The morning air was unusually calm.
Akira stood in front of an old house, staring at the wooden door in front of him.
His hand hovered near the doorbell, but he hesitated.
Hanoka noticed.
“Akira…” she softly said.
“You don’t have to do this alone.”
Akira looked at her and gave a small nod.
“I know.
That’s why you’re here.”
He finally knocked.
A few seconds passed before footsteps approached from inside.
The door opened slowly, revealing an elderly woman with gentle eyes.
“Yes?
May I help you?”
Akira straightened his posture.
“Hello.
My name is Akira Tamayama.
I was a friend of Nitagawa.”
The woman’s expression changed slightly when she heard that name.
“And who is this young lady?”
Hanoka stepped forward politely.
“Hello.
My name is Hanoka Sawada.
It is nice to meet you, miss.”
The woman smiled softly.
“I am Kaoruoko Nitagawa.
Nice to meet you both.”
She opened the door wider.
“Please, come inside.”
Inside the Nitagawa household, Akira immediately noticed something.
The walls were covered with memories.
Photos.
Awards.
Trophies.
Certificates.
Every corner showed a different side of Nitagawa.
The cheerful Nitagawa.
The hardworking Nitagawa.
The person everyone admired.
Hanoka looked around quietly.
“They really loved him…”
Akira remained silent.
His eyes stopped on one particular trophy.
A reminder of a person he knew…
but not completely.
Kaoruoko noticed Akira staring.
“He was always trying his best,” she said with a warm smile.
“Ever since he was young, he wanted to make everyone proud.”
Akira lowered his gaze.
Those words felt heavier than he expected.
Because he knew there was another side.
A side hidden behind the trophies.
A side nobody in this room had seen.
Akira and Hanoka followed Kaoruoko into the living room.
The room was modest and peaceful.
There was only a small amount of furniture, with a potted plant resting quietly in the corner.
In the center of the room sat a low wooden kotatsu, surrounded by several cushions where guests could sit.
Kaoruoko gestured toward the cushions.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
“Thank you,” Hanoka replied politely.
Akira and Hanoka sat down beside the kotatsu.
Kaoruoko remained standing for a moment before turning toward the hallway.
“Honey?
Could you come here for a second?
Nitagawa’s friend has come to visit.”
“Coming.”
About a minute later, footsteps could be heard approaching.
An elderly man entered the living room.
He wore a traditional black yukata.
His face carried the marks of age, with wrinkles around his eyes and forehead, but his eyes themselves still sparkled with warmth and curiosity.
He slowly walked over and sat down.
“Hello.
Nice to meet you both.”
Akira immediately straightened his posture.
“Hello, sir.”
The man gave them a gentle smile.
“My name is Shiro Nitagawa.”
Akira bowed his head respectfully.
“Sir, I am Akira Tamayama, also known as Isamu Sawada, an actor in the entertainment industry.
It’s very nice to meet you.”
He then gestured toward Hanoka.
“And this girl right here is my girlfriend.”
Hanoka’s face became slightly red.
She quickly bowed.
“S-Sir, I am Hanoka Sawada.
Nice to meet you.”
Shiro smiled.
“Likewise.”
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Shiro leaned back slightly against his cushion and looked carefully at Akira.
“I know you.”
Akira blinked.
“Sir?”
“Isamu, right?
Your real name is Akira.”
Akira nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
Shiro’s expression softened.
“He told me about you.”
Akira’s heart skipped for a moment.
“He told me how awesome you are…
and how loyal and dependable you can be sometimes.”
Kaoruoko smiled.
“Seems like Nitagawa trusted you quite a lot.”
Akira forced a small smile.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Shiro continued looking at him.
Then he asked the question.
“Akira…”
Akira looked at him.
“Where is my son?”
The world seemed to stop.
Akira’s expression froze.
For a brief moment, the peaceful living room disappeared.
His mind dragged him somewhere else
The accident.
The grave.
Those spikes
Images flashed through his memory one after another.
His chest tightened.
His hands slowly clenched beneath the table.
But he couldn’t let them see.
Not yet.
Akira took a quiet breath and forced himself to answer.
“Sir…”
He looked directly at Shiro.
“He is doing great, sir.”
Kaoruoko smiled with relief.
“Oh dear.
Please remind him to call his parents sometime.”
Akira swallowed.
“Of course.”
He lowered his gaze. Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
“Right now, he’s just absorbed in his work.”
Shiro chuckled softly.
“That sounds like him.”
