The cold operating room light narrowed, focusing solely on Haruto's sweaty face and crazed eyes. Behind him, the giant projection screen began showing short, fragmented clips, like torn pieces of memory.
The scene shifted to the past, the brief period when the two of them had found each other again.
It was a small park at dusk. Haruto and Hana sat next to each other on a bench, the distance between them almost nonexistent. They smiled at each other, their eyes filled with the affection they had held since childhood. But behind each smile were unspoken truths.
"Hana, how is your life? Are that family treating you well?" Haruto asked, his voice feigning calmness.
Hana nodded, forcing a smile. "Yes, they are very good to me. I just help with a little housework." She didn't mention the grueling work hours, the unjust scoldings, or the loneliness in her damp little room.
"And you? Is your studies very stressful?" Hana asked in return, her sparkling eyes looking at Haruto.
"No, everything is fine," Haruto lied. "My adoptive parents are very caring." He couldn't confess that he had just endured a brutal beating because his grades weren't perfect.
They dated in the evenings, sharing their dreams and their futures, but always avoiding the present. They hid their emotional wounds, afraid that revealing them would hurt the other, or worse, make them lose the only person who understood them.
Then one evening, in the small room Haruto rented outside, the silence was finally broken.
After their first time making love, as they lay beside each other panting, unexpected tears streamed down Hana's face.
"I... I can't pretend anymore," she sobbed. "My life is terrible, Haruto. They treat me like an animal. I'm lonely... I'm scared..."
Haruto, instead of comforting her, also broke down crying. For the first time in years, he let the defensive walls within him crumble. "Me too... they hit me, yell at me... they've turned me into a machine... I don't even recognize myself anymore..."
The exposed truth was painful, but it also lifted a tremendous burden. In their shared pain, they found a strange resonance. Their second time making love was no longer gentle, but became intense, rough, as a way to release all the pent-up frustration.
"Hit me," Hana whispered between ragged breaths, her eyes tightly shut. "Make me hurt, so I can forget everything..."
Haruto, with a wounded heart and a disturbed mind, obeyed. He used ropes, his bare hands, the vilest words to torment her. And Hana, instead of being afraid, accepted it all with a pained satisfaction. In that distortion, both found temporary liberation from their real-world sufferings. They understood each other in a way no one else could.
Then, during one overly intense moment, when the excitement peaked, Haruto's hands tightened around Hana's neck. Her eyes widened, full of surprise and fear, but also with a hint of... peace. She didn't struggle much.
"Do... you love me...?" Those were her last, faint words.
Haruto, as if hypnotized, nodded frantically. "Yes! I love you! I love you!"
But when he realized and let go, it was too late. Hana had stopped breathing, her eyes closed, a strange smile ghosting her lips.
The incident came to light. Hana's adoptive family sued Haruto. But with the power and reputation of the famous doctor's family, the case was quickly suppressed. Haruto received an extremely light sentence and was soon released from prison due to... "unstable mental health".
But the real punishment was just beginning.
Every time Haruto tried to get close to another woman, the image of Hana's eyes in her final moments reappeared. He heard the whisper "Do you love me?" echoing in his ears. And then, his erection would vanish. The feeling of impotence and guilt made him more violent towards the outside world.
The projection screen changed again, the cold operating light shining on the corner of the room where a young girl was tied to a chair. Her mouth was gagged, but her wide-open eyes, filled with terror, reflected the image of Haruto in his white coat approaching. Her lips – full, heart-shaped, identical to Hana's lips from years ago – trembled.
"Don't be afraid," Haruto's voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot from insomnia and madness. "You are very special. You will be the final piece."