A few minutes later, Ren and Hana had finally found themselves in the large lobby on the first floor of the Marline Insurance building.
Already tired from staring at a computer screen all day, Hana's eyes were once again assaulted by the dazzling lighting of the lobby; as bright as during the day, but much crueler in the middle of the night.
"I hope you'll think about what I said, if possible, after a good night's rest," Ren then said.
Deep down, Hana knew he was right.
She would ask Chief Kobayashi directly why he seemed to have a grudge against her.
It was the right thing to do. Especially since she didn't want their professional relationship to hurt their personal one. And vice versa.
They walked out of the building together, and Hana was surprised to find that Ren was going in the exact same direction as her.
"Do you also take this subway line?" She asked as she continued to walk across the square in front of the building.
For all answer, Ren nodded his head.
While heading towards the subway station to the east, Hana got lost looking at the still fully lit buildings all around them.
The business district was relatively quiet at this hour, but even knowing that most of the floors were empty, she couldn't help but think that a handful of people must still be working overtime.
When she had told her father what she wanted to study, he had initially been reluctant to let her pursue that path.
Not because he didn't think it was right for her, or because he doubted her, but more because he was afraid she would become trapped in a cycle of overtime and end up working herself to exhaustion.
But, in the face of her insistence, he had finally given in.
If, on the other hand, he had known the real reason why Hana had chosen this path, he would surely have been more virulent and less conciliatory about her career choice.
But even that would not have prevented the young woman from being here, in this place, at this very moment.
She had a huge debt to pay. And for that, she was ready to do anything.
Once inside the subway station, she noticed that many people were still on the platforms, waiting for the next train. As if it was a normal time of the day.
This finally made her realize that big cities were really different from the countryside. Where she came from, people were always at home at that hour, and the streets were quickly deserted.
But cities, big or not, would always be more animated than a small provincial town.
She and Ren stood on the platform side by side, waiting for their transport, and without a word, they both began to look at the different ads scrolling on the video screens in front of them.
She couldn't really tell what her older colleague was thinking about, as he still had the same serious and impassive air.
However, she noticed a spike of hair starting to protrude from the back of the man's head. A sign that, even for the perfect man he was, the day had been a little too long.
She smiled discreetly, before returning her attention to the sign announcing the next arrivals of trains.
Waiting.
Waiting, knowing how much time was left before the next train.
Waiting, with a pre-set time.
She lost her smile.
Hana had just drawn a parallel with a certain part of her life, and looked bitter.
What if she had had more time? What if it hadn't all been over in five short months?
Would things have been different? Would people have been different? Would she herself have been different?
Maybe with more time, she wouldn't have acted the way she did.
But here it was, things had happened one way, and not another. Things that were in her past, and that she could never change.
"Shinohara-san?" Said Ren, to manifest himself and get the young woman's attention.
She turned a surprised look towards him, as if he had caught her at a time he shouldn't have seen. And quickly, she smiled to hide her distress.
"What is it, Ito-san?" she asked in a voice that sounded forced.
The man looked at her curiously, as if trying to understand exactly what she was trying to do.
But really, she wasn't trying anything. Or if she was indeed trying something, it was to hide how depressed she might have been for a moment.
He frowned a little, seeming to think of something about the young woman, then looking away, added:
"The next train is coming."
Hana then turned her head towards the end of the platform, and saw that indeed, their transport was approaching.
It took a few seconds for the cars to stop and the doors to beep open.
Immediately, a flow of passers-by, entering and leaving at the same time, began to animate the entire platform.
Hana took advantage of the general movement to sneak inside the train; but when she turned around, she saw that Ren had not moved from his position on the platform, and was looking at her.
"Ito-san, come on! You're going to miss it!" she exclaimed.
He then shook his head.
"I have to take the line in the other direction to go home," he explained.
Which meant that he had been waiting with her on the wrong platform since earlier.
She frowned.
By any chance, did he....?
He bowed his head slightly to say goodbye, and was already turning to leave, when Hana exclaimed loudly enough for him to hear her through the already closing doors.
"Thanks for keeping me company!"
She saw him startle on the spot, stopped dead in his tracks. He had to be surprised at the same time by his voice, but also by the words of the young woman.
Then, still with his back to her, he turned his head slightly to the side to see her out of the corner of his eye, and nodded once more.
She smiled, and the train began to move, leaving Ren now alone on the platform of the subway station.
She saw him heading for the stairs - surely to get to the right platform - and then the whole station disappeared, the train making a big turn.
He had decided to keep her company until she got on the train, watching over her. Maybe to make sure she got home safely.
It was... very nice of him.
And totally unexpected.
Honestly, she would have thought that this man, so clean and square in his thinking, would have preferred to go straight home. A bit like a robot, following a pre-established and routine route. The kind of route to be optimized to save time and avoid the most disappointments.
A 'Ito Ren'-like route.
This made her smile again, and she had to suppress a small laugh. The day hadn't been so bad after all...