Hospital (9)
We opened our eyes and climbed out of the body storage just before dawn broke.
The night hadn’t fully passed yet, but the sun would rise in roughly thirty minutes, so we stepped outside.
Thirty minutes meant we probably wouldn’t run into anyone.
Even if we did, we could just hole up in here again.
…More importantly, had we gotten away from the window frame?
“Sleep well?”
“…Yeah.”
“It’s early, so it’s a little cold.”
“…You’re right.”
Lana and I sat with our backs against the wall inside the morgue, waiting for the sun to rise.
“Ares.”
“……Huh, yeah?”
“I said I’m cold?”
She grinned playfully beside me and spoke again.
“……”
“Aah, it’s freezing.”
“……”
“What if I freeze to death…?”
She kept shooting obvious glances my way.
‘Well… it’s not like I have a girlfriend anyway.’
I carefully draped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my arms.
Lana immediately wrapped her arms around my waist and leaned against my chest.
“Aah, so warm. Thanks, Ares.”
“……”
Last night had taught me something.
Ellie wasn’t my girlfriend.
Yeah. I wasn’t trash—I was just a popular guy.
‘If she’s not my girlfriend, then… this isn’t cheating.’
I felt a weight lift off my chest.
All this time I’d felt guilty for getting close to Lana and Claire while supposedly having Ellie as my girlfriend.
But now that it turned out to be Ellie’s lie…
“……”
“……”
That didn’t mean sitting like this with Lana felt completely comfortable, though.
…Wait, why didn’t it feel comfortable?
There was no reason to feel awkward…
Was I forgetting something…?
“Hey, Ares.”
“Yeah…?”
“So what are we gonna do now? We tried, but your memories still haven’t come back.”
“Aah…”
She was right.
I was still missing my memories.
Last night had given me a vague sense of things, but… nothing clear had surfaced.
“Regular treatment’s gonna take forever…”
“……”
“Are you okay…?”
Lana glanced at me.
Was she asking if I was okay, or if it was okay that I couldn’t remember her?
Either way, my answer was the same.
“I’m gonna look for a faster way.”
“How?”
“I’m going to school today.”
“School?”
Lana sounded surprised.
“What are you gonna do there?”
“I’m gonna meet Ellie.”
“……”
Yesterday had made it clear Ellie wasn’t my girlfriend.
So naturally, I had a pretty good idea who stole the hospital equipment.
I still didn’t have my memories, but…
For some reason, it didn’t feel strange at all to picture Ellie sneaking into the hospital at night.
She was probably the one who took the equipment.
‘And if she didn’t throw it away…’
Hypnosis therapy was still the fastest way to recover my memories.
Around the time hospital staff started arriving for work, I went to see my doctor and got permission to go out.
“School, you say… Hmm. Spending time in a familiar place should indeed help with rehabilitation.”
Thankfully, permission came easily.
“By the way, Doctor.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“This hospital has inpatients, right? Don’t they have night shifts?”
While I had his attention, I asked about something that had been bothering me since last night.
The bald doctor chuckled.
“There’s only one inpatient, and he’s not in critical condition. No need for night shifts.”
“……If he’s not critical, couldn’t I just do outpatient treatment?”
“Hm? Outpatient treatment…?”
The doctor stared at me blankly for a moment.
Then he cleared his throat.
“Ahem, returning to daily life without your memories carries many risks. You could suffer stress-induced seizures……”
The doctor launched into a long-winded explanation full of medical jargon.
He really seemed like a quack.
Anyway, after getting permission, Lana and I headed to school around lunchtime.
I changed back into the school uniform I’d been wearing when I was brought to the hospital.
“Lunch?”
“…I’ve got stuff to do. I’ll skip it.”
“Ares, did you know? You and I used to eat lunch together every single day.”
“…You’re lying. Not every day.”
“Wow, you really do know everything now.”
The walk to school felt awkward yet strangely familiar.
There were no students on the streets.
Obviously—we were way past the usual arrival time.
We arrived right as fourth period was ending.
As the teacher left, Lana and I walked into the classroom.
“Huh? Ares!”
The first to greet me was a white-haired girl with red eyes.
…She was incredibly pretty.
What was this? Had I done all sorts of lewd things with her too?
‘No… I don’t get that feeling.’
Even without memories, I could sense it.
