The soft ray of morning light penetrated through the beige-colored curtains, falling on a young lady who was laying on the white bed, motionless. Her countenance was pale.
A pair of simple white hospital pajamas clad on her body. A comfortable blanket covered her from her chest to toes. She appeared as if she wouldn't wake up, unwilling to leave her dreamland.
In the spacious ward, a tall man dressed in black stared at her with a profound gaze laced with darkness. In contrast to the light-colored room, the air around him was heavy.
He kept a distance from the hospital bed, afraid to step closer to her. His fingers clenched into fists when he focused on the bandage that wrapped her skinny right arm. There was another one around her head and on her left calf.
How much she had suffered right now? Wasn't the last time enough already?
Two knocks resounded on the door. The man impatiently swept his gaze toward the direction of the sound. A man dressed in a doctor's coat entered the ward.
"It has been five days," The man in black spat out the words coldly. Even though his voice was so low akin a whisper, it carried a sense of oppression and made the doctor shuddered in fright.
"Her vitals are fine except for a few injuries on her body. Don't worry, she would wake up soon," The doctor walked forward and stood beside the man in black. He glanced at his dark expression. A sigh escaped his lips.
"Have you got all the details of this incident?"
The man in black kept his silence. His gaze went back to the frail figure on the bed. Despite his dark gaze, a trace of anxiety and helplessness flashed in his eyes. They flashed by so fast no one could see them.
The doctor rolled his eyes. He had gotten used to being treated like a mute by this man yet it was still frustrating!
Knowing he was better off if he escaped from this ward, he quickly left.
Once the doctor left, silence once again fell in the room.
That man hesitated before he took a step forward. One by one, until he stood near the bed. His heart hurt terribly as if sharp claws were digging every single part of his heart yet he couldn't do anything about it. He pursed his thin lips into a tight line. Slowly, he rose his hand. His right palm hovered above her face.
She was so near yet it felt so far, so unreachable.
In the end, he retracted his hand.
While he was immersed in his sorrow, another knock echoed outside. This time, it was a younger man dressed in a grey suit. The man gave him a respectful bow once before he presented him with a phone.
"The old master called. He has known about it. He would be on the flight shortly," the man reported briefly with a series of short sentences.
The man in black narrowed his eyes. The black screen of the phone met his gaze.
"Handle him."
The younger man nodded. "Yes, Young Master."
He swept a gaze toward the young lady once before he walked out of the room. He kept his sigh inside yet from his face, one knew not to approach her carelessly at this moment. At the last second, he turned his head slightly, his eyes bore on her again.
She has just lost her most precious treasure a few months back. Why did she have to suffer again?
The man was still standing tall and looked at the bed. No one could tell what was whirring inside his mind.
Another two days passed.
Night had fallen when two nursed entered the ward for their night round. They checked the condition of the young lady, their movements were noiseless and skillful. One of them looked at the lady, her motherly face tinged with sadness.
"I wonder when would she wake up?" The nurse said in a low voice to her colleague. "Such a young lady, she looked so frail right now."
"She would. I believe it," Her friend replied. "Moreover, that man is so attentive toward her. I've even seen a kind-looking old man came to visit her this afternoon. They're all waiting for her to regain consciousness."
The first nurse nodded. She leaned over to tidy the blanket when suddenly her eyes caught a movement under it. Her eyes widened in surprise before she quickly lifted up the blanket.
Her fingers were twitching! Their movement became more active as she looked at it. Suddenly, her friend's exclamation caught her attention.
"Why?"
"Miss! You're awake?" Her friend didn't answer her yet she was speaking toward the young lady's direction. Her face was filled with joy. She looked at the first nurse and said happily, "Call the doctor!"
It was at that moment the first nurse realized that the young lady had opened her eyes. She immediately pressed the call button near her. In no time, a hurried sound of footsteps approaching the ward before the male doctor came inside in a haste.
"Doctor! She's awake!"
The man was stunned for a moment before he quickly regained his composure. He began giving out instructions to the nurses.
"Call Mr. Kashino. Be prepared to do the examinations."
"Yes, doctor!" The nurses quickly obeyed his words. One of them went to call the patient's family while the other helped the doctor.
"Sister-in-law, could you hear me?" The doctor said in a gentle voice, he was afraid of startling the recently awaken young lady.
The young lady's brows furrowed. She closed her eyes once, feeling a wave of exhaustion hit her. Her head felt heavy and she was tempted to sleep again. Yet, the aching of her limbs prevented her to do so. She just let the doctor checked on her without saying anything. The nurse helped her to lean her body against the headboard.
The doctor had just finished examining her when a man in a black suit entered the ward in a hurry. Her eyes caught his worried gaze. He walked so fast, he was already standing beside her bed before she could really register his presence.
"Shouko?"
She frowned once she heard her name being called out by this man.
"How is she?" The man turned his attention to the doctor. In an instance, the urgency in his voice when he called her name was replaced with impatience when he faced the doctor.
"She's good but to be safe, I suggest doing a detailed check-up."
"En." The man nodded.
Seeing them spoke in front of her, she couldn't help but want to interrupt them. She tried raising her hand but a sudden pain stabbed her, making her yelped. The man in the black suit quickly focused on her again.
"Where does it hurt?"
She raised her chin, her eyes directly meeting his dark orbs. She was left speechless seeing the intense worry in his eyes. She opened her mouth, her voice softly echoed in the ward.
"I'm sorry but... who are you?"
