“Has she arrived?” Ryu inquired as he observed Inoue preparing to welcome him.
“Yes. She was perfectly on time. Not a minute late,” Inoue replied, with a hint of sarcasm.
Ryu could only offer a wry smile, knowing he was in the wrong. Ryu was late. He had to take care of something at Shingi Fusaya and couldn’t leave his office until half an hour past his meeting time with Kyoko.
His lateness was serious, and there was no time for small talk with Inoue. Ryu quickly opened the door to Kenji’s office.
Ryu had asked Inoue to arrange the meeting in Kenji’s office, which would clearly be empty for the next few weeks.
Kyoko, who had been waiting inside, quickly stood up, looking surprised to see Ryu.
“You…”
“Yes, I’m the one who will formalize your work contract. Kenji… is busy.” Ryu removed the folder he had prepared and sat in Kenji's chair.
&
Kyoko flinched slightly and looked at Ryu when he mentioned "liking," but then she realized Ryu was only speaking generally, with no special meaning. It didn’t make sense that Ryu would suddenly say something like that out of nowhere.“And I agree with that. The current Prime Minister’s work is terrible. If he has any shame left, he should just resign.” Ryu nodded in agreement with Kyoko’s opinion, looking satisfied.“After this, I hope you can help me win any debate against Kenji,” Ryu said.“Huh? What?” Kyoko was confused.“Forget it.” Ryu waved his hand dismissively. It was too early to discuss that."About the Prime Minister we were just discussing, he's bad, but you can't solely blame Kenji because there are other clans involved. As you heard earlier, Kuryugumi isn’t acting alone. They made the decision together. The individual who was elected was not the one Kuryugumi had
“Wrap it again!”As the nurse was about to leave, Akiko protested. She insisted on having the nurse wrap her head as she had done yesterday.“Tanaka-san, it’s no longer necessary. The surgical wound has healed well,” the nurse said with a smile. The full head bandage was no longer needed, leaving only a square patch covering the back side of her head.But the nurse understood why Akiko made such a strange request. Akiko was currently feeling her entire head, fighting back tears.According to what she felt, Akiko knew her hair was uneven—some parts longer than others—and she could guess that beneath the bandage, there would be a completely bald patch.“I must look awful,” Akiko muttered softly.“I’m sorry. We rushed to prepare for your surgery and didn't have time to evenly trim the hair." The nurse stroked the part of Akiko’s hair that still hung down to her should
“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Akiko turned her head again, hoping to comfort Kenji.Even though she couldn’t see his face, Akiko could sense that his voice had changed slightly.“It’s been a long time. They passed away a long time ago. When I was six.”Being young should have made it simple to forget certain events. Unfortunately, Kenji still remembered it vividly, in excellent detail.“Does he reside in this city? I mean, your adoptive father?” Akiko was careful not to mention those who had passed away, of course.“No. He’s in Osaka, and he’s 94 years old now. He can’t travel unless it’s absolutely necessary.”“Oh... I see.”After that, Kenji could feel Akiko's body relax slightly. He had added the explanation about his father’s age because he knew Akiko might wonder why her "father-in-law" hadn&r
"Careful." Kenji swiftly caught Akiko, who almost stumbled. As a result, Kenji was right beside Akiko.Yesterday, Akiko began learning to walk again, and it became apparent that her movements were not as normal as they used to be. Her balance was still unsteady. The neurologist said it could be trained, but it would take time."Please rest if you're tired," the nurse assisting her therapy said."No. I want to try again." Akiko declined the offer and continued walking.Kenji nodding, agree. He knew how determined Akiko could be once she set her mind on something. All he could do was support her.Kenji just moved closer, so he could catch Akiko more quickly. After her fourth attempt, Akiko finally managed to cover the distance without slipping or falling."YEAH!" Akiko cheered and almost jumped, but Kenji held her shoulders. Even though she could walk normally now, jumping right away wasn’t a wise idea—she might fall again.
