[Third year of university.]
[Kessoku Band was at the height of its popularity. Your fame rose to a new level, and while your career was taking off, you felt as if something essential was missing from your heart.]
[You had not seen Toru for half a year.]
[You went to his home and to his school, asked people who knew him, but there was not a single trace. It was as if Toru had truly vanished from the world without leaving anything behind.]
[Only then did you realize how little you knew about him.]
[Toru had always handled everything with ease in front of you. There was nothing he could not overcome.]
[You gave your whole heart to him, stopped thinking about unnecessary things, and simply enjoyed his gentleness.]
[Only after he disappeared did you understand that your relationship was not as unbreakable as you believed.]
[Everyone in Kessoku Band was curious as well, but as outsiders, they did not dare ask too many questions.]
[For many reasons.]
[You were left with no choice but to continue chasing your dream and force yourself not to think about him.]
"Could it be... Toru kun really passed away?"
Kita couldn't help thinking in that direction.
[Just when you were convinced your boyfriend had gone missing for good, Toru finally answered a call.]
[You had a thousand complaints ready, but when you opened your mouth, they all turned into concern. "Dear, are you alright?"]
["I'm fine, just a bit of a cold..." He explained while coughing, sounding anything but fine.]
[You couldn't feel at ease at all.]
[What had he been doing during the past six months?]
["Where are you? I'm coming to you right now." Driven by anxiety, you pressed him.]
[Toru stayed silent for a long time.]
[What he said next was something you could hardly believe.]
["...Don't come looking for me. I'm calling today to break up."]
[What kind of joke was that? That was your first thought. He had helped you for so many years, ruined his health for your sake, and now suddenly he said he wanted to break up?]
["Sorry, that word doesn't exist in my dictionary. If anything, I would rather die with you. Without you, what meaning does my life have?"]
["You're still the same, so possessive."]
[Toru laughed softly, then coughed several more times.]
[His voice sounded much older than it had half a year ago, stripped of the youthful energy he once had.]
[You felt an ominous premonition.]
["Being love obsessed fool is not good..." Toru's voice strained, as if he could barely speak.]
[Soon after, he called for a doctor in a soft voice. He spoke English, so he clearly wasn't in Japan.]
["...Are you alright?" you asked.]
["I'm fine. Just an old problem." Toru sounded relaxed, but you couldn't relax at all.]
[He sounded like a man at death's door, calling to say goodbye before the end.]
[You didn't know what to say. This fool, if he was really dying, why wouldn't he let you accompany him for the final stretch?]
["Hurry and tell me where you are." Since becoming lovers, you had never given him an order. This was the harshest tone you had ever used with him.]
["Fine, I'll tell you the truth. I accidentally cheated. A few months ago, I got a new girlfriend. She's a silver haired, red eyed Russian beauty named Illya. She's one meter thirty, thirty four kilos, measurements sixty one, forty seven, sixty two, and when she smiles she has tiny dimples..."]
[You didn't believe a single word of his nonsense.]
["Tell me your location. Now." you repeated.]
["..."]
[Of course Toru didn't want to break up. But his body could no longer hold on.]
[Rather than become a burden for the rest of your life, he chose to let go early and remain only in your memory.]
"Would it kill you to let me be happy once?"
Kita held her stomach.
Her stomach was starting to hurt.
Next time before running a simulation, she should buy stomach medicine first.
Why was it that every time she reached her main storyline, Toru always seemed determined to die?
Last time it was pancreatic cancer, incurable. This time he sacrificed himself to save someone...
[Seeing him remain silent, your voice softened with a hint of hurt.]
["Please, don't leave me in the dark."]
[After a long silence.]
["Alright, I'm in America."]
[Toru finally spoke and gave you the address.]
[You didn't hesitate. You rushed to buy a plane ticket and prepared to fly to America.]
[As expected, everything that fool said was a lie. A Russian beauty? Illya? All nonsense. He wasn't even in Russia.]
[You boarded a red eye flight and arrived the next day at the hospital he mentioned.]
[At the corner room.]
[You pushed open the door, and the sight before you made you freeze.]
[On the bed, Toru's hair had turned largely white. His face was no longer youthful. Only half a year had passed, yet he looked twenty years older.]
[Your eyes met.]
[You slowly walked toward him, wanting to see his face up close.]
[Your hand soon touched his cheek. It felt rough.]
[Feeling your touch, Toru asked...]
["Regretting it? That I've become like this."]
["I don't regret it."]
["I've got wrinkles now, but at least I had good looks. Even aged, I don't look too bad."]
[Looking at his graying hair and middle aged appearance, your thoughts churned. His looks didn't matter to you. Only one thing did.]
["...Will you die?"]
["I should have another ten years or so."]
[That was why he wanted to break up.]
[One day, he would leave before you. Long before your life reached its brightest years.]
["We should cut ties. While you're still young, find someone better suited for you."]
["No!"]
["Don't be stubborn. I'm already old."]
[Toru looked out the window. White doves from a nearby plaza flew across the sky.]
[He longed for freedom, yet he was trapped in an aging body.]
["I don't mind."]
[Hearing this, Toru looked into your serious eyes.]
[Right now, he looked like a complete middle aged man. Walking beside a young, beautiful college student like you would draw countless stares and rumors.]
["People will talk."]
["I don't care."]
["Your parents might not approve."]
["I'll convince them."]
["Our child might grow up without a father."]
["Then we'll have a baby early and give them a happy childhood."]
[Toru was amused by your answer. He thought, perhaps only you would say something like that.]
["I don't have many friends. We might not even be able to invite people to the wedding." In truth, he only had you.]
["It's fine. We don't need a wedding."]
["In the future, I might cheat somewhere you don't know about."]
[You glared at him. "...You're not allowed to cheat."]
["Alright." Toru smiled helplessly.]
[In the remaining years, he planned to stay by your side.]
[And do everything he could to make you happy.]