[Stormy Exchange 2021] The Proposal - Part 1
Title: The Proposal
Pairing(s): Matsumiya (main), Sakuraiba (side), Ohmiya (one-sided, past)
Genres: AU, romance, comedy, slight hurt/comfort, angst
Rating: PG-13
Summary: To avoid deportation, Jun forces his assistant, Nino to marry him
Warning(s): -
Author's notes: Dear Yuuki_Nyanmaru! Thank you for your amazing prompt. When I saw your Proposal!AU prompt, I knew I had to choose it since it’s one of my favorite movies too. I was planning to write something like this for ages so thank you for giving me the final push! I hope you’ll enjoy it ‘cause I had a lot of fun writing it though comedy is not really my genre so I was relying on the movie a lot in that department, I hope that is okay.
Author's notes 2: originally posted here for Stormy Exchange. Please check out all the amazing fics written for the exchange!
Part 1
People said Jun was a workaholic. That he had impossible standards and expectations. That he was a perfectionist to the point that it made work unbearable for everyone else who was supposed to work with him.
When he was younger, these barely concealed rumors about him made him angry. He used to have a short temper and he tended to snap at his workmates when he caught them whispering. It didn’t help his situation. Through the years, he learned to rein in his temper and just ignore them. Just like they learned to keep their distance from him.
And he was fine this way. He was just fine.
He didn’t mind working on his projects more or less alone, until he needed to brief in his crew. Well, technically, he always had assistants and the current one wasn’t even a complete disaster half of the time, so Jun settled with him for the past three years…
Nino groaned loudly, slapping his hand over the bedside table in search for his screaming phone. When he finally got his hand on the noisy device and made it silent, he squinted at the screen to check how much time he had for sleeping in a bit more.
“Oh, shit!”
He kicked off the sheets and jumped out of the bed on light-speed, almost tripping over his own feet and falling on his face in the process.
“Shit, shit, shit…” he cursed non-stop under his breath. He should’ve left for work half an hour ago at least. He left a bunch of project plans on his desk yesterday to finish up this morning but he wouldn’t be able to do that if he was late. And if he wouldn’t be there before his boss… He groaned loudly. He was so dead…
Not a great way to start a day…
“Hey, Nino! Here!” The barista at Jun’s favorite, fancy coffee shop waved to Nino, holding out two to-go cups for him to take.
“You’re a lifesaver!” Nino threw a flirty wink to the barista as he took the cups before he rushed on to the office.
He even managed to catch the elevator before it closed on his face. Now, he only needed to make his way through the cubicles to his post and he was safe. He was mentally patting his own shoulders for the job well done when…
“You must be kidding me!” He cried out as he collided with someone, spilling coffee all over his shirt in the process. “Can’t you watch where you’re going?” He barked out before rushing on. He needed a change of clothes. Why was he not keeping one in the office? If there was anything that his boss hated more than sloppy work, it was a sloppy attire probably…
“Aiba-shi! I need your shirt!”
“Uhh… Nino-chan, what happened to you?” His friend blinked at Nino’s coffee-soaked clothes with a mix of pity and curiosity.
“That blind intern with the post cart, that’s what happened. Now, shirt!” Nino hissed, looking toward the elevator bay to check whether his boss was coming.
“I don’t know… What will I wear then?” Aiba said pretending to be naïve, spinning around with his chair.
‘Who cares?’ Nino wanted to yell at him because he really, really didn’t have time for Aiba’s little games right now. Any other time, sure, but not today.
“Fine! I’ll pay for your fried chicken next time we go out for lunch just give me that damn shirt!” Nino yelled frustrated. ‘He’ll be here any minute now!’ He thought panicking.
“Deal!” Aiba agreed with a wide grin.
“Good morning, boss!” Nino said, handing Jun the (only remaining) coffee cup while catching the bunch of folders that Jun pushed in his arms. “I heard you managed to convince the management to give us the Storm tour, good job!”
“Next time I need your praise, I’ll let you know,” Jun answered curtly.
Nino just rolled his eyes behind Jun’s back, knowing better than to say anything more. ‘Nice talking to you too, as always…’ he thought as he headed to the door.
“Who is Yuiichi and why should I call him?”
Nino winced but stopped and turned back slowly.
“You shouldn’t. That was my coffee originally…” Nino admitted.
“And I’m drinking your coffee because…?” Jun asked with a raised eyebrow, regarding Nino with such cold, disapproving look that made him cringe even after three years of being on the receiving end of that look.
“Because I spilt yours…” He was a grown man in his thirties, he shouldn’t feel like a schoolboy in the principal’s office anymore! Yet, Jun managed to make him feel just like that.
Jun took a careful sip of the cup in his hand.
