You Were Stolen from Me, so I Will Live for Myself - Chapter 17

Things I Want to Do and Childhood Friend

The morning light shining through the hospital room window gently illuminates my face.

Several weeks has passed since the surgery, and my body is slowly recovering.

“You seem to be doing well today too.”

Yuki smiles as she sits beside my bed.

“Yeah.”

I shrug lightly.

“My arm moves better than it did yesterday.”

“That’s great.”

Yuki’s face relaxes with relief.

She has been by my side ever since the day of my surgery. She comes to my hospital room every day, talk with me, support me. I’m really grateful and happy for that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day of my discharge.

A gentle spring breeze blows as I leave the hospital. The world feels dazzlingly bright. I never thought the view outside look so vivid.

“Finally, I can step outside again.”

I stretch my body.

“Yeah, but don’t push yourself too hard.”

Yuki looks at me with concern.

“I’m fine now.”

I smile and gently hold her hand. Yuki’s eyes widen in surprise.

“…thank you.”

“Eh?”

“I’m alive because you were by my side.”

Tears welled up in Yuki’s eyes.

“That’s not true…I just…”

“Having you by my side, that’s what makes me happiest.”

Yuki lowers her gaze for a moment, then she squeezes my hand back.

“Me too…I’m really happy.”

At that moment, I can hear a small cough from behind us.

“…umm, you two? I’m still here, you know?”

Turning around, I see my secretary standing there with a grin on her face.

“Oh, what is this? A scene straight out of a drama? President, you just got discharged, and now suddenly you’re into romance?”

“…you, shut up.”

“But this is nice, isn’t it? Holding hands, expressing gratitude…ah, youth.”

“Shut up”

When I frown and say so, my secretary smiles with even more satisfaction. Yuki’s face is flushed all the way to her ears as she looks away.

“…let’s go home.”

I start walking, but the sound of my secretary giggling from behind doesn’t stop for a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My new life begins.

After taking some time off to recover, I slowly return to work.

Yuki still comes to see me once a week.

Right after I was discharged, she would visit almost every day, but gradually, she starts to come see me less and less.

At first, I didn’t think much of it. But then, I realize—

Once a week…has she always visited me this rarely?

A week feels awfully long.

The more time passes without seeing her, the more restless I get.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later, Yuki comes to see me.

Suddenly, Yuki asks me a question.

“Hey, have you really thought about your future?”

“My future?”

“Yeah. It might be none of my business, but since you’re alive, you should really think about what comes next.”

She continues,

“What do you want to do from now on, Yuto?”

I find myself at a loss for words.

Up until now, I have only been thinking about returning to work. But now that she mentioned it, is it really the right choice to go back to those empty days, consumed entirely by work? Is there anything in that life that I truly cherish?

No, more importantly—

“What about you?”

“Eh?”

“What do you want to do from now on, Yuki?”

For a moment, Yuzuki looks surprised by my question. Then, she lowers her gaze as if deep in thought before giving a small smile.

“…I’ll walk my own path.”

That’s—

Those are the last words I want to hear.

I can feel it, Yuki is slowly trying to distance herself from me.

…she is trying to slowly walk away from my life.

She’s probably planning to see me return to work. Then after that, she is going to quietly distance herself from me. The moment I realize that, a restless feeling stirs deep within my heart.

“Hey, you…”

The words are stuck in my throat, but I have to make this clear no matter what.

There is no way I can forgive Yuki for walking away from my life.

There is no way I will let that happen. I will never let her go again.

“Once a week isn’t enough.”

“Eh?”

“I want to see you more.”

I say it clearly. Yuki’s eyes wavers.

“…I want to start over with you.”

Yuki’s eyes widen in surprise.

“…really?”

Her expression is a mix of surprise and confusion. Her gaze is trembling, as if she has just heard something she can’t believe.

“Really.”

I answer without hesitation.

She stares as me, as if thinking about something. Silence falls between us.

Yuki isn’t just looking at me, she is trying to see through me. As if she is trying to understand something deeper than words.

Then—

“…are you sure about this?”

Her voice trembles.

“I’ve betrayed you once.”

Yuki’s words feels like they are being squeezed out of deep, murky waters.

“Maybe…the reason why you got sick is because I betrayed you, Yuto! What if it’s my fault!?”

She raises her voice, unable to contain her emotions.

“Maybe it’s because of all the stress and pain I caused you…I’m not sure, but maybe that’s why you got sick!”

Her words trail off, her breathing becomes heavy. I can see that Yuki’s shoulders are trembling slightly.

“And yet…”

She bites her lip, as if searching for the right words, as if trying to endure the pain, as if blaming herself.

—at that moment, I feel like I’ve touched Yuki’s heart, even if it’s just a little.

Even now, she still can’t forgive herself. She still can’t trust herself. She must have been blaming herself for these past seven years.

Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of darkness that I can never imagine.

Yuki might never be able to forgive herself, but at the very least, I want to be the one to forgive her. That’s what I truly feel.

“I want you by my side, Yuki. The reason doesn’t matter. If it’s not you, everything I have is meaningless.”

I nod quietly.

“If you want to atone for your sins, then do it by staying by my side.”

The moment those words leave my mouth, Yuki’s shoulders trembles slightly.

“……”

Tears start to stream down her cheeks.

“Are you sure…?”

“Of course, I am.”

“But…”

“Stop it already.’

I reach out and touch Yuki’s cheek gently, it’s warm.

“I want to start over with you. I need you.”

Yuki bites her lips, but her tears continue to fall.

“Living my life with you, that’s what I want to do from now on, Yuki.”

I can feel the walls that she has built up over the years slowly crumbling away.

“…thank you for trusting me again.”

Her voice is trembling, but her words are clear.

The next moment, Yuki breaks down in tears as if a dam has burst.

“Uwaa…aaahhh…!”

She can’t hold back her sobs, a cry escapes from the back of her throat. Her shoulders are shaking so much.

“Aaahh…I’m sorry…I’m really sorry, Yuto…uwaaaa!”

Tears continue to stream down her cheeks, Yuki’s trembling hands are clinging tightly to my arm.

Everything she has been holding back, everything she has endured, she’s finally letting it all out at once.

Seeing her like this, my heart tightens.

However, those tears aren’t tears of sadness. They are the tears of someone slowly being freed from the weight she has carried for so many years.

I gently stroke her head.

“…it’s okay now.”

That’s the best I can say to her.

Yuki buries her face in my arm, continuing to cry and sob. She is clinging onto my arm tightly, as if trying to let out all of her unvoiced feelings.

—I wonder if she has able to forgive herself a little.

I hope that these tears can bring Yuki some relief.

Also, I hope that from now on, I can be a source of emotional support for Yuki.

That’s what I truly think.