Face

How do you prepare to have so many responsibilities without ever expecting them?

How do you go back to your home country as if it was always your plan and lead a major business venture?

You could ask Sakura, but she wouldn't have many answers for you.

Going with the flow seemed to be working until now and she was going to keep trusting it.

She didn't move back with her parents. To be fair, it would probably feel weird to do so, and even if Sendai was near enough, she preferred to keep her home base in Tokyo where the offices were.

It wasn't hard to guess that she would probably spend more time at home during the weekends, but she still had the choice to have her own space if she needed it.

Money wasn't necessarily running short for her, not after those two successful years in England. She had long paid her university degree with scholarship money and the rest she just kept on saving until she needed it.

And it came in handy when she decided to buy a house in Tokyo.

The Japanese real-estate market was a mess but after searching for about a week, she found the perfect place. It wasn't in the middle of the city, which granted some quietness but at the same time, it was close enough to drive to work every day.

On top of all the mess of moving back to her home country, there were her newly acquired responsibilities.

She met her new team just a few days after moving back home. Jetlag was still affecting her slightly but it was only a matter of time until she got used to the different time zone.

It didn't take too long for Sakura to understand just how different the world of business was in Japan.

Suddenly she was the boss of a team full of older people and on top of that, she was a woman. Japanese people take hierarchy seriously but seniority is something still very present in the culture.

It wasn't common to have such a young woman leading a team, not in such a huge company, and not everyone took it lightly. Explaining to these men over 30 that she was the one making decisions took some time and she wanted to lose her patience on more than one occasion.

Making decisions about who the face of Sekkisei should be wasn't easy. Too many suggestions were being thrown around and none of them convinced her fully.

Because of this, it was with great disappointment that Sakura didn't have a definitive answer for the CEO when he called her to his office just a week later.

"I know this is not what you want to hear, but I still haven't made up my mind on our candidate."

"Too many options?" The older man asked.

"Yes, and none of them seems perfect... When I think of Sekkisei I think of genderless skincare. The male market is one of our weakest and somehow, I think a man would be the right choice for the role. But when I think of everyone suggested, none of them seems to embody the spirit of the line. That balance between sensitive and not overly feminine is not easy to achieve..."

"Very wise, as always, Sakura-chan." The CEO said, clearly thinking of their options.

"I don't have a name for you, so it's disappointing."

"May I make a suggestion?"

"Sure... All the help is welcome..."

"Yuzuru Hanyu."

Sakura almost choked on the tea she was drinking when the name came out of his mouth.

"Hanyu?"

Her tone sounded almost scandalized and the CEO took it the wrong way.

"You don't think so? He just won the Olympics again, his popularity is on the rise and he seems to be exactly what we are looking for. Not only that...we already sponsor major competitions of figure skating so this wouldn't be a new market for us."

Sakura thought it through. Yuzuru was exactly what they were looking for but she wasn't looking forward to seeing him in person again after how they ended things, especially not if he was going to work with Kosé.

"I understand your point of view and even favor positively with the choice, it's just that I don't think he would accept a deal with us."

"Everyone has their price, Sakura."

"With all due respect, Sir...You clearly don't know Yuzuru."

"Enlighten me."

"You can't convince that man with money... All he cares about is skating and having enough money to keep his training. He donates as much money as he can and he rarely says yes to sponsorships if he doesn't believe in the company."

"That's why you're here to convince him that we are the right choice."

Sakura visibly swallowed, there was no chance this was a good idea.

"I don't think I can do that... Not with him."

"Are you a fan of his? Is that why?"

She chuckled, it was inevitable.

The girl was his fan, of course, she was, but her reasoning had nothing to do with this.

"I won't deny that I like to see him skate, but that's not why."

"Then what is the problem? You won't disappoint me now, will you?"

How could she say her reasons without sounding dumb?

"Yuzuru and I are old acquaintances..."

The CEO raised his brow at that.

"Did you date or something?"

Well, they did things, but dating certainly wasn't one of them.

"No, we went to high school together before he left for Canada, I haven't spoken to him ever since."

"Well, Sakura. I think this is great. Knowing him only makes your life easier and who knows, this could be the chance for you to reignite that friendship."

Oh, she was screwed, utterly and fucking screwed.