“You drink unsweetened, cinnamon soy latte. Like me…”
“Yes. It’s like Christmas in a cup,” Nino said honestly. “And no, I’m not drinking it just to have a back-up in case I spill yours! That’d be… pathetic…” Nino added hurriedly, yet a bit insecurely. He did like it, he wasn’t that pathetic, thank you very much!
Jun just snorted at that, obviously not believing a word and turned to his computer. Taking it as his dismissal, Nino headed to the door again.
“Make sure your weekend is free. We have a lot to do for Storm,” Jun called after him.
Nino froze mid-step.
“But… I was going to go home. It’s my granny’s 90th birthday and…” Nino started but his words quickly died on his lips. Before he could find his voice again, the phone on his desk rang and he scrambled off to answer it. “Matsumoto-san’s office… Yes, of course, Chief Sakurai… Yes… Goodbye!... Chief Sakurai is asking for you,” he reported to Jun.
Jun got up from his desk with a barely concealed sigh.
“Come and fetch me in ten, we have a lot to do,” he instructed Nino before marching off to the elevators.
Jun barely slowed down to knock on Sho’s door before entering. Sho might’ve been his superior in the company, but he was also the only person Jun considered as his friend here. They had very similar work ethic that Jun appreciated and it helped Sho to reach such a high position despite his young age which only made Jun respect him more.
“Morning, Sho. I guess you heard about Storm. No need to thank me…” He said jokingly. It was all thanks to his hard work after all.
“Yeah, great job,” Sho nodded his head but he didn’t look as excited as Jun expected him to be. “I know your job requires you to fly around sometimes, but do you remember when we talked about you letting others handle those until your visa application is in progress?”
“Yeah…” Jun said cautiously, not seeing the point of Sho’s little speech.
“But you still went to Seoul last month. The officials took it as breach of procedure and they suspended your visa effective immediately,” Sho finished.
“But it was an emergency! They were…” Jun tried to protest but Sho only shook his head.
“I think the government officials care little about concert emergencies to be willing to make an exception for you.”
It was a long time Jun felt scolded and even when Sho did it so gently, it didn’t make it feel any better. Nor did Jun felt like apologizing for making his job a priority over stupid government procedures!
“This whole procedure is a laughing stock anyway! I’m not even a real immigrant. Just because I was born in LA, I have to go through the same stupid procedure every five years? It’s a waste of time and I don’t have the time to actually do that!” Part of Jun knew that he was throwing a tantrum like a toddler, to the wrong person nonetheless, but the whole situation was irritating. Pointless. It just reminded him every time that he didn’t belong here and he hated the feeling.
“I know, I know and believe me, we’re all grateful here for everything you’ve done. That’s why I talked to the Legal Department already to see if there’s anything we can do to fix the situation. They said you’ll have to re-apply for your visa and you’ll have to leave the country while the review procedure is done. It might take from six to twelve months…”
Jun didn’t like where this conversation was going. He didn’t like it one bit!
“O-Okay. I can work remotely for the time being. It might take some scheduling but it’s manageable. Conference calls, e-mails…” he said, doing his best to look more collected and cooler than how he actually felt. But again, Sho was shaking his head at him.
“Company policy doesn’t allow us to employ anyone who has on-going government procedure…” Sho raised his hand to stop Jun when he saw he was about to erupt once again. “It’s stupid, I know, and I agree with you, but I’m not the one making the rules, nor am I in the position to change it… I’m really sorry but it looks like we’ll have to let you go,” Sho finished and now he did look like he was sorry for it.
“But...!”
Jun’s protest was cut off by the knock on the door and Nino poked his head in with an apologetic smile on his face.
“We’re in the middle of a meeting here,” Sho told him, sending a disapproving look to the intruder.
“I know, I’m really sorry to interrupt, Chief, but there’s an urgent call for Matsumoto-san. They won’t take no for an answer regardless I’m telling repeatedly that he’s otherwise occupied at the moment…” Nino kept babbling as per Jun’s instruction. “It’s about the Storm job, I think…” he added, trumping something up when he didn’t see his boss taking the saving line Nino was throwing at him.
Jun did not take it because the appearance of his assistant gave him the best idea ever!
“C’m ‘er!” Jun hissed at Nino, but he had to repeat it a few times until Nino gathered his courage to actually enter the room. As soon as he was in arm’s reach, Jun grabbed his wrist and yanked him to his side. “Actually… actually there’s something that… I probably should’ve told you sooner…” Jun started turning back to Sho. “But I know the policy, that it’s not really… supported and all but… Ni… I mean Kazunari and I are getting married,” Jun announced, plastering the widest (and hopefully the happiest looking) smile on his face he managed.
Sho looked at him surprised and a bit skeptically.
“You’re… marrying your… secretary?”
