In front of the apartment door, Sota rang the bell.
Silence had followed them since the conversation ended...the one Takashi wanted so desperately to continue.
They waited in front of the door for a few seconds.
Then it opened.
Takashi’s jaw dropped at the sight before him.
“Dr. Akiyama?”
He almost whispered, as if he didn’t want to be heard.
The expression on her face wasn’t much different from Takashi’s.
She looked at Sota, and the cold in her eyes cut deeper than a blade.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her gaze shifted from Sota to Takashi’s bloodied hand.
The doctor’s instinct kicked in instantly.
She opened the door wide, letting them inside.
Leading them through the hallway and into the living room, she spoke quickly.
“Put him on the sofa.” she ordered, already rushing to a drawer and pulling out a medical kit.
“Take off your shirt.” she ordered.
Her presence was strong and commanding, purely professional.
This wasn’t the gentle doctor from the hospital.
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She clearly didn’t like this situation, and it showed on her face.
“What happened?” she asked, unwrapping the blood-soaked bandages, her head lowered as if she didn’t want to look at either of them.
“Someone punched him in the stomach during a bar fight.” Sota answered, sitting down on the chair.
“And what were you doing at a bar, Mr. Mori? You should have been at home, recovering…”
There was nothing gentle in her voice.
It seemed she was angry...not only because of his injury, but because her secret had
been discovered.
The three of them fell into silence after that.
She cleaned the wound without lifting her head even once, refusing to look at either of them.
Takashi was too stunned to speak, still processing everything that had happened that night.
And Sota…
Sota just sat there, lost in his thoughts.
“You’re fine for now. But tomorrow you need to come to the hospital so we can treat this properly.”
She stood up, pulling off her gloves and tossing them into the trash.
Then, patiently, she gathered everything from the table and placed it back into the medical kit.
“You can put your shirt back on. And don’t do stupid things like this again.”
Her voice cut deep...sharp as a knife.
Her eyes followed Sota as she walked toward the hallway, closing the door behind her.
Sota stood up and followed her, leaving Takashi alone in the room.
So…they knew each other, he thought.
He sat closer to the door, hoping to hear something.
She lied…
This was how he had disappeared that night.
She had been covering for him.
That was why Sota hadn’t taken him to the hospital tonight.
He had brought him here instead.
He understood now.
Sota had been afraid of being discovered.
And she was protecting him.
He leaned closer to the door, trying to hear more clearly.
A voice drifted in from the hallway...almost a whisper.
“What were you thinking? You know what they’ll do to you if anyone finds out.”
Even whispered, her voice carried anger.
“He came to find me…what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just leave him there.” Sota whispered too.
“He’s a detective. Finding people is his job.
You should never have gotten involved in the first place.”
Her voice was filled with worry.
It seemed they were very close.
“He’ll use you for his cause. You have to be aware of that.
I’m not trying to tell you what to do… but please, be careful.”
And she wasn’t wrong at all.
That was exactly what Takashi was trying to do.
“You think I don’t know that? I’ve been used my whole life. I don’t expect anything different anymore.”
“So you’re actually considering helping him?”
Her voice cracked.
“I don’t know…You can call me a fool, but I feel like I should.”
Takashi’s eyes widened when he heard those words.
Is this really happening?
His mind was racing…
Even though he felt sorry for Sota...for everything he had been through, he couldn’t let go.
Dr. Akiyama was right…
He wanted to use him to fulfill his promise.