Kaoruoko smiled.
“He always gets so focused whenever he has something important to do.”
Akira nodded.
“Yes…”
His voice became quieter.
“He does.”
Hanoka glanced at Akira.
She knew.
She knew exactly what he was doing.
And she could see how much each word was hurting him.
But she remained silent.
For now.
Shiro leaned back against the cushion, a small smile remaining on his face.
Shiro: “Nitagawa always had a habit of getting completely absorbed in whatever he was doing.”
Akira nodded.
Akira: “Yeah…
he did.”
Kaoruoko sat beside her husband.
Kaoruoko: “When he was younger, he used to spend hours outside practicing.”
“Even when it was raining.”
Shiro chuckled.
Shiro: “Do you remember that?”
Akira gave a faint smile.
Akira: “I remember.”
“He was stubborn.”
Shiro: “Very stubborn.”
Kaoruoko laughed softly.
Kaoruoko: “He would come home covered in mud and then try to convince us that he hadn’t been playing outside.”
Akira couldn’t help but smile.
Akira: “That sounds exactly like him.”
For a few moments, the room felt warm.
Almost normal.
Kaoruoko looked toward one of the photographs hanging on the wall.
It showed Nitagawa when he was younger, standing proudly beside his parents.
Kaoruoko: “He always wanted to make people proud.”
“He wasn’t perfect…”
“But he always tried.”
Akira lowered his eyes.
Akira: “He cared about people.”
Shiro looked at him.
Shiro: “You really knew him well.”
Akira nodded.
Akira: “He was a good friend.”
Shiro smiled.
Shiro: “He talked about you quite often.”
Akira looked up in surprise.
Akira: “He did?”
Shiro: “Yes.”
“His friends.”
“His work.”
“And occasionally…”
“He would tell us about the people who annoyed him.”
Kaoruoko smiled.
Kaoruoko: “You were probably one of them.”
Akira let out a quiet laugh.
Akira: “Probably.”
Hanoka smiled faintly from beside him.
Kaoruoko looked at her.
Kaoruoko: “And you?”
Hanoka blinked.
Hanoka: “Me?”
Kaoruoko: “Did you know Nitagawa well?”
Hanoka shook her head.
Hanoka: “Not as well as Akira did.”
“But I heard quite a lot about him.”
Kaoruoko smiled.
Kaoruoko: “Then I’m glad he had people around him who cared.”
Akira’s smile slowly disappeared.
His eyes drifted toward the photographs again.
So many memories.
So many moments.
A life that had once been ordinary.
Shiro suddenly stood up.
Shiro: “Wait here.”
He walked toward a cabinet near the wall.
After searching through it for a moment, he pulled out an old photograph.
He returned to the kotatsu and placed it carefully on the table.
Akira looked down.
It was a picture of Nitagawa standing between his parents.
He looked younger.
Happy.
Carefree.
Shiro smiled.
Shiro: “This was taken during one of our family trips.”
“We hadn’t even planned to take the photograph.”
“Nitagawa was complaining that we were wasting time.”
Kaoruoko laughed.
Kaoruoko: “He complained about everything.”
Akira smiled faintly.
Akira: “He really did.”
Shiro looked at the photograph for a few seconds.
Shiro: “I still remember that day.”
“He kept asking when we were going home.”
Akira quietly stared at the photograph.
Akira: “Sounds like him.”
Shiro carefully picked up the photograph again.
Shiro: “He promised he’d take us somewhere someday.”
Kaoruoko smiled.
“He wanted to show us all the places he’d visited.”
Akira’s fingers tightened slightly against his knee.
Shiro looked toward him.
Shiro: “He always said he’d come home whenever he had enough time.”
Akira slowly looked up.
Shiro: “Actually…”
“When is he coming home?”
The question hung in the air.
Akira’s expression became still.
Hanoka quietly looked toward him.
She knew.
The moment Akira had been trying to avoid…
…had finally arrived.
Akira lowered his head.
His hands were trembling.
He knew he couldn’t keep lying anymore.
He took a deep breath.
Akira: “Sir…
ma’am…”
Shiro and Kaoruoko looked at him.
Akira slowly raised his head.
Tears had already started forming in his eyes.
Akira: “I’m sorry.”
Kaoruoko looked confused.
Kaoruoko: “Sorry…?”
Akira wiped his eyes.
Akira: “I lied to you.”
The room became completely silent.
Akira took another breath.
Akira: “Nitagawa…”
His voice began to shake.
