A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry that this update took so long. Work has been so, so busy in the past year and I've barely had time to write, let alone sleep. In an attempt to write more frequently, I've shortened the chapters a bit. Thank you for all your support and kind reviews – they're the things that keep me writing!

Chapter 5: In Which Mother Knows Best

What happened in the next few minutes after she'd left Keita's room were a blur to Kotoko. Her feet had somehow carried her to the front of her door and she stood there, staring at the keypad below her doorknob.

Keita had tried to kiss her.

Keita, her best friend, banter buddy, and most reliable co-worker, had just tried to kiss her.

Did he like her? Not just as friends, but as something more?

The thought sent her stomach twisting uncomfortably.

It was true that she'd valued Keita as one of the most important people in her life, but she'd never once considered him in that way – as a hot-blooded, virile man.

Could she, though, if she tried hard enough?

Kotoko definitely did not have those sorts of feelings for Keita, but he was such a huge part of her life that the thought of losing him sent a sharp pain through her heart. Would forcing feelings for him be the only way that she could keep him by her side? Or could the both of them write this episode off as a drunken misstep between friends, where alcohol had blurred the boundaries in their friendship, and laugh it off?

She stared at her door vacantly. She certainly didn't feel like laughing at the moment. She felt miserable.

Just then, the door let out a series of beeps, pushing Kotoko backward as it opened. From the door emerged Naoki, dressed in a tight-fitting black v-neck and shorts, and holding a garbage bag.

His eyes widened for a second upon seeing that someone had been on the other side of the door, but narrowed upon discovering that it'd been Kotoko.

"Back from your date, huh? Well, it's nice to know that contracts mean so much to you." He snapped. "I'm stuck taking out the garbage today instead of you, because you came home so damn late—"

Kotoko brushed past him with her eyes downcast, interrupting his spiel. "Not a date, Director." She strode over to her room, and closed the door with a loud bang.

Naoki rolled his eyes. "Women."

It was around 6 a.m. when Naoki was blissfully soaking in the morning sunshine on the balcony as he enjoyed his cup of coffee, when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Kotoko? Are you there?" A voice from the other side of the door called. "Kotoko, it's Keita. Open up for a sec, please?"

Naoki's eyes widened. Damn it, and after all he'd told her about respecting their contract's terms! He rushed over to her room, and knocked.

"Airhead, your friend is here. Kamogari. I know you're in there, so get the door."

There was no response.

He knocked again. "Kotoko?"

His query was only met with more silence.

For a second, he contemplated reaching for the doorknob and opening the door. Then, he shook his head. No – if he started breaching the terms of their contract too, he'd be no better than Airhead herself. Sighing, he made his way back to the living room, contemplating his options.

He heard a series of beeps, indicating that Kamogari was trying to open their door by punching in the passcode. Thankfully, he'd changed it the night before after his dinner with Matsumoto, after Airhead had returned home. Putting his cup of coffee down on the counter, Naoki crept over to the front door and peeked out.

He saw Kamogari reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a sheet of folded paper. Kamogari crouched down and tucked the folded paper under the door. Then he walked away, clearly down.

Naoki reached down and picked up the note. From the way it was folded, he could make out the words "kiss" and "important."

Being nosy went against everything that Naoki Irie stood for, but this was a special exception. Whatever was going on between Airhead and Kamogari had the potential to make his living conditions even more unbearable than they were! Surely, that gave him the right to take a small peek? And judging from Kotoko's lack of response, she was probably dead asleep, anyway.

Naoki picked up his cup of coffee off the counter, finished its contents, washed the cup and dried it, and then walked back out to the balcony. Then, looking over his shoulder to ensure that Kotoko was still very much asleep in her room, he slowly unfolded the note.

"Dear Kotoko,

I can't even begin to apologize for what happened last night. I almost forced myself on you, and that was an unforgivable mistake. My judgment was clearly impaired due to being drunk, and I can ensure you that such a thing will never happen again. I'm so sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, but you're too important to me for me to lose you. Can you forgive me? Again, I'm so sorry. This won't ever happen again, I swear.

I'm not going to be at Pandai this week because of finals. Going to live with a friend of mine for a week at the dorms. Talk to you when I get back? Dinner on me.

You know how to reach me.

- K"

Naoki's eyes widened, as he scanned the note again. So Kamogari had almost forced himself onto Kotoko? It was clear, then, that the boy had feelings for Kotoko. But judging from the way that Kotoko had been acting last night, it was clear that the feelings were not reciprocated.

Or at least, not yet.

"Because she likes me." He thought, smugly.

Then he blinked. Where had that thought come from?

