"Isabelle?" Sosuke said as he stepped into the lobby, Rin walking just beside him.
The warmth of her hand slipped from his as he instinctively pulled away. Subtle. Guilty. He hoped Rin didn't notice. She did.
Her brows furrowed. "Sosuke?" Her voice dropped. "What's going on?"
Across the room, Isabelle stood from the couch like she'd been waiting there for hours—tense, arms crossed, eyes sharp. "I knew it." Her glare moved past Sosuke to Rin. "So you did have something with her."
Sosuke exhaled slowly, already exhausted. "Yeah," he said. Just that. Quiet. Defeated.
"Yeah?" Isabelle stepped toward him, disbelief flashing like a blade. "That's all you have to say?"
Rin stepped in between them before it escalated. "Wait—what is this?"
"He used me," Isabelle said, her voice rising. "He was broken and needed something—someone—to lean on. And I was there. And he knew that. What else was I supposed to think after everything we shared?" Her voice cracked, but she swallowed it. "He just wanted to feel wanted."
Rin turned, her eyes locked onto Sosuke. "Is that true?" Her voice was quiet. Afraid. "Tell me it's not."
Sosuke couldn't look away. He couldn't lie, not to her. Not anymore.
"…It is." His voice shook slightly, but he didn't falter. "I didn't think you'd ever feel the same. I was… afraid. Afraid of being alone. And I used Isabelle to dull it. To pretend someone could want me."
Isabelle stared, wounded anger etched into every word. "You're selfish. Shallow. You never cared about how I felt."
Sosuke's voice snapped like a faultline cracking open. "Don't pretend this was all on me!" His fists clenched. "You never saw me, Isabelle! You saw this idea of me. A hero. A savior. Someone clean, whole, better than he really is. But I'm not. I've killed people, ruined lives. You looked at me like I was a dream. I never had the space to be human with you."
She recoiled like he'd slapped her. "So that's your excuse?"
"No. That's the truth." His voice lowered. "It doesn't make what I did right. I know that. But don't act like you were in love with me. You were in love with a story."
"Stop," Rin said suddenly, firmly. She looked between the two of them, her voice like glass under pressure. "You're both being selfish. You're both hurting each other just to feel like the victim."
Sosuke looked at her, but she had already turned.
"Rin—"
She walked away. No words. Just her back retreating down the hall like a door closing slowly in his chest.
"I hope she doesn't end up like me," Isabelle muttered as she walked past. "Thinking you were different."
Sosuke stood in the center of the lobby, fists trembling at his sides. Guilt clamped down like iron around his ribs.
"I should've dealt with it first…" he whispered to no one.
—
The hallway felt longer now. Like it was punishing him for running from this for so long.
He reached her door and knocked, once.
"Rin, please," he said. "Open the door."
"Why?" Her voice came through the wood, muffled, wary.
"I want to explain," Sosuke said. "That's why."
Silence. He almost turned to leave.
Then, the click of the lock.
The door opened a few inches. Her eyes were unreadable.
"Get inside," Rin said.
Sosuke stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind him like a seal locking them in. The room was dim—only the soft glow of a lamp beside the bed lit Rin's face in amber hues. She sat with her legs crossed in an armchair, posture stiff, arms folded like a shield across her chest.
"Go on," she said flatly.
Sosuke hovered by the edge of the room. "Can I sit—?"
"No."
He nodded once, barely reacting. His weight shifted from one foot to the other.
"It was after you rejected me," he began, voice quieter now. "I didn't know how to deal with it. Then I met Isabelle, and it felt like maybe I could… move on. She was there every time I broke down. Every time I felt like I was unraveling. I kept hoping it would be you. But it wasn't."
Rin's expression didn't change. Her silence gnawed at him.
"You going to defend yourself," she finally said, "or just leave it at that?"
Sosuke rubbed the back of his neck. "I made a mistake. I admit that. Why does it matter now? It's over. That part of me—what I did—it's done. It won't happen with us."
"And how do I know that?" Rin leaned forward slightly, eyes locked on him. "How do I know I won't be replaced by someone who just happens to be there?"
Sosuke stiffened. "You really think I'm that shallow?"
"I don't know anymore." Her voice cracked at the edges. "That's the problem."
"Why are you expecting the worst outcome?" Sosuke asked, his tone hardening. "Don't you have any faith in me?"
"Don't do that." Rin's eyes narrowed. "Don't try to flip this on me."
"I'm not flipping anything—" Sosuke took a sharp breath. "I'm just… trying to understand what you want. Do you want me to grovel? Do you want a list of my regrets? Because I'll do it—I'll do all of that."
Rin stood. "Show me that you mean what you say. That you're not just running off guilt and good intentions."
"I am doing that! No—I already did it!" His voice pitched higher. "What do you want, Rin? For me to just say it? Admit I've changed for the worse? That you were right all along?"
His right eye shut tight, his hand rising instinctively to cover it. A quiet, strained breath escaped his lips.
"It hurts," he muttered, fingers pressing against his temple.
Rin's eyes flicked to his hand, but she didn't move.
Sosuke kept going. "You don't know what I went through in that prison. Every day was another round of torture. I heard the others dying, one by one. Screaming. Begging. I wondered if I'd ever see sunlight again."
His hand dropped to his side like a dead weight.
"I probably have changed," he said. "I just wanted someone to understand why."
Rin leaned forward, voice steady. "I can't have this conversation if you're going to keep doing this. You're not trying to fix anything—you're just trying to justify it. Show me you're better. Stop asking me to feel sorry for you."
Sosuke's shoulders sank. He stared at the floor, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. His mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again.
"…You're right," he said finally. His voice was low. "I'm sorry."
He looked up, not at her—past her. Then, slowly, his eyes met hers.
"Just give me a chance. Please. I don't want to start this second chance with you already thinking I'm hopeless."
Rin didn't answer for a moment. Then nodded, once.
"Okay."
She stood up. "Then we've 'fixed' things, right?"
Sosuke let out a shallow breath. "Yeah."
"But now how are you going to deal with Isabelle?"
He blinked, caught off guard. "I guess… I'll figure something out."
A silence. Not heavy, but uncertain.
"I'm glad I get to talk to you again," Sosuke said. His voice softened. "For two years, I wished I could see you. Just once."
Rin gave a small, sad smile. "Then you should've."
She turned toward the window. "But that's in the past."