As the year-end winter break had begun, Ichin and Utaha spent the day at the company. After work, they went out for yakiniku with Kō Yagami, Rin Toyama, and Umiko, then headed home together.

Once they got home, Utaha went to take a bath, and Ichin made a video call to his family.

As soon as the video connected, his parents' voices came through the screen.

Seeing her son, Ichin's mother smiled and asked, "Ichin, are you at home right now?"

"Yeah, just got back from dinner with everyone and thought I'd give you guys a quick video call," Ichin smiled after checking the time. "Did you both have dinner already?"

"Don't worry, we ate a while ago."

Ichin's dad glanced toward the side and asked, "Where's Utaha?"

"She's in the shower," Ichin replied, then brought up something he had discussed with Utaha earlier. "For New Year's in a few days, we won't be coming back. We'll spend New Year's at Utaha's place with her family and return home before Lunar New Year's Eve."

His parents had already expected this—last year was the same.

His mom nodded, "Alright, that's fine. If you're coming back for Spring Festival, ask Utaha's parents if they'd like to come too."

"Don't worry, I'll talk to them."

After a brief chat, Ichin ended the video call and went to his room to grab a change of clothes. When Utaha finished her bath, it would be his turn.

---

For the final two days of the year, on Friday, Ichin had only scheduled a half-day of work. After noon, everyone could go home for the holidays. Many employees weren't from Tokyo—like Momiji Mochizuki and Tsubame Narumi, who were from Hokkaido and had to catch flights that afternoon.

But aside from wrapping up work, Ichin had another job as the boss today.

That was handing out the year-end bonuses.

Everyone had worked hard this year, and game development had gone exceptionally well. As the boss, Ichin wasn't about to be stingy. He had finalized the bonuses with the finance team a few days ago and instructed the finance manager to distribute them this morning.

So by 10 a.m., not long after everyone received their year-end salary slips, phones across the office started buzzing.

Shinoda Hajime was the first to notice—she picked up her phone, saw a deposit in her bank account, checked again, and realized it was the bonus. She immediately jumped up in excitement.

"Yahoo! Year-end bonus is here!!!"

After she broke the silence, others also started reacting to the notification of their bonuses being credited.

Hearing the buzz of excitement outside, Ichin exchanged a smile with Utaha, then stood up and walked out of the office.

"Everyone got their year-end bonus, right?"

"We did!!!"

A collective cheer rang out—everyone was clearly in high spirits.

Their company had never delayed salaries, and the year-end bonus was distributed before the holiday even started—very generous. During normal workdays, drinks, coffee, and snacks were always available, and the work environment was great.

Most importantly, they weren't forced to work overtime. As long as the work was completed on time, that was enough. Even if someone stayed late due to work, gas and taxi fares were fully reimbursed.

What's not to love about a company like that?

"Since you've got your bonuses, go enjoy the New Year. Come back refreshed and let's work hard again."

Ichin glanced at his watch. "It's 10 already. If your current tasks are almost done, wrap them up. If you can't finish by lunch, no rush—leave it and pick it back up after the New Year. Momiji, Tsubame, your flight's this afternoon—will you make it in time?"

"We'll be fine!"

Momiji nodded. "We'll have lunch first, then Umiko-senpai will drive us to the airport."

"Umiko's driving? Great."

Ichin then headed over to the programming team to tell them the same about the half-day break.

At Umiko's desk, Ichin asked, "Umiko, since you're dropping them off, when are you heading home?"

"Not going back this year," she said, stretching her neck. "If I go, my family's just gonna bug me about marriage again—total hassle. I'd rather stay home, sleep in, and actually relax."

"You're not going home?"

Ichin thought for a moment. "Then... Utaha's and Rin's places will be empty. Even though Kō's family is in Tokyo, she's going to Rin's hometown on the 2nd. Umiko, why don't you come to our place tomorrow night for New Year's Eve? Utaha and I are staying in, just having dinner with her parents and watching the Kōhaku Uta Gassen. It'll be more festive with more people."

"Sure, I'll come mooch some food then," Umiko said with a big smile.

She was already close with Utaha's parents, so there was no awkwardness about crashing dinner. And of course, she'd bring something along—fruit or maybe a homemade dish.

When it came to cooking, Umiko was actually quite confident.

---

At noon, the break officially began. Everyone packed up and left one by one.

After everyone had gone, Ichin, Utaha, Kō Yagami, and Rin Toyama were the last to leave and lock up the office.

As they walked out of the building, Ichin turned to Rin and asked, "Rin, when are you heading out?"

"This afternoon," she answered casually. "It's not far for me—if I leave in the afternoon, I'll definitely be home in time for dinner. By the way, Ichin, Utaha—any plans for the holidays? Want to come with Kō to my place? There's a lot of fun stuff to do near my hometown. Like Nagoya—it's a great place to explore."

Ichin didn't expect her to invite them.

He looked at Utaha, who indeed seemed intrigued.

"Aichi Prefecture, huh? Haven't really explored that area much. And it's been a long time since we visited Nagoya," Utaha said, growing more excited as she wrapped her arm around Ichin's. "Ichin, why don't we go to Rin's for the New Year? We haven't taken any trips this winter."

"Sure, if you want to go, then let's do it," Ichin smiled. "But Rin, we'll need you to be our tour guide and show us around properly. Oh—and should we invite a few others too? Umiko's not going home, and Aoba, Nene, and Hajime are all staying in Tokyo."

"Let's talk in the group chat!"

*

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