"I had two daughters."
His voice was quiet.
"My eldest was named Morishita Nobuko. My younger daughter was Morishita Ayako."
Yuto remained silent and listened.
"Nobuko was four years older than Ayako. She was healthier too, and when they were little, she helped their mother with all kinds of things."
Morishita's gaze slowly drifted toward the floor.
"But after their mother passed away, Nobuko took Ayako and left home."
His hands tightened against his knees.
"I was addicted to gambling back then."
There was no attempt to excuse himself.
"Nobuko made the right decision taking Ayako away from me."
His voice became rougher.
"After they left, I occasionally heard things about them. I heard Nobuko and Ayako had gone to Tokyo and started working in the nightlife business."
A bitter expression crossed his face.
"At the time... I was ashamed of them."
Morishita laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
"I never even considered coming to find them."
He fell silent for a while.
Then, unexpectedly, he began talking about something much smaller.
"When Nobuko was little, she loved playing ball. She once asked me for money to buy one."
Morishita stared at his own hands.
"But all I cared about was gambling, so I refused."
His voice trembled.
"I even yelled at her."
Yuto said nothing.
"Later, Nobuko made a ball herself out of paper. She and Ayako used to play with it all the time."
For the first time, the faintest hint of warmth appeared in Morishita's expression.
It vanished almost immediately.
"But one day... I came home after losing money gambling."
His breathing became uneven.
"I was furious."
Morishita's fingers began to shake.
"And I crushed that paper ball under my foot."
His voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"Nobuko and Ayako cried terribly."
He swallowed.
"Their mother came over and started arguing with me."
Another silence.
"And then... I hit her."
Morishita's shoulders trembled.
"When their mother died..."
He struggled to breathe properly.
"I was gambling that day too.."
His lips quivered.
"I... I..."
The story gradually fell apart.
Morishita could not continue.
Tears began running down his aged face, tracing the scars and deep lines in his skin before falling onto the floor.
He covered his face with both hands.
A low, hoarse sob escaped through his fingers.
The sound reminded Yuto of cold wind blowing through the broken windows of an abandoned house.
He watched silently.
There was nothing useful he could say.
After crying for a while, Morishita tried wiping his face.
The tears would not stop.
"I'm a sinner."
His voice cracked.
"I made mistakes that can never be undone."
His shoulders shook harder.
"I deserve to die..."
He repeated it again.
"I deserve to die..."
And again.
"I deserve to die..."
The words became weaker each time, like the last flame of a candle trembling beneath a cold wind.
Yuto drew in a heavy breath.
Something cold seemed to settle against his chest.
The feeling was difficult to describe.
"Why did you come to Tokyo this time?" Yuto finally asked.
Morishita sniffed and slowly lowered his hands.
He looked as though all the life had been drained from him.
"I wanted..."
His voice almost disappeared.
"I wanted to tell them I was sorry with my own mouth."
A long silence followed.
"But... they probably won't forgive me."
Morishita lowered his head again.
"Especially Nobuko."
His lips twisted bitterly.
"She hated me more than anyone."
After another moment, he finally raised his eyes toward Yuto.
"You... know Nobuko, don't you?"
Yuto paused.
Then nodded.
Nobuko...was Hanako.
The moment Morishita saw him confirm it, hope immediately returned to his eyes.
"Are she and Ayako doing well now?"
Yuto remained quiet for a second.
"Nobuko is doing fine."
Morishita's shoulders loosened slightly.
"But Ayako died while she was working in the nightlife industry."
Everything stopped.
Morishita stared at him.
His expression went completely blank, as though his mind had refused to understand what he had heard.
Then his teeth clenched.
Tears began flowing again.
"How could this happen...?"
His voice was low and almost angry.
"How could this happen...?"
He repeated the words over and over as tears streamed down his face.
Yuto sighed inwardly.
"Why did it have to be Ayako?" Morishita suddenly choked out. "The one who should've died was me..."
He struck his own chest with one fist and let out a broken growl of anguish.
His teeth sank into his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
Yuto watched him for a moment before quietly asking,
"Do you want to see Nobuko?"
This time, Morishita's response was strangely slow.
He did not answer immediately.
He almost seemed afraid to.
Learning about Ayako's death had changed something inside him.
Whatever desperate hope had driven him to Tokyo now seemed tangled together with guilt, fear, and the realization that there were some losses no apology could ever repair.
Yuto did not force him to respond.
"I'll go speak with Nobuko and tell her what happened today."
Morishita looked up.
"If she's willing to see you, I'll bring her here. If she isn't... I'll have them let you go."
That was all.
Yuto had no intention of deciding the matter for Hanako.
He stood.
Morishita hurriedly rose as well.
"Are... are you leaving now?"
"Yes."
Morishita immediately rushed ahead and opened the door for him.
Then, as Yuto stepped outside, the old man bowed deeply.
Yuto gave the man in the black suit a few brief instructions, asking him to continue watching Morishita for the time being.
After that, he left the hotel.
Now...
He needed to find Hanako.
And tell her everything that had happened.
...
Back inside the hotel room, Morishita remained sitting there blankly.
His lifeless gaze stayed fixed on the floor.
Tears silently fell one after another.