Kaoruoko froze.
Her eyes widened.
For a few seconds, she couldn’t say anything.
Shiro remained completely still.
Akira continued, his voice breaking every few words.
Akira: “I met Nitagawa through the entertainment industry.”
“We became friends…”
“And we worked together.”
“He was one year older than me.”
“He had already graduated from high school.”
Akira lowered his gaze.
Akira: “One day, Nitagawa came to my school.”
“He came because he wanted to talk to me.”
“He wanted me to stop living my life split between Akira Tamayama and Isamu Sawada.”
“He wanted me to be able to live as myself.”
Akira’s eyes filled with tears.
Akira: “He cared about me.”
“And I cared about him too.”
He paused.
Akira: “But…”
“There were things between us that I wish I could have handled differently.”
Akira took a shaky breath.
Akira: “Then came the day…”
“…when I found out that Nitagawa was gone.”
Kaoruoko’s eyes slowly filled with tears.
She covered her mouth.
Kaoruoko: “No…”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Kaoruoko: “Our son…”
Shiro still didn’t speak.
Akira looked down.
Akira: “I’m sorry.”
“If I had forgiven him properly…”
“…maybe he wouldn’t have died.”
Hanoka quietly placed a hand on Akira’s shoulder.
Shiro slowly stood up.
He turned away from them.
His eyes moved toward the photograph hanging on the wall.
A photograph of Nitagawa.
For several seconds…
Shiro simply stared at it.
Then he spoke.
Shiro: “Akira…”
Akira looked up.
Shiro: “Do you know what I believe?”
Akira remained silent.
Shiro continued looking at his son’s photograph.
Shiro: “When a person has fulfilled their duty on this Earth…”
“…God eventually calls them back.”
He paused.
Shiro: “Perhaps that is what happened to my son.”
A tear slowly rolled down Shiro’s cheek.
It fell from his face…
…and landed quietly on the floor.
Shiro: “Nitagawa was my son.”
“He made me proud.”
“His stubbornness was annoying sometimes…”
A small smile appeared on his face.
“…but in the end, it was also part of the light he brought into our lives.”
He looked at the photograph again.
Shiro: “He was my son.”
“I loved him deeply.”
“He made me smile during some of the hardest times of my life.”
Shiro’s voice became quieter.
Shiro: “When he was a little boy…”
“He would always run toward me whenever I came back from the fields.”
FLASHBACK
A young Nitagawa ran toward his father.
Young Nitagawa: “Dad!
Are you tired?”
“Do you want me to massage your shoulders?”
“Dad!
Do you want some water?”
“Dad!
Food is ready!
Come eat!”
The little boy continued following his father around.
Young Nitagawa: “Dad!
Dad!
Dad!”
BACK TO THE PRESENT
Shiro gave a small laugh through his tears.
Shiro: “He never asked me for anything.”
“I usually had to make him tell me what he wanted.”
“But now…”
His voice trembled.
“…he’s gone.”
Shiro wiped his eyes.
“The boy who made me stand proudly…”
“…is gone.”
Kaoruoko couldn’t hold her tears anymore.
She lowered her head and quietly cried.
Shiro looked at Akira.
Shiro: “But he is still my son.”
Akira’s eyes filled with more tears.
Akira: “Sir…”
Shiro slowly shook his head.
Shiro: “Akira.”
“Don’t blame yourself.”
Akira looked at him.
Shiro: “You didn’t know what would happen.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
Akira: “But if I had…”
Shiro: “No.”
His voice was gentle but firm.
Shiro: “Don’t carry something that doesn’t belong to you.”
Akira lowered his head.
A tear fell onto his hands.
Shiro continued.
Shiro: “Everyone who comes into this world eventually has to leave it.”
“That is the way of life.”
He looked at Nitagawa’s photograph again.
Shiro: “My son left this world after making millions of people smile.”
“And he made his parents smile too.”
A small smile appeared through his tears.
Shiro: “So…”
“I am proud.”
“I was his father.”
“And I will always be proud that I was.”
The room became silent again.
Akira quietly wiped his tears.
Hanoka remained beside him.
Kaoruoko reached for her husband’s hand.
Shiro held it tightly.
Neither of them said anything.
Nitagawa was gone.
But he was still their son.
Hey everyone, it’s Isamu here!
I’m sorry for the late upload; I’ve been completely absorbed with work lately, which has kept me away from the keyboard.
Thank you so much for your patience while waiting for this new chapter!