Chapter 132: Wounds

When Naoko entered the hall, she noticed that not only her mother but also her rarely-seen second brother were present.

“Good evening, Mother, Brother,” Naoko greeted them with a bow.

“Naoko, you’re here. It’s been a while,” Hasegawa Kenji said with a smile.

“How have you been, Brother?” Naoko asked.

“The same as always. Naoko, let me tell you, lately, I don’t know why, but if I go a day without hearing the old man’s scolding, it feels like I haven’t finished work yet. It’s terrifying—seems like I need to see a psychologist.”

“Your sister rarely comes home, and here you are talking nonsense. If your father hears this, he’ll throw you out,” Hasegawa Kyouko scolded him sharply.

Kenji pulled a playful face at Naoko.

Seeing her brother’s carefree demeanor unchanged from before, Naoko couldn’t help but smile.

“Naoko, I heard about what happened yesterday. You know, I went to Harvard too, so that Hachimiya Kawashiro is technically my junior. I know him, and from what I can tell, he’s a decent guy. Have you really not considered him?” Kenji asked as he walked up to her.

“I’m sorry for troubling you, Brother,” Naoko said, bowing to him apologetically.

“Uh, you don’t need to be so formal. Honestly, I understand—matters of the heart can’t be forced. Just pretend I didn’t say anything,” Kenji said, scratching his head.

“Thank you for understanding, Brother. By the way, when do you plan to get married? I imagine Mother is quite concerned about it,” Naoko asked with a sly glint in her eyes.

Sure enough, as soon as Naoko said this, Kyouko immediately began lecturing him. “Your brother has no intention of getting married. All he does is flirt around. What decent lady would marry him? If I had known it would turn out like this, I never would have let him study in the U.S. Just look at him—he doesn’t have any of your eldest brother’s steadiness. He’s always so frivolous, no wonder your father keeps scolding him.”

Seeing the smirk on Naoko’s lips, Kenji realized he had fallen into her trap and could only listen helplessly to their mother’s tirade.

Because Naoko and Kenji were close in age and Kenji had always been more carefree since childhood, the two siblings had a good relationship and often teased each other like this.

“Mother, that’s enough. The old man is still waiting for Naoko,” Kenji quickly intervened after Kyouko finished her third round of scolding.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Naoko, hurry to the study—your father is waiting there, and he seems quite angry. Never mind, I’ll go with you.”

“Brother, I’ll go on ahead.” With that, Naoko followed her mother toward the study.

Sitting on the sofa, Kenji watched Naoko’s graceful figure disappear, letting out a sigh in his heart. Naoko was becoming more and more beautiful, but alas, she was his sister. Among all the women he’d dated, not one of them could compare to her. What a shame. Truly a shame.

After knocking lightly on the door, a deep voice came from inside the study, “Come in.”

When she opened the door, Naoko saw her father sitting at the desk.

“Good evening, Father,” Naoko greeted respectfully with a bow.

Looking up briefly, Hasegawa Masao’s expression remained cold. “You’ve finally arrived. Sit down.”

“Thank you.” Naoko took a seat in the chair before the desk, while Kyouko moved to her husband’s right side.

Naoko studied her father, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, and noticed he had more gray hair than before. He looked older than the last time they met, and her heart ached a little.

“Naoko,” Hasegawa Masao called after a brief pause.

“Yes, Father,” Naoko responded immediately.

“How old are you this year?” Hasegawa Masao asked.

“Father, I am 24 this year,” she replied.

“That means you’re no longer young. It’s time for you to think about marriage. You’ve always been an obedient and considerate daughter, and I know this very well. Because of your frail health since childhood, I’ve always been concerned about your future. Hachimiya Enterprises has been a very close partner of our company, and Hachimiya’s president is an old friend of mine. His second son, Hachimiya Kawashiro, seems to be a decent man from my observations. That’s why I asked your mother to arrange a match meeting for you with him. Even if you don’t like him now, you should at least try dating for a while to see if you are compatible. Yet you refused him outright without giving him a chance, which has greatly disappointed me. Your actions could cast a shadow over my relationship with President Hachimiya—do you understand that?” Hasegawa Masao’s voice grew louder as he spoke.