“Executive assistant,” Jun corrected. “But yes. Don’t be a prude, it wouldn’t be the first time in history now, would it? Someone dating their subordinate…?” Jun shot him a meaningful glance.
Sho blushed at that. His relationship with Masaki, who was actually working on Jun’s floor, wasn’t really a secret. And though he wasn’t directly Sho’s subordinate, considering his position at the company, almost everybody was under him in the hierarchy, so Jun did have a point.
“You know how it is…” Jun continued. “All those late hours in the office. Long business trips… Something… Something just happened. So… It’s all good now, right? We’re all happy, right? Because we are happy for sure!” Jun rushed on with his words as if he wanted to prevent Sho asking any questions or have time to think about what Jun was talking about, and all the while, holding Nino’s hand in an iron grip so he wouldn’t interrupt him either.
“Okay, it’s alright. Great, actually,” Sho nodded slowly but still regarding the couple with a slight skepticism. “Just make it official so I can get the authorities off my back, okay?” he added strictly.
“Official?” Nino whispered confused.
“Of course! Of course!” Jun giggled and wiggled his ring finger. “Then, we’re heading straight to the office to make it official! Bye then!”
And with that, Jun left the office with the still dazed Nino on his heels…
All the way back to Jun’s office, Nino tried to ignore the whispering and giggling that rippled through the office as they passed it. What wouldn’t he give if he could just shut up the rumor-mills, just this one time! How did they even know about it? What did they know at all when he himself was not clear on what was happening?
“What… just happened back there?” he asked, still clearly shocked while Jun on the other hand was cool as a cucumber, sitting back to his desk to pick up his work where he left it. As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
“They were about to fire me and to deport me,” Jun said calmly, not even looking up at Nino.
“And, naturally, I have to marry you…” Nino said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Jun sighed and looked at Nino as if he was stupid for not getting it.
“Let’s face it. As soon as I’m gone from here, they’ll let you go too. I’m not high on the popularity list around here and neither you are by association. And if it happens, all those coffees, late work hours, cancelled dates and weekend plans were for nothing. You’ll be out of job and your ambitions to amaze the people by creating the most glamorous shows will be over. So, like it or not, for the time being your fate is bound to mine,” Jun explained calmly. He might have slightly exaggerated the situation regarding Nino, but hard times required hard decisions. He watched as realization dawned on Nino’s face before he continued. “Anyway, it’s not like it will be forever. We straighten out the legalities, and after the minimum required time we get a quick divorce and everyone can go on their own way. Why, were you saving yourself for someone special?”
Nino felt blush spreading on his cheeks.
“I wouldn’t oppose the idea…” he murmured under his breath but part of him started to accept that he won’t be able to worm his way out of this. At least for now.
“You can have that after we’re done with each other. Now, phone!” Jun ordered as the said device started to ring on Nino’s desk …
As Nino put down the phone, a message popped up on his computer screen.
“Nino-chan! Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Matsumoto-san!!!!!”
“And now you’re getting married????”
Nino groaned and considered hitting his head on the table but restrained himself. Instead, he typed a reply to his friend.
“Because it’s none of your damn business!”
“How do you know about it at all????”“Sho-chan told me.”
‘Of course he did…’ Nino thought but before he could type his reply, another message popped up:
“You have to tell me everything, you know?”
“Did he confess first?”
“Or did you?”
“Who proposed?”
“How’s the sex?”
“Tell me, tell me, tell me!”
“I told you it’s none of your business!”
“Don’t you have work to do? Just do that!”Nino typed quickly then just to avoid further disruption, he silenced the chat application before it could blow up with another bunch of emojis from Aiba…
As the obvious conclusion of the morning events, instead of playing rounds of PazuDora and munching an onigiri from the vending machine, Nino found himself at the immigration office during his lunch break.
“What are you doing?” Nino hissed at Jun when his boss, ignoring the long line of other applicants in front of the reception desk, marched straight up to the employee.
“Excuse me, it will take just a minute!” Jun told the woman at the head of the line, flashing a charming smile that would’ve made even Nino blush, if he wasn’t so horribly embarrassed by him. After working for Jun for three years, Nino thought he got immune to the embarrassing behavior of his boss. He was obviously wrong.
“I need you to file this fiancé visa application for me,” Jun told to the office employee, handing in his papers.
“Matsumoto Jun-san?” The mas asked after skimming the papers quickly. “Please, follow me!”
Nino had a bad feeling about this, and it only grew while they waited in that tiny, cramped office. When they made you wait like that, it never meant any good, if you asked Nino.
Jun, on the other hand, didn’t seem to share his feeling about their situation, instead, he was too busy typing away on his phone. Work e-mails. Or urgent to-do lists for Nino, ensuring that he won’t leave the office at normal hours today either.
