the new organizational structure and evaluation system I had designed as a starting point, heated, and at times heated, discussions were held daily with the engineers in the field.
That day, too, the atmosphere in the large conference room was heavy. The participants were myself, Tsukishima san, and the ace engineers representing each of TechFrontier’s development teams.
Their gaze was fixed on the detailed materials I had presented regarding the evaluation criteria.
“Minato san, regarding your proposal, the weighting for ‘technical contribution’ is unclear. Without a specific calculation logic, isn’t there too much room for evaluators’ subjective opinions or the volume of their voices to influence the scores?”
The first to speak up was the leader of the AI Development Department. Their words were calm, but I could sense a strong sense of doubt underlying them.
“As you say, the objectivity of evaluation is one of the most important factors. Regarding this weighting, we are currently considering multiple algorithms that score past project performance, code review evaluations, and contributions to internal study sessions from multiple angles…”
As I began to explain, a veteran engineer from another team interrupted me with a sharp voice, arms crossed.
“I feel that the KPIs are completely out of sync with our current agile development sprint cycle. Setting unattainable target values will only significantly lower engineers’ motivation.”
One after another, they delivered precise and harsh criticisms. They were unwilling to compromise on any point, as this was an issue directly related to their work and evaluation. I understood their sincere attitude, but sweat was slowly beading on my forehead.
At that moment, Tsukishima san, who had been silently listening to the discussion, spoke up quietly.
“Thank you all for your valuable opinions. Minato san’s proposal is only a draft version at this point. Based on your feedback, I believe the key to this project is to fine-tune it to better reflect the actual situation and to a form that everyone can agree on.”
Her voice was surprisingly calm. She then looked slowly at each engineer’s face and continued.
“First, regarding the transparency of the evaluation algorithm, as Minato san mentioned, we are currently testing multiple evaluation models. Ultimately, we want to make the logic as open as possible and operate it in a way that everyone can agree on. Please lend your professional expertise to this tuning process.”
As CTO, her words carried a persuasiveness that the engineers could not help but nod in agreement with.
“Regarding the setting of KPIs, it is true that the current draft may not be realistic for some teams. In this regard, we will redefine each team’s mission and characteristics and reconsider how to balance bottom-up goal setting with stretch goals. However…”
Tsukishima san paused there, looking everyone in the eye.
“The purpose of this system is not simply to evaluate individual performance and rank people. It is to create a ‘system’ that maximizes the performance of the entire team, brings out the full potential of each engineer, and supports your growth as a company in the long term. We are currently considering specific plans for incentive design and career path integration in parallel.”
Her words as CHRO reflected both consideration for each employee and a broad perspective on the organization as a whole.
Even the engineers who had been adamant earlier began to soften their expressions as Tsukishima san explained sincerely, and the discussion shifted toward a more constructive direction.
I sat beside her, supplementing her words with examples from other companies and concrete operational scenarios to ensure the discussion proceeded smoothly.
Tsukishima san’s words possess a mysterious power. It’s not just logical reasoning. Her own experiences, deep understanding of engineers, and strong desire to improve the organization all shine through in every word she speaks.
Still, by the end of the meeting, the fatigue on Tsukishima san’s face was impossible to hide. I too felt the exhaustion wash over me. She faces this level of pressure every day. Her mental toughness is truly admirable.
◆
Such busy days continued, and it was late Saturday night. I opened the door to the usual coin laundry, feeling a mix of exhaustion from the week and a hint of anticipation as I recalled her presence in that meeting room.
Tsukishima san was in her usual spot.
But she looked distinctly different from her usual self. Leaning deeply into the back seat, the book she had been reading lay lifelessly on her lap, and her face bore an unmistakable pallor of exhaustion.
There were faint dark circles under her eyes. Her vibrant pink hair seemed a little less lively than usual today. The contrast with her composed demeanor at the meeting squeezed my heart.
I set my laundry and quietly sat down next to her. I couldn’t find the right words to say to her at that moment.