Naoko listened quietly with her head lowered. After a while, she slowly raised her head and said, “Father, it’s not that I didn’t give Mr. Hachimiya a chance, but rather because I already have someone I love. To avoid wasting both parties’ time, I refused him decisively. Please forgive me.”

“You say you already have someone you love—are you referring to that high school student, Gennai Masashi?” Hasegawa Masao asked coldly, fixing his gaze on her.

Naoko’s heart skipped a beat. So her father had indeed sent someone to investigate their relationship.

After a long silence, Naoko bit her lip hard, then looked up and said, “Yes, Father. I truly love him.”

Hasegawa Masao slammed the desk with force and shouted, “You dare call yourself a member of the Hasegawa family while doing something as shameful as living with a high school student, and now you show no remorse?”

“What? Naoko, you’re living with a high school student?” Kyouko exclaimed in shock.

“Look at the disgrace your precious daughter has brought upon us. If this becomes public knowledge, how do you expect me to face anyone?” Hasegawa Masao scoffed angrily.

“You’ve always been a sensible child. Why would you do something so foolish this time? How can a high school student possibly marry you?” Kyouko said in frustration.

Naoko said nothing, keeping her head bowed. Hasegawa Masao’s tone turned firm and commanding as he said, “Starting tomorrow, you will move back home immediately. You are forbidden from seeing that boy ever again. Furthermore, whether you like it or not, you must date Hachimiya Kawashiro for a while. If, after some time, it truly doesn’t work out, then we’ll discuss it again.”

After a moment of silence, Naoko softly said, “Father, I can’t do that.”

“What did you say?” Hasegawa Masao stood up abruptly, like an enraged lion, glaring at her intensely.

“I’m sorry, Father, but I cannot follow your orders. I promised him that I would wait for him to return, so…”

“I’ll ask you one last time—are you willing to leave that boy or not?”

“I…”

Hasegawa Masao interrupted her again, “I will not let you bring disgrace to the Hasegawa family. If you refuse to do as I say, then leave this house immediately. From now on, you are no longer a member of the Hasegawa family.”

Naoko’s face turned pale upon hearing this, and even Kyouko was visibly shocked.

“You can’t do this, Masao. Naoko is still our daughter,” Hasegawa Kyouko tried to intervene.

“Be quiet!” Hasegawa Masao snapped, then turned to Naoko. “Answer me now—what are you going to do?”

The tension in the room was suffocating. Kyouko looked anxiously at her pale-faced daughter.

After what felt like an eternity, Naoko slowly stood up, then knelt before her father in a formal bow.

Masao assumed she was conceding and his expression softened slightly.

“Father, please forgive your unfilial daughter,” Naoko said quietly before turning toward the door.

Kyouko watched in stunned silence as Naoko walked out of the room.

Masao, overcome with rage, kicked over the entire desk, sending everything on it crashing to the floor.

“Masao…”

“Shut up! Anyone who dares plead for her will leave this house immediately!”

Seeing her husband this furious, Kyouko didn’t dare say another word.

***

After leaving the study, Naoko felt as if her entire body had lost its strength, as though she might faint at any moment. Supporting herself against the wall, she struggled to make her way downstairs.

“Naoko, what’s wrong?” Hearing the commotion upstairs, Hasegawa Kenji rushed up to her.

“I’m fine, brother,” Naoko replied, continuing down the stairs.

“Fine? You look terrible. What happened?” Kenji asked, worried.

“I…” Before she could finish, a sharp, overwhelming pain struck her chest. Moments later, she collapsed onto the floor.

“Naoko!” Kenji shouted as he ran to her and held her head in his arms.

Hearing his cry, Kyouko came running out of the study. Upon seeing Naoko lying unconscious on the floor, she let out a panicked scream.

“Call an ambulance, quickly!” Kenji yelled.

Kyouko stumbled down the stairs in a panic to make the call.