“Sorry to make you wait,” a skinny, balding man said as he pushed his way into the office, taking the seat behind the desk. “My name is Yamada, I’ll handle your case, Matsumoto-san,” he introduced himself. “So, let’s review step by step what’s going to happen now. There’ll be a scheduled interview. I’ll talk to you separately, ask all the questions that a real couple would know about each other. Then, I’ll check the details. I’ll talk to your friends, families, colleagues… And if things don’t add up, and I think they won’t, you…” he said pointing at Jun. “…will be deported permanently. And you…” he turned to Nino now. “…will have to pay a 250.000 yen fine and serve five years in prison for felony. So… Do you wanna talk to me, Ninomiya-kun?”
Nino, shocked by the dark possibilities, had a hard time finding his voice so he just shook his head.
“No? Really…?”
“Yeah?...” Nino stuttered uncertainly, hating himself for sounding so weak. He cleared his throat. “The truth is… that Jun and I… We shouldn’t have fallen in love but… but it just happened. And we didn’t tell about us in the office because… Because of my big promotion coming up. To project manager. We thought it would seem inappropriate considering… you know… So…” Nino trailed off and smiled, hoping it looked convincing enough.
“I see… And did you tell your families about your secret love?” Yamada asked, still eyeing them critically, obviously not convinced by Nino’s story.
“No. My parents are dead, so it’d be hard,” Jun said quickly. “No brothers or sisters either,” he added.
“What about you, Ninomiya-kun? Your parents are dead too?”
“No, no! His parents are very much alive!” Jun cut in before Nino could even open his mouth. “Actually, we’re going to visit them this weekend. Granny’s 90th birthday. Big family event. Everybody will be there. We planned to tell them there. As a surprise, you know.”
Nino let out a choked-out noise and he could only hope it sounded as an agreement to Jun’s words and not sign of the shock he actually felt.
“And where will this joyous event take place?” Yamada asked.
“At Kazunari’s parents’ house, of course,” Jun answered matter-of-factly.
“Which is where?” Yamada looked at Jun expectantly.
For the first time since this comedy started, Jun looked a bit uncomfortable. Nino had to give him that he still hid pretty well that he didn’t have the slightest idea about that.
“Esashi,” Nino piped in. “Hokkaido.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Nino caught the look on Jun’s face. He was so obviously shocked that Nino was already kissing goodbye to all his savings mentally and prepared his heart to endure a prison sentence in his near future.
“I see, I see. This will be fun!” Yamada mumbled to himself, clearly having the time of his life. “I’ll see you both on Monday at 10 for your interview,” he announced, scribbling the date on a post-it and handed it to Nino. “See you then!”
As they walked out of the immigration office, Nino was still busy trying to wrap his head around the potential consequences if anything went wrong with this whole charade. Which, Nino was sure, was bound to happen. It was only matter of time.
On the other hand, Jun was undisturbed as ever, spouting out his non-sense orders regarding their flight up to Hokkaido.
“Why aren’t you taking notes?” Jun demanded when he finally realized that Nino was just walking by his side with a dazed look on his face.
“Excuse me, but were you not in that room just now?” Nino snapped back at Jun. Was he for real?
Jun blinked back at him confused for a moment then realization dawned on his face.
“Ah, the promotion? Great idea, really. Genius!” he praised.
“I wasn’t joking,” Nino insisted when he saw that Jun wasn’t taking him seriously. “I’m facing a 250.000 yen fine and five years in prison. That changes things!”
“Fine, fine…” Jun gave in after a long staring contest. “Project manager? Fine. Okay, you’ll have it.”
“Not in five years, right now. Or I’m walking out of here and you can do whatever you want!” Nino threatened. He was fed up with Jun a lot during their normal work hours but today was the first day he seriously considered following his family’s advice of quitting his job, what they told him to do on almost a daily basis.
“Fine, you win. If you do the Hokkaido weekend and the interview, I’ll promote you to PM,” Jun gave in with as little enthusiasm as it was humanly possible.
A satisfied smirk appeared on Nino’s face at hearing this.
“Thank you. Now, ask me,” he said crossing his arms over his chest.
“What?”
“You heard me. Ask me to marry you. On your knees!”
Seeing that Nino was not kidding, Jun looked around quickly before reluctantly kneeling down.
“Marry me, Nino,” he said with an emotionless tone.
“No,” Nino flat out refused. “Ask me like you mean it!”
Jun sighed heavily. The torture he had to go through just to get that stupid visa!
“Dear, sweet, Kazunari! Would you do the honor of marrying me, pretty please?”
