Chapter 95. Coffee Gone Cold

The door to Dr. Hasegawa's office burst open with a violent bang.

Toru barely had time to look up from the medical chart in his hands before a furious storm of a man charged inside.

"Mori—?"

Before he could even finish the sentence, Takeshi Mori had him by the collar, fists clenched, shoving him back against the bookshelf with a loud *thud*.

The folders on the top shelf trembled, a few slipping to the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Mori—?!"

"What more tricks are up your sleeves, Hasegawa?" Takeshi growled, his voice low and venomous.

Toru's eyes widened. "Tricks? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me." Takeshi's grip tightened. "Are you insane? Are you and your best friend taking turns screwing with Ayaka's head?! Is that it?!"

The office felt suffocating.

Every breath Toru took felt like it was pressed between Takeshi's rage and the thick, invisible grief hanging in the air.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Toru finally shoved Takeshi's hands off his coat, panting slightly.

His lab coat was wrinkled now, collar askew.

"We went to Fukuoka!" Takeshi shouted.

"We searched for that bastard. We tore through half the goddamn city—parks, cafes, stations—every place we could think of. Ayaka clung to hope like it was the only thing keeping her standing."

He took a step forward, his voice cracking.

"And then… I saw him."

Toru froze.

"I saw Nakamura." Takeshi hissed. "Standing under a restaurant awning like he belonged there. With some woman. She touched him. He smiled. He looked happy. Like the last five years never happened. Like Ayaka never happened."

There was a long, tense silence.

Toru swallowed hard, his throat dry. "A woman?" he repeated, softer now.

Takeshi laughed bitterly, pushing his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. A woman. Friendly. Laughing with him like they were old lovers or maybe something new."

"I swear, Mori." Toru said, his voice firm,

"Akihiko never said a word about another woman. Never!"

Takeshi's expression twisted into something darker. "Do you expect me to believe that?! You've always known more than you let on."

"I'm telling you the truth!" Toru barked, frustrated now. "He loved her. He loves her. Even after everything, he never stopped."

"Then where the hell has he been?" Takeshi shouted.

"Why did he leave? Why didn't he tell her? Why didn't he come back after all these months, after all her suffering? Why is he out there smiling like her pain never mattered?!"

Toru's jaw clenched, his own voice strained. "Because he's broken, Takeshi! You think I don't hate what happened? I tried to make him stay, I begged him to explain—but Akihiko… he was falling apart. You think Ayaka suffered alone? That man lost himself completely."

"That's crap." Takeshi shook his head slowly, his voice low and shaking. "You're making excuses for a coward."

"You don't know the whole story." Toru said.

"Then tell me!" Takeshi thundered. "Give me one reason—one—why I should believe he deserves even an ounce of forgiveness."

Toru's eyes burned. "I can't tell you everything but he thought walking away would protect her."

Takeshi scoffed. "Protect her? He abandoned her. He left her crying on the floor of her apartment. She waited for months—woke up hoping for a call, a letter, a sign. Instead, she got silence. And now? Now he's living like nothing happened?"

"He's not okay." Toru said, quieter now. "He's just pretending."

"And that helps who, exactly?" Takeshi spat. "You know what I saw last night? I saw Ayaka shatter. That necklace he gave her—she couldn't even hold it anymore. She curled up and sobbed, like her heart physically gave out."

Toru's face fell.

"She whispered that she was a fool for waiting. Do you know what it takes to break her like that? After everything she's survived?"

Takeshi stepped in close again, his voice low and trembling with fury. "So here's what's going to happen. If that man comes back here—if he steps one foot near her again—I'll break his damn face."

Toru stared at him in shock.

"I'm not kidding, Hasegawa. I will protect her. Even if it means punching your golden boy into next week." Takeshi's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "So tell him that. Word for word. And pray she never sees him again."

Without waiting for a response, Takeshi turned on his heel and stormed out of the office, slamming the door so hard behind him that the glass in the window rattled.

Toru stood frozen, chest heaving, the echo of the door still ringing in his ears.

For a long moment, he didn't move.

Then, with a weak breath, he sank slowly to the floor, sitting amidst the scattered folders from the earlier scuffle.

His fingers trembled as he pressed them against his forehead.

"What the hell just happened…" he muttered to himself, barely more than a breath.

