Before long, Nakajima Yohei received a reply.
"Minami Yuuki: I guess I made a mistake."
At least from the text, it seemed Yuuki believed his lie. Yohei breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nakajima Yohei: Where did you hear my mother's name?"
"Minami Yuuki: I must have been mistaken. Forget about it, Nakajima Sensei."
How could I forget! Where did you hear my daughter's name!
Yohei typed out a long message, intending to ask more questions, but he deleted it before sending. If he seemed too eager, Yuuki might become suspicious.
"Nakajima Yohei: Focus more on your studies."
"Minami Yuuki: Nakajima Sensei is so considerate. It would be great if you had a good wife."
"Nakajima Yohei: Don't joke about adult matters!"
"Minami Yuuki: I'm not joking. I could introduce someone to you."
Yohei raised an eyebrow. This guy was really this kind-hearted?
"Minami Yuuki: In return, please introduce your daughter to me."
So that's your game!
"Nakajima Yohei: No need!"
"Minami Yuuki: How cold. By the way, has your mother ever met me?"
Yohei's heart skipped a beat. Why would Yuuki ask such a question? Had Reina met him? What kind of question was this?
"Nakajima Yohei: I wouldn't know. Why do you ask?"
"Minami Yuuki: It's nothing. Have a good rest, Nakajima Sensei."
Yohei frowned at his phone, troubled by Yuuki's questions. Reina shouldn't have met Yuuki, but she did know about him.
He reviewed their chat, speculating that someone named "Nakajima Reina" must have contacted Yuuki, prompting his message. But that was impossible. With Reina's personality, she wouldn't reach out to Yuuki.
Never mind, these young people are unpredictable. It's not worth overthinking.
Putting the ashtray back on the railing, he walked out of the smoking area, trying to rid himself of the smoke smell.
The hospital was quiet at night. Lights reflected off the plastic floors and wall railings, casting soft, blurry glows. This scene, this silence, always made him think of death. Once he felt the smoke smell had dissipated, he walked down the corridor.
Pushing open his daughter's room door, he was met with a white scene: white walls, floors, curtains, and fluorescent lights. The white curtains were drawn open.
A girl in a blue hospital gown sat on the white bed, covered with a white blanket. Her face turned toward the window, looking out at the garden below.
"Reina," Yohei called as he entered the room.
"Hmm?" The girl turned her head, a gentle face lighting up with a soft smile when she saw her father.
That gentle smile, like a statue of a deity, dispelled the feeling of death that had clung to Yohei in the corridor.
"Sorry, I went out for a smoke." Yohei sat on a chair two meters from the girl, afraid the lingering smoke smell might bother her, even though she'd never complained.
"It's okay." Reina shook her head and looked back out the window.
Yohei scratched his head. He wasn't great at dealing with his daughter. Compared to the overly lively students at school, his daughter was particularly quiet.
Sometimes, while reprimanding his rowdy students, he felt a sudden envy. He wished Reina could be as lively, as willful, as passionately opinionated as they were, even if only for a fleeting moment.
"This morning, I made a fool of myself," Yohei tried to find a topic. "I accidentally woke up late, rushed to grab a tie, and ran out the door. It wasn't until I got to school that I realized the tie was the same color as my shirt…"
As he began speaking, his daughter's gaze was fixed on him, seemingly listening intently.
He knew this was just a form of politeness, a kind of tolerance.
Was she really interested in his tie? Probably not.
But she didn't dislike his topic either, willing to hear him out and gently call him silly or remind him to be more careful next time.
This wasn't the reaction he wanted. He wanted to bring some excitement to his daughter, who had been confined to the hospital for so long. He tried many different topics, but none were successful. Finally, he had to use his trump card.
"That Minami Yuuki, he went home with Chitose Kazumi again today."
The moment he mentioned Yuuki, Yohei keenly noticed a subtle shift in his daughter's demeanor. This topic intrigued her.
"I thought, after getting involved with Ichinose Shiori, he'd be clinging to her more often—marrying her would mean not having to work hard for the rest of his life. But he's still sticking with Chitose Kazumi."
Yohei recounted his observations of Yuuki from that day. He discovered his daughter's interest in Yuuki's stories at the beginning of the month.
Alone, his stories were limited and he soon ran out of things to say. So, he often talked about his students, using their antics as material for conversations with his daughter.
Over the years, he had shared countless tales of his students. Some of these stories, some of the antics, would momentarily spark his daughter's interest, making her more focused and her eyes brighter than usual.
In early April, a new batch of students arrived, and the striking presence of Minami Yuuki naturally became new material for Yohei's talks.
This handsome boy from a remote area, who quickly fell into isolation due to a few minor mishaps, was the perfect story. As expected, once he began sharing Yuuki's story, his daughter was hooked.
While delighted, he also thought his daughter would soon lose interest, as she had with previous students. She had never maintained an interest in a person or a thing for more than five days.
He was wrong. Yuuki's story had been ongoing for over half a month, and her interest not only didn't wane but seemed to grow stronger with time.
Even when he talked about trivial things, like how many times Yuuki yawned in the morning, how he secretly looked at his phone during class, or whom he spoke to, his daughter found it fascinating.
While it was good that something could continually capture her interest, her deepening interest in a boy made him feel jealous.
For the past twenty days, Yuuki had become a regular topic. He felt as though a third party had come between him and his daughter.
He desperately wanted to find another topic to replace the daily discussions about Yuuki but had not yet succeeded.
"Mr. Nakajima, time's almost up," the nurse on duty reminded him, knocking on the door.
"Okay," Yohei replied, stopping the discussion about Yuuki and acknowledging the nurse.
He stood up. "See you tomorrow, Reina."
"See you tomorrow, Dad," Nakajima Reina waved to him.