“Hmm… Okay! I’m not appreciating the sarcasm, though,” he said. “See you tomorrow at the airport!” He added before turning on his heel, leaving Jun behind. With everything happening that day, he felt entitled to take the rest of the day off. He’ll see more than enough of Jun’s face this weekend anyway. And for the next few years, probably…
Part 2
Pairing(s): Matsumiya (main), Sakuraiba (side), Ohmiya (one-sided, past)
Genres: AU, romance, comedy, slight hurt/comfort, angst
Rating: PG-13
Summary: To avoid deportation, Jun forces his assistant, Nino to marry him
Warning(s): -
Author's notes: Dear Yuuki_Nyanmaru! Thank you for your amazing prompt. When I saw your Proposal!AU prompt, I knew I had to choose it since it’s one of my favorite movies too. I was planning to write something like this for ages so thank you for giving me the final push! I hope you’ll enjoy it ‘cause I had a lot of fun writing it though comedy is not really my genre so I was relying on the movie a lot in that department, I hope that is okay.
Author's notes 2: originally posted here for Stormy Exchange. Please check out all the amazing fics written for the exchange!
Part 1
People said Jun was a workaholic. That he had impossible standards and expectations. That he was a perfectionist to the point that it made work unbearable for everyone else who was supposed to work with him.
When he was younger, these barely concealed rumors about him made him angry. He used to have a short temper and he tended to snap at his workmates when he caught them whispering. It didn’t help his situation. Through the years, he learned to rein in his temper and just ignore them. Just like they learned to keep their distance from him.
And he was fine this way. He was just fine.
He didn’t mind working on his projects more or less alone, until he needed to brief in his crew. Well, technically, he always had assistants and the current one wasn’t even a complete disaster half of the time, so Jun settled with him for the past three years…
Nino groaned loudly, slapping his hand over the bedside table in search for his screaming phone. When he finally got his hand on the noisy device and made it silent, he squinted at the screen to check how much time he had for sleeping in a bit more.
“Oh, shit!”
He kicked off the sheets and jumped out of the bed on light-speed, almost tripping over his own feet and falling on his face in the process.
“Shit, shit, shit…” he cursed non-stop under his breath. He should’ve left for work half an hour ago at least. He left a bunch of project plans on his desk yesterday to finish up this morning but he wouldn’t be able to do that if he was late. And if he wouldn’t be there before his boss… He groaned loudly. He was so dead…
Not a great way to start a day…
“Hey, Nino! Here!” The barista at Jun’s favorite, fancy coffee shop waved to Nino, holding out two to-go cups for him to take.
“You’re a lifesaver!” Nino threw a flirty wink to the barista as he took the cups before he rushed on to the office.
He even managed to catch the elevator before it closed on his face. Now, he only needed to make his way through the cubicles to his post and he was safe. He was mentally patting his own shoulders for the job well done when…
“You must be kidding me!” He cried out as he collided with someone, spilling coffee all over his shirt in the process. “Can’t you watch where you’re going?” He barked out before rushing on. He needed a change of clothes. Why was he not keeping one in the office? If there was anything that his boss hated more than sloppy work, it was a sloppy attire probably…
“Aiba-shi! I need your shirt!”
“Uhh… Nino-chan, what happened to you?” His friend blinked at Nino’s coffee-soaked clothes with a mix of pity and curiosity.
“That blind intern with the post cart, that’s what happened. Now, shirt!” Nino hissed, looking toward the elevator bay to check whether his boss was coming.
“I don’t know… What will I wear then?” Aiba said pretending to be naïve, spinning around with his chair.
‘Who cares?’ Nino wanted to yell at him because he really, really didn’t have time for Aiba’s little games right now. Any other time, sure, but not today.
“Fine! I’ll pay for your fried chicken next time we go out for lunch just give me that damn shirt!” Nino yelled frustrated. ‘He’ll be here any minute now!’ He thought panicking.
“Deal!” Aiba agreed with a wide grin.
“Good morning, boss!” Nino said, handing Jun the (only remaining) coffee cup while catching the bunch of folders that Jun pushed in his arms. “I heard you managed to convince the management to give us the Storm tour, good job!”
“Next time I need your praise, I’ll let you know,” Jun answered curtly.
Nino just rolled his eyes behind Jun’s back, knowing better than to say anything more. ‘Nice talking to you too, as always…’ he thought as he headed to the door.
“Who is Yuiichi and why should I call him?”
Nino winced but stopped and turned back slowly.
“You shouldn’t. That was my coffee originally…” Nino admitted.
“And I’m drinking your coffee because…?” Jun asked with a raised eyebrow, regarding Nino with such cold, disapproving look that made him cringe even after three years of being on the receiving end of that look.
“Because I spilt yours…” He was a grown man in his thirties, he shouldn’t feel like a schoolboy in the principal’s office anymore! Yet, Jun managed to make him feel just like that.
Jun took a careful sip of the cup in his hand.
