≡;- ꒰ °𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 ꒱

➷ 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

Sora, Minyoung, Ryo, Yuki, and Mitsuya arrived at the hospital. They were on their way to Akkun's ward, chatting and laughing at Mitsuya's joke. Once they arrived in front of Akkun's ward, they stopped.

"What the—?" Ryo was about to curse when they suddenly stopped, noticing they were peering through the door, watching Rina feed Akkun.

"Damn, he didn't let the chance go, did he?" Mitsuya said, making Yuki laugh.

"I know Rina won't keep her word," Sora replied. "What word?"

Sora and Minyoung exchanged glances. They knew they were thinking the same thing, and they chuckled softly. Rina's words lingered in their minds.

"Akkun too. His standards are too high for me. I feel insecure whenever I'm with him," Rina had said.

"Insecure, my ass. Look at how close they are right now," Sora remarked.

"Jeez, they're laughing together. They're so intimate..." Minyoung added.

"Wait until Echiko finds out about this..." Mitsuya said, then decided to enter the room. Rina, who was feeding Akkun, quickly pulled the spoon out of his mouth and set the bowl aside.

As Akkun choked, he shot a glare at his friends.

"Sorry, are we interrupting the love birds?" Mitsuya quipped as he came in and took a seat on the bed.

"That's so sweet of you to feed him, Rina," Minyoung said, ruffling Rina's short bob haircut.

"Come to think of it..." Mitsuya glanced at Akkun's hands.

"Your hands look perfectly fine, bruh. Can't you feed yourself?" Mitsuya teased, and they all chuckled. Rina looked down, embarrassed to be the subject of their laughter.

"How are you feeling, bro?" Ryo greeted Akkun, and they exchanged a handshake. "I'm good. Any injuries?" Akkun asked, to which Ryo shook his head.

"Nah, nothing serious. Just a scrape on my leg and shoulder," he replied, prompting Akkun to nod.

"What exactly happened after I got knocked out?" he asked, and the room fell silent.

"You were choked by a big guy using a chain. You remember that, right?" Yuki began recounting the story, and Akkun nodded in response.

"Some of our guys saw Echiko kill the person who tried to stab you from the front. You probably saw it too. But then she was stopped by someone unknown. They said this person was dressed all in black and wore a mask. She dragged Echiko towards the stairs, trying to make her fall. Your sister, quick as ever, kicked this person and they fell to the first floor. That's when you were knocked out. She threw her shuriken, and that guy was finished. She saved your life," Yuki narrated, and the room fell quiet for a moment.

"What happened to Echiko after that? How did she get caught by Kento?" Akkun asked, looking around at them, and they exchanged glances.

"No one saw what happened after she shouted your name at Mitsuya," Akkun nodded again in response.

"We need to do something about this... Do we have any clues?" Akkun asked as he lay back on the bed, sighing heavily.

»»——⍟——««

"PLEASE LET ME GO! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Echiko shouted at Kento, who stared at her like a madman.

"I don't want anything from you," was all he said every time Echiko asked why Kento had kidnapped her.

"Then why am I here? Just let me go!" She pleaded, struggling against her restraints.

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you why you're here..." he said, smiling as he looked at her.