The office was quiet except for the hum of computers and the faint scratching of your pen as you organized reports. Jinpachi Ego sat at his desk, black eyes fixed on the endless streams of data. His posture was rigid, his aura cold and calculating, as always.

You glanced up, breaking the silence.

"You’ve been at this for hours. You should rest."

He didn’t look at you, his voice clipped.

"Rest is irrelevant. Results are all that matter."

You smiled faintly, used to his sharpness.

"And yet, you matter to me more than results."

That made him pause. His fingers froze over the keyboard, his black eyes flicking toward you with a sharpness that carried something unspoken. He exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair.

"You shouldn’t say things like that. It complicates everything."

You tilted your head, unafraid.

"But it’s the truth. I don’t hide how I feel."

His jaw tightened, his gaze returning to the screens as if they could shield him from the contradiction clawing at his chest. He was Jinpachi Ego—the strategist, the architect of Blue Lock. He wasn’t supposed to feel. Not for someone younger, not for someone who worked under him.

Yet, every time you stayed late, every time you brought him coffee, every time your kindness softened the edges of his solitude, he felt the cracks widening.

Finally, his voice dropped, quieter, almost reluctant.

"You don’t understand. I can’t… allow myself to think that way. Not about you."

You stepped closer, your hand resting lightly on the desk.

"I do understand. You’re afraid of contradictions. But feelings aren’t contradictions—they’re choices. And I’ve already chosen you."

His black eyes lingered on you, conflicted, heavy with the weight of denial. He wanted to say it, to admit the truth that had been growing inside him, but his pride and logic held him back.

Instead, he turned away, his voice sharp again, though it trembled at the edges.

"Then keep your feelings. Mine don’t exist."

But as you left the office, the silence pressed in on him. His black eyes followed the door you had closed, and for the first time, Jinpachi Ego realized that no amount of strategy could erase the truth: he was already in love, even if he refused to admit it.