“You drink unsweetened, cinnamon soy latte. Like me…”
“Yes. It’s like Christmas in a cup,” Nino said honestly. “And no, I’m not drinking it just to have a back-up in case I spill yours! That’d be… pathetic…” Nino added hurriedly, yet a bit insecurely. He did like it, he wasn’t that pathetic, thank you very much!
Jun just snorted at that, obviously not believing a word and turned to his computer. Taking it as his dismissal, Nino headed to the door again.
“Make sure your weekend is free. We have a lot to do for Storm,” Jun called after him.
Nino froze mid-step.
“But… I was going to go home. It’s my granny’s 90th birthday and…” Nino started but his words quickly died on his lips. Before he could find his voice again, the phone on his desk rang and he scrambled off to answer it. “Matsumoto-san’s office… Yes, of course, Chief Sakurai… Yes… Goodbye!... Chief Sakurai is asking for you,” he reported to Jun.
Jun got up from his desk with a barely concealed sigh.
“Come and fetch me in ten, we have a lot to do,” he instructed Nino before marching off to the elevators.
Jun barely slowed down to knock on Sho’s door before entering. Sho might’ve been his superior in the company, but he was also the only person Jun considered as his friend here. They had very similar work ethic that Jun appreciated and it helped Sho to reach such a high position despite his young age which only made Jun respect him more.
“Morning, Sho. I guess you heard about Storm. No need to thank me…” He said jokingly. It was all thanks to his hard work after all.
“Yeah, great job,” Sho nodded his head but he didn’t look as excited as Jun expected him to be. “I know your job requires you to fly around sometimes, but do you remember when we talked about you letting others handle those until your visa application is in progress?”
“Yeah…” Jun said cautiously, not seeing the point of Sho’s little speech.
“But you still went to Seoul last month. The officials took it as breach of procedure and they suspended your visa effective immediately,” Sho finished.
“But it was an emergency! They were…” Jun tried to protest but Sho only shook his head.
“I think the government officials care little about concert emergencies to be willing to make an exception for you.”
It was a long time Jun felt scolded and even when Sho did it so gently, it didn’t make it feel any better. Nor did Jun felt like apologizing for making his job a priority over stupid government procedures!
“This whole procedure is a laughing stock anyway! I’m not even a real immigrant. Just because I was born in LA, I have to go through the same stupid procedure every five years? It’s a waste of time and I don’t have the time to actually do that!” Part of Jun knew that he was throwing a tantrum like a toddler, to the wrong person nonetheless, but the whole situation was irritating. Pointless. It just reminded him every time that he didn’t belong here and he hated the feeling.
“I know, I know and believe me, we’re all grateful here for everything you’ve done. That’s why I talked to the Legal Department already to see if there’s anything we can do to fix the situation. They said you’ll have to re-apply for your visa and you’ll have to leave the country while the review procedure is done. It might take from six to twelve months…”
Jun didn’t like where this conversation was going. He didn’t like it one bit!
“O-Okay. I can work remotely for the time being. It might take some scheduling but it’s manageable. Conference calls, e-mails…” he said, doing his best to look more collected and cooler than how he actually felt. But again, Sho was shaking his head at him.
“Company policy doesn’t allow us to employ anyone who has on-going government procedure…” Sho raised his hand to stop Jun when he saw he was about to erupt once again. “It’s stupid, I know, and I agree with you, but I’m not the one making the rules, nor am I in the position to change it… I’m really sorry but it looks like we’ll have to let you go,” Sho finished and now he did look like he was sorry for it.
“But...!”
Jun’s protest was cut off by the knock on the door and Nino poked his head in with an apologetic smile on his face.
“We’re in the middle of a meeting here,” Sho told him, sending a disapproving look to the intruder.
“I know, I’m really sorry to interrupt, Chief, but there’s an urgent call for Matsumoto-san. They won’t take no for an answer regardless I’m telling repeatedly that he’s otherwise occupied at the moment…” Nino kept babbling as per Jun’s instruction. “It’s about the Storm job, I think…” he added, trumping something up when he didn’t see his boss taking the saving line Nino was throwing at him.
Jun did not take it because the appearance of his assistant gave him the best idea ever!
“C’m ‘er!” Jun hissed at Nino, but he had to repeat it a few times until Nino gathered his courage to actually enter the room. As soon as he was in arm’s reach, Jun grabbed his wrist and yanked him to his side. “Actually… actually there’s something that… I probably should’ve told you sooner…” Jun started turning back to Sho. “But I know the policy, that it’s not really… supported and all but… Ni… I mean Kazunari and I are getting married,” Jun announced, plastering the widest (and hopefully the happiest looking) smile on his face he managed.
Sho looked at him surprised and a bit skeptically.
“You’re… marrying your… secretary?”
“Executive assistant,” Jun corrected. “But yes. Don’t be a prude, it wouldn’t be the first time in history now, would it? Someone dating their subordinate…?” Jun shot him a meaningful glance.
