Hanako woke the following morning feeling just as downtrodden as before. She went about her usual routine and as she headed for the door to walk to work, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Hanako Itami?"

"Yes, this is she."

"My name is Izumi Sato, I'm the bank manager here at Fukuoka Holdings. Do you have a moment?"

"I spoke with someone already the other day about the debt. I'll be late on this month's payment, but I get paid later this week so I can cover it once I do."

"My apologies, Miss Itami, you misunderstand. I'm calling to let you know that your debt has been paid in full."

Hanako stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

"As of six o'clock this morning, your debt has been paid in full."

"How is that possible? That was over thirteen million yen!"

"It would seem that you have a guardian angel, Miss Itami."

"I... guess so. T-Thank you, Ms. Sato."

"Of course, have a wonderful day and we hope that you will continue banking with us."

Hanako ended the call and looked down at her phone in disbelief. She hurried back inside to her laptop, logged into the family bank account and sure enough, ¥13,303,935.93 had been deposited into the account and enough to cover the cost of her brother's funeral.

"Who would have that kind of money and just pay off a debt like that?"

She glanced down and saw the time in the bottom right corner of her screen, quickly logging out and closing the laptop to hurry outside.

"I hope I'm not going to be late!"

The sun shone through the large windows of Keigo's office as he sat back in his desk chair and sighed with boredom. The morning was off to a rather uneventful start, but that was soon about to change.

A knock came at the door and Keigo turned to see Hanako entering the office. "Good morning, Miss Itami."

"Morning, sir."

Keigo sensed something was off and watched as she hung her things on the coat rack before going to make him his usual coffee. "You're a little late, is everything alright?"

"Yes, sir, my apologies."

Keigo stood and went over to her, reaching up to touch her should. "What is it? Did something happen?"

Hanako stared at the coffee machine, still trying to process what had happened earlier. "I got a call from the bank on my way to work. Someone paid off my family's debt and left enough to cover Shihei's funeral on top of that."

"You seem troubled by that."

"It's not that, I'm incredibly grateful for such a grand and kind gesture. What I don't understand is why, though." Hanako looked up at him. "Why would you go through so much trouble, sir?"

Keigo sighed. "Ryushi told you, didn't he?"

Hanako shook her head. "He didn't have to. I couldn't think of a single person I know who could afford to do something like, let alone feel the need to."

Keigo shrugged. "It's no big deal, Miss Itami. You needed the help and I wasn't about to let you keep stressing like you have been."

Hanako noticed he seemed a bit bashful while trying to play it off like it was no big deal. "I'm just an employee and I've only worked here for three weeks and you barely know me. So why?"

"I would have done the same for anyone else that works for me if they needed a little extra help."

Hanako gazed up at him for a moment, then did something she didn't care could be seen as inappropriate office behavior.

Keigo was taken aback by her throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, but he ignored the heat creeping into his cheeks and returned the embrace nonetheless.

"Thank you so much, sir. You have no idea what this means to me."

Keigo smiled. "Sorry, I have no self-control when it comes to things I want and I wanted to see you smiling again."

Hanako set herself back down, tears in her eyes as she presented him with a big smile. "Well, it worked."

Keigo reached up to wipe free the tears trickling down her cheeks. "I can see that." He noticed her smile fade a bit. "What is it?"

"How am I ever going to repay you?"

"You don't have to. This came with no strings attached, I promise."

Hanako's smile returned and she hugged him once more. "Thank you so much."

Hanako was all smiles, acting more like her normal self again, for the remainder of the day. Her coworkers were relieved to see her in higher spirits and when they asked what had changed, all she said was that a guardian angel was looking out for her.

By the end of the day, Hanako was able to help Keigo get mostly caught up on his paperwork and set about cleaning the office a bit more before clocking out.

"Are you ready to leave, Miss Itami?"

Hanako nodded, grabbing her jacket and purse. "Unless there's anything else, sir?"

Keigo shook his head. "No, I'm just about to head out myself. Would you like to walk out with me?"

"Sure, I'd like that." Hanako clocked out, then followed Keigo onto the elevator.

"Good work today, Miss Itami."

"Thank you, sir."

"Any plans for the rest of your evening?"

"Not really. Just going home and finalizing the details for Shihei's funeral." She looked up at him. "What about you?"

Keigo shrugged. "Probably just go home and watch a movie or something. That paperwork kicked my ass today." He glanced down at her. "Thanks for the help with that, by the way. I'd have never gotten through as much as we had today if it weren't for you."

"Of course, sir," Hanako offered him a smile, then as they stepped off the elevator she added, "I need to repay you somehow for your generosity."

"I told you that it wasn't necessary," Keigo replied, following her through the lobby and out the front doors.

"True, but that doesn't stop me from trying in whatever way I can." Hanako turned to face him and looked up into those brilliant yellow eyes of his. "I meant what I said earlier, sir, I truly and deeply appreciate what you did." She gave him a deep bow.

"Happy to help," Keigo watched as she stood straight and seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he was caught off guard when she stood on her toes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Have a good night, sir, see you tomorrow!"

Keigo stood there dumbfounded as Hanako hurried off and he reached up to feel the warmth she left behind. A small surprised smile grew and he tucked his hands into his jacket pockets.

"You sure are something, Miss Itami."