Letting out a slow exhale, Naoki folded the note back up and placed it on the coffee table. Then, he got a sticky note from his room, wrote the new passcode on it, and stuck it on Keita's note before returning to his room to get dressed for his Saturday tennis match with Sudou and Matsumoto.

Kotoko had fallen asleep with unexpected ease after returning from Keita's room, due to the alcohol-induced fatigue that clouded her brain. However, when she awoke at 12:03 p.m., the anxiety that had plagued her the night before came back, in full force.

Flashes of what had happened last night replayed themselves over and over in her head, and she groaned into her pillow. What had she done?

Just then, a sharp rapping at her door interrupted her session of self-loathing. "Kotoko?" Naoki's voice called from the other side of the door.

Oh yeah. And there was also the problem of Naoki.

Naoki, her superior.

Naoki, her superior, who she'd slapped across the face two nights ago. Naoki, her superior, who hated her.

Damn it all.

Kotoko quickly tied her hair up into a ponytail, and tried to straighten her wrinkled clothes as best as she could before answering the door.

"Um, yes?" she said as she opened the door, not quite meeting his eyes.

"This came for you this morning," he said, handing her a note. "From Kamogari."

Her eyes widened, as she snatched it from Naoki's sweaty palm.

Wait... sweaty palm?

Confused, she took a quick look at Naoki, and saw that he was dressed in tennis gear, with his clothes and hair clinging to him like second skin.

Ah.

"Um, thank you, Director." she muttered, before attempting to slink back into her room. However, Naoki stuck his hand out and prevented her from closing the door.

"We need to talk. About that." Naoki motioned over to the pile of her belongings, still very much a mess, in the corner of the living room. "When are you going to have it straightened out?"

Kotoko had actually been planning to organize that today. But now she almost felt as if she didn't want to do it anymore, out of spite.

"I'll take care of it." She pulled the doorknob, but Naoki still hadn't let go of the door.

"Well, um, I built the bookshelves for you." He said, not looking at her. "So get that done today."

Her eyes widened. Naoki, doing something nice for her? Out of his own volition? But, why? She looked at him suspiciously.

"You better get that shit cleaned up by today, or I'm going to throw it all over the balcony." He grumbled, disappearing into his own room.

Naoki sighed. He was still the victim in all this, but he figured that he should take the high road and let this slapping incident slide. After all, some people's situations in life didn't allow them to realize the downright reckless lives they were leading. It was because he was in a position of power, and not because he felt slightly guilty about what he'd said. No, siree. Nope.

He pulled the door shut, and fished his phone out of his pocket to check his schedule. The only things left on his agenda for the day were a short video conference with his associate in China, and a dinner meeting with a potential investor from Shinsekai Group.

Sighing, he grabbed a change of clothes and headed into the shower. No rest for the wicked.

Noriko Kotobuki tapped her shoe impatiently as the elevator ascended. It wasn't a habit that she indulged in that often, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. It seemed that her darling boy, Naoki, was going to refuse to do as she said, despite all the restrictions that she'd placed on him already. Why did he have to fight back? Why did he have to insist on staying in the Art Department? Surely, he realized that the position at the Strategy Planning Department was a better alternative in every way. The salary was higher, the hours were shorter, and he'd be able to learn more about running the company directly from his father.

So, why?

The elevator's doors opened at the 27th floor, and Noriko slowly started making her way down the hallway.

She pulled out her phone to retrieve the code for Naoki's apartment from her inbox. Being the wife of the chairman granted her many perks, one of which being unrestricted access to all the information that the company's classified private servers had to offer, as long as she knew who to ask.

"2707…. 2707. Ah, there we go." Noriko stood in front of the apartment, and entered the security code onto the keypad.

"Director Irie? I didn't think you'd be back so soon!" she heard someone call, from within the apartment. "I'm sorry, but I'm not quite finished cleaning yet-"

Noriko shut the door behind her, and entered the apartment.

And smiled.

Oh, fate sure worked in mysterious ways.

Kotoko looked up from the pile of sketchbooks that she'd been sorting through when she'd heard the beeping of the keypad from outside the door. Her eyes widened in panic. Surely Director Irie wouldn't go through with this threat from earlier that day… would he?

"Director Irie? I didn't think you'd be back so soon!" she called out, shoving her books onto the shelf as quickly as she could. "I'm sorry, but I'm not quite finished cleaning yet—"

She stopped in mid-speech when she turned around, and saw that a woman was bent over at the foyer, taking off her shoes.

"Um..." Kotoko began, approaching the bent-over woman, "can I help you?"

The woman, having removed her heels, stood up and looked at Kotoko. "Ah, Ko-Ko! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Ms. K-Kotobuki?" Kotoko stammered, taking an involuntary step back. "What are you doing here?"

