"Miss Nozomi, when will Miss Nozomi start filming again? The director might still tolerate it for now because you’re the best actress we have."

Amid the dazzling neon lights and the noisy chaos of the metropolis at night, a bright blonde-haired girl drove her car with empty eyes.

"Yeah." Nozomi answered the phone.

"Miss Nozomi, you do know that if you delay it any longer, there’s a high chance your role will be replaced by someone else."

"...Yes."

Nozomi’s mind was blank.

"Miss Nozomi—"

Nozomi hung up the call. She kept driving with lifeless eyes before stopping in front of a large apartment building.

As she stepped out of the car, she saw an advertisement featuring her face displayed on a giant screen at the end of the street. Her face was plastered across nearly every corner of the city. Even the movie she starred in was being advertised in Times Square.

Yet there was no sense of satisfaction or comfort within Nozomi’s heart.

Because Alan had been missing for twenty-one days.

For the past five years, that man had been the one constantly supporting her dream of becoming an actress. Even when she felt insecure, even when she felt inferior compared to his ex-girlfriends.

Nozomi bit her lip.

She already knew who was behind Alan’s disappearance.

"Those bitches," she hissed sharply.

Nozomi couldn’t detect Alan through the GPS tracker she had installed on his phone. The only two people capable of anticipating something like that were Akari Hojo or Akari Honne.

Those two bitch sisters.

Right now, they were probably confining Alan somewhere inside a room.

Before she realized it, Nozomi had started biting her nails.

WHY?! You already broke up with Alan! Why are you still clinging to him like shameless foxes?

What did I ever do to them?! Why are those bitches making my life miserable?!

Will I ever be able to see his face or hear his voice again?

I miss him...

When Alan disappeared from my side, loneliness was all that filled the empty house.

A silence so suffocatingly still that it felt unbearable.

Even in the place where I should’ve been able to rest and find stability, I was quietly dying from anxiety, sadness, jealousy, and pain.

But not anymore... is happiness finally returning to me?

I rubbed my eyes, closed them tightly, then opened them wide again.

Alan was still standing in front of the door lock, pacing back and forth.

Whether he should go in or not—I could see him struggling with the decision.

Then Alan noticed me standing near the elevator entrance.

"...Alan?"

Alan stared at me with wide rabbit-like eyes, saying nothing.

Afraid he might disappear like a mirage, I ran toward him and wrapped my arms around him.

Solid, warm, comforting... everything terrible that had happened to me suddenly felt like a dream.

"...I missed you..."

I should quit my job as soon as possible and find something else to do.

I’ve worked long enough. I’ve already achieved financial freedom.

I have more than enough money now.

I’ll open a coffee shop for the two of us. I’ll buy a house somewhere in the quiet countryside and live there alone with Alan.

I’ll make a small garden in front of the house and take care of it every morning... then run a little guesthouse and open a café selling coffee to passersby.

It doesn’t matter if business is slow.

I just think it’s important for us to do something together in a place that belongs only to us, where no one can interfere.

"...I was so scared... why did you only come back now?"

Every time I imagined Alan suffering through horrible, painful things at those bitches’ hands...

I wanted to cry.

Every single day, underneath my blankets, I cried alone.

I felt like I was going insane.

And what made it even worse was the despair of knowing there was absolutely nothing I could do.

Even after I reported the incident to media outlets and hired countless detectives, nobody could find Alan. Those foxes had their own ways of covering things up.

I even went to a psychiatrist.

I didn’t think I’d ever be able to sleep peacefully again.

Without Alan, everything felt meaningless, and I thought it wouldn’t matter much if I died like this.

I thought about death dozens of times every day. I wanted to die, constantly thinking about suicide, but whenever I actually tried to do it... I failed.

Because if I died here, then I really would never get to see you again, right?

"I’m back."

"Welcome home, Alan..."

Where should we run away to?

Holding Alan tightly with one hand, I opened the front door with the other.

Alan’s solid hand... just touching it made me feel his concern for me.

Dim lights... an empty house with no one there to welcome us.

Just a few hours ago, this house felt completely hollow, but now that Alan was here again, warmth had returned...

Yes.

I could finally feel that everything was back to normal.

Why... why... can’t they stand seeing me happy?!

I’ve never harmed them in my life, so why do they always try to take away the things I cherish?!

Why...?

Do I have to be the only unhappy one?

Only I cry, only I get hurt, and... there’s no one by my side.

I... once again... I...

"Alan..."

"...Huh?"

Alan looked at me with worried eyes.

Seeing those innocent eyes without even a trace of malice made my heavy mood lighten.

But now that I looked closely, the jeans and T-shirt Alan was wearing... they were all clothes I had never seen before.

I knew exactly what kind of clothes Alan liked to wear.

These weren’t his style at all.

It was almost as if someone had dressed him according to their own tastes.

"...Why...? Why...?"

The clothes Alan wore carried a fragrance that could never come from a man’s body.

"Nozomi... I’m sorry, okay? I... came back a little late, didn’t I? Everything’s okay now."

Alan gently patted my head.

Such a gentle touch.

My body naturally nestled deeper into Alan’s embrace.

...Maybe, just maybe... those bitches weren’t involved in this incident after all?

Maybe Alan had simply gone somewhere for a while without saying anything to me?

I wanted to believe that.

But...

That sweet fruity scent lingering on his clothes scattered those thoughts apart.

"You didn’t answer your phone... why didn’t you contact me...? Making people worry like that... you jerk...!"

"...I’m sorry..."

"...You should be sorry...! Do you even know how worried I was?! Huh?! You have no idea how I felt!"

I smacked Alan’s chest with my palm.

Did it hurt?

Alan twisted his body dramatically like a pretzel.

No, you should hurt more.

Still, I kept hitting his back with my palm.

You fucking jerk! Did you eat properly? Is your body okay? Were you crying every day? Do you know how worried I was?

...You were doing just fine, weren’t you?

"...Go stand facing the wall with your hands up!"

"...What am I, a kid?"

He grumbled in complaint, but the moment I glared at him, he sighed, reluctantly faced the wall, and raised both hands.

Seeing Alan like that made me laugh.

How am I supposed to act in a situation like this?

Should I be angry?

Or annoyed?

I don’t know.

But for now, everything had returned to the way it was.

Nothing happened between them.

I had been terrified that something awful might’ve happened.

But it wasn’t true.

I could still feel love and affection in the way Alan looked at me.

That alone was enough for me.

And...

He still listens to what I say so obediently, doesn’t he?