"Eh?"
Yotsuba was confused, completely puzzled, not understanding what Hakuto meant.
"Hakuto-sensei... what are you talking about?"
"I said, I have to leave, but don't worry, I'll be back soon..."
Unlike Yotsuba, who was still in a daze, Miku had just been asked by Ichika to check the passport in the bag.
Although she had already expected it, she still couldn't fully accept it...
Miku looked at the red passport in the bag, and for some reason, she instinctively felt like she should take it out and hide it.
Without the passport, she probably wouldn't be able to take a flight... Miku thought to herself. But in the end, she didn't act on that instinct, and her outstretched hand hovered in mid-air.
Meanwhile, Yotsuba, who was next to Hakuto, grabbed his hand.
Though she still didn't quite understand what he was saying, it was always a good idea to hold onto him for now.
Hakuto's voice wasn't loud, but the Nakano sisters who were close by heard it clearly.
"Four o'clock in the morning? I wonder if there's a better time..." Nino heard Hakuto mention 4 AM and grimaced, complaining.
Hakuto explained, "There's no other option. Finland isn't exactly a tourist hotspot, and the next available flight to Finland is this one..."
"Why not take a private jet then? Hakuto-sensei should be able to arrange a private jet, right?"
"Are you saying I should take a private jet and fly straight to Finland, ignoring the airspace of other countries on the way?"
That's ridiculous, Hakuto wasn't desperate enough to eat purple eggs.
Realizing what she'd just said, Miku quickly responded, crouching in front of Hakuto with an expression that was hard to describe.
"Time passes so quickly..." Ichika said while carrying her backpack, "It feels like just yesterday when you agreed to my confession, Hakuto-sensei."
"It hasn't been that long..." Nino chimed in, "It's only been 289 days, give or take..."
"Wow, Nino, you remember that so clearly?"
"Hah? Who remembers... I just thought today would come a little later..."
Nino, wearing her pajamas, looked at Hakuto. At that moment, he still had the hairpin they had given him in his hair.
At this point, Nino didn't know what to say. It felt like there was nothing left to say...
Nino slowly stood up, walked to the door, and opened it to leave the house.
"Nino, where are you going?"
"I'm just going out to buy something..."
The door closed, and Hakuto couldn't see Nino's expression, nor did he know if she really was just going to buy something.
"By the way, I'm about to leave. Do you need me to bring back any souvenirs for you?"
"At this point, Hakuto-sensei, you're still in the mood to joke..." Miku shook her head helplessly.
"As for souvenirs, it would be better if Hakuto-sensei could just send me more messages instead," Ichika said, shaking her phone and smiling.
To be honest, Ichika had never been abroad and wasn't sure if messages from foreign countries could be sent back to Japan over the mobile network.
But it should be possible, right? After all, Hakuto wasn't traveling to the edge of the world, and there are plenty of places covered by signals.
So sending messages seemed a bit of an extravagance.
Clearly, this is a modern society, yet as Hakuto walked away, it felt as if he were about to disappear without a trace.
"Hakuto... you'll come back, right?" Miku handed her bag to Hakuto and gently said.
Hakuto nodded, then slowly stood up. "I will..."
"Yotsuba, I have to leave now..."
Yotsuba sat beside Hakuto and tightly grabbed his hand.
"Hakuto-sensei... are you really in such a hurry? I haven't prepared anything yet. Can you wait for a couple of days? Just one or two days..."
Yotsuba held on to Hakuto's hand.
She didn't say anything to stop him from going, but she just felt it was too sudden and wanted him to wait a bit longer.
"Yotsuba, you could think of it this way... If I leave a few days earlier, maybe I'll return a few days earlier too."
"No..." Yotsuba shook her head, unsure of what to say. She could only hold on to Hakuto's hand and not let go.
"Yotsuba, didn't you always say you wanted to visit China? When I return, I'll go with you."
Seeing that Yotsuba still wouldn't let go, Hakuto sighed.
Where was the final stop again? It seemed like it was China...
The most populous country in the world.
"How about this, two years... just two years. If I'm not back within two years, Yotsuba, you can go to China and find me." As he spoke, Hakuto gently patted Yotsuba on the head.
"China..."
"I believe you can find me, even though the world is large, and China is large..."
Upon hearing this, Yotsuba paused for a moment, then instinctively released Hakuto's hand.
"Then it's a promise..."
"A promise..."
The soft sound of the door closing echoed as Hakuto, with his backpack on, left the apartment, leaving the four of them behind in the room.
"In the end, we still couldn't make Hakuto-sensei stay, huh?"
"There was no reason to do that. From the day our relationship was confirmed, Hakuto-sensei told us about this."
"But time really flies. I, like Nino, thought this day would come a little later..."
"Come on, Miku, stop crying, go wash your face." Itsuki pulled Miku, who was squatting on the floor, up.
Meanwhile, Yotsuba, recalling Hakuto's words, subconsciously asked, "Are we going to China?"
"We'll go... if Hakuto-sensei really doesn't come back."
Ichika shrugged, putting on a relaxed expression. "Honestly, Hakuto-sensei didn't say much, but he still said everything."
"Although it could be described as a global trip, Hakuto-sensei's words were all about how he would lose contact..."
"He can't even lie properly..."
Ichika looked at the closed door of the apartment, sighed helplessly.
At the same time, Hakuto, having exited the neighborhood, saw Nino sitting on his parked car under a streetlight, wearing a thin pajama.
Her slender figure looked somewhat tired, but upon seeing Hakuto walk out of the neighborhood, a smile appeared on her face.