Episode 3: Lost...

In the emergency room:

With a bang, the surgical light came on.

"The patient was in a car accident. Judging from the X-rays, she has six major fractures throughout her body, and her internal organs..." The doctors began discussing Kikka You's injuries while holding the X-rays that had just been taken.

"Scalpel!" the chief surgeon said calmly. The nurse quickly handed him the scalpel, and he skillfully cut into Kikka You's skin.

At that moment, blood unexpectedly began to gush out.

"How could this be? Quick, hemostatic gauze. Find the bleeding point immediately. Hemostats." Even the chief surgeon was shocked by Kikka You's condition as he continuously issued orders to the nurses around him.

The nurses kept handing the doctor instruments and wiping away his sweat. They all adjusted their breathing and did everything they could to save this vibrant life.

"Quick, the S-shaped retractor!" the doctor shouted urgently.

The nurse expertly handed the chief surgeon the S-shaped retractor. He used it to pull open Kikka You's abdomen and carefully examined the damage to her internal organs.

Outside the operating room.

Ryuseki paced back and forth anxiously, borrowing a phone to call his older brother and Kikka You's mother.

"Brother, something terrible happened. Kikka You was in a car accident," Ryuseki said through tears.

"When did it happen? Don't cry yet. Where are you? I'll be there right away." Kouhi was also extremely shocked upon hearing the news, but he comforted the terrified Ryuseki.

Before long, Kikka You's mother arrived at the hospital with Kouhi. They found Ryuseki collapsed on the floor outside the emergency room.

"You, you, you—what did you do to Kikka You?" Kaede's Mother grabbed Ryuseki by the collar and shook him hard, while Ryuseki's mind had gone completely blank.

"Ma'am, ma'am. Please calm down first. This is a hospital. Kaede is still inside receiving emergency treatment." Kouhi hurriedly pulled the emotional Kikka You's mother away.

"My daughter!" Kaede's Mother cried as she shouted at Ryuseki, "If anything happens to Kaede, I'll fight you to the death!"

Kouhi kept making phone calls beside them, though no one knew who he was calling. He also paced restlessly up and down the corridor.

About fifteen minutes later, the emergency sign above the emergency room door went out. Kaede's Mother and Kouhi immediately rushed to the operating room entrance, while Ryuseki remained sitting collapsed on the ground alone.

The operating room doors opened, and several expressionless doctors walked out.

"Doctor, doctor, how is my daughter? Doctor, you have to save my daughter!" Kaede's Mother immediately grabbed one of the doctors and asked through tears.

At that moment, Ryuseki got up and rushed over as well.

"How is she, Doctor? What condition is she in now?" Ryuseki looked as if he had gone mad, his eyes filled with terror at the thought of the answer.

When the doctor did not respond, Kaede's Mother shouted anxiously, her legs trembling without stopping.

"Doctor, say something! Doctor, Doctor!"

The doctor looked heavily at the two of them and answered helplessly, "I'm sorry, we did everything we could. Due to massive blood loss, her organs failed, so..."

With a thud, Kikka You's mother fell to her knees before the doctor and pleaded tearfully, "I'm begging you, you have to save her. I can't lose her."

"Ma'am, please don't do this. You're putting us in a difficult position too," the doctor said as he crouched down and helped Kaede's Mother up from the floor.

Ryuseki trembled. For some reason, his tears simply would not stop falling. He tried hard to breathe, but his heart hurt so, so badly.

Ryuseki's older brother did not know what to do as he watched the scene before him. He could only help the doctor lift Kikka You's mother up.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We are deeply saddened by your daughter's death as well. Please accept our condolences." The doctor drew a cold breath, then walked away with heavy steps.

Perhaps Kaede's Mother would never forget the doctor's helpless expression for the rest of her life. As the doctor gradually walked away, she leaned against Kouhi's side. She no longer knew what to do. Unable to accept this reality, she only felt as though the whole world were spinning. Watching the doctor's heavy footsteps was like watching Kikka You board a train that would never return. Her legs instantly went weak.

Doctors had seen countless partings of life and death. Though they never wanted them to happen, there was nothing they could do once they did. They felt deep regret over every patient's death, but after seeing too many, their expressions became numb. They had almost lost that initial feeling. But perhaps that was for the best. If even the doctors were heartbroken, the family members would only be more devastated.

"We are deeply saddened by your daughter's death as well. Please accept our condolences... We are deeply saddened by your daughter's death as well. Please accept our condolences..."

Those words kept circling through Kikka You's mother's mind. All she could see was Kikka You's face. Kikka You had been so obedient, so sweet, so sensible—but how was she, who had already lost her husband, supposed to accept this reality?

"Kikka You was such a good child..." Kikka You's mother softly murmured.

Then Kaede's Mother suddenly collapsed to the floor and fainted. Ryuseki's mind felt as though it had exploded. Without caring about anything else, he rushed inside, charging into the emergency room.

The other doctors and nurses gradually filed out of the operating room.

"How could this be? How could this be? How could it turn out like this?" Kouhi could not believe it. Such a vibrant life had left so easily.