Yokina dressed Herik in silence.
A shirt. A pair of pants.
Her hands moved automatically, but her mind stayed on the mark Juson had mentioned. Even if it had faded, it didn't feel gone.
Herik didn't resist.
Didn't help.
He just stood there, leaning into her when she lifted him, his head resting on her shoulder like it belonged there.
Too still.
Too quiet.
She glanced once at the wall clock before stepping out.
Time looked normal.
Everything else didn't.
"Don't prepare lunch," she told the maid. "We'll be back in the evening."
The maid hesitated. "Can I go home today?"
Yokina handed her the keys. "Come with me."
---
Outside, the gate shut behind them with a dull click.
The maid locked it, handed the keys back, and left after a few steps.
Yokina continued forward.
Herik's head stayed on her shoulder.
He hadn't spoken.
Not once.
---
She waited at the corner.
The street was empty.
Then—
A taxi slowed down in front of her.
The driver lowered the window.
Yokina didn't speak. She opened the door and sat inside, placing Herik beside her.
The driver looked at them through the mirror.
"Where to?"
No answer.
Yokina looked at Herik.
He should know.
He didn't react.
Didn't even look at her.
The driver cleared his throat.
"Madam?"
"…City clinic," she said.
The car started moving.
---
Silence filled the space.
Yokina opened her purse.
Took out coins.
Paused.
Two of them were stuck together.
She pressed them harder.
Tried to pull them apart.
Nothing.
They didn't move.
Not even slightly.
She stopped trying.
Closed her fist.
---
Herik was staring at her hand.
Not blinking.
Not shifting.
Just… watching.
---
Yokina leaned back.
Closed her eyes.
Just for a second.
---
The car jolted.
A sharp jump over a speed breaker.
The vehicle rattled.
Herik's body jerked.
Yokina's eyes snapped open.
She grabbed him immediately.
Pulled him close.
Held him tighter than needed.
Then slowly—
Loosened.
---
Something felt wrong.
Her hand.
Still closed.
She opened it.
The coins—
Separated.
Perfectly normal.
No marks.
No sign they were ever stuck.
She stared at them.
Rubbed one with her thumb.
Nothing.
---
Herik was still looking at them.
Exactly the same way.
---
"Madam, clinic."
The driver slowed down.
The car stopped.
Yokina stepped out.
Handed over the coins.
The driver took them without question.
The taxi left.
---
The clinic stood a few steps ahead.
Ordinary.
Unbothered.
Yokina walked forward—
Then stopped.
Someone stood near the entrance.
A woman holding a child.
Familiar.
"Wanna?"
The woman turned.
They stared for a second.
Then recognition settled.
"Yokina…?"
She stepped closer.
"It's been a year," Yokina said.
Wanna nodded faintly.
Before she could respond, the child in her arms said something unclear.
Both women smiled.
Out of habit.
---
Yokina's smile faded.
Because beside her—
Herik said nothing.
---
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"Routine check-ups," Wanna replied.
They went inside.
---
The clinic was crowded.
Voices overlapped across the waiting area while patients filled the narrow rows of chairs. Nurses moved in and out of the corridors carrying files, occasionally calling names over the noise.
Even with the rush, their turns came surprisingly quickly.
While waiting, Yokina and Wanna quietly slipped back into old conversations from their college days.
They had not changed as much as Yokina expected.
Both of them had ended up marrying the people they stayed closest to during college. Back then, their classmates used to joke that neither of them would ever let go of their friend circles.
Yokina smiled faintly at the memory.
Then she looked toward Wanna.
"So where's your husband now?" she asked casually.
Wanna adjusted her daughter slightly in her arms before answering.
"He dropped us here and went to work."
Yokina nodded once. "What does he do?"
Wanna hesitated for a second.
Then smiled lightly.
"You probably remember him. Hakiten."
Yokina's expression froze briefly.
The name felt strangely familiar.
Not because she remembered him clearly.
But because it felt like she was supposed to.
Before she could think further, the nurse called Wanna's name.
Wanna stood up first and disappeared into the doctor's room.
A few minutes later, she came back out.
Then it was Yokina's turn.
---
Inside, she explained everything.
The mark.
His behavior.
The change.
The doctor listened.
Asked questions.
The same ones Juson had asked.
Then—
"It's just a sleeping mark," he said.
"Nothing serious."
---
Relief came too fast.
Too easy.
---
Outside, Wanna waited.
They talked.
Briefly.
About college.
About time.
About things that didn't matter.
Wanna invited her for lunch.
Yokina agreed.
---
They stepped out together.
After a few steps, Wanna turned toward her home.
Yokina stayed.
Waiting again.
---
Another taxi arrived.
Yokina got in.
This time—
The coins didn't stick.
---
Back home, she went straight to the room.
Herik lay down immediately.
Exhausted.
His eyes barely open.
Yokina closed the curtains.
Darkness filled the room.
She lay beside him.
And within minutes—
She fell asleep.
---
Nothing had been confirmed.
Nothing had been explained.
But something—
Had definitely changed.
---