Noriko Kotobuki was a famous photographer who was another friend of her father's, from back in Nagoya. Since Ms. Kotobuki was a Nagoya native, she'd often held gallery shows in her hometown despite the fact galleries in many cities begged her to have exhibitions there, too. Kotoko's father had always taken Kotoko to Ms. Kotobuki's photo book release parties, and she'd always been more than generous to Kotoko.

But still, that didn't explain how she'd gotten into the apartment. Or what she was doing there.

Kotoko blinked dumbly, stepping back to allow Ms. Kotobuki inside of the apartment. Noriko floated over to a stool at the island counter in the kitchen and took a seat, tucking her dress under her in a graceful movement.

Noriko beamed. "I'd heard that my Naoki had a roommate, but I didn't realize that it was you, Honey! Oh, what a relief."

Kotoko stared at her blankly. "Um… your… Naoki, Ms. Kotobuki?"

Noriko blinked at her, folding her hands together on the surface of the counter. "Didn't I tell you, honey? I'm married to Shigeki. You know, your dad's friend, Mr. Irie. Naoki is my son."

Kotoko's jaw dropped.

What? How? Since when?

"So you see, Honey," Noriko said, sipping the cup of coffee that Kotoko had made her, "I never changed my name after Shigeki and I got married. My name in itself is a brand, as you know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I thought you knew." She smiled, taking another sip. "This coffee is fantastic, Ko-Ko!"

Kotoko smiled sheepishly. "Thank you, Ms. Kotobuki. But, um, how come you never came by to the restaurant with Mr. Irie, or your boys? And why were they never at your gallery openings or book signings?"

Noriko waved her hand. "Oh, you know Darling. Always busy with company work. And also, who'd watch the boys if the both of us were out about town? As for my boys, they were too busy studying to come all the way to Nagoya for my exhibits."

Kotoko nodded, taking a sip of her own coffee. So the Ms. Kotobuki that she'd known all these years—the bohemian soul with a god-given gift for photography—had actually been married all this time, and had mothered two kids? With one of them being Naoki?

"Anyway," Noriko continued, "the reason why I dropped by here today is because my Naoki is being such a pain in the rear." She let out a sigh. "I mean, you know me, hon. I'm not one for tradition. But Shigeki is insistent on wanting to train Naoki to be the successor of this company as soon as he can. But Naoki refuses to leave that Art Department of his!"

Kotoko flinched. Ms. Kotobuki was trying to get Director Irie to leave the Art Department? Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Please, don't!"

Noriko blinked. "What?"

"Um, I mean..." Kotoko stammered. "I'm in the Art Department too, ma'am. And to be honest..." she looked at Noriko, "Director Irie has inspired me and my art in so many ways. Our department wouldn't be the same without him."

The older woman smiled coyly. "Oh, is that right?"

Kotoko nodded, blushing as she took another sip of her coffee.

"So..." Noriko began casually, stirring her coffee with a spoon, "you like Naoki, huh?"

Kotoko almost choked on her coffee, and her eyes widened. "I, er, that is… I..."

Noriko giggled gleefully, clapping her hands. "That's wonderful! You'd be a fine match for my boy. And does he know how you feel yet?" She looked at her expectantly.

Kotoko opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the sound of the keypad being pressed on the other side of the door. Noriko stood up, and walked over to the door.

"Mother? What are you doing here?" Kotoko heard Naoki say, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Nao! You didn't tell me that your roommate was Ko-Ko!" Noriko said gleefully, running over to the foyer to embrace her son. "Oh, this is great!"

Naoki hugged his mother back hesitantly, but broke away from her quickly. "Wait, who?"

"You know, Ko-Ko! You know, Mr. Aihara's daughter! We've been to his restaurant in Nagoya a couple of times." she said, pulling her son inside of the apartment. Naoki quickly slipped out of his shoes and closed the door behind him, as he was dragged by his mother toward the couch in the living room.

Noriko sat down on the couch, and pulled Naoki down to sit next to her. "Join us, Ko-Ko!"

Naoki blinked. "Wait, Mr. Aihara? Nagoya?"

Then, his eyes widened and he turned toward Kotoko. "You're Mr. Aihara's daughter?" He turned to look at Kotoko, who'd taken a seat on the opposite side of Noriko, and groaned. "How did I not realize? The resemblance is uncanny… well, when it comes to your appearances, anyway."

Kotoko was at a loss for words. Who knew that Director Irie's family and her family had been connected so intimately, for so long?

Was this… was this fate?

Shaking her head, she banished the thought almost as soon as it'd come. No, no. Director Irie was a jerk. A cold-hearted jerk who'd rejected her confession letter without blinking an eye. And she was supposed to be giving up on him, not letting herself steep her thoughts in more fantasies of them!