"Hey!"Kyoko stopped in her tracks when she heard the call, especially since a car had pulled up next to her. It was a red convertible—though the top was still up, clearly a luxury car. She frowned as she saw Ryu waving from inside."I came to pick you up. We're going on a long trip today," Ryu said, removing his sunglasses and flashing a sweet smile."For what?" Kyoko shook her head. "We agreed to meet in Karuizawa."Ryu was supposed to take her to see Akiko today, as planned. He finally had some free time, and Kyoko herself had plenty of time. She had officially resigned from Shingi Fusaya, but she had yet to receive any assignments from Kenji. Her schedule was wide open.But they were supposed to meet later at Karuizawa Station. Kyoko was currently walking to the station, with no expectation of Ryu showing up in a car that reminded her of a strawberry without black spots."I'm being kind here. We can enjoy the summer trip more pleasan
"They will be here soon," Kenji said, putting down his phone and standing up. Ryu had just informed him that they were close."Oh!" Akiko moved the food tray in front of her. Kenji took it and placed it on the table."Why do you look so nervous?" Kenji asked, noticing Akiko adjusting her now very short hair. It was even shorter than Kenji’s. Despite fixing it repeatedly, it didn’t look much different."I forgot about her too, just like you. We’re married now, so you can accept this oddity better, but what if she can’t? She might get upset at me. She might not like me anymore." Akiko didn’t want to feel anxious, but again, she couldn’t understand why she felt the need to be cautious when meeting her friend.Kenji was tempted to laugh at this complaint. If anyone was in danger, it was more likely that Kyoko would kill him, not Akiko. Kenji sat on the bed and held Akiko’s hand."She's coming all the way from T
Kenji cursed silently, as expected. Sakura had come bearing terrible news."When is the invitation for?" Kenji asked."One week from now! What kind of insane plan is this?!" Sakura was clearly panicking."Just pretend to be sick or something. Postpone the date. There's no need to send out invitations. The wedding won't happen," Kenji said firmly."You think it's that easy?! My mother has already contacted dozens of boutiques to rush a wedding dress!" Sakura snapped."Delay it by a day or two. I'll stop the wedding!" Kenji ended the call abruptly.Even though Sakura had done the right thing by contacting him, her outburst only fueled Kenji's anger.Kenji bowed his head, thinking hard. He at least had to stop the invitations from being made and distributed. Once it reached that stage, the damage would be difficult to control, as word had already begun to spread.Canceling the wedding would tarnish Kuryugumi's reputation. He didn'
Akiko glanced at Kenji, noticing he was lost in thought. They had finished breakfast, and there was still some time before his daily therapy session began.Usually, Kenji would strike up a conversation, answering any questions she had, but today he was silent. Akiko had seen him type out a rather long message, but after that, he put his phone down and seemed deep in thought.Kenji kept staring at the table, holding a cup of tea in his hand. But the cup never moved; it just hovered in the air without touching his lips.“Mm... Kenji... Anata-san...” Akiko corrected how she addressed him.In the past few days, Akiko hadn’t called out to Kenji at all since their conversations flowed naturally without needing to. But even though she hadn’t needed to, Akiko felt it was wrong to call Kenji by name alone, whether adding –kun, –chan, or –san. So now, she tried the most common option, though she still felt it didn’t s
“Himawari! Natsu!”A ten-year-old boy let out a loud shout when he discovered two other children hiding behind the bushes beneath the tree.“Kenzo—big brother!”Natsu was startled to see Kenzo suddenly appear. He pulled the girl, Himawari, beside him to stand, intending to run away, but Kenzo stopped him.“No! You’re making Okaa-san worried. You have to go back.” Kenzo grabbed Natsu's arm.“But Himawari is scared. She doesn’t want to go to school,” Natsu pointed at Himawari, who was now sobbing.“Hima-chan.” Kenzo knelt down and gently stroked Himawari's head, which was bowed down.“School isn’t scary. You’ll meet many new people and make new friends,” Kenzo coaxed softly until Himawari looked up to meet Kenzo's gaze.“But… but… I want to be with Natsu. I don’t want to go to school…”
“This place isn’t bad.” Kenji didn’t outright refuse, but his reluctance was evident.“Indeed, I will make sure this place will never be bad for those children. However, Kenzo stands apart from these children. They are kids who truly have no family and are forced to live here. Kenzo has me. I am his family. I am the only family Kenzo has."Akiko didn’t want to acknowledge this while remembering Kenzo's mother’s actions, but Kenzo was still the child of her mother’s younger sibling—her family. No one else was her blood relative as of now.“I can’t forget that fact and pretend Kenzo is someone else. It will haunt me in my sleep,” Akiko urged again.Kenji fiddled with the car keys beneath him while staring at the back of Kenzo's head, who was now trying to draw something with crayons on a new piece of paper.“I know you hate his mother—I do too. But you don’t hav
