She had been saved, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the boy's face filled with relief and pure joy. Just as she was about to speak, a loud slap echoed in the room.
Yes, she, a woman in her twenties, had been slapped by a boy of only 11 or 12. While still in a daze, she saw the boy grab her shoulders with tears streaming down his face. "What do you think life is? Yuko and I worked so hard to pull you back from the river of no return, and what are you doing? Are you trampling on everything we've done? If Yuko knew you chose this way to die, what would she think? Do you think she'll be relieved? No! You'll only make her feel guilty for the rest of her life!"
"So what if you're paralyzed? There are so many people who are in a worse situation than you, and they're all fighting for their lives while you're trying to die! The doctor said you could fully recover. So what if the treatment is an astronomical amount of money? Yuko and I haven't given up, so why have you?"
Seiya's angry words echoed in the hospital room. When Ako heard them, she covered her mouth and started to cry. She couldn't believe an adult like her was being lectured by a child. And she couldn't find a single excuse to argue with him. She felt ashamed and couldn't look him in the eye.
Honestly, when she first woke up, she felt like a stranger to Seiya. Unlike Yuko, who had lived with him for years, Ako's impression of him was still that of her fiancé's younger brother. But when Yuko told her that Seiya had been adopted by them, and that he had been paying for her treatment with his earnings as a child star, Ako was shocked and grateful. Seiya had saved her life twice—once with his first aid and again with his earnings. So, with this third time, he had saved her three times. Seiya's slap and words were a wake-up call for her. From that day on, Ako treated Seiya like a real family member and spoiled him even more than she spoiled her own sister, Yuko.
After she was discharged from the hospital, Ako tried to fix her relationship with Seiya, but he was always cold toward her. This went on for several months until her birthday. From then on, the thing she feared the most was Seiya getting angry and not talking to her.
"Let's not talk about sad things. Today is Seiya's first day at Yoto High School. We promised to celebrate it tonight, right? If you help me, I won't tell Seiya what happened." Yuko said, handing her a mixer and a bowl filled with egg whites.
"Yuko, you've grown up and become a sly woman. Your husband will have a hard time."
This time, Yuko didn't get angry. She knew her sister was teasing her.
"Hmph. If I get married, no one will take care of you."
"I'm not scared. I still have Seiya, and he's a lot gentler than someone I know," Ako said proudly while expertly whipping cream.
"Did you forget, Big Sis? Seiya is 17 now, not the little boy who used to bathe with us. With his shy personality, do you really think he'll take care of you?"
Yuko's words made Ako blush as a few images popped into her head.
Meanwhile, Seiya had just entered Yoto High and saw a boy and two girls wearing the same uniform. "Arima, it's been a few years since we last saw each other. You don't seem to have changed much... especially your height," Seiya said with a hint of sarcasm while chewing his toast and looking at the red-haired girl.
Twelve years had passed, and because of the move, Seiya and Kana were no longer as close as they used to be. But they occasionally saw each other for work. The last time Seiya saw her was two or three years ago, when she was in her third year of middle school. She was now in her second year of high school, but her appearance hadn't changed much. Her face was still childlike, and besides her chest, her height hadn't changed at all.
Kana was also surprised to see him. She had just run into two people she knew from her childhood. She had only been defeated by two people in her acting career: Seiya, who had left her behind, and Aqua Hoshino, who she had only met once.
Today, she had not only run into her rival but also her childhood friend and junior. She was closer to Seiya, whom she had known for years. As a "genius child star," she had become less popular and had to move back to her hometown. That was why they had lost touch.