NOVEL NEXT Chapter 126
[Your relationship with Reina Nakajima is progressing smoothly.]
[You often leave the hospital together, wandering about. Your most frequent destination is the nearby park, where Reina enjoys sitting with you on the swings. Next is Azuki Mountain, where you either head there in the morning to picnic and watch the sunset or arrive in the evening to admire the serene night sky after the sunset.]
[The nurses cover for you, allowing you to slip into the sanatorium building before curfew or linger for a while after the allotted time.]
[Reina is already familiar with both the park and Azuki Mountain, so you start planning visits to two other places she longs to see: a festival and Yoshida Town.]
[Summer has long passed, so the festival will have to wait until next year. Only Yoshida Town’s snow and lake remain.]
[You consult Reina’s attending doctor. She tells you that as long as Reina’s health remains stable and she is kept warm during the trip, a visit to Hokkaido is possible. However, any signs of trouble would necessitate immediate access to a nearby major hospital.]
[You also ask Yohei Nakajima about Yoshida Town. He informs you that the lake is in a remote village within the town, requiring a long bus ride to reach. When the snow falls, transportation often grinds to a halt for several days, making it imperative to visit before the snow arrives.]
[The transportation challenges make you hesitant, and the risk of being stranded by a snowstorm ultimately leads you to abandon the idea for now.]
[You resolve to spend the next year preparing, promising Reina that you’ll take her there next year.]
[You write down most of the popular songs you remember and sell them. The few songs you had previously sold have dominated the charts for some time, and numerous agencies are vying for your compositions. Ultimately, a major agency backed by an international corporation purchases all your songs, earning you a substantial sum.][While selling your songs in batches might have been more lucrative, you are unwilling to wait.]
[Through the agency’s connections, you purchase the only private hospital in the village near the lake in Yoshida Town and begin equipping it with medical facilities.]
[You cannot improve the town’s transportation, but you can ensure that Reina has access to a suitable hospital.]
[Your meticulous efforts quickly deplete the proceeds from your songs, prompting you to sell a few piano compositions. Foregoing credit for these pieces, you have the agency secretly contact buyers, resulting in unusually high prices. You save the money to prepare for next year.]
[The hospital is still under construction when winter break arrives. Your parents call you back home, unaware that their son has a little girlfriend in Misaki—and that he’s even met her parents and gained their approval.]
[You plan to gradually broach the topic with your parents, giving them time to adjust before introducing Reina to them.]
[Winter arrives, bringing biting winds. A recent rainstorm left the air damp, and the wind feels even sharper against your skin.]
[Emerging from the subway station, you pull your knit hat down, wrap your scarf tightly, and walk briskly toward the hospital.]
[The sky is overcast, and raindrops begin to fall. You step into a nearby convenience store to buy an umbrella, and by the time you come back out, it’s raining steadily. The rain is light but carried by the cold wind, lashing against your face.]
[In this wind and rain, holding the umbrella takes both effort and skill. It takes you twice as long as usual to reach the sanatorium. Your pant legs are damp, your shoes soaked, and your socks cling uncomfortably to your feet.]
[A nurse hands you a pair of slippers and asks you to remove your shoes and socks so she can take them to the rest area to dry by the electric heater.]
[You thank her and crouch down to untie your shoelaces.]
[Your fingers brush the shoe’s surface, and you freeze. You see a few crystal-like snowflakes melting on the white laces.]
[It’s snowing.]
[Reina Nakajima watches out the window. At first, snowflakes mingle with the rain. Gradually, the rain diminishes, and the snowflakes grow in number until the entire world is enveloped in swirling, white snow.]
Memory Scene Unfolds
Yuuki Minami, having taken off his coat, sat at the edge of the bed. Beside him, Reina Nakajima leaned against him as the two gazed out the window at the snow-covered, hazy world outside.
“Will this affect your plans for tomorrow?” the girl asked, turning to look at the boy’s profile.
Yuuki Minami replied, “It shouldn’t, unless it keeps snowing heavily all day tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Reina Nakajima turned her head back and, supporting herself on the bed frame, leaned closer into Yuuki Minami’s arms. He wrapped his arm around her waist.
She felt a sense of loss. Even half a day apart during the holidays seemed unbearable to her, and now, they were about to be separated for several days.
“Your dad, mom, and Yuko Senpai will be with you. Next year, I’ll take you to my place for New Year’s,” Yuuki Minami said, leaning down to kiss her lightly on the cheek.
The gentle touch did little to soothe Reina’s heart. She turned her face, seeking more from Yuuki Minami.
The hospital room was silent, with only the sound of snowflakes tapping against the window.
Reina’s fervor was overwhelming. She kept pressing herself closer to Yuuki Minami, as if trying to merge into his chest and become one with him.
Yuuki Minami, pushed to the edge of the bed, held her waist to keep her from falling off.
“It’s time,” he said, gently pushing the flushed girl away.
“I want to make up for tomorrow, the day after, the day after that, and even the day after that!” Reina Nakajima wrapped her arms around Yuuki Minami’s neck, pulling herself up and chasing his slightly red lips.
Yuuki Minami couldn’t escape her pursuit. The sorrow of their impending separation was lodged in his heart too, making him yearn for the girl in his arms.
When their lips parted the second time, Reina had pushed Yuuki Minami to the center of the room. She stood barefoot on the vinyl floor, her gaze hazy as she looked at him.
“You’re such a bold little princess,” Yuuki Minami said, giving her a playful smack on the bottom.
“I am not!” Reina’s cheeks flushed an even deeper red.
She wanted to loosen her arms around his neck and push him away to prove her innocence. But as she started to lift her arms, reluctance surged in her heart, making her hug him even tighter.
“Your actions don’t make a convincing argument,” Yuuki Minami teased.
“Well, this is just how I am. Got a problem with that?” Reina snapped back, embarrassed, revealing her pearly-white canines.
“And if I do have a problem, what will Princess Reina do about it? Toss me into Misaki Bay? Bury me under the road? Feed me to the dogs, fish, or snakes?”
“I’ll tie you to my bed and not let you go anywhere!”
“Let me guess, would this bed happen to be the one Princess Reina sleeps in?”
“Of course!”
“And what exactly does Princess Reina plan to do with me at night?”
Unable to contain her embarrassment, Reina avoided his gaze, turning her face toward the snow-covered world outside. On the window glass, her crimson cheeks were faintly reflected.
Her shyness was soon carried away by the falling snow. Driven by her desires and the urgency of parting, she pressed her hands against Yuuki Minami’s chest, pushing him down onto the white hospital bed.
“Something like this!”
[The beautiful snow reflects the passion ignited by your impending separation. Reina Nakajima pushes you down on her hospital bed, pulling out the tool Honoka gave her.]
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