Once her words fell, since she was in a close distance to him, she could see clearly how his pupils dilated in shock and his thin lips parted. His facial expression stiffened as he stared at her incredulously.
The doctor pursed his lips. "She really needs a detailed check-up."
The man in black nodded once he snapped out of his daze. His gaze became heavier. He looked at the young lady's confused face with complicated feelings sprouting in his heart.
It was already late at night when the examination was done. The man and the doctor stood outside the ward. The young lady had already slept. She had just regained her consciousness but her body was still weak. After being administered with drugs, she fell back into a deep sleep.
In the dimly lit hallway, the doctor spoke first.
"It's retrograde amnesia. She forgot her recent memories."
The man looked down at his feet. His face was shrouded in shadows. "Would she recover?"
"It's possible. Especially if we could trigger her mind to resurface the forgotten memories. We..." The more he spoke, the more he felt it wasn't right. He knew what might happen if they tried triggering her mind. In the end, he stopped talking. He glanced at the man. "Do you wish Shouko to not remember?"
His question was answered with silence. The man in the black suit didn't speak. He glanced at the closed doors of the ward. Once again, he felt so helpless.
He still needed time to think.
Morning came.
When she woke up, she was met with a pair of dark eyes. She was baffled. Why did this man remain here? He's even wearing his clothes from last night. Didn't he go home?
"You..."
Shouko groaned in pain as soon as she tried to sit up. Her lower abdomen felt like it was clawed with a giant spear. Her face turned pale, she bit her lips to in an attempt to accept the pain.
He immediately went to help her. He adjusted the control of the bed using a remote before he placed a small pillow behind her back. She held her breath, didn't dare to make a sound.
"Drink first."
The man brought a glass of water to her cracked lips. She accepted it gratefully despite feeling embarrassed. This man was so close to her and his action when he was helping her earlier showed that he was no stranger to her. Despite his cold face, his movements were gentle.
"I'll ask someone to bring in breakfast for you," He said quietly once she was done drinking the water. He wanted to turn around yet she quickly called out to him.
"Wait!"
The man looked back at her. His eyes were deep with no light in them. Such a look could make someone cowered in fear yet she pushed herself to be brave. She had a lot of things to ask.
"I asked you last night..." She was struggling to form words as her mind was jumbled with them. "You haven't answered me. En... who are you? Do we know each other?"
Even in her current state, her mind was still working fine. She had heard the doctor's diagnosis last night. She was amnesiac. She lost a portion of her memories and it might include the existence of this man whom she might be familiar with.
The man stared at her. Without answering her, his long hand reached inside his suit jacket. He brought out two small red books from the inside pocket. He was still wordless as he showed the red booklets to her.
Her eyes widened once she got a close look at the booklets. Her mouth gaped open.
"These are... these..." She was stuttering, her eyes went from the red booklets to the man's expressionless face.
"Our wedding certificates," He answered curtly.
Seeing her looked so surprised with her eyes innocently stared at him, he opened one of the booklets and brought it close to her. She blinked twice as she saw the photo inside.
A smiling young lady and a cold face young man were standing close in the photo. They appeared awkward with a sense of unfamiliarity between them. There was no love and affection in their eyes.
"You..."
Her eyes went to the information on the booklet.
Husband: Kashino Kyoya
Wife: Yuasa Shouko
Date of marriage: 19th August 20XX
Her signature was there, beside the exquisite signature of a man.
"You... we are..."
"Shouko," The man calmly called her name. The coldness of his eyes dispelled slightly as the next words came out of his mouth. "I am your husband."
"What?" Shouko swore this could be the biggest joke for her yet the red booklets were clear evidence. They felt warm under her touch. She couldn't refute it.
"I... I don't... Wait!" Shouko suddenly thought of something. She desperately looked at him. "What date is today?"
19th August 20XX? Wasn't it a week after her graduation? If she had been married by then, did it mean a lot of time had passed by?
"Today is the 27th of August. The year is 20XX."
"What?"
Five years had passed? Now... she was 26 years old?
While she was deep in her thoughts, Kyoya too was lost in his own. By seeing how she reacted after seeing their marriage certificate, it was clear her memory of his was wiped out from her mind.
Every single one of them.
Is this their second chance?
Shouko had a lot to ask yet Kyoya told her to be patient. She was still recovering and it was bad to stimulate her. She could only comply when the doctor advised her against the idea too. It seemed like the doctor was Kyoya's friend named Shou. After eating breakfast and having her medicine, Kyoya watched her fell asleep before he stepped out of the ward.
He had made the decision.
Kyoya brought out a phone from the pocket of his pants. He called a landline. After it rang twice, the voice of an old man entered his ears.
"Young Master, how is Young Madam?" It was the butler of his house, Soga Toshio.
"She's fine. Clear all of the items. Don't leave a trace."
"What?" The butler was stunned. He couldn't believe what he had heard. "Are you serious? Young Madam would be sad."
"Do it." Without giving an explanation, he hung up the phone.
Kyoya glanced at the ward. Dark clouds swirled in his eyes. He clenched his fists. All these years, only she could make him feel so helpless like this.
I'm sorry, Shouko. It might be better this way.
He looked down, as he closed his eyes a face appeared in his mind.
Side theater:
Shou: Ha! Now your wife doesn't remember you! It's easy peasy for others to flirt with her.
Kyoya: I have our wedding certificates with me.
Shou: You bring those with you?
Kyoya: As a shield.