As Ilaya is pondering about the truths of life. The door opened and a man pushed the trolley that Yamato was laid in. Ilaya sits up again as she watches Yamato in his condition. He's wearing typical patient clothes like her. He's a little bit pale, but he still smiled at Ilaya when he saw her
"Yo, Ilaya! It seemed that we both survived huh?"
Ilaya didn't reply to his cheerful greeting as she glanced at his stomach where he was stabbed by the serial killer. She didn't see any blood, which was a relief. But she could see his pale and cold sweat forming in his face as he got near her. She lowered her head for a bit, then looked at him and forced a smile
"Hello, Yamato. How are you feeling? Are you okay now?"
Ilaya asked sadly as she gripped her hands under the blanket. The hand with the needle hurts, but that's nothing to her now compared to what she had been through. Yamato looked at her and sighed
"It still hurts a lot, but nothing beats than being alive. Haha"
Then, the man pushing the trolley stopped, he then lifted Yamato in a princess carry and put him down on the bed beside Ilaya. Yamato then grumbled with a red face
"It feels weird to be carried like that! Don't you also think so, Ilaya?"
Ilaya felt laughing at his antics. Then, she's surprised that she can still feel happiness. Ilaya lingered for a moment before replying
"Yes, I don't want to be carried like that either"
Then, the man said to Yamato and Ilaya
"It's better if you two don't strain your body for now, lest your wounds reopen. Rest for a bit and take your medicine on time. Then, I'll go now"
Ilaya nodded and stared at the man leaving the room. As he closed the door. The room became uncomfortable and awkward. Ilaya glanced around and saw the new phone that Ivana gave to her. Then, she picked it up and timidly showed it to Yamato
"Hey, Yamato… can you help me operate this?"
Ilaya suddenly realized something as she hurriedly said
"Y-You don't need to get up. Just instruct me how to operate it"
In truth, Ilaya already knows how to operate the phone, as Mars already taught her when she bought her first phone. It's just that the atmosphere is so awkward that she needed to do something to make the conversation flowing
As Ilaya is unboxing the phone, Yamato chuckles
"Alright, just take it step by step"
Then, the two get busy operating the phone. They talked to each other while Ilaya was fumbling on her phone, then time passed as they finally finished it. Ilaya looked at her new incredibly expensive phone and saved Mars' phone number that she remembered. She hesitated to call her as she's afraid that owner and Mars is angry and disappointed at her for not returning to the restaurant without saying anything
'Will they think that I'm an ungrateful person who used them for my convenience?'
She teared up again as she stared at the phone. As she sobbed. Yamato worriedly asked her
"Ilaya, what's wrong? Is something hurting?"
Ilaya continued to stare at the number and she softly said to him while crying
"... Yamato… do you think that the people I cared about… are disappointed in me? For vanishing without saying anything?"
Ilaya lowered her head as she closed her eyes, tears streamed to her skin and dropped to her clothes. She asked again
"Do you think that they will… turn me away when I get back?"
Ilaya couldn't take that. She imagined that when she returned to the place. They will turn her away… and she'll be alone again. She couldn't take that. She'll break to pieces
As Ilaya is weeping, Yamato sadly looked at her and said
"You know that's not true, you know them the most, so you know that they'll be worried for you. They're probably looking for you everywhere now, so you just need to call them"
Ilaya is still crying, but she slowly calmed down as she processed his word
'That's right, nee-chan and owner will probably worrying about me right now. Looking for me everywhere'
Then, Ilaya wipes her eyes with the blanket and said to Yamato
"You're right… Sorry, I carried away"
Yamato smiled and joked at her
"You're welcome. Call them now, maybe they already searched the whole Tokyo now!"
Ilaya nodded and breathed in, and dialed the number
…
Around 3:30 pm, Mars and the owner are resting during their break in the staff room. Well, they're not really resting as they are stressed about the missing Ilaya. The owner spoke to the restless Mars
"I have already called a friend of mine to search for her. Don't worry too much. They will find her sooner or later"
Mars then looked at him and said in a panicked voice
"But we don't know what's happening to Ilaya! What if some other guy kidnapped her! Or worse…!"
Mars couldn't continue her words anymore as she stood up to go outside to do something to distract herself. Then, she hears her phone ring at the table. Mars was confused at first, then rushed to her phone and picked it up. As she saw an unknown number calling to her, she immediately became nervous as she answered the call
"... Hello?"
Then, a voice sounded at the phone. An extremely familiar voice
[... Nee-chan… it's me]
Mars suddenly felt extremely happy and worried as she exclaimed
"Ilaya! Where are you!? Why didn't you answer my calls!? What happened to you!?"
The owner immediately got up from his seat as he approached Mars to listen. The voice on the other side didn't speak for a bit. But they heard sobbing on the other side of the phone. Then, a sad voice sounded again
[... I'm sorry… I lost my phone. So… I couldn't answer you…]
Mars and the owner was gripped with concern about her. Then Mars soften her tone as she said to her
"It's alright Ilaya. It's alright. Where are you now? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Ilaya on the other line couldn't suppress her emotions anymore as she speak in somewhat incoherent words because of crying
[... I'm alright now… I'm in a safe place now… my new friends rescued me… I'm currently recovering in their place… so don't worry anymore]
The voice stopped for a bit and said
[... I-I'll call you back later]
Then, the call cut off and only the beeping sounds can the heard from the phone
Mars lowered her hands, as she stared at the floor with blurry eyes. Tears dropped to the floor as she sobbed
"... Ilaya"
She said
"... suffered terribly right?"
The owner didn't say anything as she patted Mars in her shoulder. Then Mars cried harder as she looked at her boss and asked
"... It's our fault isn't?... That she suffered so much?"
She didn't need to guess that her bad premonition came true. Ilaya had been captured by the serial killer, and she suffered untold horrors. The fact that she said she's recovering, can also mean that she had been wounded, not only physically, but also emotionally and mentally
What also hurts Mars the most is… that the tone of Ilaya. She was really afraid that they were disappointed at her. Even though she almost die, and gods knows other horrible things that she had experience
Mars couldn't stand her guilt anymore and she hugged the owner while crying out loud
"I'm sorry Ilaya! …I'm so sorry!"
The staff room that always gives the three of them happiness, turned sorrowful in that day