Chapter 35

It’s the weekend. Yuki wakes slowly to the muted sound of rain still falling outside.

For a while, she doesn’t move.

She stays curled beneath the blankets, staring blankly at the gray morning light filtering through her curtains while sleep clings heavily to her body. The house is quiet and ordinary.

Too ordinary.

Last night already feels strange in her memory, blurred at the edges like something her mind is trying to reject. It all feels distant for a few dangerous seconds, unreal enough that she almost convinces herself it couldn’t possibly have happened the way she remembers it.

But when she shifts slightly, the knot of anxiety in her chest returns immediately.

Real. Every bit of it.

Yuki closes her eyes briefly before forcing herself out of bed.

The shower is quick. Warm water runs over her skin while she keeps her thoughts carefully blank, refusing to let herself remember too much at once.

By the time she finishes, changes into soft oversized clothes, and pulls the top half of her hair back into a small ponytail, she has rebuilt just enough composure to face the rest of the day.

Or so she thinks.

“Yuyu!” her grandmother calls from downstairs. “Your boyfriend is here!”

Yuki freezes.

Her stomach drops so fast it almost hurts.

Hell no.

For a second she just stands there in silence, pulse suddenly hammering hard enough to make her dizzy. Yesterday rushes back all at once―the gunshots, the hospital room, the smirk, the fact he took off her clothes when she was unconscious.

She grips the edge of her dresser tightly, and forces herself to breathe.

Then, slowly, Yuki leaves her room and walks downstairs, each step making her chest tighter. By the time she reaches the bottom, her heartbeat is so loud she can barely hear anything else.

Dori is sitting comfortably on the couch in the living room like he belongs there. One arm rests lazily along the back of the couch while the other holds a mug her grandmother must have made for him.

From the kitchen comes the soft sound of cooking, pans shifting lightly while her grandmother hums to herself, completely unaware of the tension filling the room.

Dori looks up the second Yuki appears.

His eyes settle on her, and for the briefest moment they move over her from head to toe before returning to her face. It is quick enough that no one else would have noticed, but Yuki feels it anyway.

The attention sits on her skin like a weight, making her suddenly aware of the way she stands, the clothes she picked, the fact that he is looking at her like he likes what he sees.

Then he raises one hand slightly in greeting.

“Good morning, babe.”

The words make something twist painfully in her stomach.

Yuki slows near the couch, forcing herself not to react too strongly, not to let the fear show on her face. Every instinct in her body tells her to keep distance, but she makes herself keep walking anyway.

“Why are you―”

The question slips out before she catches herself.

She stops.

The reminder hits immediately.

Boyfriend.

Three months.

Yuki swallows hard.

“..Good morning,” she says quietly instead.

Dori watches her for a moment longer before a faint smile appears on his face, calm and unreadable. Then he reaches for the remote on the table beside him.

“You should watch the news,” he says casually, eyes flicking briefly toward the television. “Something interesting happened last night.”

Something about the way he says it makes cold dread crawl up Yuki’s spine.

The TV turns on.

A news anchor appears immediately, serious-faced beneath the bright studio lights, and behind her flashes shaky footage filmed sometime during the night.

Yuki’s breath catches.

Isamu.

He’s being dragged toward a police car by two officers, wrists restrained behind his back. One side of his face is bruised dark purple, hair messy and sticking to his forehead, his lip split open, dried blood still visible near his jaw. His clothes are dirty, damp from rain, and his expression―

Blank.

Completely blank.

Like whatever happened to him before the cameras arrived hollowed something out of him.

Yuki gasps softly before she can stop herself.

“Isamu.. no..”

Her entire body goes cold.

“The seventeen-year-old suspect identified as Isamu―former boyfriend of the victim Mei Hanekawa―has been arrested,” the anchor says.

A photo of Mei appears beside the footage.

Yuki’s chest tightens instantly.

“―in connection with the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend, Mei Hanekawa, daughter of businessman Raito Hanekawa. According to investigators, Ms. Hanekawa remains hospitalized after suffering devastating injuries in the attack, leaving her completely paralyzed.”

Images cut briefly to hospital corridors.

The report continues.

“Authorities state that Isamu was discovered late last night in an abandoned building in heavily injured condition. After being taken into custody, he confessed to the assault.”

Yuki shakes her head.

“Oh God.. no..”

The footage cuts back to Isamu as officers escort him out of the building, camera flashes exploding around him while reporters crowd forward, shouting questions over one another.

