White Hair In The Moonlight
High up in a tower building in the middle of the night, the world seemed to split in perfect harmony. Looking up, the stars shone at their brightest; looking down, the dry city lights and crowded streets of Shibuya buzzed with restless energy.
A woman with a sleek, black bob cut stepped into the spacious top-floor office, holding a stack of official documents. She approached the desk to deliver her report. “Madame Chitose, the contract for the Red Motors acquisition has finally been signed by its owners. The company is officially a part of the Gojo clan’s assets.”
“Thank you, Reiko.” Chitose took the papers, her eyes scanning the signed lines with a long-awaited sigh of relief. “Finally, this acquisition is settled. I honestly thought it would only take three months. But thanks to the owners’ stubborn pride, it dragged out to six. I can’t believe they tried to stall us while letting their debts pile up like that. Buying them out is practically a rescue mission. I’m just glad it’s finally over.”
“Congratulations, Madame Chitose,” Reiko said, bowing her head slightly.
Chitose looked up, arching a single eyebrow. “Reiko... when it’s just the two of us, you don’t need to be so formal. Just call me Mari, like the old days.”
Reiko closed her eyes, a polite, practiced smile playing on her lips as she bowed again. “I am sorry, Madame Chitose. I’ll do my best to use your personal name when we are alone.”
Chitose pouted, her expression a mix of fond, playful annoyance. “You literally just did it again! I know you’re teasing me, Reiko.”
Reiko’s smile widened into a genuine grin. “I am, Madame Chitose.”
“Oh my god, Reiko, come on...” Mari groaned, rolling her eyes.
As Reiko laughed softly at Mari’s exasperated face, the warm atmosphere in the room instantly vanished. Outside the massive, panoramic tower window, a sudden silhouette materialized against the midnight sky, looming behind the glass like a cold, ghostly apparition.
Reiko’s soft smile instantly vanished, replaced by a look of sheer shock.
Noticing the sudden shift, Mari looked at her assistant in confusion. “What’s wrong, Reiko?”
Following the line of Reiko’s frozen stare, Mari turned her head toward the massive glass pane. Her eyes widened. She immediately bolted toward the window, frantically gesturing for the figure outside to use the main doors instead. She panicked at the thought of anyone catching a man casually floating right outside a high-rise office.
Outside the glass, Satoru Gojo looked completely unimpressed. He gave her an annoyed look, as if expecting her to just slide the window open for him which, of course, was an impossible request for a sealed skyscraper window. Realizing how ridiculous he was being, Mari’s face flushed red with irritation as she scowled back at him.
Defeated, Gojo rolled his eyes and decided to listen.
Ten minutes later, the heavy office doors clicked open. He sauntered into the room, instantly complaining. “Maaan, you could have just opened that big window! Taking the elevator all the way up here is so annoying.”
Mari crossed her arms, her brow furrowing deeply. “Those windows are physically not meant to be opened, Gojo.”
Dissatisfied with her completely logical answer, Gojo side-eyed her. He let out a casual whistle, his tone shifting into something distinctly unhinged. “Okaaay, fine. Next time I’ll just smash right through them instead.”
Mari completely lost her composure. Veins practically popping on her forehead, she took a step forward, desperately wanting to punch the living hell out of him. “What are you even saying?! Do you have any idea how much it costs to repair that kind of specialized reinforced glass?! Do you know how incredibly inconvenient that would be for the company?!”
Anticipating the explosion, Reiko quickly stepped in. She caught Mari from behind, gently holding her shoulders and massaging them in a desperate bid to keep her boss from committing corporate murder.
Gojo just stood there, staring at Mari with a smug, widening grin. He knew exactly how to push her buttons, and he absolutely loved doing it. Watching her lose her cool was the funniest part of his day. But for Mari, dealing with him was a one-way ticket to high blood pressure.
The two of them truly were like oil and water.
Defeated by his relentless nonsense and deeply unfunny sense of humor, Mari let out a long, heavy sigh. “So, what brought you here anyway? It’s not like you love involving yourself with boring, mundane human affairs.”
Gojo didn’t answer right away. Instead, he shot a pointed glance at Reiko, giving her a silent cue that it was time to leave. Understanding the hint instantly, Reiko stepped back. “Excuse me, Madame Chitose. I’ll be taking my leave. If you need anything else, I am just a phone call away.”
Mari gave her a grateful nod. “Thank you, Reiko. You can head straight home for the night.”
Reiko nodded and quietly slipped out of the room, closing the heavy doors behind her.
With Reiko gone, Mari walked back behind her desk and sank into her chair. Simultaneously, Gojo slid carelessly into the seat across from her. He leaned forward, his tone dropping into business mode. “I need you to wire ten million yen to Mei Mei’s account.”
Mari’s eyes widened in sheer shock, her hands slamming lightly onto the desk. “Gojo! That is an absurd amount of money! Why on earth are you paying her that much?!”
Gojo flashed an unserious, lazy smile, deliberately looking away to avoid her piercing gaze. “For candies, hehe.”
Mari’s blood practically boiled, steam figurative rising from her head at his casual attitude. Before she could explode, Gojo looked back at her, waving a dismissive hand. “Chill out. Why are you getting so serious about this? It’s not like I don’t have the funds. This is basically pocket money to me, hahaha!”
“You can’t just throw money away like this!” Mari snapped, desperately trying to beat some financial sense into his stubborn head. “Your wealth is not infinite like your damn strength!”
Gojo didn’t argue. Instead, his playful demeanor shifted. Reaching up, he slowly slid off his headband, letting his stark white hair fall loosely around his face. He leaned in, looking straight into her eyes.
Mari froze, her heart skipping a beat as a sudden flush crept up her neck. She felt entirely flustered and confused; Gojo never took off his blindfold or headband casually in front of her. Why now? What was he doing?
Breaking the heavy silence, Gojo blinked and tilted his head. “Damn... you have way more white hairs than the last time I saw you. Are you doing okay?”
The tension instantly shattered. Mari’s eyes widened, her face turning a bright, furious crimson. She had officially had it with him. Reaching her absolute breaking point, she slammed both fists on the desk and screamed, “FINE! I’LL WIRE THE DAMN MONEY! SHE WILL HAVE IT BY TOMORROW!”
Anticipating the physical violence that was sure to follow, Gojo jumped back quickly. Grinning like a madman and laughing to himself, he spun on his heel and vanished from the office, leaving as the absolute menace he was.
Left alone in the quiet room, Mari slumped back into her chair, utterly exhausted and frustrated. The board of chairmen was going to absolutely chew her out and interrogate her for approving such a massive, sudden wire transfer.
Sighing, she walked over to the massive glass window and looked down at the street below. Through the glass, she spotted Gojo walking away from the building. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. He turned around, looking all the way up to the top floor, and flashed a brilliant, knowing grin.
Is this how you choose to say ‘I care for you’? Gojo thought to himself, his smile softening as he turned back toward the dark streets. I hope I’m not being delusional here. Anyway, I better hurry up and exorcise that special grade curse. She’ll still be awake by the time I’m done. But, as anyone could have guessed, it was already past midnight. Gojo, true to form, hadn’t actually thought things through. By the time he finished dealing with the curse, she would, of course, be fast asleep.
