Dried tear tracks were still visible, as Ryosuke continued to sit in the café alone. His fingers continuously traced the keypads of his phone, and he felt a lump forming in his throat. The cup of hot chocolate has already cooled down, and Ryosuke gulped the once-hot beverage down in one breath.

“Yuto …”

Rain drops pattered against the window pane of the café, and Ryosuke found himself ordering another cup of the hot beverage. When it came, he had unconscious placed his hands around the steaming hot cup, letting the heat of the cup sip into him. He had only taken his hands away when one of the waiters slightly tugged his arm, afraid that Ryosuke would burn his palm. 

A small smile was mustered to thank the waiter, and Ryosuke took a sip of the hot beverage, allowing it to burn his tongue. Tears had welled up again, and he took a deep breath.

Flipping open his phone, he looked at the page he was reading awhile ago. Tears continued to roll down his cheeks.

‘Writer Nakajima Yuto had been driven to suicide due to insults on his work. His last words were reported to be, “You can insult anything about me, but not my work. Not when the person I love was the inspiration for me.”’

Placing his hand into his bag, he pulled out his treasure. It was the first publication of Yuto’s work. ‘My Little Heaven’, that was the title. Opening up to the acknowledgements, a bitter smile graced his lips as he read it.

‘I want to thank my lover. That person was the inspiration for me to write this book, and will probably be my inspiration for future work. This is dedicated to you, my love.’

Looking up into sky, Ryosuke just whispered, “Why did you have to go? I wouldn’t be insulted, you know?” 

Tears just continued to flow.