I Confessed to Kuroo After Being Diagnosed with a Terminal Illness

[Updated sporadically. I can't promise when it will be finished, so please don't renew your subscription. The author will refund chapters 21-25 based on the comments under chapter 25. QwQ] Imai Ichikaku, 23, is an ordinary office drone working in the publicity department of the Japan Volleyball Association. He's working hard so more people will come to love volleyball. The publicity department's work is no easy matter. As a clerical worker, he has to handle a mountain of paperwork and keep up with his hyperactive boss, rushing all over the place and ending each day completely frazzled, yet happy. The pain comes from being so exhausted that he collapses into bed every night. The happiness comes from having been in love with his boss for years. The Association has no rule against office romances. He's just too much of a coward to confess. Then, during a routine health checkup, the doctor looked grave as he read Imai's report and told him he might have a terminal illness. Imai Ichikaku felt as if the sky had fallen on him. He tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol, then wailed to his only friend, "I have a terminal illness..." His friend: "Get plenty of rest and follow the doctor's advice..." Imai: "But I haven't even dated Senior Kuroo yet!!" His friend: "..." What kind of world-class love addict was this? "Then confess to him." Dead drunk and emboldened by the alcohol, Imai Ichikaku called his boss and boldly declared, "Senior, I want to date you!" His boss: "Sure." Imai Ichikaku sobered up halfway through his drunken stupor. "...Huh?" * Kuroo had fallen for his junior, but every time he saw the respectful way the other man looked at him, he wanted to mourn for a minute over a love that had ended before it even began. After making a mistake at work and picking up the wrong health report, he regretted it and prepared to contact Imai to switch the reports back. The next second, Imai called to confess his feelings. Kuroo was stunned. "This kind of thing actually happens?" He berated himself even as he guiltily hid the health report. * Imai Ichikaku somehow ended up dating his boss. As their relationship went on, he started to wonder if something was wrong. Why hadn't the terminal illness shown any symptoms? He went back to the hospital for another checkup and stared blankly at the report showing that he was perfectly healthy. Imai Ichikaku: "Huh?" #What happened? Didn't I have a terminal illness and only a short time to live?# #I accidentally ended up with my boss. Should I be happy, or should I be happy?# Mutual pining x a well-intentioned lie x going along with a misunderstanding (?). Warnings: 1. The protagonist is insecure, sensitive, terrible at reading people, but exceptionally capable at work. An idiot. 2. A palate cleanser. Should be a short story of around 200,000 characters, written for fun, and likely to be lighthearted and cheerful. If it doesn't get a paid release, I'll update whenever. If it does, I'll make sure to finish it. Coming Soon: No Fox Is Ever Faithful. Blurb below. 1 There are countless fox spirits in the world, and half of them are flirtatious and fickle. Fu Zhao is the most infamous of them all. Fu Zhao has lived for three thousand years and has three thousand volumes' worth of romantic history. The cold-hearted sword cultivator of Endless Cliffs, the beautiful spirits of the Peach Blossom Sea, even the monk devoted to the Buddha in a quiet temple might have been involved with him. One unofficial history claims that the calamity that brought the entire cultivation world to ruin began with this devastatingly charming fox. 2 Fu Zhao died. Then Fu Zhao came back to life. When he climbed out of his own coffin, the little ghosts at his grave were gathered around, reading an erotic story with him as the protagonist. It was quite steamy, except he couldn't stand the other lead. Fu Zhao squatted beside them and watched with great interest for a while before commenting, "What a joke. Would I make a face like that? This guy's terrible in bed." The little ghosts turned around, saw him, and scattered like they'd seen the King of Hell. Fu Zhao touched his face, thinking he must have been disfigured. He turned around too and saw the other protagonist standing there, his face black as a pot. He looked even more like the King of Hell than the King of Hell himself. 3 By the time Fu Zhao came back to life, the world had entered the Age of Decline. The cultivation world had fallen, and the demon clans were nearing extinction. The world had changed beyond recognition. Even all the fish in his pond had disappeared, except for one, who had become the head of the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs. The sort of person demons had to bow and scrape before. The one thing that hadn't changed was that this guy was still terrible in bed, and still threatened him with bloodshot eyes. "Don't go looking for anyone else." [Little Scene] Fu Zhao was born with a smile on his face and knew how to ingratiate himself with anyone. For a fox spirit, attracting admirers was simply instinct. But ever since he joined the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs as an outside hire, all the people and demons he met kept their distance. His cultivation had stalled as a result. Fu Zhao sighed and sighed, unable to figure it out. He was so troubled that he'd even lost a few hairs from his tail. Someone gave a cold snort and explained, "Because they all know better than to mess with someone who's taken." Theme: Even in darkness, keep growing toward the light.