This girl was probably just a friend.
“Are you okay? I heard you fainted and got memory loss. I was really worried.”
“Aah, um…”
She smiled warmly and spoke in a friendly tone.
While I hesitated to answer, Lana stepped in for me.
“Ares still hasn’t gotten his memories back.”
“Oh my, really?”
“Yeah, so could you help him look around the school comfortably?”
“I see, I’m sorry… Did I startle you? Suddenly talking to you like that.”
“It’s fine. We were friends, after all.”
“Right. I’m Levin. Hehe, it feels weird introducing myself again. I was the one who showed Ares around when he transferred.”
We spent some time awkwardly greeting classmates.
Then—
“……”
“……”
I met eyes with Ellie, who was staring at me.
Her expression had been dark at first.
She looked anxious, but soon smiled and waved.
I waved back.
“Hey, I need to talk to Ellie for a bit.”
After asking the classmates who’d gathered around for some space, I walked over to her.
“Ellie.”
“Ares… are you okay? Coming to school like this…”
“Yeah, I got permission. They said spending time at school might help my memories come back.”
“Really…?”
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence settled between us.
It felt different from when we were at the hospital.
Was she worried I’d find out she wasn’t really my girlfriend…?
“Ellie, do you have a minute?”
“……”
I broke the silence.
Ellie stared at her desk for a moment without answering.
Then—
“Yeah…”
She smiled at me and nodded.
After that, we headed up to the rooftop.
Luckily, it was empty.
“Hehe, Ares and I went through something huge up here once.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it was really intense.”
Ellie spoke up right away, as if trying to ease the awkwardness.
“We got caught up in something really weird and ran up here together.”
“……”
“You were really cool that day, Ares.”
Something about the way she suddenly brought that up made me feel like she was avoiding whatever I was about to say.
Like she already knew what I was going to talk about.
“Hey, ……Ellie.”
“……”
But I had to say it.
A fake relationship wasn’t right, and staying like this without my memories wasn’t good either.
“Actually…”
“……”
I carefully spoke to Ellie, who had her back turned to me.
I chose my words carefully so she wouldn’t get hurt.
After all…
Everything she did was because she liked me.
“I’m sorry…”
“……Huh?”
But before I could finish—
Ellie spoke first.
What I heard was a trembling apology.
“I’m sorry, Ares…”
“……”
“I… I lied.”
“Ellie…”
“I’m sorry…”
Ellie slowly turned around to face me.
With tears in her eyes, she forced herself to meet my gaze and kept apologizing.
“I’m sorry… *sniff* I-I’m sorry…”
“…It’s okay. ……Thanks for telling me first.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… *sniff* Please don’t hate me…”
Even after I said it was okay, Ellie kept crying and apologizing.
She stepped closer and grabbed my collar with both hands.
“I… I got greedy for a moment… I wanted to have you all to myself while you couldn’t remember… so… *sniff* so…”
“It’s okay. Really, it’s okay, Ellie.”
I gently pulled her into my arms.
It really was okay.
It was surprising, but… having such a pretty girl like me enough to lie like that—
…Honestly, it made me kind of happy.
So unlike what Ellie feared, I wasn’t angry at all.
“I’m sorry… Please don’t hate me…”
“I told you it’s okay… Actually… it felt good.”
“……”
That’s why I even told her the part I hadn’t planned to say.
If she wasn’t my girlfriend, saying this might cause trouble.
But I didn’t want to hurt Ellie.
“Even if it was just for a little while, I got to be in a real relationship with someone as pretty as you. Honestly, I liked it too.”
“……”
“So it’s fine. I’m not mad or anything. Once I get my memories back, this’ll just be a fun memory.”
“……Liar.”
“It’s true. I mean it.”
“……It’s a lie.”
“Haha, no it’s not.”
Ellie shook her head slightly, face buried in my chest.
She looked like a scared child weighed down by guilt—somehow cute.
“Liar, liar, liar.”
“Really, really. It’s not a lie.”
“But last night you said you wouldn’t have accepted my confession.”
“Haha, no I didn’t…”
At that moment—
I doubted my ears.
“H-Huh…?”
“……”
My smile froze as I slowly looked down.
I looked at Ellie, whose face was still buried in my chest.
She was looking up at me too.
