When the phone rang, Shinichi Iwahashi was sorting out the program list. He diverted his attention, took the receiver, and said in a businesslike tone: "Hello, I am Iwahashi from Watanabe Productions."
There was silence on the other end of the phone, no words were spoken.
"Hello?" he asked again.
There was still silence on the other end of the phone. Shinichi Iwahashi thought it was probably a prank call and was about to hang up. After thinking about it, he asked a third time: "Hello?"
The other person finally spoke, "Iwahashi-san, I am..."
The voice of a trembling girl who sounded like she was only in her teens.
"Yes, please speak."
After another pause, the person on the other end of the phone announced his name, "I'm Yukiko Okada."
"Huh?" Iwahashi Shinichi was startled.
Okada Yukiko called him? This kind of thing is impossible no matter how much he thinks about it. He thought that he might have encountered the legendary phone scam. But the voice on the phone sounded a bit familiar, and his age seemed to match...
Although the ancestor of phone scams is in RB, it is not a coincidence that Yukiko Okada's name was used to deceive someone from the entertainment agency, and he was someone who had met her and talked to her.
Thinking of this, Iwahashi Shinichi cooperated and continued, "Yes, Okada-san. Excuse me?"
"..." The other end of the phone was silent again.
Okada Yukiko breathed a sigh of relief when the call was connected. However, the cold voice that came from the receiver at first made her unable to speak. It wasn't until Iwahashi Shinichi took the trouble to ask for the third time that she was sure that the person on the other side was indeed the person on the other side.
The one who encouraged her.
However, after giving her name, Iwahashi Shinichi asked her what happened, and she couldn't go on. She wanted to say "thank you" to Iwahashi Shinichi, but his gentle and kind treatment made her feel shaken.
.
She wanted to say thank you to Shinichi Iwahashi one last time, but what happens after she says thank you?
Shinichi Iwahashi waited patiently.
"I got your business card from Hayakawa-san." Okada Yukiko opened her mouth and confirmed her identity.
She glanced outside the office and pulled down half of the blinds to block the view outside, but she could still see the figures walking up and down the corridor. She lowered her voice and said, "I will always remember Iwahashi-san's encouragement that day.
.”
"So, I want to say thank you." On the other end of the phone, Okada Yukiko's voice was a little weak.
"Did you call me specifically because of this?" Iwahashi Shinichi was a little surprised. He didn't expect that his casual words would be remembered by her, a popular idol, for so long.
"If this is the case, I also want to express my gratitude to Okada-san."
"Hey?" Thank her?
"Yes, thank you for calling me specifically."
There was silence on the phone again. Iwahashi Shinichi felt that this silence made him feel more heavy than embarrassed. Is this sudden call after such a long time just to say thank you?
"Um," he asked tentatively, "Does Okada-san have anything to say?"
There was still no word on the other end of the phone.
"If there is, I will listen." Shinichi Iwahashi finished this sentence slowly, then closed his mouth and waited.
The person he was waiting for was not the idol Okada Yukiko who was seen by others, the cheerful and smiling idol on the stage, but the confused and ordinary Yukiko Okada who he met by chance that day.
When Shinichi Iwahashi said that he would listen to her, she suddenly realized that before deciding to commit suicide again, she must call the person who had given her a trace of sincere warmth and made her feel grateful.
people’s true intentions.
Not to settle my last worries, but to expect him to reach out.
"What should I do, Iwahashi-san?" As he spoke the words, tears welled up in his eyes.
This was the first time she shed tears after she was saved from suicide. On the other end of the phone, Shinichi Iwahashi patiently responded and waited, as if he was reaching out to her hand.
"I'm scared. I've gotten into big trouble..." She tightly grasped the warm palm.
Iwahashi Shinichi listened on the phone, and his face became more solemn as he listened. He could never have imagined that Okada Yukiko, who had only had a relationship with each other, made this call when she attempted suicide and was panicking about the mess.
he.
