"Damage Control"
( 11:24 AM – Company clientprep )
Kaito Arisaka
Uploading my pitch deck now. Slide 8 is a killer 😎
Nao Mizushima (Riku’s Assistant)
Killer like “wow” or killer like “oops”?
Kaito Arisaka
Relax. I got this.
( 11:55 AM – Conference Room – Presentation )
Boss
Alright, Arisaka-san, you’re up.
Kaito Arisaka
Tsubaki needs to reconnect with a younger demographic—Slide 8 lays it out.
( Slide 8 Appears on Screen )
Tsubaki Client
( confused )...This is last year’s data.
Riku Hasegawa
Correction. That was last year’s strategy. What we propose now is a revised trajectory based on updated trend curves.
( Riku clicks to his emergency backup slide )
Riku Hasegawa
I prepared a contingency. Someone had to.
( 1:20 PM – Riku’s Office – After the Meeting )
Kaito Arisaka
You saved my ass. Why?
Riku Hasegawa
Because your mistake would've cost both of us.
Kaito Arisaka
You stayed late and fixed my file.
Riku Hasegawa
I fixed the presentation. Don't flatter yourself.
Kaito Arisaka
( Stepping closer ) You could’ve let me fall.
Why didn’t you?
Riku Hasegawa
Because I don’t let failure define my work.
Kaito Arisaka
You mean our work?
Riku Hasegawa
( icy )Don’t push it, Arisaka.
( 1:45 PM – Nao & Emi – In the Break Room )
Emi Sato
Hasegawa covered for Arisaka?
Nao Mizushima (Riku’s Assistant)
Yep. And didn’t even brag about it.
Emi Sato
....They’re either secretly sleeping together, or Riku’s developing a conscience.
Nao Mizushima (Riku’s Assistant)
Nah. He's developing a crush🥰
Late evening. Riku’s apartment. Dim lighting, laptop still open. He’s staring at the screen but not typing.
Riku Hasegawa
I shouldn’t have stepped in. He deserved to crash and learn from it. But when I saw him freeze…
Something in me moved. That’s dangerous.
( He closes the laptop. Exhales sharply. Shuts off the light. )
( Across town in Kaito’s Apartment )
Shun Takeda
( text ) I heard you fumbled today. You good?
Kaito Arisaka
Riku bailed me out. Didn’t even blink.
Shun Takeda
So he does care.
Kaito Arisaka
That, or he hates me in 4K resolution.
Kaito Arisaka
I don’t even know what that means anymore.
( both lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. )
Riku Hasegawa
( thinking ) Why didn’t I let you fall?
Kaito Arisaka
( thinking ) Why did it feel like you caught me?
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