“I still don’t want to do this,” Kenji grumbled.“I know, but I’m sure you also know that this is the right thing to do,” Akiko replied, looking at her husband, who was now unbuckling his seatbelt. Although they arrived two minutes earlier, neither of them got out of the car.The decision they—Akiko—made was indeed a significant one. Akiko needed to calm herself. Kenji had left the choice to her, but he was still going through it with a heavy heart.“Come on, let’s go.” Akiko finally opened the door and stepped out.Children playing in the yard rushed over when they spotted her.“Tanaka-san! What did you bring today? Candy? A storybook?”A chorus of voices greeted Akiko. She often visited the orphanage with gifts, so the children expected her to bring something.“I brought something in the car for you, but it’s a secret. You can…”
“I don’t want to sleep with you.” Ryu repeated the question in disbelief because it seemed too absurd. He shook his head while rubbing his face.“I think your ability to draw conclusions isn’t very sharp right now,” Ryu said.“No!” Kyoko was obviously offended. Although it wasn't a direct insult, Ryu had implied that Kyoko was stupid.“Don’t be angry; I understand. I would be disappointed if your mind was entirely calm at the moment.” Ryu smiled with satisfaction.“I’m calm!” Kyoko retorted.“You just asked about my desire to sleep with you. I think that’s quite a disturbance that’s keeping you from being calm.” Ryu left his suitcase and approached Kyoko, who suddenly panicked and stepped back.“Don’t deny it. You won’t succeed in making me think otherwise.” Ryu chuckled softly at her panic.“I don&
“Don’t open it now. You’ll get wet.” Ryu raised the hood of Kyoko's raincoat just in time as a large amount of water splashed toward where they were sitting. It was as if someone had poured a giant bucket of water on them.The orca whale show they were watching involved jumping out of the water. Of course, when they fell back, they splashed a lot of water toward the audience.Ryu clapped like everyone else, appreciating the hard work of the giant mammals, but Kyoko didn’t clap at all—not even when the show ended.“Didn’t you like it?” Ryu inquired as they exited, discarding their soaked raincoats.Ryu grabbed a small towel handed out by the staff, then used it to dry Kyoko’s hair and neck. Although Ryu had covered her hoodie just in time, some parts of Kyoko’s hair and neck were still wet.“You don’t like aquariums. I’ll note all of that.” After waiting for a
"I want to go home."Kyoko suddenly spoke up just as Akiko finished applying pink lipstick to her lips.“Huh? Why? Did you forget something?” Akiko straightened up, confused, as she glanced at the kimono Kyoko would be wearing.Kyoko's kimono was simpler, with only a hair ornament as an accessory. It wasn’t as elaborate as the one Akiko had worn when she got married in Utoro.Ryu had planned for their wedding to be similar to Akiko’s, but they had compromised for a more modest ceremony at the city hall. Ryu knew Kyoko's feelings about temple buildings, so he wouldn't dare force anything. Besides, the reception would still happen; just the ceremony would be different.Nobody objected to the decision. Everyone agreed as long as the wedding took place, including Akiko. Even though her expensive kimono was a bit much for a city hall wedding, she was still happily helping Kyoko.“Everything's ready. I just need to pu
“You must be crazy!” Kyoko stood up and paced back and forth in the living room, trying to recall if there was any sign that Ryu wasn’t serious.But everything was serious. Ryu had even sent her a photo of the kimono he would wear on their wedding day. When Kyoko saw the photo, she thought Ryu was insane, as discussing kimono patterns would escalate their deception.In the end, Kyoko made her choice, wanting to end the pointless discussion. But it turned out that the discussion was important.“Are you just going to sit there?!” Kyoko yelled angrily, glaring at Ryu, who was calmly sipping beer and munching on peanuts he had brought earlier.“What do you want me to do?” Ryu frowned.“Cancel everything! Call them all! Cancel it!” Kyoko sat back down next to Ryu and then attacked him, reaching for his waist.“Hey, wait! Don’t get aggressive all of a sudden,” Ryu was, of cour
Ryu shook his head, while effortlessly unlocking Kyoko's apartment door once more by simply inputting her birthday—the day after tomorrow.He had repeatedly reminded Kyoko to change the password, which was extremely easy to guess. Not just once—like when he first broke in to find the listening device—but several times since.Now, Kyoko no longer lives in Tokyo. Since becoming actively involved in Kuryugumi and assisting Kenji and Ryu, Kyoko had relocated to Osaka, where she now primarily worked.However, Kyoko hadn't been working regularly since visiting her parents, and no one was pressuring her to do so either. Kenji didn’t give any orders, leaving everything up to Ryu.The apartment’s security was truly weak, especially since there was still no sound, despite Ryu walking into the room for several moments. It was evident that Kyoko had fallen asleep due to the late hour. Ryu had come straight to the apartment after returnin
Akiko adjusted herself in front of the mirror, gazing at the new kimono she would wear the day after tomorrow.The kimono was custom-made for her, so naturally, it fit perfectly. But Akiko wanted to see if the color matched her expectations. And indeed, everything was perfect. It fit her body beautifully and didn't feel heavy or hot, which was crucial considering it was still summer.The modern kimono, with a white base, was adorned with pink cherry blossoms. Akiko had even prepared hair accessories filled with cherry blossom designs to complete the look.She wasn’t wearing the hairpiece yet, but when she tried placing it on her head, the pink color matched perfectly with her black hair. Everything was set. She had also prepared clothes for Natsu and Kenji.BANG!Akiko flinched and dropped the hair accessory she was holding. The loud noise from the sliding door startled her.Luckily, Natsu was in the next room, so he wouldn’t be