A Very Popular Idol Classmate Has Taken a Liking to Me, A Person Who Doesn't Want to Work for My Whole Life
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.Daininki Idol na Classmate ni Natsukareta, Isshou Hatarakitakunai Ore
Src: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2496gr/129/
Act 4 - The Past of The Shidou Family
35-1 Parent and Child
"Phew......" (Rintaro)
On a day off. Once again, I stand in front of the Shidou Group's headquarters.
I’ve already made an appointment during that phone call the other day.
Before, just being here made me feel overwhelming disgust, but now, I don’t feel that way at all.
On the contrary, I'm in a strangely positive mood.
“――――Alright, let’s do this.” (Rintaro)
I enter the building and tell the receptionist my business.
They look flustered to learn I'm the president’s son, and after a brief conversation, I wait in the lobby until someone comes to escort me.
Soon enough, a familiar face steps out of the elevator.
"She" spots me and walks straight over.
“......We’ve been expecting you, Rintarou-sama.” (Sofia)
Sofia-san stands in front of me as she says this.
Just like my father, her expression is quite stiff.
I wonder if birds of a feather really do flock together. Well, I suppose as long as someone gets the job done, that’s all that matters.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to ever return to this building of your own will, Rintaro-sama.” (Sofia)
“I felt the same way… but you never know what life will throw at you.” (Rintaro)
She looks a bit puzzled, probably because my attitude isn’t what she has expected.
What's that—she turns out to be more expressive than I thought.
“…Well then, please follow me.” (Sofia)
Leads by Sofia-san, I head to the president’s office just like last time.
We get on the elevator and head to the top floor.
Then, as we reach the door, Sofia-san knocks politely.
“President, I’ve brought Rintarou-sama.” (Sofia)
“…Come in.” (Yuutaro)
With his permission, I step into the president’s office.
The scene is the same as the last time I came.
My father, sitting in the chair at the back, stands up upon seeing me.
He gestures toward the sofa across from his and leads me to it.
“Asking to meet me out of the blue… what on earth do you want?” (Yuutaro)
“Come on, does a son need a reason to see his father?” (Rintaro)
“......” (Yuutaro)
“......Just kidding.” (Rintaro)
He looks so troubled that I have to clarify I'm just joking.
Still, it feels kind of rude that my visit would bother him that much.
Then again, considering our relationship up to now, I can’t really blame him.
“Let’s get to the point. For what reason are you here today?” (Yuutaro)
“…There are two reasons I came. One of them… is to apologize to you.” (Rintaro)
“To apologize?” (Yuutaro)
“I… had misunderstood everything. I assumed you were trying to force me to become your successor, and I resented you for it.” (Rintaro)
“......” (Yuutaro)
“But you never once told me to take over the family business. You… never had any intention of forcing me into it.” (Rintaro)
He doesn’t deny my words.
That silence—is as good as confirmation.
The father I knew had always been bad at dealing with people.
He never knew how to have a conversation that considered the other person’s feelings.
Which is exactly why his words are always honest.
In that sense, at least, I can trust him.
“I’m the one who neglected the family and caused you pain. Knowing that, I couldn’t bring myself to drag you into the same path.” (Yuutaro)
“......When your ex-wife left you, how did you feel?” (Rintaro)
“I felt I got what I deserved. For someone like me—insensitive to others’ feelings—to try and build a family, that was an unforgivable mistake.......”
As he speaks, he casts his eyes downward.
“It’s indeed you neglected me and my mother. And in the end, she left. I think it’s fair to say you failed as a parent.” (Rintaro)
“......” (Yuutaro)
“But still......” (Rintaro)
I hesitate for a few seconds.
Saying it out loud feels embarrassingly sentimental.
But I’ve come this far, so I can’t back out now.
“I have grown up properly. And here I am, standing here today... as your son.” (Rintaro)
I stand up from the sofa and look my father straight in the eye.
Then I bow deeply to him.
“Thank you… for raising me.” (Rintaro)
Maybe my gratitude is misplaced.
Some people might say it’s wrong to bow to a man who tried to run from his responsibilities as a parent.
But still… I’ve made it this far thanks to him.
I’m living my life as his son.
