Meanwhile, in Okinawa.
Inside the Takahashi house.
The morning was quiet, sunlight filtering through the shoji paper, casting soft patterns on the tatami floor.
Kitayama sat cross-legged, sipping his tea, a newspaper spread open in front of him.
"Hanako."
"Yes, dear. Your tea~"
She entered from the kitchen, gracefully placing a fresh cup beside him.
"Hmm."
He took a sip without looking up.
"Dear?"
"Huh?"
Hanako sat nearby, folding a towel in her lap.
"Did you see how happy Kyouko's face was when Haruki-kun woke up?"
"Mm."
Kitayama grunted softly, eyes still on the paper.
Hanako smiled.
"And now Kyouko's already divorced…"
Kitayama turned the page calmly.
"Yeah… She should've done that a long time ago."
He paused.
"And yet she chose to stay with that bastard Satoshi all those years…"
Hanako's voice lowered, her smile gentle but knowing.
"Yes."
They both knew the kind of man Satoshi was.
They both knew the kind of silence Kyouko had lived in.
