While walking back to the car in the underground parking lot…
Haruki's footsteps echoed softly on the concrete, his bag in one hand, the faint hum of the building above humming like a distant memory.
Inside his mind.
How did I survive that marriage?
Years of silence. Of cold meals. Cold bed. Cold eyes.
A man can endure a lot, but being invisible to the woman you once swore to love? That kills something inside.
He exhaled slowly, unlocking the car.
But then… she appeared.
Kyouko.
A woman who had never been truly cherished.
Who gave so much of herself… and never received love the way she deserved.
Maybe that's what happens… when a man who was never appreciated meets a woman who was never loved correctly.
Something rare is born.
Something unstoppable.
He smiled faintly to himself as he slid into the driver's seat.
Not just lovers.
Not just a couple.
They were something more.
A force that wouldn't break again.
A perfect storm of healing and desire.
