The Moon’s Ship That Crosses The Night: Chapter 2

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After that night, the department head began calling on Kawase more often for small tasks. At times, it was a bit of a hassle, but even with that taken into account, being in the good graces of one’s boss wasn’t a bad position to be in. Among his peers, he was the first to be entrusted with a major contract. Just a little ahead of the others. Knowing that he was "capable" filled him with a pleasant sense of superiority.

Whenever he worked late, he would inevitably get invited to dinner. Knowing that the meal would be on the department head, he happily tagged along. There were no work discussions, no lectures—just idle chatter about silly things from his student days or trivial events from recent weeks.

As their meals together became more frequent, Kawase, feigning drunkenness, started slipping in complaints.

"I actually wanted to be in product planning, you know."

Several times, he made sure to say it. The department head had influence in HR—after all, employees unsuited for sales were quickly reassigned. If Kawase, someone the department head favored, kept voicing his wish to transfer, maybe, just maybe, he would put in a word for him.

While work was going well, his personal life was a disaster. His girlfriend, whom he had been with since university, told him she had fallen for an older man at their company and wanted to break up. They had been considering marriage, so the shock hit hard.

He couldn’t bring himself to tell his colleagues or seniors, but he confided in the department head. He knew that, at the very least, this man wouldn’t mock him for such an unflattering story.

As summer faded into a dull, uneventful stretch without her, and the lingering heat of early autumn began to wane, October arrived.

The department head invited him to dinner. That in itself was nothing unusual. What was different this time was that he had done it openly, in front of everyone—and only Kawase had been invited.

Even though he knew he was favored, Kawase had never mentioned their meals together to anyone. If word got out that he was being given special treatment, it felt like the senior employees and his peers would start resenting him. He had always assumed that the department head had invited him discreetly, keeping that consideration in mind.

That day, just before office hours ended, the department head had gone out of his way to walk over to Kawase’s desk.

"Do you have any plans tonight?"

Feeling the weight of the surrounding gazes, Kawase hesitated before answering, "Not really."

"Then keep your schedule open. Let’s get dinner."

Later, Nunomiya from the neighboring desk leaned over and whispered, "Why just you? Is there some big announcement?"

For a fleeting moment, Kawase thought of product planning.

Could it be…?

Maybe his transfer had already been decided.

A spark of anticipation flickered in his chest as he left the office with the department head after work.

But instead of their usual familiar little izakaya, they arrived at a restaurant on the top floor of a hotel.

"This is… different from usual," Kawase murmured, glancing around hesitantly.

The department head smiled.

"I thought it wouldn’t hurt to change things up once in a while."

The spacious, dimly lit restaurant carried the gentle strains of a live piano performance. The tables were arranged with plenty of space between them, leaving little chance of overhearing other conversations. From their seat by the window, the towering cityscape glittered in the night.

A full-course meal. Wine he rarely ever had the chance to drink.

It didn’t feel like the right setting for his usual rambling, self-deprecating stories.

Even though it wasn’t their first time eating together, he found himself feeling nervous. The silences stretched longer than usual. It made him uncomfortable enough that his hand kept drifting to his wine glass.

After the main course was cleared away, the man across from him finally spoke.

"A little while ago…"

Kawase's breath caught in his throat.

“I heard you broke up with your girlfriend. Have you found someone new since then?”

“No way. I’m done with romance for a while.”

He shrugged, and the department head let out a quiet breath.

“…This is about work, but you’ve mentioned before that you wanted to transfer to Product Planning, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

Kawase swallowed hard.

“One of the employees in the department is resigning at the end of October. If you’re still interested, I can speak to the head of HR on your behalf.”

“R-Really?”

His voice trembled with excitement.

“Yes.”

“Thank you so much! Please, I’d love that.”

He bowed his head so deeply that his forehead nearly touched the table.

“In return,” the department head continued, “I’d like you to grant me one request.”

“Anything! I’ll do whatever you need.”

There was a pause. Then, as if mentioning something trivial, the department head said:

“I want to have sex with you.”

“…Huh?”

The word slipped out before he could stop it.

“I’ve already reserved a room downstairs.”

His tone remained perfectly even. Kawase felt his cheek twitch.

“Uh… um… this is a joke, right?”

“You can think of it as a transaction if you’d like.”

At that moment, dessert was brought to the table. The department head took up his spoon and slowly lifted a bite of sherbet to his lips.

Kawase knocked back the last of his wine in a single gulp. As he set his empty glass down, he noticed that his fingers were shaking.

He understood the words, but he didn’t want to.

If he were a woman, he could at least comprehend being asked to trade his body for an opportunity. But he was a man. A man being propositioned by another man—by his own superior, no less.

Was the department head gay?