“The investigation has also revealed allegations of coercion involving a school staff member. Officials state that Ms. Hanekawa was allegedly blackmailed by her school principal, who threatened her academic standing unless she complied with his sexual demands.”

Yuki frowns slightly. “What..?”

“Evidence suggests that the suspect became aware of the situation and interpreted the relationship between Ms. Hanekawa and the principal as infidelity, which escalated into violence resulting in the attempted murder.”

“What the heck?!” The words fly out of her before she can stop them. “That’s not true!”

From the kitchen, her grandmother startles slightly at the outburst.

Dori smirks as he leans back against the couch, eyes lingering on her angry expression.

“Mhm, it’s not,” he agrees with a nod.

And somehow the fact that he says it so casually makes it worse.

Yuki glances at him briefly, before her attention snaps back to the television.

The screen now shows their school principal being escorted through a crowd of reporters by police officers, cameras flashing wildly around him while journalists shout questions. His face is partially hidden beneath a coat pulled awkwardly over his head.

“Authorities also confirmed the existence of explicit footage involving Ms. Hanekawa and the school principal,” the anchor says grimly.

“Investigators believe the material was used to silence the victim and prevent her from reporting the abuse earlier. According to officials, the footage was secretly recorded and has been circulating online since last night. Despite efforts to remove and block uploads across multiple platforms, clips and screenshots continue spreading rapidly.”

Headlines flash beneath the screen:

TEEN SUSPECT CHARGED IN HANEKAWA ATTACK

PRINCIPAL ARRESTED IN SEXUAL COERCION SCANDAL

LEAKED FOOTAGE SPARKS CITYWIDE SHOCK AND OUTRAGE

“Police are currently investigating who originally distributed the material,” the anchor says. “Authorities are urging the public not to share or repost the explicit content.”

Yuki’s eyes stay fixed on the screen, like if she stares hard enough it might rearrange itself into something that makes sense.

It doesn’t.

The anchor keeps talking. Headlines keep flashing. The room feels too bright and normal for what she’s hearing.

Then she turns.

Slowly at first, like her body is lagging behind her thoughts.

“What the hell is going on?” she blurts out, voice sharper now, cracked at the edges.

She gestures toward the TV with an unsteady hand.

“How is Isamu arrested? And what is all this? These lies..”

Her eyes narrow.

“Is it your doing?”

Dori looks at her.

Then he shakes his head.

He leans back slightly into the couch, gaze drifting toward the TV for a moment, then back to her.

“I mean,” he adds casually, “Mr. Hanekawa told me I could leak the footage. Like he didn’t care anymore. So I did. I wanted to see what he’d do. But the rest wasn’t me. It was all him.”

His mouth curves faintly, not into a smile exactly.

“He left Isamu in that building,” he says. “And he spread those lies too.”

Yuki looks at him in silence, her brows drawing together as she tries to process what he is saying.

Then, slowly, she asks, “Why would Mr. Hanekawa let that happen? Why would he let you leak something like that about his own daughter? That doesn’t make sense.”

Her voice is quiet, but there is disbelief in it. She studies Dori’s face, searching for any sign that he is lying.

Dori watches her for a moment before exhaling softly through his nose.

“Yuki,” he says, almost amused, “you know very little about that family.”

Yuki’s expression tightens slightly.

“I, on the other hand, did my research.”

“Stalking, you mean,” she mutters under her breath.

A low chuckle slips out of him.

“Call it whatever you want.” He leans back further into the couch, completely relaxed. “But I know enough.”

Something about the way he says it makes her uneasy again.

Then, casually, as if he’s commenting on the weather, he adds:

“He killed her.”

Yuki blinks.

“What?”

Dori doesn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he tilts his head slightly toward the television.

The anchor is suddenly speaking faster now, one hand pressed lightly against an earpiece.

“We’re receiving updates regarding the condition of Mei Hanekawa,” the anchor says quickly, glancing down at fresh notes being handed to her. “Authorities have now confirmed that the victim was pronounced dead early this morning in the hospital.”

Yuki’s blood runs cold.

For a second she cannot even process the words.

Dead.

Mei is dead.

“The death is currently being treated as a suicide,” the anchor continues. “Sources close to the investigation state that Ms. Hanekawa had reportedly fallen into severe emotional distress following the attack that left her completely paralyzed, compounded by the public spread of explicit footage connected to the ongoing case.”

Yuki’s breathing turns shallow.

Beside her, Dori says nothing.

The anchor’s voice keeps going.

