Even so, we are living in the present

Chapter 4 – “Family”

It was past 9:30 pm.

Kyosuke and Saiki were in the waiting room, slightly apart from the operating room.

I pray that he will turn out to be safe.　

There was no room for conversation as they both wished for the same thing. Kyosuke settled down on the bench, pressed his forehead, and arched his eyebrows. The appearance of Yuu, his last encounter with him, was haunting him. Whenever he lowered his eyelids, the image of Yuu flashed vividly back into his mind.

───────

A few minutes ago.

When the door to the emergency room where Yuu had been admitted to was opened, the nurses hurriedly relocated one of the beds.

On that bed lay an unconscious Yuu in a miserable state. He was carried straight to the operating room, where his upper body was stained by blood and looked so awful.

According to what the doctor explained as he headed for the operating room, despite the external wound on the side of his head, it was merely a tear in the skin that led to a small amount of bleeding, which was not the source of his bloody appearance – but since he had not regained consciousness and may have suffered a concussion, an MRI scan would be performed.

The cause of the bloody appearance was a piece of debris about five centimeters in diameter piercing his left eye. It was a part of the car body that had flown at the time of the explosion. The burning debris broke through the closed eyelid and may have penetrated into the eyeball, as well as inflicting burns. This was also the culprit for the pain in his left eye that Yuu had experienced before losing consciousness.

They suspected that his eye was ruptured and decided to perform an operation right away after leaving the emergency room.

“Although his condition is not life-threatening, he is in a critical condition.”

After saying that, the medical doctors proceeded with the surgery.

​───────

From the waiting room onwards, ordinary people were not permitted to access. It was like a sacred precinct where nobody was allowed to even approach the operating room.

All he could do was pray for a smooth outcome of the surgery.

When he recalled Yuu’s changed figure, his heart began to ache.

“… Yuu, I am sorry.”

Kyosuke dropped his head and muttered in a sorrowful voice, feeling crushed by the guilt of his inability to do anything about it.

Saiki, who was reclining against the wall near the entrance to the waiting room, observed this and quietly walked over and sat adjacent to him, pinching his thin cheek with his thumb and index finger, casting a dark shadow.

“! Ouch… What the heck?”

Looking in retrospect, he was unexpectedly pinched by someone whom he was not even that close to. As if to murder him, the razor-sharp gaze of Kyosuke blamed Saiki.

However, Saiki ignored the murderous intent in his gaze and withdrew his fingers from pinching him.

“Why are you apologizing? I was wondering that.”

“Ah? That’s none of your business.”

While rubbing his pinched cheek, he retorted in a low voice that conveyed a touch of fury. However, Saiki still seemed unconcerned and shook his head.

“It does have a certain relevance to me. Even I was present at the scene too.”

He may be a related party. In fact, it was precisely due to Saiki’s call that Kyosuke was able to arrive at the scene at that particular time. Otherwise, he might have been in his apartment even now.

It was an appreciated move to be contacted by him.

“…”

But that didn’t mean he deserve to be pinched.

Kyosuke lifted his head and glared at the other man in dissatisfaction.

“… So what?”

When he finally looked at him properly, the corner of Saiki’s mouth lifted up a little happily, before he fixed his eyes on him earnestly.

“It’s not your fault that Sonohara ended up being wounded. I don’t even want to think about… if my own family went through the same thing… but I can’t say that it won’t happen, and if that did, I have a feeling I’d be acting the same way as him. Isn’t this the same case for you, Ichinose?”

“…”

Kyosuke didn’t answer anything. His gaze drifted down to the floor, and he wore a sour expression.

​───”If my own family went through the same thing.”

To be honest, Kyosuke has no family to be considered a family member. Although his own mother and father existed, they were only a form of existence for Kyosuke. If someone were to ask whether he has been loved to the point of contentment, he would have valid reasons not to nod.

“… Eh? Why are you falling silent?”

“…”

He thought that the other party would consider and answer the same way, but Saiki drew his eyebrows together skeptically. Kyosuke remained silent and glared at Saiki. Being probed in your private life by an unknown person would be like having your house ransacked by someone who has no clue about your circumstances. With this in mind, Kyosuke let out a brief sigh before finally speaking up.

“Don’t you have any sense of decency?”

“Eh? Why?”

All that came out of Saiki’s mouth was a question mark. In the first place, anyone would have reacted the same as Saiki. For Saiki, his question was simply a casual one.

Although it was certainly not a good idea to pinch the cheek of someone with whom you were not that close, the question asked by Saiki, while not auspicious, at first glance seemed to be appropriate.

That was why Kyosuke was unwilling to answer.

One way would be to tell a lie and evade the question, but if he nodded in agreement, he would be acknowledging his parents as his own parents. When he thought about this, he couldn’t reply to anything.

Since he was a child, Kyosuke’s parents had been inattentive in his upbringing They frequently went out together and left Kyosuke at a neighbor’s house each time. As Kyosuke grew up, they left him alone with the money, and eventually, when he reached high school age, they left him behind and moved overseas together. From then on, the money was merely deposited into his bank account every month as if it were a remittance, and he never heard from them again.

When Kyosuke was young, he was often entrusted to the Sonohara family, who took care of him on each occasion. Being the same age as Yuu, they always spent time together. He may have spent more time together with Yuu than anyone else. Yuu’s parents treated him as if he were their own child, even though he was a stranger to them. Even Yuu’s younger sister, Yuri, was a close companion to him. Rather than saying his own family, Yuu’s family was his family. In an instant, that very bearing was reduced to ashes. On top of that, even the remaining Yuu was in danger.

​───If I lose Yuu as well…

That kind of thing, I don’t even want to dwell on. The only thing I need to focus on is the safe outcome of Yuu’s surgery. For that, what I can do now is to…

“I don’t need anything as long as Yuu is safe,” Kyosuke said this in a quiet but distinct tone.

“Hmm, that is for sure… Even though you didn’t answer my question, I suppose we ought to pray for Sonohara’s safety now, sorry.”

Feeling guilty would not help Yuu’s surgery succeed. There was nothing else to do but pray for a successful outcome.

He saved me. Now it’s my turn to help him. If the surgery is successful, I’ll be there for Yuu so that he won’t be lonely. Instead of regretting what I couldn’t do, I should do what I can do at present.

When he thought about it that way, he felt slightly consoled.