Sho blushed at that. His relationship with Masaki, who was actually working on Jun’s floor, wasn’t really a secret. And though he wasn’t directly Sho’s subordinate, considering his position at the company, almost everybody was under him in the hierarchy, so Jun did have a point.
“You know how it is…” Jun continued. “All those late hours in the office. Long business trips… Something… Something just happened. So… It’s all good now, right? We’re all happy, right? Because we are happy for sure!” Jun rushed on with his words as if he wanted to prevent Sho asking any questions or have time to think about what Jun was talking about, and all the while, holding Nino’s hand in an iron grip so he wouldn’t interrupt him either.
“Okay, it’s alright. Great, actually,” Sho nodded slowly but still regarding the couple with a slight skepticism. “Just make it official so I can get the authorities off my back, okay?” he added strictly.
“Official?” Nino whispered confused.
“Of course! Of course!” Jun giggled and wiggled his ring finger. “Then, we’re heading straight to the office to make it official! Bye then!”
And with that, Jun left the office with the still dazed Nino on his heels…
All the way back to Jun’s office, Nino tried to ignore the whispering and giggling that rippled through the office as they passed it. What wouldn’t he give if he could just shut up the rumor-mills, just this one time! How did they even know about it? What did they know at all when he himself was not clear on what was happening?
“What… just happened back there?” he asked, still clearly shocked while Jun on the other hand was cool as a cucumber, sitting back to his desk to pick up his work where he left it. As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
“They were about to fire me and to deport me,” Jun said calmly, not even looking up at Nino.
“And, naturally, I have to marry you…” Nino said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Jun sighed and looked at Nino as if he was stupid for not getting it.
“Let’s face it. As soon as I’m gone from here, they’ll let you go too. I’m not high on the popularity list around here and neither you are by association. And if it happens, all those coffees, late work hours, cancelled dates and weekend plans were for nothing. You’ll be out of job and your ambitions to amaze the people by creating the most glamorous shows will be over. So, like it or not, for the time being your fate is bound to mine,” Jun explained calmly. He might have slightly exaggerated the situation regarding Nino, but hard times required hard decisions. He watched as realization dawned on Nino’s face before he continued. “Anyway, it’s not like it will be forever. We straighten out the legalities, and after the minimum required time we get a quick divorce and everyone can go on their own way. Why, were you saving yourself for someone special?”
Nino felt blush spreading on his cheeks.
“I wouldn’t oppose the idea…” he murmured under his breath but part of him started to accept that he won’t be able to worm his way out of this. At least for now.
“You can have that after we’re done with each other. Now, phone!” Jun ordered as the said device started to ring on Nino’s desk …
As Nino put down the phone, a message popped up on his computer screen.
“Nino-chan! Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Matsumoto-san!!!!!”
“And now you’re getting married????”
Nino groaned and considered hitting his head on the table but restrained himself. Instead, he typed a reply to his friend.
“Because it’s none of your damn business!”
“How do you know about it at all????”“Sho-chan told me.”
‘Of course he did…’ Nino thought but before he could type his reply, another message popped up:
“You have to tell me everything, you know?”
“Did he confess first?”
“Or did you?”
“Who proposed?”
“How’s the sex?”
“Tell me, tell me, tell me!”
“I told you it’s none of your business!”
“Don’t you have work to do? Just do that!”Nino typed quickly then just to avoid further disruption, he silenced the chat application before it could blow up with another bunch of emojis from Aiba…
As the obvious conclusion of the morning events, instead of playing rounds of PazuDora and munching an onigiri from the vending machine, Nino found himself at the immigration office during his lunch break.
“What are you doing?” Nino hissed at Jun when his boss, ignoring the long line of other applicants in front of the reception desk, marched straight up to the employee.
“Excuse me, it will take just a minute!” Jun told the woman at the head of the line, flashing a charming smile that would’ve made even Nino blush, if he wasn’t so horribly embarrassed by him. After working for Jun for three years, Nino thought he got immune to the embarrassing behavior of his boss. He was obviously wrong.
“I need you to file this fiancé visa application for me,” Jun told to the office employee, handing in his papers.
“Matsumoto Jun-san?” The mas asked after skimming the papers quickly. “Please, follow me!”
Nino had a bad feeling about this, and it only grew while they waited in that tiny, cramped office. When they made you wait like that, it never meant any good, if you asked Nino.
Jun, on the other hand, didn’t seem to share his feeling about their situation, instead, he was too busy typing away on his phone. Work e-mails. Or urgent to-do lists for Nino, ensuring that he won’t leave the office at normal hours today either.
