The Office Slacker Who Was Actually a Hidden Genius

At a major trading company in Tokyo, the sales division was considered the shining star among all departments. Yet there was one person who stood out in an oddly unremarkable way: Touma Kawamura. His performance was nearly zero, and people whispered he was nothing more than a “paycheck thief.” Whenever he sat at his desk, he seemed to be doing nothing but watching videos, appearing completely unmotivated and disinterested in work. Observing him from across the office was Yuki, the sales team’s ace. She consistently achieved top results through tireless dedication and overtime. It frustrated her to no end that while she was working late, Touma seemed to be idling, browsing random online content. “Look at him,” Yuki muttered under her breath. “He shows up late in the afternoon and then just lazes around watching who-knows-what. Probably junk as usual.” One morning, the entire sales team gathered for their regular department meeting. Suddenly, a system outage occurred. Every employee’s laptop froze at once, leaving them helpless. “The system is down!” the manager shouted in alarm. “Someone contact IT immediately!” As everyone panicked, only Touma remained calm. He continued typing on his laptop, almost as if nothing had happened. Yuki, puzzled, whispered to a colleague, “How can he be fine when the entire system is down?” But in the chaos, she couldn’t dwell on it for long. The IT staff soon brought the system back online, yet the image of Touma quietly typing away lingered in her mind. A few days later, Yuki was rushing to meet a tight deadline for a major client, Fujisaki Trading. As she was updating the client’s data in the company’s system, a single careless click caused an unexpected error. “Huh…? What is this!? No way—did I just erase all the data!?” The screen flashed a glaring “DATA ERROR” message in red. Past sales records, purchase histories, inventory data—everything vanished, and Yuki’s computer would not respond. “This is terrible!” she gasped. “Without the data, all our transactions come to a standstill! We could end up owing huge compensation… It might ruin our reputation!” Panicking, she tapped the keyboard haphazardly, only worsening the error messages. “It’s over…” Yuki groaned, nearly in tears. “What am I supposed to do now?” In a desperate moment, she lashed out at Touma, who was sitting nearby. “Are you just wasting time again, racking up overtime pay while everything’s crashing? You’re probably watching some lewd videos, right!?” Touma glanced at her calmly, showing no signs of agitation. Their mild-mannered coworker, Saitou, spoke up in a soothing voice. “Yuki, please calm down,” he said gently. “How am I supposed to calm down?” Yuki snapped. “I’ve just lost crucial client data… This is huge!” Unable to contain her frustration, Yuki peered over Touma’s shoulder. Instead of an entertainment site, however, she saw lines of complex code scrolling across his screen. “What is this…?” she blurted out, stunned. Touma responded quietly, “Could you keep your voice down? I need to concentrate.” Within moments, he finished typing and turned back to her. “Try checking your data now.” Yuki clicked through her system, and to her astonishment, everything had been perfectly restored. “It’s really all back…” she whispered. Before she could even thank him, Touma stood up and spoke as if it were nothing special. “That should do it. Next time, be careful not to erase any data.” With that, he left the office area. Moments later, the company president happened to return and noticed the commotion. “Something happened?” the president asked. Yuki explained the situation: “Yes, sir. There was a major data mishap, but Touma just fixed it all.” “Ah, Kawamura’s been supporting our company behind the scenes,” the president said with a knowing smile. “He was once a top-notch engineer at a big tech firm. He came here because he wanted a new challenge.” Realizing how she had dismissed him as lazy, Yuki felt a pang of guilt. She had no idea that the so-called “paycheck thief” was actually carrying a huge responsibility in the background. From that day on, Yuki’s view of Touma began to shift, though she tried to hide her growing curiosity. Whenever she noticed him tapping away at his laptop, she found herself wondering what he might really be doing. “Touma, are you just watching random videos again?” she asked one afternoon. “Or maybe you’re doing more critical back-end work?” He only gave a light-hearted shrug. “Which do you think?” he joked, his fingers never stopping on the keyboard. Despite his teasing tone, Yuki’s intrigue grew with each passing day. Soon after, she was in the middle of a major client presentation when the system used for the demonstration malfunctioned. The entire meeting ground to a halt, leaving Yuki and her team flustered. “Why does it have to fail now of all times?” she cried out. “We can’t continue without it!” Touma appeared quietly by her side. “Yuki, step aside for a moment,” he said. He glanced at the code, tapped in a few swift commands, and the system came back to life in minutes. “It’s working again?” Yuki asked, stunned by his speed. “Yes,” Touma replied calmly. “It should be fine now. Good luck with the rest of your presentation.” He left as quickly as he had arrived. Yuki was amazed by how effortlessly he could handle technical crises. Day by day, she realized how crucial his expertise was to her own work. Eventually, her curiosity became impossible to ignore, and she decided to confront him directly about his motivations. “Touma, what do you really want out of this job?” she asked. “You don’t seem interested in sales at all, so…why are you here?” He shrugged as if the answer were obvious. “I guess it’s because I want to create an environment where people like you can excel.” His response sounded casual, but it struck a deep chord in Yuki. One evening, summoning all her courage, she asked him out for a brief talk. They found themselves on a quiet park bench after work. “Touma… I was wrong about you,” she confessed. “I judged you without knowing the truth.” “It’s okay,” he replied quietly. “A lot of people do.” “But not anymore,” she continued, heart pounding. “I realize now how important you are—to me, and to the company. I…like you.” She hesitated, but then forced the words out. “I’m in love with you.” Touma’s eyes widened slightly. “Um…sorry, Yuki. Could you clarify what you mean?” He seemed genuinely unsure how to respond to a direct confession. “I’m saying… I have feelings for you,” she repeated. “Oh,” he said at last, almost awkwardly. “That’s what you meant.” Though he remained calm, Yuki sensed the hint of a shy fluster in his eyes. Sharing her feelings lifted a weight off her shoulders, but she still had no idea what he truly felt. “Just telling you makes me feel better,” she admitted. “But…Touma, can you tell me your side of this?” Touma looked away thoughtfully, then pulled out his phone and showed her a log of all the system issues he had resolved. It included records of the times he had secretly helped Yuki when she was in over her head. “You did all this?” Yuki whispered. “I’m not good at showing my emotions,” he said softly. “I never know how to act in moments like this. But I show my intentions through what I do. I guess that’s my way of answering you.” Realizing how quietly kind he had always been, Yuki felt a warmth flood her chest. “So…does that mean you’re okay with my feelings?” she asked hesitantly. He nodded, but added, “I am… But are you sure? People don’t usually like someone with my quirks.” “Do I seem like the ‘usual’ sort?” Yuki said with a wry smile. “I’m still here, caring for you and all your quirks.” Her straightforward reply sparked a rare, genuine smile on Touma’s lips. He stood up from the bench and faced her more directly. “Then… let’s keep working together,” he said. “I still don’t fully understand romance, but maybe I can learn…if it’s with you.” A single tear slipped down Yuki’s cheek, a mix of relief and joy. “…Me too,” she said quietly. “Let’s do our best.” For a while, neither of them spoke. They simply walked side by side, the chill night air feeling somehow more comforting than cold. Though their steps were silent, the space between them had narrowed. The very next day, work returned to its usual bustle. No one around them seemed to notice, but something was undeniably different now. That small change—subtle yet significant—would prove to be the first step toward a new future for them both.