“Did you bring the key?”

The unfamiliar voice outside the private booth sounded almost like a declaration of Mizuno Hina’s “time of death.”

“I brought it.”

Hina listened to the key turning in the lock, sitting on pins and needles. What was meant to come would come. All she could do was watch helplessly as the booth door was quickly unlocked.

“Mizuno, it really is you!” Takagi Yohei didn’t seem surprised.

The door had opened at last. Four men stood before Hina: Takagi Yohei, Inoue Tatsuya, a middle-aged man in a floral shirt, and the uniformed front-desk attendant.

Hina had wisely altered her voice to make it sound more neutral. But her technique was limited, and traces of her original voice remained. That was why Takagi and Inoue had grown suspicious after she refused to open the door the first time.

“Takagi, Inoue, what are you trying to do?”

As Hina questioned them, she kept sending desperate looks toward the front-desk attendant.

“Mizuno, we’re here to take you home,” Takagi said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Exactly. You’ve been away from home for so long, your parents are worried sick. Stop throwing a tantrum and come home with us already.” Inoue echoed Takagi with practiced ease.

“You two wanted money from me. I refused, so now you’re trying to get revenge!” Hina was full of grievances, but she could only scream out their crimes in desperation.

“Sir, could you call the police for me?” Hina begged the attendant.

“We’re classmates. Why would we ask her for money? This classmate of mine has persecutory delusions. That’s why she ran away from home, too.”

Inoue was still worried that the attendant might call the police, so he made up an explanation to deceive him. His story was convincing enough to leave the attendant unsure of whom to believe.

Hina noticed his hesitation and immediately felt her heart sink. She was the victim, yet she was being slandered and treated with distrust. She no longer knew whom she could ask for help.

“The door’s open. You can leave now. Don’t stick your nose into other people’s business!”

The middle-aged man accompanying Takagi and Inoue suddenly lost his temper. His single bark was enough to make the attendant shrink back in fear.

The net café attendant glanced at the middle-aged man’s vicious expression, then at the pitiful Hina. In the end, he slunk away awkwardly.

“Now that the unnecessary person’s gone, you should come with us obediently, Mizuno.”

“Look at you. You work yourself ragged for hours every day, yet you can only afford to live in a place like this. Big Brother Kameda can introduce you to a job that’s easy and pays well.”

“I promise you’ll have plenty of fun with that job, too.”

The moment the net café attendant left, Takagi and Inoue eagerly revealed their ugly true colors. Hina could easily guess what kind of “job” they meant. Listening to their filthy words, she was almost driven to despair.

“Heh heh. If you want someone to blame, blame your parents. You’ve been away from home for so long, and they haven’t even come looking for you. I guess they won’t realize they have a daughter like you until you become famous.”

Hina was already on the verge of breaking down, but Takagi continued pouring oil on the flames. Perhaps their goal was to take her away without any trouble.

There was no denying it. Takagi and Inoue had achieved exactly that—and then some.

Hina’s family had always been the deepest wound in her heart. As she received less and less attention, her inferiority grew worse and worse. She gradually stopped meeting people’s eyes, afraid that every time she looked up, she’d see disgust in their gazes.

So she slowly grew out the hair over her forehead, hiding her eyes—and shutting away her heart.

Hina had worked so hard to lick her wounds and slowly forget that heart-rending pain. But today, with Takagi and Inoue sparing no effort, they had torn open the brutal wound that had only just scabbed over.

It hadn’t even begun to heal.

The pain made it difficult for Hina to breathe.

“Hey, is this girl going to lose her mind?”

Kameda looked at Hina. Her eyes were open, but she had almost lost consciousness. He began to worry that it might affect business later.

“Forget it. With a figure like that, plenty of people will want her even if she’s an idiot.”

…

Hina seemed to have forgotten everything around her. Her mind echoed only with the voices that had once cursed and rejected her.

“Why are you a girl?”

“What use are you?”

“You’re just a bastard born from your mother and some other man, right?”

“You’re my shame. The thing I regret most in this life is giving birth to you!”

…

“Someone… someone… come… save me… Save me! Someone, please save me…”

Hina thought of her old home and began calling for help on instinct. Her voice grew louder and louder.

“Shut this girl’s mouth!” Kameda barked.

While Hina’s consciousness blurred, Takagi and Inoue had already hooked their arms under hers. They were preparing to drag her away.

Inside her mind, Hina curled her body into a ball and buried her head tightly in the crook of her arms. It was as if she had returned to that terrifying home.

Her entire mental world sank into darkness. Compared to facing the cruel reality, she felt it would be better to shut away her heart and consciousness completely.

「Just go to sleep like this…」

…

“Mizuno! Mizuno…”

「Someone’s calling me.」

“Mizuno, wake up!”

「Who is it? Who’s calling me?」

The voice grew louder and clearer, like a ray of sunlight slicing through the night.

The sunlight spilled over Hina’s curled-up form, making her feel so comfortable that she couldn’t help wanting to raise her head and welcome it.

In the end, Hina couldn’t resist the sunlight’s temptation. Instinctively, she lifted her head toward its source.

“Ayumu…”

「So it was you. Thank goodness you’re here.」