Phone Calls and a First Love - Kenichiro Kamijo
Hey everyone! I have used a small writing prompt to write this oneshot about our beloved boss, Kenichiro Kamijo.
Kenichiro Kamijo is a character from Okko's title, Office Lover 2. There are quite a few assumptions I have made about his character after playing his route twice, once on the standalone app, and once on Honey Magazine. These are assumptions made based on stuff said about him in his route and other routes.
I am assuming that Kenichiro is over the age of 40 in the present day, so in this story he would be around 23-24 years old. Aya Mizuno is the same age as Kenichiro. Back in the day, in 1997, they had telephones, so we do not have the use of smartphones here. In Kenichiro's route, we get to know that he was married once, but that did not work out. That has also been referenced in this story.
Write a short story beginning with the line, "The Voice was familiar but I couldn't recognise the face,"
Phone Calls and a First Love
The voice was familiar, but he could not recognize the face. All it took was one word, to send Kenichiro Kamijo back on a trip down memory lane.
It was the year 1997, a hot, sunny day in June. 23-year-old Kenichiro Kamijo was at his house in Tokyo, Japan, sifting through some of his work papers before he was supposed to head out for a meeting.
Kenichiro was a bright, intelligent, and talented young man, who had recently been hired by Oz Magic's production department. Kenichiro was a rookie planner for commercials and had not been assigned an independent project yet. He was ready to prove his passion though, so he completed each of his assignments without any complaints. His seniors and co-workers were always impressed by his hard work and dedication to the company.
Suddenly, the telephone which was lying on the kitchen table rang, jolting Kenichiro out of his thoughts. He answered the call, "Hello, Kenichiro Kamijo speaking," He greeted. There was some shuffling on the other end of the line, and Kenichiro heard a small giggle. Could this be a prank? he wondered. Just as he was about to put the phone down, a soft voice speaks up. "I'm sorry, I think I might have the wrong number," she said. "The man I met at the club gave it to me," she added. Kenichiro sighed, his lips curling into a small smile. "I'm sorry that happened to you," he said. "But if there's anything I can help you with, feel free to let me know," He added.
The girl laughed, "Then I might just call you whenever I'm bored and lonely. I wouldn't mind having a phone pal," She said. Kenichiro could feel a slight flush of pink rising to his cheeks. "I would like that very much," He said. "Unfortunately, I have to get to an important meeting, but may I have your name before I go?" He asked. "Mizuno. Aya Mizuno," She said. "I think I will call you tomorrow. Is Saturday a good day to talk?" She asked. Kenichiro grinned slightly as he looked at his kitchen table, "Saturday is a great day to talk."
Aya Mizuno did call Kenichiro on Saturday, and they had a long conversation about little nothings. It was the first time Kenichiro felt he could be himself in a conversation and not be judged. Aya gave Kenichiro her number at the end of their conversation so that Kenichiro could initiate the calls too. That's exactly what Kenichiro did on Sunday morning after breakfast. He called Aya, and they spent yet another day talking to each other and having fun. What started as weekly conversations turned into daily conversations.
The days turned to weeks and then the weeks turned to months. Kenichiro learned that Aya was an aspiring doctor who lived in Yokohama. He learned that she was a big fan of Queen, and she idolized their guitarist, Brian May. As Kenichiro learned more and more about Aya, he could feel his own heart opening up to her. He told her about his dreams and aspirations. He dreamt that one day, his commercials will be displayed at the Shibuya Crossing, and inspire many others to join his field of work.
Kenichiro felt excited every time he talked to Aya. He could feel a small fluttering in his stomach every time he heard her voice on the phone. Kenichiro knew that he was hopelessly and madly in love with this woman, although he had only ever heard her voice. He really hoped that their daily conversations would continue for a long long time. However, fate was cruel and had other plans for Kenichiro.
It was a cold, December evening. Kenichiro had decided, that it was going to be the day that he would tell Aya about the feelings brewing in his heart. Kenichiro had just got home from work. He had changed out of his suit and picked up the phone. He dialed the number that he had memorized by now, and waited. The familiar click signaling that Aya had answered the call, rung through his heart. He was nervous but confident. Kenichiro's thoughts were interrupted by a sob. "Hello?" said the same soft voice, quivering slightly. "Aya? What's wrong?" asked Kenichiro. He was worried now. Had something terrible happened to Aya? Aya sniffled and took a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Kenichiro, my parents have arranged for me to get married," She said, before breaking out in sobs. Kenichiro felt like he had been stabbed in the heart a thousand times. He bit back the words of sadness and frustration and tried to comfort Aya. Their conversation was everything but cheerful. Aya told Kenichiro that the man was rich, and was the manager of a big company in Osaka. Kenichiro bit back his own feelings, wished Aya well, and said his final goodbye to her.
Kenicihro had held his own feelings of love for Aya back, knowing that he didn't have a chance at a relationship with her. He felt that she would be happier in her marriage. After that day, Kenichiro put away any feelings of love that came his way and immersed himself in his work. Over the next twenty years, Kenichiro had risen up the ranks of his company and was now the manager. He had gotten married to a famous actress, but that did not work out so they got divorced a year after they had tied the knot. Kenichiro had many commercials displayed on the screen at Shibuya Crossing, and many young kids had joined Oz Magic because of him.
One day, Kenichiro had just finished a meeting with a client and sat down at a cafe to grab a bite before heading back to his office. He was scrolling through his phone, looking at some news headlines when he heard it, her. That voice was most definitely hers. He turned around to check where the voice had come from. A woman, around the same age, as he was sitting with two teenagers beside her, presumably her kids. The woman was beautiful. She had clear, porcelain skin, deep brown eyes, and long, silky black hair tied into a neat bun.
"Aya, your coffee," announced a deeper, male voice. A man sat down on the seat opposite the woman's blocking Kenichiro's view. "Thank you Taiga," said the same soft voice that Kenichiro had fallen in love with. He turned back to look at his phone, deciding not to disturb the family on their little outing, softly smiling to himself. His heartfelt at peace knowing that Aya was happy and well settled in life. That little moment was interrupted by the vibrating of Kenichiro's phone. He noticed it was a call from Hinata Hayama, one of his brightest employees. He answered the call with his greeting, "Hello, Kenichiro Kamijo speaking."