Looking at Naoko’s pale face in his arms, Kenji was filled with a deep sense of foreboding.

***

“Your grip is too tight; it’ll affect the speed of your strikes,” Rumi said.

“I understand, senpai.”

“You’re a beginner, so it’s normal to make these mistakes. With more practice, you’ll improve,” Rumi said with a smile.

“Yes, senpai, I’ll work hard!” The girl in kendo attire looked at her beautiful senior with admiration.

“Alright, keep practicing at your own pace,” Rumi said before heading to the sidelines.

“Ryoko, who’s that girl? I don’t think I’ve seen her before,” another girl in kendo gear asked after Rumi left.

“What? You don’t even know who she is? I can’t believe you joined the kendo club,” Ryoko said in surprise.

“I joined to lose weight. I was going to try the gymnastics club, but their training looked too tough, so I came here instead,” the girl said with a laugh.

“Oh my goodness, kendo to lose weight? Unbelievable. Honestly, you should quit now because our training can be pretty intense too,” Ryoko said, half amused and half exasperated.

“Really? But it just looks like you swing swords around all day. Anyway, never mind that—who is that girl?” Hiromi pressed on.

“She’s my idol and the reason I joined the kendo club. She’s last year’s national high school kendo individual champion, Nagakawa Rumi,” Ryoko said enthusiastically.

“What? You’re saying she’s a national champion? Are you serious? She’s a girl!” Hiromi exclaimed in disbelief.

“Of course it’s true. After watching her competition, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep the entire night. I heard that the kendo club didn’t used to have so many female members, but thanks to her, the number of girls joining skyrocketed last year. Unfortunately, since Nagakawa-senpai is preparing for her university entrance exams, she doesn’t come to practice much these days.”

“Sounds like she’s really amazing,” Hiromi said thoughtfully.

“She absolutely is. And on top of that, she’s so beautiful. She’s the perfect combination of beauty and brains.”

Seeing Ryoko practically ready to worship their senior Nagakawa, Hiromi couldn’t help but laugh.

“Does she have a boyfriend? Dating such an extraordinary girl must be incredibly stressful,” Hiromi suddenly asked.

“I haven’t heard of her having a boyfriend. Ever since her first year, tons of guys have tried to pursue her, but it doesn’t seem like anyone has succeeded. But honestly, considering how outstanding Nagakawa-senpai is, there probably isn’t a single guy in our school who’s good enough for her,” Ryoko said matter-of-factly.

“You’re completely smitten,” Hiromi teased, rolling her eyes. Then, glancing at Nagakawa sitting quietly on the sidelines, she noticed something unusual. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she felt a faint sadness in their senior’s gaze.

***

At 9 PM in the Boston airport terminal, two young men were conversing.

One of them said, “Kogg, are you sure you have to leave now? You just started walking again a few days ago. I really think you should rest a bit longer.”

“I know my own body, and I’m fine now. There’s something urgent I need to take care of back home, so I can’t delay. Also, please pass on my gratitude to the Father, Sister Jill, and Sister Mary. I really appreciate everything you all have done for me during this time,” the young Asian man named Kogg replied.

“I will. It’s a shame the Father and the sisters couldn’t come to see you off since they’re attending that convention. The Father asked me to tell you to take care of yourself.”

“I already said my goodbyes to them yesterday. Here’s my contact information—if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call me,” Kogg said, handing him a piece of paper.

The young white man casually tucked the paper into his pocket.

“If you’re determined to leave, all I can do is wish you a safe journey,” he said, giving Kogg a quick hug.

“Thank you.”

“Alright, it’s about time. You’d better board the plane,” the man said, glancing at his watch.

The Asian man, carrying no luggage, nodded and began walking toward the boarding gate.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and called out, “Robin, to be honest, I don’t really like the name ‘Kogg.’ I prefer it when people use my real name.”

Hearing this, Robin chuckled. “Well, your name isn’t exactly easy to pronounce.”

The Asian man smiled faintly, then turned and continued walking toward the gate.