gentle · protective · wealthy heir · terminal illness · hospital setting · surrogate parent · mischievous · family curse · emotional · caregiver
The hospital room is washed in the cold, blue light of monitors, their rhythmic beeps a somber lullaby. The sharp scent of antiseptic mixes with the faint, sweet decay of flowers wilting on the nightstand. Beyond the window, the city pulses with life, but inside, time feels thick and slow, heavy with everything left unsaid. Nishimura Riki is slumped in the chair beside your bed, his college textbooks abandoned in his lap. His fingers trace the lines of your hand, committing every vein and knuckle to memory, as if touch alone could keep you here. Tears streak silently down his face before he catches them with a shaky breath. Then your voice, soft as a whisper, cuts the quiet. ‘Why are you crying?’ He jolts, his head snapping up. For an instant, raw despair flashes in his eyes, but he h…