“Sorry to make you wait,” a skinny, balding man said as he pushed his way into the office, taking the seat behind the desk. “My name is Yamada, I’ll handle your case, Matsumoto-san,” he introduced himself. “So, let’s review step by step what’s going to happen now. There’ll be a scheduled interview. I’ll talk to you separately, ask all the questions that a real couple would know about each other. Then, I’ll check the details. I’ll talk to your friends, families, colleagues… And if things don’t add up, and I think they won’t, you…” he said pointing at Jun. “…will be deported permanently. And you…” he turned to Nino now. “…will have to pay a 250.000 yen fine and serve five years in prison for felony. So… Do you wanna talk to me, Ninomiya-kun?”
Nino, shocked by the dark possibilities, had a hard time finding his voice so he just shook his head.
“No? Really…?”
“Yeah?...” Nino stuttered uncertainly, hating himself for sounding so weak. He cleared his throat. “The truth is… that Jun and I… We shouldn’t have fallen in love but… but it just happened. And we didn’t tell about us in the office because… Because of my big promotion coming up. To project manager. We thought it would seem inappropriate considering… you know… So…” Nino trailed off and smiled, hoping it looked convincing enough.
“I see… And did you tell your families about your secret love?” Yamada asked, still eyeing them critically, obviously not convinced by Nino’s story.
“No. My parents are dead, so it’d be hard,” Jun said quickly. “No brothers or sisters either,” he added.
“What about you, Ninomiya-kun? Your parents are dead too?”
“No, no! His parents are very much alive!” Jun cut in before Nino could even open his mouth. “Actually, we’re going to visit them this weekend. Granny’s 90th birthday. Big family event. Everybody will be there. We planned to tell them there. As a surprise, you know.”
Nino let out a choked-out noise and he could only hope it sounded as an agreement to Jun’s words and not sign of the shock he actually felt.
“And where will this joyous event take place?” Yamada asked.
“At Kazunari’s parents’ house, of course,” Jun answered matter-of-factly.
“Which is where?” Yamada looked at Jun expectantly.
For the first time since this comedy started, Jun looked a bit uncomfortable. Nino had to give him that he still hid pretty well that he didn’t have the slightest idea about that.
“Esashi,” Nino piped in. “Hokkaido.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Nino caught the look on Jun’s face. He was so obviously shocked that Nino was already kissing goodbye to all his savings mentally and prepared his heart to endure a prison sentence in his near future.
“I see, I see. This will be fun!” Yamada mumbled to himself, clearly having the time of his life. “I’ll see you both on Monday at 10 for your interview,” he announced, scribbling the date on a post-it and handed it to Nino. “See you then!”
As they walked out of the immigration office, Nino was still busy trying to wrap his head around the potential consequences if anything went wrong with this whole charade. Which, Nino was sure, was bound to happen. It was only matter of time.
On the other hand, Jun was undisturbed as ever, spouting out his non-sense orders regarding their flight up to Hokkaido.
“Why aren’t you taking notes?” Jun demanded when he finally realized that Nino was just walking by his side with a dazed look on his face.
“Excuse me, but were you not in that room just now?” Nino snapped back at Jun. Was he for real?
Jun blinked back at him confused for a moment then realization dawned on his face.
“Ah, the promotion? Great idea, really. Genius!” he praised.
“I wasn’t joking,” Nino insisted when he saw that Jun wasn’t taking him seriously. “I’m facing a 250.000 yen fine and five years in prison. That changes things!”
“Fine, fine…” Jun gave in after a long staring contest. “Project manager? Fine. Okay, you’ll have it.”
“Not in five years, right now. Or I’m walking out of here and you can do whatever you want!” Nino threatened. He was fed up with Jun a lot during their normal work hours but today was the first day he seriously considered following his family’s advice of quitting his job, what they told him to do on almost a daily basis.
“Fine, you win. If you do the Hokkaido weekend and the interview, I’ll promote you to PM,” Jun gave in with as little enthusiasm as it was humanly possible.
A satisfied smirk appeared on Nino’s face at hearing this.
“Thank you. Now, ask me,” he said crossing his arms over his chest.
“What?”
“You heard me. Ask me to marry you. On your knees!”
Seeing that Nino was not kidding, Jun looked around quickly before reluctantly kneeling down.
“Marry me, Nino,” he said with an emotionless tone.
“No,” Nino flat out refused. “Ask me like you mean it!”
Jun sighed heavily. The torture he had to go through just to get that stupid visa!
“Dear, sweet, Kazunari! Would you do the honor of marrying me, pretty please?”
“Hmm… Okay! I’m not appreciating the sarcasm, though,” he said. “See you tomorrow at the airport!” He added before turning on his heel, leaving Jun behind. With everything happening that day, he felt entitled to take the rest of the day off. He’ll see more than enough of Jun’s face this weekend anyway. And for the next few years, probably…
Part 2