Hearing Haji's question, Yukino smiled and said,
"Utaha-senpai has been busy these past few days negotiating that screenwriting job. So she asked to co to the company whenever I have free ti—to help look after my brother a bit, make sure he doesn't get so absorbed in work that he forgets the ti."
"Oh! So that's how it is!"
Haji suddenly understood. "Aoba ntioned sothing about that to . No wonder Utaha hasn't been coming by much lately. Hehe, does that an in a while we might be seeing a drama on TV written by Utaha herself?"
"If the talks go well, yes. But even if it's green-lit, it'll still take quite a bit of ti to produce. At least a year, I'd say."
Haji sighed a little. "A whole year, huh… I was hoping we'd get to see it this year, but that might be a stretch. Still, it's fine! As long as she lands the job, with Utaha's ability she'll definitely pull it off! Alright, I'm off to report to Ichin about my work!"
After Haji dashed off to the programming team to find Ichin, Yukino placed down the tray she was holding and went into Ichin's office to quietly read her book.
Yagami Kou and Toyama Rin exchanged glances, then nodded and went back to work.
Looks like they really had been overthinking things. (T/N: And too, stupid brain [-_-])
At four o'clock, Yukino stepped out of the office with her bag and walked over to the programming section to find Ichin.
"Big brother, I'm heading to the publishing house to pick up Utaha-senpai. Make sure you co back on ti after work."
"Ah, about that—"
Ichin looked up from his screen and said,
"You two go ahead and eat dinner without . I've run into a bit of a tricky issue here, and fixing it will probably take a few more hours. I might not finish until after eight. So tonight our programming team will be staying a little later. I'll ask HR to arrange bentos for dinner, so don't worry—I'll eat properly."
"I see… alright then."
Yukino nodded, didn't press further, and left the programming room.
Once she was gone, Ichin turned to everyone and said,
"Alright everyone, I'll need you to tough it out a little tonight. Let's focus on fixing the issue we just located. There's only one week left before we have to send the build for mastering."
"No problem!"
"Just two extra hours of work, and we're getting dinner too!"
"What are we eating tonight? I kind of want a burger—not really in the mood for rice!"
As the group started chatting about dinner choices, Ichin laughed and said,
"Okay, okay—make a list of what everyone wants, and Nene will send it to HR. But don't go overboard—we can only order from three restaurants total, got it?"
"Got it!!"
Ti slipped by. Around 5:30, dinner arrived. After everyone in the programming team finished eating, the other departnts gradually clocked out, leaving Ichin's team to keep working.
Even though it was overti, they were getting paid extra, and it was a sudden issue—and with their boss staying to work alongside them, no one had any complaints.
In fact, this rare bit of overti actually felt kind of fun.
While debugging his code, a nearly thirty-year-old programr turned to Ichin and said,
"Boss, I've got a question for you."
"What's up? Work-related?"
"Nope—relationship advice."
"Uh, you're a married man asking a single guy for advice?"
"Hahaha, well, it's just that you and the boss-lady get along so well, so I figured you might know a thing or two."
Ichin chuckled and nodded. "Alright, ask away—but I can't promise I'll have a good answer."
Their exchange imdiately drew the attention of the others. A few of the girls—like Narumi and Ruri Gokou—were all single, and naturally, their curiosity about this kind of topic was endless.
The male programr thought for a mont before speaking.
"It's like this—March will be my wife's and my third wedding anniversary. I've been thinking about how to celebrate it and what kind of gift I should get her. After all, we don't have kids yet, and once we do in a couple of years, it'll probably be harder to celebrate properly. So, boss, do you think I should find a nice restaurant and pick out a good gift? I'm not exactly good at that kind of thing."
Hmm, a male programr—understandable. Usually, when it cos to romance and atmosphere, guys tend to be a bit lacking.
Even Ichin himself had only improved in that departnt after spending ti with Utaha.
After listening, Ichin paused his work to think for a mont before replying,
"For anniversaries, if your wife is soone who values those monts, then yes, it's worth preparing sothing nice. It's only once a year, after all.
As for restaurants, I actually don't think that's necessary—unless you book a private room, you'll still be surrounded by other custors, which kind of ruins the mood.
My suggestion is to prepare a candlelight dinner at ho. Do everything yourself—that way, the atmosphere will be more intimate, and she'll really feel the effort you put in. When the day cos, tell ahead of ti and I'll approve you so ti off to prepare.
As for the gift, that's the easy part. We've got plenty of won here with good taste—you can just ask everyone to help you pick sothing."
At that mont, Nene raised her hand enthusiastically.
"That's right! A candlelight dinner at ho can feel just as romantic as any fancy restaurant! Trust us—we've been there!"
"Exactly! And we can help you pick out the gift too!"
"A wedding anniversary, huh? How romantic!"
"Now I kind of want to get married myself!"
"Then let's go to a mixer!"
"Eh… maybe not. I heard from Hazuki that mixers are tough—you can hardly find anyone suitable!"
After finishing the relationship consultation, Ichin let everyone chat for a bit before returning to work.
Ti flew by—it was now 7:40 p.m., almost eight.
The programming bugs they'd found were nearly fixed. Once the final checks and tests were done, they could call it a day.
Just then, the door to the programming departnt suddenly opened.
Everyone looked up to see Utaha and Yukino walking in, each carrying several large bags.
Seeing them, Ichin blinked in surprise. "What are you two doing here again?"
Utaha smiled.
"Yukino told you guys were working overti tonight, so after dinner we decided to make sothing to reward you all. Here—freshly made fried chicken. We'll leave it here for you, so once you're done, you can have a late-night snack."
Her words made Ichin smile. He turned to the programrs and said,
"You all heard that, right? Get those bugs fixed quickly—or there won't be any chicken for you!"
"Ohhh!!"
"Fried chicken!!"
The mont they heard there was food involved, everyone suddenly beca full of energy. Within fifteen minutes, the remaining work was cleanly and efficiently finished.
After that, they brought out so drinks from the break room while Utaha and Yukino unpacked the thermal containers filled with crispy fried chicken.
As soon as the lids ca off, the rich aroma of fried chicken filled the air.
"There's dipping sauce here too, and so disposable forks. Everyone, dig in!"
"Aweso!!"
"I'm digging in!!"
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