─── 004: Itoshi Rin.

And each time, Rin's faint smile and bright eyes as he waved goodbye to you at the airport faded. Drunk with tears, you promised yourself you would wait patiently for him too. Until now...

Your youngest son, who was 6 years old and had been born shortly after, still asked about his father's absence when he remembered.

—"Mommy, where's Daddy?"...

You didn't know what to say to her. You'd give her a kiss on the forehead and a tight hug, which you painted with joy or games, even though it broke your heart.

—"I have no idea, my child, but what I do know is that he will come soon."

You would answer him softly, with a lump in your throat, as enthusiastically as possible. Those were the moments that always struck you at your deepest core.

From time to time you would go for walks in the places where you used to go as teenagers, when everything was easier and your love was more radiant.

The sports news was rife with one thing: Rin and his new wife. No one spoke of his perhaps true love, whom he left behind in a house filled with emptiness and loneliness. No one noticed his pain. No one noticed, much less knew, his past.

Sometimes you wondered how he was doing, whether he had eaten something or if he had taken a short break after playing a rough game of soccer.

You laughed, remembering that phrase you used to say to comfort him when even he didn't know what was wrong:

"Together until our last breath."