Neither my work nor my personal life is going well. My colleagues treat me like a burden, and my wife sees me as nothing more than a piece of furniture. So today, as usual, I was drinking alone at my regular bar, drowning my sorrows. That’s when a familiar woman walked in. It was Aoi, my plain and quiet subordinate. She sat down next to me and, unlike her usual self, was surprisingly talkative, even helping me with my drink. Time flew by, and just as I was about to leave… she invited me. “Manager, why don’t we go to a hotel?” she said…