After Koki finished saying this, he found that nothing significant happened.
Haruko's smile remained, and everyone was chatting and laughing with him, their relationships seeming even closer.
But that sound… was it an auditory hallucination?
It felt like something had died, giving Koki a sense of inexplicable worry…
But since he didn't know what exactly it was, he couldn't pin it down to anything specific, so this worry quickly faded.
Not long after, Koki suddenly discovered a number on his palm.
Number 1.
Very small, this 1 was between the creases of his palm, looking like a dot.
But he was certain that his palm definitely didn't have this before.
After class, Koki ran to the restroom to wash his hands and scrubbed hard, but no matter how much he scrubbed, it wouldn't come off.
That 1 seemed like a brand, imprinted on Koki's body.
...
...
At nightfall.
Koki lay in bed, sleeping next to his grandfather.