After sitting like that for a long time, he finally stood and slowly walked toward the window.
Bright sunlight poured through the glass and fell across his body.
Yet Morishita felt none of its warmth.
All he could feel was the bone-deep chill spreading from somewhere inside his heart.
...
On the way to see Hanako, Yuto kept wondering whether what he had done was truly the right thing.
Hanako had suddenly returned from the countryside only yesterday.
At the time, she had hesitantly asked about the "old man" Yuto mentioned over the phone—Morishita Ihito—but neither he nor Chiko had been able to tell her anything useful.
Later, when Chiko pressed her about what was going on, Hanako had shut down the subject with unusual force.
She acted as though she no longer cared.
There had even been a certain finality in the way she spoke, enough that anyone watching might have assumed she had genuinely decided to let the matter go.
But when Yuto thought back on that scene afterward, he found it difficult to believe.
If Hanako had truly been able to let go so easily, why would she have rushed all the way back from the countryside after hearing only a few words about "that old man" over the phone?
No.
Yuto did not believe she had stopped caring.
Deep down, she was probably still hoping to learn something about her father, though whatever hope remained had long since become tangled together with resentment, pain, regret, and emotions even Hanako herself might not be able to explain clearly.
Her childhood had been miserable.
But that childhood was already more than thirty years behind her.
Even the deepest hatred could change after such a long time.
And besides...
Morishita Ihito was the only blood relative Hanako still had left in this world.
Whatever she felt toward him could no longer be described as simple love or simple hatred.
It was something made from both.
And no matter how carefully an outsider tried to analyze feelings like that, they were still only an outsider.
Yuto quietly sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Forget it.
He did not want to keep overthinking the matter.
Whether what he had done was right or wrong, he would leave that for whatever happened next to decide.
...
When Yuto arrived outside Hanako's nightclub, the doors were still closed.
He pressed the doorbell.
"Coming."
Only a few seconds after a voice sounded from inside, the sliding door opened.
The woman who answered looked to be around thirty, and her expression immediately became surprised when she saw him.
"Yuto? What's wrong?"
"I wanted to ask if Aunt Hanako is here."
"She is. You're looking for Hanako-san?"
"Mm."
"Then head upstairs. Hanako-san is in her room right now."
The woman stepped aside.
Yuto smiled and nodded before heading straight upstairs.
He walked all the way to Hanako's room.
The last time he had stood here had been the day before she left Ichinose Street.
Yuto took a quiet breath and knocked.
Knock, knock—
"What is it?"
Hanako's voice came from inside, carrying a trace of seriousness.
"It's me, Aunt Hanako."
"Yuto?"
The instant she recognized his voice, her tone softened.
Footsteps quickly approached.
The door opened.
Yuto smiled when he saw her.
Hanako naturally waved him inside.
"Come in and sit."
She turned back toward the room.
Yuto answered softly and followed her.
"Close the door."
"Mm."
He shut it behind him.
Hanako had already arranged two chairs near each other.
She looked at Yuto with the same warm, gentle eyes she always did, almost as though she were looking at her own child.
"Here. Sit."
She patted the chair beside her before sitting down herself.
Yuto nodded and joined her.
Now that he was actually here, he found himself feeling slightly nervous.
Hanako still had no idea what had happened.
She poured him a glass of water before leaning back and gently rolling her neck.
She was no longer young, and sometimes even a simple movement like that was necessary to ease the stiffness.
"What's wrong, Yuto? Did something happen?"
Yuto remained silent for a moment.
He gathered his thoughts and took another breath.
Seeing how unusually hesitant he was, Hanako's expression became confused.
"What is it?" She asked again.
"Aunt Hanako... I actually came because I wanted to ask you again about that strange old man we talked about yesterday."
Yuto spoke carefully, but he did not bother circling around the subject too much.
His meaning was already clear enough.
Hanako froze.
Then her expression changed.
Confusion.
Surprise.
Pain.
Sadness.
Several emotions flickered across her face so quickly that Yuto could barely distinguish them.
A person's expression only changed like that when something deep inside them had been shaken.
"Why..." Hanako's voice slowed, bitterness already creeping into it. "Why are you suddenly asking about him?"
The smile had disappeared from her face.
"That person... is important to you, isn't he?"
Yuto asked cautiously.
This was not a conversation he could handle carelessly.
Hanako had spent half a lifetime dealing with people.
She was extraordinarily perceptive, and Yuto did not want her piecing together everything before he had a chance to explain properly.
When she heard his question, Hanako fell silent.
Only a few seconds passed.
To Yuto, they felt much longer.
Finally, Hanako gave a helpless, bitter laugh.
"Did you find something out, Yuto?"
Her eyes rested directly on him.
That familiar, gentle gaze somehow made him even more nervous.
"Mm."
He nodded.
Even the sound that came from his throat was subdued.
Hanako smiled faintly.
"Then can you tell Auntie what you found?"
Yuto cleared his throat.
"That man... he's some kind of relative of yours, right?"
He deliberately tested the waters first.
Hanako's expression shifted almost too quickly to notice, like grass rippling beneath a sudden gust of wind.
Then she let out a long sigh.
A helpless smile appeared on her lips.
"I really can't hide much from you, can I?"