Her empty eyes stared straight at me.
“……”
“……”
Silence fell between us.
“Just now… what did you—”
“You told Lana… that you wouldn’t have accepted my confession if I’d made one.”
“……”
How did Ellie know that?
“Even on the bed… you told Lana you were serious.”
“……”
How did she—
Did Ellie know everything?
“……”
“……It was a lie. ……You don’t like me anymore, right?”
Her empty, tear-filled eyes looked at me.
‘No way… Was she at the hospital last night too…?’
No—how she heard it didn’t matter.
What mattered were two things.
Ellie had heard it.
And I had to clear up the misunderstanding.
“N-No, that’s not it!”
“It is… You said it secretly, so… it must be true…”
“……Ugh.”
“Am I not good enough…? Saying I’m pretty was a lie too… You don’t feel anything for me at all…”
“……”
This was bad.
I didn’t know what exactly, but this wasn’t good.
Even without memories, my instincts were screaming.
I had to say something—anything.
How? What should I say?
‘Think, think…!’
In the moment I had to decide—
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“That’s because—!!”
“——I’m trash!!”
“……H-Huh?”
I grabbed her shoulders and shouted desperately.
Aah…
My true nature, which I’d felt relieved about this morning, was confirmed once again.
“I’m saying it because I’m a trashy guy, Ellie!”
“H-Huh? Ares, why…”
She looked confused.
To that confused girl, I said something no sane person would say to the opposite sex.
“Because I’m serious about you too, not just Lana!!”
“……”
I had no choice.
Charging straight ahead was the only option I could see.
If I didn’t, Ellie would misunderstand my relationship with Lana.
Was it even a misunderstanding…?
Either way, I didn’t want that.
Even without memories, my spine was reflexively rejecting that outcome.
“Saying I wouldn’t have accepted your confession—! I just meant we wouldn’t have dated!”
“……U-Uh?”
“I meant it when I said you’re pretty! I still think so! Honestly, if your eyeballs weren’t popped out, it’d be normal to find you pretty!”
“H-Hueee…!”
Life returned to Ellie’s eyes.
Her cheeks flushed red as she grew embarrassed.
It was working…!
“So it wasn’t a lie! Even if I get my memories back, nothing about this will change!”
“……”
“I’m going to stay with you from now on!”
This wasn’t a confession.
I was careful with my wording as I conveyed my sincerity.
The Gallery guys said a confession meant saying you wanted to be lovers.
“So don’t apologize, don’t worry, and don’t misunderstand! Got it?”
“A-Ah, uh, o-okay…”
“Great!”
I was trash.
That’s why I’d said I wouldn’t accept a confession and didn’t want to choose just one girl.
And saying I was serious about Lana didn’t mean I wasn’t serious about Ellie either.
…What a total bastard.
“So, Ellie…”
“Yeah…”
I carefully brought up the main topic to Ellie, who was blushing and looking down.
“If getting my memories back isn’t a problem anymore…”
“Yeah…”
“Could you give back the hypnosis equipment you stole?”
Of course, this was assuming she hadn’t gotten rid of it.
“Hahaha, thank you so much! Thanks to you, I don’t have to buy expensive new equipment.”
The day after getting the hypnosis equipment back from Ellie.
I was lying on the bed in the rehabilitation room I’d visited before, ready for hypnosis therapy.
“It’s really amazing. To think it was just dumped in a pile of trash by the roadside.”
“Haha… Yeah… It was pretty surprising.”
“Anyway, thank you.”
“Forget the thanks—just get started already.”
“Oh dear, look at me. Understood.”
The rehabilitation therapist was in high spirits after recovering the equipment.
He snapped out of it at my words and picked up a tool.
Ding…
He rang a bell.
‘Oh…’
My mind relaxed and my body grew heavy.
“Now… let’s count together…”
“One… two…”
Just like the last hypnosis session—
I underwent the memory-recall treatment through hypnosis… and drifted into a dream.
“……”
“Now… open the door and step outside.”
I opened the door.
Creak.
Bright light flooded in, dazzling my eyes.
Sunny sunlight.
“Where are you?”
A hill.
And a tree.
A familiar village landscape.
“Who’s standing in front of you?”
In front of me—
——Ellie stood there.
Wearing a pure white dress, smiling happily.
Beautiful.
My wife.