"How well can you speak?" I'm currently practicing English with my friends at a cafe. "I can speak better than before." "But I was shocked to find out that Heath has a 2nd level." "That's true. But isn't Hyuga is better than me? Why did you bother to call me?" "I was just checking to see if Heath's mental health has been stable lately, and I had him check his English." "Oh, you got me." "You didn't come last time because you did it so I wouldn't get caught." I'm a doctor who works in psychiatry. Heath is a counselor, but he puts other people's needs before himself. "It's okay this time," he answered, touching his hair. "You're lying," "No, no, no way," "You're showing your habit." He has a habit of touching his hair when he's nervous. "Huh, why am I not good at that sort of thing even though I'm a counselor?" "I don't know. I mean, that's getting off topic, so I did it again this time." "No way (deadpan)." "Did something happen?" "I'll confess now. The other day, an elementary school kid came in for counseling." "Yeah." "That kid ignored his friend who was being bullied...well, maybe he had no choice, but I heard that it was causing him stress, and it reminded me of something that happened a long time ago." "That was a long time ago." "But I thought that if I stayed friendly with him, he might dislike me, so I ignored him too, and I remembered everything that happened back then. And the next thing I knew, I had a cutter in one hand and the other in a terrible state. " he said, touching his arm through his sleeve. "What did Haine tell you?" "She said that if you go too deep it will sting, so don't do it. You're always so slack. When my parents did it, they'd say things like, 'What are you doing hurting that body your parents gave you?' or 'You're just imitating some character.'" "Well, go to the hospital and have it checked. I'll bandage it up and you can take the day off tomorrow, or you can take the day off and go to counseling." "It's not going to make much difference if I go to counseling, even though I'm a counselor." "Try being the one being listened to instead of the one listening once in a while. It'll be a lot better." "...Okay. I'll take paid leave then." "What?" "No way, no way, then I'll get going." "Hahaha! I get it, I'll take paid leave." "Really?! Thanks."


A while later, when the elementary school student came to counseling, he said, "Don't blame yourself so much. Something like that happened to me in the past, too, and it can't be helped." "But I was her friend, and I couldn't help her..." "But you regret not being able to help her, even though you were her friend? But she's already made up with you, hasn't she?" "Yes." "That's because she tried hard to stop herself from committing suicide, believing that you would definitely help her. And you secretly told your teacher. Thanks to that, she was saved." "But..." "Look, you may think you betrayed her, but if you helped her, you're a good person." "Really?" "Of course."


"Good job, Heath." "Thank you, Chanrei." "I hope she can recover." "But I still think that. If I had told the teacher back then, she might not have stopped going to school, and I'm full of regrets." "What are you feeling all gloomy about?" "Uchiko! Why are you here?" "Because the trial's over." "What trial was there today?" "It was a family trial, and apparently a kid who bullied a friend in elementary school would put bugs in the kid's lunch. The verdict was that the bully had to transfer schools." "...Great." "Could it be that kid?" "Yeah. The bully said he was going to family court today." "Well, let's go home. If Aoi is late today, she'll miss dinner." "What?! You're kidding! Hurry up!"