But in the hollow silence of the office, the weight of Takeshi's words—of Ayaka's pain—hung like lead.

------

The living room was dimly lit, curtains half-drawn against the dusky light outside.

Takeshi stood in front of the low table, his posture rigid, arms crossed tightly over his chest like he was holding himself together with sheer will.

Keiko sat curled on one end of the couch, a cushion hugged against her stomach.

Kazumi paced near the window, muttering under her breath.

Yuki stood by the doorway, still in her work blazer, her expression caught somewhere between worry and dread.

Takeshi's voice finally cuts through the tense air.

"I saw him... Nakamura."

Everyone froze.

Kazumi stopped in his tracks.

Keiko straightened.

Yuki's eyes widened.

Takeshi swallowed hard. "He was with a woman. Laughing, smiling, looking like he'd moved on from everything like none of it ever mattered."

"What…?" Keiko blinked. "No. Are you sure it was him?"

"It was him." Takeshi said, his voice firm but hollow. "Same silver hair and blue eyes. Same cold stare."

"No way." Kazumi muttered, fists tightening at her sides. "That son of a— Are you kidding me?! Ayaka's been waiting, breaking down day after day—and he's been out there flirting with some chick?!"

Keiko's voice cracked as she whispered, "Did she see him too?"

Takeshi shook his head. "I pulled her away before she could."

"Oh, thank god…" Keiko exhaled, tears welling in her eyes. "She wouldn't have been able to take it."

Kazumi ran both hands through her hair, pacing again, more agitated than before. "I'm going to kill him. I swear to god. I'm going to Fukuoka myself and drag him back by the collar if I have to—"

"Guys…" Yuki's soft voice broke through. "Wait."

They all turned toward her.

Yuki stepped forward, slowly, cautiously.

Her brows were furrowed, her lips parted in hesitation. "I know it looks bad. And maybe it is. But… you all saw how Nakamura was before he left, right? You know how he looked at Ayaka. That wasn't fake. You can't fake that."

Kazumi glared. "Yuki, we're not talking about a misunderstanding. Takeshi saw him with another woman."

"I know." Yuki replied, her voice cracking slightly.

"But love doesn't just vanish overnight. Especially not his. I remember the way he was in that hospital room after the surgery… how he sat by her bed like the rest of the world didn't exist. That man was in love, not infatuated. not playing games. In love."

"Then explain why he left." Keiko said quietly.

"Explain why he didn't send even one word back. No letter. No call. Nothing. Ayaka wasted months praying for him."

Takeshi looked away, jaw clenched.

"I confronted Hasegawa." he finally said. "I cornered him in his office."

Keiko and Kazumi both looked at him, shocked.

"He swore up and down that Nakamura didn't mention another woman. That he still loves her." Takeshi added bitterly.

"But I don't believe him. Not anymore. Not after what I saw."

"Did he seem like he was lying?" Yuki asked carefully.

"He sounded like he believed what he was saying." Takeshi muttered. "But even if Nakamura still loves her… what does that change? What kind of man abandons someone he loves without a damn explanation?"

The room fell silent.

Kazumi sat down heavily beside Keiko, her eyes glassy. "I don't know what hurts more. That he left… or that I actually believed he'd come back."

Keiko wiped at her cheeks. "Ayaka looked so small when she cried last night. Like she was trying not to exist anymore."

Yuki lowered herself to the floor, crossing her legs and pressing her palms together, eyes fixed on the floor.

"I want to believe." she whispered. "I really do. Because I saw something real between them. But maybe… maybe love isn't enough if you're too broken to hold onto it."

Takeshi stared at her, the tightness in his chest refusing to ease. "Then maybe he should've never gotten involved with her in the first place."

Kazumi nodded. "He doesn't get to come back and pretend this didn't happen. Not after this."

Keiko reached out and squeezed Takeshi's hand. "You did the right thing pulling Ayaka away. I don't care what Nakamura's reasons were. No one deserves to see the person they love smiling with someone else."

Silence lingered again.

But Yuki's voice broke through, soft and trembling. "Still… if there's even the tiniest chance this was a misunderstanding... I need to know. Because if he did still love her—and we're wrong—then Ayaka's going to lose something she might never get back."

Takeshi didn't reply. Couldn't.

Because deep down, under all the anger and betrayal, there was a whisper in the back of his mind that said:

"What if she's right?"