A Story About a Girl Who Took Life for Granted and Fell in Love With a Kind and Introverted Boy - Chapter 28
It was already past 5 p.m. when I woke up.
Thanks to a deep sleep, my head felt much clearer. The ceiling looked unusually vivid from my bed in my room.
(…I wonder if Miyuki had fun with Kenji at the festival…)
The first thing that crossed my mind after waking up was the two of them.
I was torn between wanting to know the outcome and not wanting to know at all… It was a complicated feeling.
(I need to… apologize to Kenji soon. Maybe I’ll talk to him on Monday.)
Right, Kenji also said he had something to tell me.
That conversation got lost in all this, and I’ll have to hear him out…
“…Sis.”
Suddenly, someone called out to me. I turned my head while still lying down, and there was Miyuki.
Thinking I was alone, I was so surprised I let out a startled “Ah!”
I sat up and shouted at her.
“Don’t scare me like that, Miyuki! When did you get here!?”
“……………………”
Miyuki didn’t respond at all.
She stood there, looking vacant.
“……………………”
At that moment, I sensed something wasn’t right.
Miyuki was standing there as if her soul had left her body. Her empty eyes weren’t even focused on me, staring into the void.
Seeing her like this made me feel uneasy, a strange, unpleasant chill running down my back.
What was this feeling?
“…What’s wrong, Miyuki?”
“……………………”
“Did you… maybe have a fight with Kenji?”
“……………………”
Miyuki finally looked at me.
With lips moving in slow motion, she said,
“…Kenji-san has fallen asleep.”
“Huh?”
“……………………”
“Uh, when you say ‘fallen asleep,’ what do you mean?”
“……………………”
“Sorry, Miyuki, I don’t understand what you’re saying. Can you explain a little better…?”
“……………………”
The skin beneath Miyuki’s eyes twitched slightly. Her mouth was trembling, releasing shallow breaths.
I held my breath, waiting for her to say something, but Miyuki, without a word, crouched down where she stood.
She clutched at her hair, letting out small sobs.
“M-Miyuki…? What happened?”
When I asked, she suddenly grabbed my arm tightly.
“Sis, I’m so sorry.”
“W-What?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Her nails dug into my arm, but I was more worried about her condition than the pain.
“What’s going on, Miyuki? What happened?”
“……………………”
In a hoarse voice, Miyuki mumbled,
“…Kenji-san…”
“Y-Yes?”
“……………………”
“Kenji… what happened?”
“He… was in an accident.”
“An… accident?”
“Yes.”
“…An accident, but… what kind?”
“A car.”
“……………………”
“It’s my fault.”
“Your… fault?”
“My fault, my fault, my fault… it’s all my fault…”
Miyuki was slipping into a panic.
With each word, her voice grew more frantic, and the hand holding my arm started to shake.
“M-Miyuki…?”
“Kenji-san… saved me from being hit. He protected me.”
“……………………”
“He was just taken to the hospital… and…”
“Wait! Miyuki, you said ‘Kenji-san has fallen asleep’ a moment ago, right!?”
“……………………”
“Could it be…? Does that mean… K-Kenji is… d-dead…!?”
“……………………”
Finally, Miyuki looked up.
Her face was drenched in tears, streaming down like a waterfall, as she shook her head.
“…He survived.”
“He survived…?”
“He managed to… hold onto life.”
“R-Really? Then Kenji is alive? He’s not dead, right?”
Miyuki nodded slightly. Seeing that, I felt so relieved, I let out a long sigh.
“Ah, thank goodness… he’s alive.”
“…Yes, he’s alive. But… but…”
“But?”
“…He’s… unconscious.”
“……………………”
“He’s been asleep… for so long now.”
“……………………”
“The doctor said… that maybe…”
──He might never wake up again.
“……………………”
No way. That can’t be true.
Kenji might never wake up?
Kenji?
That Kenji?
No, no way.
What is this? A dream?
What’s Happening?
“……………………”
My mind was completely frozen. I couldn’t accept Miyuki’s words; I just stood there, paralyzed.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Miyuki’s voice, apologizing over and over, echoed through the room.
