The next day. Morning.
"I'm going to draw a turtle on his face."
"No way. Be careful Hoshino gets angry when he wakes up."
Half-asleep, Kurosawa Hoshino heard the familiar conversation. His lips moved twice, and he muttered, "Didn't you say that a few days ago? Why are you saying it again now? Am I under a spell?"
The response he received was the two girls' barely suppressed laughter.
Kurosawa regained consciousness, opened his eyes, and saw the two girls standing by the bed. He said helplessly, "Wait—how many times? Tell me, how many times has this happened? Can't you respect me a little? Don't just barge into my room for no reason. If you see something bad, it'll make everyone very embarrassed."
"Haibara's here too," Ran said with a smile.
Kurosawa turned his head to look. Sure enough, a small head peeked out from the doorway.
"Is this really not a dream? What's the difference between this and the morning before yesterday?" Kurosawa muttered, pinching his thigh and wincing in pain, confirming that he wasn't dreaming.
He sat up in bed, crossed his legs, propped his chin on one hand, and looked at the three—two adults and one child. "If you like barging into my room, you might as well stay here. I welcome you to come every day."
"Oh, you stingy little thing! I only came to check on you this early because I heard you were attacked again last night." Sonoko gave him a "you're biting the hand that feeds you" look.
"And you?" Kurosawa looked at Haibara.
"I also came to see you, Hoshino-nii." Haibara said calmly.
"Who told you?" Kurosawa asked curiously, his gaze shifting between Ran and Sonoko. Did they tell Haibara? Had their relationship become that close?
"Hoshino, look for yourself." Ran took out her phone, opened a page, and handed it to him. "Look, the news about you being attacked last night is on the news. There are so many comments. It's very popular. Haibara saw it on the news."
Kurosawa took the phone and casually scrolled through the comments.
[I Am Kurosawa Hoshino]: "Hello, I'm fine, thank you."
[Kurosawa Hoshino's Girlfriend]: "The comment above is fake. My husband is fine. He even slept with me last night."
[Just a Publicity Stunt]: "Another publicity stunt. I'm used to these news stories."
After reading the first three comments, Kurosawa stopped scrolling and returned the phone.
Ran laughed. "There are still people impersonating you now—even impersonating your friends."
Sonoko pouted. "Shameless. Hoshino, you don't even have a girlfriend. They know nothing, yet they want to impersonate your girlfriend."
Knock knock knock! Just then, a knock came from the entrance. A woman's voice came in: "Excuse me, Kurosawa-kun, are you home?"
"I'll go open the door," Haibara said, slowly walking toward the entrance.
But as soon as she opened the door and saw the woman standing outside, her heart clenched—as if gripped by an invisible hand, making it hard to breathe. Her face turned deathly pale, and her body trembled slightly.
This person— Haibara's heart pounded wildly as she stared blankly at the woman before her, sensing the aura of the Black Organization emanating from her.
"Little sister, what's wrong?" Seeing Haibara's pale face, Mizunashi Rena asked worriedly. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"No—I—" Haibara managed to say, struggling to lift her weak legs and turning to walk into the room. At first, she walked slowly, but then her pace quickened until she was jogging. She ran into Kurosawa's bedroom in no time.
Mizunashi Rena was completely bewildered, then panicked. She rummaged through her bag for a small makeup mirror and quickly checked her face. Seeing that her makeup was intact and her face was clean, she breathed a sigh of relief. "That scared me to death! I thought something on my face had frightened the kids. But it wasn't my fault."
With a wry smile, Mizunashi put down her makeup mirror and watched as two familiar girls walked over. Just as she was about to greet them, they spoke.
"Ms. Mizunashi, it's you."
"Ms. Mizunashi, what happened just now? Haibara's expression was very strange when she ran back."
Faced with the two women's questions and the suspicious looks in their eyes, Mizunashi said helplessly, "Ran, Sonoko, would you believe me if I said I didn't know?"
Having interviewed Kurosawa several times, Mizunashi had naturally seen Ran and Sonoko, who were often by his side. They had already exchanged names and knew each other.
Let's rewind a bit.
Haibara ran into the bedroom, stood by the bed with her head down, and her body trembled slightly.
"What's wrong?" Kurosawa and Ran naturally noticed something was off immediately.
"I... I'm not feeling well." Haibara made up an excuse. "Ran-neechan, Sonoko-neechan, there's an older sister waiting outside." Because she was frightened, Haibara even called them "older sister" easily this time, without any reluctance.
"I'll go see with Sonoko." After Ran finished speaking, she left the bedroom with Sonoko.
"Hoshino-nii, can I sleep in bed for a while?" Haibara just wanted to avoid the woman outside and felt that hiding under the covers was the best option.
"Then go to sleep." Kurosawa got out of bed, picked Haibara up, and looked at her curled up in the blankets with her back to him—only the back of her head visible. He narrowed his eyes.
She looks like she's been scared. The one who could scare her... someone from the Black Organization?
Thinking this, Kurosawa went out, closing the door behind him. He saw Mizunashi being welcomed into the living room by Ran and Sonoko. He couldn't help but chuckle. So she really is connected to the Black Organization. Looks like my radar just went off.
"Good morning, Hoshino-kun." Mizunashi greeted him with a smile.
"Ms. Mizunashi, please have a seat." Kurosawa gestured to the sofa in the living room, then sat down himself. "You're not here to interview me again, are you?"
"Of course." Mizunashi said, taking out a small video camera from her bag. "After all, such a big thing happened last night. Although it's been leaked online, there aren't detailed accounts. Of course, I need to get firsthand information."
"Actually, I don't know either."
"Huh? You don't know either."
"Yes. After Inspector Megure took him away last night, he said he'd interrogate him overnight and told me to call him again when I woke up during the day."
"Kurosawa-kun, are you going to call now?"