If he had ever noticed any suggestive glances, he might have seen this coming. But there had never been even a hint of anything like that. Or had he just been oblivious?

“This is still… just a joke, right?”

Desperately, he clung to the possibility.

“It’s not.”

The response was immediate.

“…So, does that mean you’re… into men?”

The department head tilted his head slightly, as if considering it for the first time.

“I don’t really know. But I wanted to sleep with you, so maybe I am.”

His expression was the same as when he listened to Kawase’s stupid stories.

Kawase felt his stomach churn.

He wanted to be in Product Planning. But the idea of sleeping with a man in exchange for it—he couldn’t even imagine it. He didn’t want to.

“I… I can’t.”

The department head looked him straight in the eye.

“I see.”

There was no anger in his voice, no sign that he had taken offense.

Which was why the next words hit all the harder.

“In that case, I’ll ask the head of HR to make sure you never transfer to Product Planning. At least, not until I retire.”

“W-Wait, hold on!”

His voice rang out across the quiet restaurant, turning more than a few heads. Face burning, he dropped his gaze to the table.

“Why… why would you do that?”

He forced his voice low, almost a whisper.

“Because I have a goal. And I’m willing to use whatever means necessary to achieve it.”

If he accepted the offer, he would transfer by the end of the month.

If he refused, he would never transfer at all.

“How many years do I have until retirement?” the department head mused. “By then, how old will you be? Probably around the same age I am now. Do you think Product Planning will have any use for you then?”

His voice was cold—colder than Kawase had ever heard it.

Up until now, he had thought of this man as a kind boss, someone easy to get along with. But that had all been a lie.

His true nature was something else entirely.

Kawase clenched his hands into fists beneath the table, feeling sweat pool in his palms.

A threat with no escape.

Like sinking into a bottomless swamp.

He wanted to go to Product Planning. He didn’t want to spend his whole career bowing and scraping as a salesman—he wanted to be part of creating something.

But if he refused this man’s offer, as long as he remained in power, that future would never be his.

“…You’re fucking disgusting.”

Kawase growled the words like a cornered dog, but the department head remained unfazed.

“Call me what you like. I have no intention of withdrawing my offer. Your choice is simple—accept my conditions or don’t.”

This was beyond absurd. He had never heard anything so ridiculous in his life. There was no way he would ever give in to this.

At least, that’s what he told himself.

But the words… wouldn’t come out.

The department head glanced at his watch.

“Dinner’s over. Let’s leave in about ten minutes. I’ll need your answer by then.”

Despite all the wine he had drunk, Kawase’s throat felt parched.

“For what it’s worth, if it were me, I wouldn’t hesitate,” the department head added. “If all it took was a single night to get what I wanted, I’d take that deal without a second thought. Wasting the next ten or fifteen years out of sheer stubbornness… that would be the real stupidity.”

A crack formed in the resolve Kawase had thought was solid.

Sex—at most, it would take two or three hours.

Against ten, maybe fifteen years.

If he endured those two or three hours, his transfer to Product Planning would be guaranteed.

But he couldn’t. The idea of sleeping with a man made his skin crawl.

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

…But what if he refused?

If the department head was serious, then he wouldn’t be transferred until retirement.

Up until now, he had been treated well. But after rejecting this offer, that would change.

At best, he would be ignored. At worst, his career would be sabotaged. No promotions, no raises. He might spend the rest of his life as a low-level employee.

The department head had given him two options. But if he wanted to survive in this company, there was only one real choice.

Suffer years of mistreatment.

Or get the transfer and escape this man’s grasp as soon as possible.

It made his stomach turn. The thought of giving in filled him with rage.

But it would be stupid to throw everything away over pride.

He wouldn’t let himself lose.

“Time to go.”

The words made him flinch.

“Huh? Ah…”

Before he could gather his thoughts, the department head stood up and began walking toward the exit.

Maybe he had taken Kawase’s silence as rejection.

Panicked, Kawase scrambled to his feet and followed, catching up just as the department head paid the bill.

Once outside, the man walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the elevator.

There was no one else waiting.

They stepped inside.

The doors slid shut, and the department head pressed the button for the first floor.

As the elevator began its slow descent, a heavy silence settled between them.

The weight in Kawase’s chest sank lower and lower.

Fear. Shame.

And… regret.

“I-If it’s just once…”

The department head turned to him.

“…O-Only once, right? You’re not going to come back later and demand more?”

“Just once.”

“You’re not—y-you’re not going to screw me over and pretend the HR talk was a lie?”

A short silence.

Then, a quiet sigh, as if the question itself was exhausting.

“If you don’t trust me, I can put it in writing.”

Kawase dropped his gaze, staring at his shoes.

“…Forget it.”

His voice was barely more than a growl.

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