—
“…I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over for today…”
At the hospital entrance, a nurse at the reception stopped me.
“Please…! Just one moment…! Just one moment is all I need! Please, let me see Kenji!”
“I understand how you feel, but visiting hours ended at 5 p.m…”
“Please, I beg you! Just let me see Kenji! Kenji!”
The nurse looked at me with a troubled expression as I kept pleading.
“What’s going on?”
Then, an older nurse, who seemed like her supervisor, appeared. The younger nurse turned to her to explain, “Well…,” but I took that moment to dash past them both.
“Ah!? Hey, wait!”
I heard the young nurse’s voice behind me, but I ignored it, running full speed to Kenji’s room.
(Room 12…! Room 12…!)
Miyuki had told me the room number beforehand, so I already knew where it was.
I took the elevator, raced down the hallway, and finally reached the room.
“Kenji!!”
I slid the door open and shouted.
…Beep… beep… beep… beep…
The heart monitor beeped softly.
Kenji was sleeping in the bed.
His head was wrapped in bandages, and tubes were attached all over his body.
“……………………”
I slowly approached his side.
I looked at his face, breathing so faintly, barely daring to blink.
“…Kenji.”
Gently, I took his hand.
“You know, Miyuki said that the doctor told her you might never wake up. She really believes that.”
“……………………”
“That’s not true, right? That can’t be true, right?”
“……………………”
“Because, you’re kind. I’ve always wanted you, kind Kenji, to be happy.”
“……………………”
“And so, I tried to pull away from you so I wouldn’t hurt you…”
“……………………”
“That’s why… I…”
The evening light shone through the window.
Kenji’s face, bathed in the red glow, showed no response, no matter how many words I spoke to him.
“……………………”
At that moment, I heard a voice behind me: “Miss!”
It was the young nurse from earlier.
“Miss! You can’t just enter like that!”
“……………………”
“Please come back another day!”
The nurse’s voice grew louder as footsteps approached from behind.
“Miss! Please don’t enter the room without permission…”
As she was right behind me, I quickly turned around and grabbed her arm.
“Huh? M-Miss?”
The nurse, who had a strained look, was taken aback by my sudden action.
“……………………”
“E-Excuse me, miss? What’s wrong?”
“…Why…”
“…What?”
I couldn’t hold it back anymore and cried out.
“Why didn’t I just tell him I loved him!!?”
“……………………”
“Why!! Why, why, why!! How could I!? Why didn’t I tell him!?”
My vision blurred with tears until I couldn’t see anything.
My voice broke as I screamed, ringing so high it felt like my ears were about to burst.
“I was too busy trying to look cool!! I tried to act tough and couldn’t say a single thing!!”
“……………………”
“But I really love him! So much it makes me want to cry! Why!? Why did I leave it unspoken!?”
“……………………”
“Kenji was so kind to me!! He showed me so much care and affection!! I just kept taking and taking from him!! Ugh!! No, no, no!! This isn’t right!! It’s too much!!”
“……………………”
“If this is how things were going to be, I should’ve said it! I should’ve told him a million times that I loved him! It wouldn’t have mattered if he hated me! Even if he absolutely hated me, I should’ve said it over and over! I should’ve just said it without fear!!”
Through my blurred vision, I could see the nurse looking at me with sad eyes, her brows furrowed.
I turned back to Kenji again, took his hand, and kissed it over and over.
“Listen, Kenji!! I love you!! I really, really love you!!”
Tears dripped down onto Kenji’s hand.
“This time, it’s not a lie!! This time!! This time, it’s real!! More than anything in this world!! I love you more than anyone else!!”
“……………………”
“Please, I’m begging you!! Smile with those gentle eyes again!! Give me that shy, embarrassed smile again!! Please!! Kenji!! Kenji!!”
Kenji—!!
—
As I sobbed, my throat raw from screaming, the nurse gently patted my back with a soft hand.
Kenji remained peacefully asleep, unchanged.
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