"Okada-san." He said, "Whether or not it is inappropriate to say this now, I still want to tell you that you are still alive. It is really great that I received this call now."
"Very good?"
"When I think about how I almost didn't hear this sound, I really feel how precious it is that you are alive." Iwahashi Shinichi saw a life standing on the trembling wire rope, and he persuaded carefully.
Yes. Okada Yukiko recalled being unable to move, feeling the powerlessness as life passed by, and the joy of being reborn when she was rescued. She also felt that life was precious. But at the same time, there was also the heaviness of being alive.
"I have caused a big disaster, and I don't know how the next thing will end... My existence will cause too many people too much trouble, so it is not as precious as you said." She told.
"So, Okada-san, are you going to run away? Are you going to leave the situation that you don't know how to end to others to others?"
"It's not like that..." Okada Yukiko's retort was weak. She knew that this was a way of escape. If the first suicide was the ultimate resistance, then the second intention to die was the ultimate escape.
"It's okay to want to run away." She thought Iwahashi Shinichi was going to educate her, but instead he said so.
"Actually, I am also a person who is a little afraid of taking responsibility." He said, "When I was a child, I accidentally broke a vase. Because I was afraid of being scolded, I falsely accused the cat at home."
"Are you lying?" Yukiko Okada burst into tears and smiled.
"it is true."
"Do your family members believe it?" Okada Yukiko's curiosity was aroused.
"It's a bit unbelievable to say that the cat broke the vase, isn't it?" Shinichi Iwahashi laughed silently, "But my mother really believed it that time and punished the cat."
"Why?"
"Obviously the cat is innocent, but because I shirk responsibility, I end up being the scapegoat. Because things have to be settled, but the cat can't confront me. If the cat can understand the ins and outs, he will definitely pounce on me and scratch me.
.”
Okada Yukiko couldn't help laughing when she thought about the scene of a human-cat battle.
"Now that I think about it, this approach is too cunning, isn't it?"
Okada Yukiko wanted to say "yes", and then thought of herself who wanted to die to avoid the unknown. If she died, she would definitely leave everyone with a situation that would be a hundred times more difficult to end than now.
There are also family members far away in Nagoya...Is it really because Iwahashi-san’s mother wronged the cat because she believed his words instead of showing preference for her son? Okada Yukiko also thought of her family in Nagoya.
Guided by the interesting stories, she did not realize that Shinichi Iwahashi was deliberately talking about topics related to her family, in order to quietly arouse her longing for her family.
If he directly said "Think about your parents and family", it would be the same as shouting "Come on Yukiko!". He would be using pressure to force her.
"Actually, breaking a vase is not something that requires lying to evade responsibility. The scary thing is actually the 'unknown'." Shinichi Iwahashi said. "Isn't there that kind of game where you put your hand into a box and guess the object? Because
My eyes were blindfolded, so no matter what I touched, I subconsciously associated it with something scary, and ended up screaming in fear."
What he said seemed to have nothing to do with enlightenment and persuasion, but every word he said was to enlighten her. Just like when he encouraged her, he said "please relax and move forward", gentle and friendly.
Okada Yukiko completely relaxed in front of him.
"Besides becoming a star, what else does Okada-san want to do?" At this time, Shinichi Iwahashi suddenly asked.
Okada Yukiko thought for a moment, "If I'm not a celebrity, I want to be an illustrator because I like drawing. I like English, and it would be great if I could work overseas in the future."
“It’s a good idea to work overseas,” he said. “Maybe I’ll have the opportunity to travel around the world.”
Unknown things are scary, but life has infinite possibilities. A life with so many possibilities can accommodate these "unknowns".
Okada Yukiko heard the true meaning of Iwahashi Shinichi from his words.
"Iwahashi-san," she asked, "can I call you again after that?"
The palm she held tightly was so warm. Okada Yukiko thought to herself that she didn't want to let go of this hand.