“…You must be tired, Minato san.”
Tsukishima san spoke first. Her voice was a little hoarse, more so than usual.
“You must be tired too, Tsukishima san. …..You seem really exhausted…are you okay?”
When I said that, she shook her head weakly.
“No, I’m not okay. I’m completely out of energy today. My battery is almost dead. …Actually, it’s negative.”
She sighed deeply. Her appearance was far removed from the composed ‘Vice President Tsukishima’ she showed at the office, and there was something pitiable about her.
“…Did something happen?”
“…Nothing major. It’s just…well. Our engineers are talented, but they’re also very stubborn. Plus, they’re all older than me. It’s really tough to work with them.”
From the way the meeting went this week, I could tell exactly what she meant.
I stood up silently and walked over to the vending machine in the corner of the laundromat.
I took some change out of my wallet and pressed a button without hesitation. With a clunk, an energy drink rolled out of the dispenser.
I took it and returned to Tsukishima san, silently handing it to her.
Tsukishima san looked at me and the energy drink alternately with a puzzled expression for a moment, but then she smiled slightly as if she understood.
“…Oh, nice choice. With this, I think I can get through tomorrow’s work somehow.”
Saying that, she took the energy drink and pulled the tab right there.
“There’s tomorrow too…you don’t have to push yourself that hard, do you? Maybe you should rest a little….”
She shook her head weakly at my words.
“I can’t say that right now, at this stage. If we don’t thoroughly debug and refactor here, it’ll be too late to fix later. …Besides, I actually don’t mind this kind of pressure. Pushing myself to the limit to deliver performance has a certain thrill to it, and it becomes addictive.”
Her face, despite being tired, looked somehow vibrant as she smiled. This person is a true engineer, I thought to myself. The more challenging the task, the more she thrives.
“But…it must be tough. Being responsible for both the internal systems and the product from a technical standpoint, while also handling HR…”
“Well, it can’t be helped. The president’s demands are strict, so there aren’t many people he can trust to take the reins.”
“I see…”
“Well, I’m in the same boat. I didn’t think there were any.”
“Has that changed lately?”
Tsukishima san made a “hmm” sound and repositioned her chair to face away from me. Me…..?
She turned around and beckoned me over, so I moved my chair to sit facing her back. I felt the warmth of his small, slender back.
“I feel like I can trust my back to you, Minato san.”
“That’s kind of you to say.”
We continued our conversation while playingfully shifting our weight back and forth like a seesaw.
“Once things settle down, I’ll have other people in the company handle the details, but I’d like you to stay.”
“I don’t know. I’m like a nomad. If another company’s project comes up, I’ll just go there and do that.”
“Hmm….well, I guess so.”
Midway through, Tsukishima san lost her balance, so we sat side by side again as before.
“….However.”
After finishing her energy drink, she suddenly looked at the empty can with a serious expression.
“If Minato san hadn’t given me this, I would probably be done for.”
“No…it’s no big deal. I just thought you’d like it.”
I said that to hide my embarrassment, and she smiled slyly.
“Hmm. Do I look like someone who likes energy drinks?”
“You don’t like them?”
“No, I do. But you’re missing the point. It’s not whether I like them or not, but whether I look like I would like them.”
“You look like you would.”
“You like people who look like they would?”
Tsukishima san said that with a mischievous smile and handed me the empty can. She probably wanted me to take it to the trash can. I couldn’t help but smile at her subtle act of dependence.
“I’ll refrain from answering that.”
Soon, our laundry was done, and we left the laundromat. It was still drizzling outside.
“…Minato san. Today, um…thank you for everything.”
As we parted ways, Tsukishima san said that in a small voice.
“No, I should be thanking you. …Tsukishima san, don’t push yourself too hard.”
“….I’ll do my best. See you later.”
With that, she disappeared into the night.
I watched her back as she walked away.
Once she had turned the corner and was out of sight, I slowly began walking along the damp night road.
Maigetsu