“…Do you, still regard me your father?” (Yuutaro)
“Of course. You’re the only father I’ve got.” (Rintaro)
“I, see.” (Yuutaro)
His body sinks into the sofa.
From the look of it, he is deeply relieved.
Some long-standing weight must have lifted from his shoulders.
“I’ve always… known I had a responsibility to the life I brought into this world. But while I worked to protect my employees, I ended up neglecting the two I should have protected most—my wife and you.”
Biting down in regret, he clenches his teeth.
But then he continues.
“I didn’t interfere in your life too much… because I thought someone like me, who couldn’t fulfill his duties as a parent, might be better off staying out of his child’s life. I believed that just by existing, I was causing you pain…” (Yuutaro)
It's like listening to the confession of a sinner.
I etched every bit of my father’s words into my mind, not letting myself forget a single word of it.
“I’m truly sorry for everything until now. Please… find it in your heart to forgive someone like me.” (Yuutaro)
Watching my father bow deeply to me, I nearly burst out laughing.
The mighty president of the Shidou Group, bowing his head to a single brat like me.
That's not a bad feeling――――Nah, I’m kidding.
“Raise your head, Old man.” (Rintaro)
“......” (Yuutaro)
“I came here because I want to talk about what comes next.” (Rintaro)
Hearing those words, my father finally raises his head.
“Honestly, I’ve been carrying some serious trauma up to now. I’m fully aware of that, so I won’t try to hide it. But… I feel like I can finally overcome all that. That’s why—I don’t want to talk about the past anymore. I want to talk about the future.” (Rintaro)
“…The future, huh. Is that your second reason for coming here?” (Yuutaro)
“Yeah.” (Rintaro)
I pull a thick stack of documents from my bag.
As I lay them out in front of my father, a look of shock rapidly spread across his face.
“These are… our company’s performance reports, aren't they?” (Yuutaro)
“They are.” (Rintaro)
“Wait a minute, these reports should only be accessible to executive-level employees… Even you shouldn’t have been able to get your hands on these――――” (Yuutaro)
“I went straight to those executives. When I told them I was Shidou Yuutaro's son, they happily made me copies.” (Rintaro)
“......” (Yuutaro)
My father looks visibly displeased.
I’d deliberately left out the names of those who helped me, thinking they might get scolded, but it looked like that decision was correct after all.
“Don’t worry. I’m not leaking it or using it for anything shady.” (Rintaro)
“Then why did you go through all the trouble just to get these?” (Yuutaro)
“Hmm… I wanted to see if there was any room for me to get involved.” (Rintaro)
“To get involved…?” (Yuutaro)
“Yeah. I’ve got a favor to ask you, old man.” (Rintaro)
I lay out a new set of documents I have prepared, my "project proposal".
“I went back to the house we used to live in for the first time in years. I still had a spare key, and I needed to pick up some stuff. Oh man, you really never go back there, do you? The dust had piled up so bad, I ended up cleaning the whole place while I was there.” (Rintaro)
“Rintaro… what are you saying?” (Yuutaro)
“In the past week, I’ve crammed every business book from your room into my head. Along with these current performance reports from the Shidou Group… I gotta say, you’re seriously amazing. Even after growing this big, the company continues to improve year after year.” (Rintaro)
Yes, this past week has shown me just how brilliant my father really is.
“I figured learning business management would be way too hard… but I was surprised how much I remembered. Back when I was a kid, I admired you so much, I read a bunch of those hard books. Guess that came in handy in the end.” (Rintaro)
Of course, it wasn’t like I could read every book cover to cover.
And it’s not like a lazy guy like me would ever have the patience for something that insane.
But thanks to how sponge-like my brain had been as a kid, I remembered most of what was in those books.
All I had to do now was convert those memories into usable knowledge.
Well, that was unbearably painful too――――but when someone has a goal, they can push themselves harder than they ever imagined.
“…So you’ve been acting with a purpose in mind. So, what exactly is that purpose?” (Yuutaro)
“――――To buy them out.” (Rintaro)
“Come again?” (Yuutaro)
A wicked grin spread across my face as I declared my goal.
“I want to buy out the entire Tenguuji Group.” (Rintaro)
~"(This is a Translation Content of pemudatunawisata[dot]my[dot]id. so, read only on there, kay~)"~
[End of Chapter]
Cya~!
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