He remembered how, when he was ten, his father used to beat his mother, how he threw her out of their house, and how she slowly became sick afterward. Rei suddenly woke up from the nightmare, his chest rising and falling unevenly, and saw his mother sleeping beside him. She looked weak and pale, yet still beautiful — once a famous model, now a fragile woman fighting illness in silence. Rei quietly went to the kitchen, cooked breakfast, crushed her medicines, returned to her bedside and whispered,
"Mom, it's time to eat and take your pills,"
before making sure she was comfortable and heading out for school.
On the way, he met Koma Hoshino, who walked beside him and asked,
"Are you taking proper care of your mom? And… how are you doing?"
Rei replied softly,
"Yeah, I'm taking care of her, and I guess I'm fine. What about you, Hoshino-san?"
to which she smiled and said,
"I'm fine too,"
and before they realized it, they were already at the school gate.
Inside the classroom, Rei greeted his friends and said,
"Hey, Kai, Chūya, long time no see,"
which made Kai reply dramatically,
"It's been ages since our ancestors last saw the sun,"
while Chūya laughed and said,
"For real,"
causing Koma to scold them with,
"Stop talking in weird slangs, dumbasses."
Kai then suggested,
"Class hasn't started yet, let's go eat something in the café — Rei, Koma, you coming?"
but Koma replied,
"No, we need to talk,"
making Chūya grin and tease,
"Oh? Relationship problems?"
which Rei quickly shut down with,
"Shut up, we're just friends,"
before Kai and Chūya laughed and walked away.
Once alone, Rei noticed Koma blushing and asked,
"Are you fine?"
She nodded and then hesitantly asked,
"Rei… you never told me about your father,"
which made his expression darken. When Koma worriedly asked,
"Did I say something wrong?"
Rei replied quietly,
"I'll be right back,"
and went to the washroom, washing his face and staring at the mirror while his father's cruelty echoed in his mind. When the bell rang, he forced himself to calm down and returned to class, while Koma kept glancing at him worriedly through the lecture.
After class, Rei approached her and said,
"Sorry, Hoshino-san, I was acting weird this morning,"
and she replied,
"No… it was my fault for asking,"
but Rei shook his head and said,
"No, really. And… thank you for paying for my mom's medicines and bills. I'm grateful,"
to which Koma smiled and answered,
"It's nothing. I just use my modeling money — my parents don't care how much I spend."
Rei thanked her again sincerely.
Chūya and Kai suddenly appeared, and Chūya teased,
"Look at this lovely couple having a romantic conversation,"
making Rei snap,
"Shut up, Chūya,"
before everyone laughed it off and went home.
Rei cooked dinner for his mother, helped her eat, studied for a while, cleaned the house, and left for his part-time job in a world where the sun had not risen for ages, where rain fell endlessly and darkness ruled most hours. When he entered the café, Koharu Mizuno greeted him brightly, saying,
"Hey Rei, how was your day?"
Rei replied,
"It was good, just busy at home. What about you?"
and Koharu sighed,
"Meh… my school presentation didn't go well. Anyway, here's your hot chocolate — we need to bake cakes."
But then the café door suddenly creaked open.
Two police officers stepped inside.
and they said-