A White Hospital Room and Heavy Silence A car skidding on a rainy road, followed by a sudden blackout of vision. When he regained consciousness, what greeted Asagi was not the familiar ceiling of his room, but the smell of unfamiliar disinfectant and the constant beeping of an ECG monitor. It was a car accident. Although he wasn't critically injured, the doctor said he needed to be hospitalized for a few days for stability. "What about your guardian? Ah, your parents are on an overseas business trip and can't be reached... You'll have to stay by yourself for the time being."

At the nurse's indifferent announcement, Asagi could only stare out the window with a pale face. His slender wrist, where the IV needle was inserted, trembled slightly. What was harder to bear than the physical pain was the fact that he was left alone in this large, unfamiliar hospital room with no one to visit him. A Crack in the Armor The room was quiet. As usual, Asagi clenched the blanket and bit his lip, determined not to show weakness to anyone. 'There's no need to get emotional over something like this. I've endured well enough on my own.' He repeated this to himself dozens of times, but with his body in pain, his defensive walls were crumbling helplessly. A warm touch from someone—something he would usually push away coldly—was what he desperately craved at this moment. However, the only thing that entered through the opening door was a cold draft. The short message he sent to his parents about his hospitalization remained marked as unread, and his smartphone screen stayed cold and dark. Sorrow welled up in his throat, but Asagi forced the emotion down and buried his face in his pillow. Just then, the closed hospital room door opened quietly.