“With the victim now deceased, legal experts state that charges against both the seventeen-year-old suspect and the former school principal are expected to escalate significantly. Prosecutors are reportedly considering homicide-related charges as the investigation continues.”

Yuki slowly shakes her head.

“What..” Her voice breaks. “What the hell is going on..?”

“He killed her,” Dori says again.

Then he picks up the remote and turns the television off.

The sudden silence feels violent.

Yuki slowly turns toward him, her heartbeat loud in her ears.

“Last night, after you and your grandma left the hospital, I didn’t go home,” Dori begins, “I went back upstairs. To Mei’s room. And just as I thought.. he was there. Mr. Hanekawa, I mean.”

Yuki watches him, a sinking feeling taking hold, but Dori continues without missing a beat, leaning in slightly.

“But he wasn’t there as a father visiting his sick daughter. He didn’t go to comfort her, or to pray for her recovery, Yuki. He went there to kill her.”

The mug in his hand is set down with quiet finality.

“The moment she became something that could destroy what he built―once that footage existed, once her name could stain his reputation―she stopped being his daughter. She became a liability. And people like him don’t hesitate with liabilities. They remove them.”

A faint, almost indifferent exhale leaves him.

“The same way he would end a contract that stopped being profitable. The same way he’s ended anything else that threatened his reputation.”

His eyes flick briefly toward Yuki.

“The same way he got rid of his wife too.”

Yuki slowly lowers herself onto the edge of the couch, like her legs no longer fully trust to hold her. Her hands rest loosely in her lap at first, then curl slightly, fingers pressing into her own skin as if she needs something solid to anchor her there.

Her gaze drifts unfocused toward the floor.

He murdered his own daughter?

And before that, his wife?

Just to prevent the slightest stain on his reputation..?

“That’s..” she starts, then stops, because there isn’t a clean word for it.

Her brows draw together.

“But why..?” she asks finally, voice lower now, more confused. “If he already had a story.. if everything was already under control.. why did he..”

“So there’s nothing left that can contradict it later.”

A pause settles after his words.

Then Yuki frowns again, thinking it through, the confusion returning with a sharper edge.

“But.. that doesn’t make sense. I mean.. the principal is a problem too then,” she says slowly. “Yet he didn’t get rid of him. Why’s that?”

Her eyes stay on Dori, searching his face.

He doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, a slow, chilling smile spreads across his face. It’s the look of a man who has already watched the chess pieces fall exactly where he predicted.

“Oh,” he murmurs, “he will.”

He reaches for the TV remote again.

“Maybe he already did.”

With a click, the television screen turns on. Bright emergency lights flash across the screen, reflecting in Yuki’s wide eyes.

The camera shows a terrible car crash on a wet highway. A massive truck is smashed into a police car, crushing it completely.

The news anchor speaks in a calm, cold voice:

“..reporting live from Route 4, where a fatal crash happened less than an hour ago. Officials confirm the police car was moving the former high school principal to a jail facility. Emergency workers say there are no survivors..”

The room feels like it is running out of air.

Yuki sits completely still, staring at Dori. Her eyes are wide, her breathing shallow. The sheer scale of what he is saying is insane. It is too perfect.

A sharp suspicion cuts through her terror as her gaze hardens.

“How.. how the hell do you know all of this?” Yuki demands, her voice cracking under the stress. “How did you predict exactly what he would do? It’s almost like..”

She swallows hard, the realization chilling her to the bone. “It’s like you’re part of it. Like you planned this with him. Or like you’re the one pulling the strings.”

Dori doesn’t get defensive. He just shrugs his shoulders, completely relaxed.

“I just know how men like him think,” he replies simply. “When you understand what a man values most―in his case, his reputation―predicting his next move is easy.”

Yuki just stares at him. She doesn’t blink. The absolute calmness in his voice makes her skin crawl. He isn’t just an observer; he is enjoying this.

Seeing her expression, Dori lets out a small chuckle. “What’s with that look? Impressed?”

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Yuki whispers, her voice tight. “Terrified is more like it.”

Dori lets out a low chuckle that sends a shiver down her spine.

“Terrified?”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.

“You want to know what’s actually terrifying?”

He turns the screen toward her. On it is a media player, showing an audio file loaded and paused right at the beginning.

Yuki frowns slightly, her eyes darting from the screen back to his face.

“What is that?”

“An audio recording,” Dori replies, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“Of Mr. Hanekawa killing Mei.”

TO BE CONTINUED..