But…

But…

What were the chances of all this happening, really?

Was it maybe, just possibly, fate at work?

Kotoko let out a deep breath that she hadn't realized that she'd been holding.

Noriko beamed. "I have a great idea, Nao!"

Naoki scowled. Whenever his mother said that she had a great idea, it'd turned out to work out pretty terribly for him.

"What is it, Mother?"

"Forget what I said about joining the Strategy Planning Department."

Naoki's eyes widened, as he turned toward her. "Do you really mean that, Mother? So can I—"

She held her hand up. "But. I have a few conditions."

Naoki nodded. Surely, they couldn't be worse than taking away all his lines of credit, like she initially had!

"I'll give you access to your money back. But..." Noriko turned toward Kotoko, who was lost in her fantasies of Naoki and herself. "You have to continue living with Kotoko in this apartment, and mentor her until Yuuki starts training under your father in three years."

"What?" Naoki and Kotoko shouted, getting up from the couch in unison.

Noriko shrugged. "Yuuki may be clever for his age, but he can't whizz through college like he did with elementary school. He should have time to enjoy college life." She got up to get her coffee from the counter, and sat back down on the couch. "And he's only 17. Attending college while being trained to be the heir of Pandai will be too much for even him to handle."

"And what's the other option?" Naoki asked, his voice growing cold.

"Report to the Strategy Planning Department tomorrow morning."

"What if I refuse both of those options?" Naoki said, glaring at his mother.

Noriko stared straight into her son's eyes. "Consider yourself out of a job."

Contract-writing must be an Irie-family thing, Kotoko decided, as she finished putting the last of her books on her new bookshelf in the living room, as Naoki fumed in his room. First Naoki, and now Noriko?

On the coffee table of the living room lay a hand-written contract, signed by Naoki, Kotoko, and Noriko. It read,

"We, the undersigned, agree to the following terms and conditions:

Kotoko Aihara and Naoki Irie will cohabitate in suite 2707 of the Pandai Company Dorms, in rooms 2707A and 2707B respectively, until Yuuki Irie enters Pandai Corp. as a full-time employee.

Kotoko Aihara will be given a weekly stipend deposited to her bank account via ACH as well as a sketchbook review every week by Naoki Irie for her troubles.

Naoki Irie will not vacate apartment 2707 for longer than 16 hours without consent from Noriko Kotobuki.

Naoki Irie will not find alternative accommodations, and will not live anywhere except suite 2707 with Kotoko Aihara.

Failure to adhere to these terms will lead to Naoki Irie's immediate termination from Pandai, without unemployment benefits.

Noriko took a sip of her coffee. "This truly is superb, honey. You must tell me your secret!"

Kotoko smiled shyly. "Oh, it's nothing much. You just have to use filtered water, and brew the beans at the right temperature. Oh, and grinding the beans right before you brew them helps, too." She put the last book on the shelf, and joined Noriko on the couch.

"Please put this up in a prominent place, will you, honey?" Noriko said, pushing the contract over to Kotoko. "You know, so that my dear Nao won't ever forget."

Nodding, Kotoko took the contract from the coffee table and taped it up right next to the first contract that she'd signed with Naoki. A smile crept onto Kotoko's lips, which didn't escape Noriko's notice.

Kotoko sat back down across from Noriko, twirling her hair nervously. "Are you sure this is okay? I mean—"

Noriko waved away her concerns. "Don't worry, Honey. He'll get over his temper tantrum soon enough." Then she pulled out her wallet, fishing out a photo of Naoki as a child.

"Just a little something for your troubles," Noriko winked, as she slid it over to Kotoko. The young girl's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she quickly reached down to pick it up.

"Is this… Director Irie?" Kotoko asked, resisting the urge to have a full-on meltdown over the sheer cuteness. He still had the same scowl he always wore, but had his chubby cheeks puffed out in impudence and was wearing a cute yellow hat.

"Sure is." Noriko smiled. "And there's a lot more of those where they came from. Just take care of my boy, will you? You two would be so cute together."

Kotoko sighed, putting the photo down. "I'm sure that Director Irie would vehemently disagree. I mean, I confessed to him already, and—"

The older woman almost dropped her cup onto the coffee table. Ko-Ko had done what?

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm thrilled! Finally, I'll have a daughter—"

"But he rejected me." Kotoko cut her off, her eyes downcast. "I should've figured as much, but I just wanted to take a chance, you know?"

"Nonsense." Noriko shook her head. "We'll make sure he comes to his senses."

Kotoko managed a doubtful smile, before taking both of their cups to the sink.

"Oh, this is going to be so fun," Noriko murmured to herself, as she took a final sip of her coffee.