Ms. Gojo thought she was dating an ordinary person's boyfriend.

After that day, Sumi Kichikawa thought she would never see that person again.

Tokyo has a population of nearly 14 million. The probability of two strangers bumping into each other twice in a convenience store is so small as to be negligible.

He was wrong.

Monday morning.

Sumi Kichikawa followed the ambulance to pick up a young patient being transferred to another hospital. The ambulance stopped in front of an old office building.

As soon as he got out of the car, he looked up and saw a head of distinctive white hair flash briefly in the dim light behind the glass window of the coffee shop across the street.

The blindfolded man was chewing on a straw, seemingly talking to a middle-aged man in a suit across from him. The blindfold covered most of his face, but Sumi Kichikawa inexplicably felt that the man's expression was probably quite bored.

Gojo Satoru's gaze seemed to sweep over as well, across the entire street, through a layer of glass, his blindfolded face turned slightly to the side.

Kikawa Sumi paused for half a second, then raised her hand as a greeting.

The other person also raised their hand casually.

Then the ambulance's back door opened, and Susumu Kikkawa was urged by the nurse to be pushed into the building. When he came out again, the coffee shop was empty.

Only two cups remained on the table; one was half-empty, and the other was untouched.

Wednesday, late at night.

After finishing her night shift, Sumi Kichikawa took a long detour to buy oden.

He carefully carried the paper cup out of the convenience store and sat down on the bench by the entrance. The night breeze was cool, so he turned up the collar of his white coat and sipped his soup slowly.

Then he saw a tall, black figure getting out of a car across the street.

His white hair was very noticeable under the streetlights.

Gojo Satoru seemed surprised to see him here; he paused as he got out of the car, one leg still inside.

Kikawa Sumi put down the paper cup and smiled helplessly.

Gojo Satoru smiled across the street.

He didn't come over.

There was a sign hanging on the building behind him, but it was too dark to see clearly. However, Sumi Kichikawa could roughly guess what it was—there were several offices of various organizations nearby.

It's probably work again.

The two, separated by a quiet little street, staged an unrehearsed mime performance on the streets of Tokyo late at night.

Gojo Satoru shrugged, pointed to the building behind him, and mouthed "sorry." Sumirei Kikawa waved, gesturing for him to go inside quickly.

Gojo Satoru turned and went inside.

After finishing the last sip of his oden soup, Sumi Kichikawa stood up and threw the paper cup into the trash can. He glanced at the lit windows in the building, then put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked towards the apartment.

Thursday, dusk.

Sumi Kikawa is picking out eye drops at a drugstore.

He was standing in front of the shelf, comparing the ingredient lists of two brands of eye drops, when he caught a glimpse of the automatic door opening at the entrance.

A tall man walked in, his steps leisurely, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a mobile phone.

Kikawa Sumi didn't look up, but the corners of her mouth were already turned up.

A familiar scent drew near, carrying a cool, clean aroma that seemed to belong to a street in Tokyo.

The man stopped beside him and reached for a box of band-aids on the shelf.

"Ah," that drawn-out, lazy voice rang out, tinged with just the right amount of surprise, "it's you again~"

Only then did Sumire Kawakawa raise her head.

Gojo Satoru stood beside him, tilting his head, a half-smile playing on his lips.

He held a box of band-aids in his hand, and the screen of his phone, which was still lit up between his fingers, displayed a map.

"This is truly a coincidence," said Sumi Kichikawa.

"It was the same the last few times~" Gojo Satoru flipped the band-aid over, glanced at the instructions on the back, and said casually, "I've already checked them."

Sumi Kichikawa blinked: "Investigate what?"

"It's nothing~" Gojo Satoru tossed the band-aid into his shopping basket, then casually grabbed a bag of strawberry daifuku from the shelf next to him. "You can continue picking out your eye drops. By the way, are these for those who stay up all night?"

"……yes."

"Then could you pick one out for me while you're at it?" Gojo Satoru pointed to his eye mask. "I stay up late too."

Kikawa Sumi looked at him, remained silent for two seconds, then bent down and took a box of artificial tears from the shelf, handing it to him.

"This one does not contain preservatives."

"Oh~" Gojo Satoru took it, didn't even look at the instructions, and threw it directly into the shopping basket. "A professional's recommendation is always right."

They walked together to the cashier, lined up, paid, and left the store.

He didn't say much throughout, but Sumi Kichikawa noticed that Satoru Gojo walked very slowly, maintaining a position where he could walk side by side with him at a normal pace.

At the store entrance, Gojo Satoru waved the shopping bag in his hand: "That's settled then~"

"Yes." Sumire Kichikawa nodded.

The two turned around, one to the left and the other to the right.

After taking three steps, Kikawa Sumi turned around.

Gojo Satoru is turning his head.

The two looked at each other from a distance.

Sumi Kichikawa couldn't help but laugh out loud, shaking her head helplessly. Satoru Gojo laughed heartily without any attempt to hide it, his laughter echoing far and wide through the twilight shopping street.

"See you tomorrow~" Gojo Satoru said loudly.

Then he waved and disappeared around the corner.

Kikawa Sumi stood there, looking in that direction, and it took her a while to realize that she should actually walk in the other direction.

Friday, noon.

The station square was bustling with people.

Kikawa Sumi squeezed through the crowd to look at his phone map—he rarely had a day off and wanted to go to a used bookstore that had supposedly been open for decades, but the navigation led him to a place that didn't look quite right no matter how he looked at it.

As he frowned and searched for the address again, someone in the crowd suddenly tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned his head.

His signature white hair gleamed in the midday sun, and he still wore a black eye mask, black clothes, and that familiar slightly upturned corner of his mouth.

The crowd around them surged like a tide, but the two of them were frozen in this small space, like the only two still frames in the world.

Sumi Kichikawa opened her mouth.

Gojo Satoru spoke first, his tone questioning yet tinged with amusement, clearly finding the situation somewhat absurd: "Um, Doctor, are you sure you're not following me?"

Sumi Kichikawa looked at the other person and said slowly, "I actually wanted to ask that too."

The two looked at each other.

Gojo Satoru's smile widened, and a helpless smile appeared in Kisakawa Sumi's eyes.

The surrounding noise seemed to have been suddenly muted, leaving only the sound of the midday wind blowing through the flags hanging in the square in front of the station, the sound of the fabric rubbing together softly and clearly.

Then they all burst out laughing.

"Well," Gojo Satoru stopped laughing, adjusted his eye mask, and his tone returned to its slightly aloof and lazy manner, "Never mind. Since we've already run into each other... Do you have anything to do now?"

"I was originally planning to go to a used bookstore." Sumi Kichikawa waved her phone.

"A bookstore?" Gojo Satoru tilted his head. "What bookstore?"

"An old bookstore, supposedly with a very comprehensive medical section." Sumi Kichikawa glanced at the screen again, "but the navigation seems to have led me astray."

Gojo Satoru leaned closer, glanced at his phone screen, and then straightened up: "That place? I know where it is."

"...You know that?"

"I've been there a few times." Gojo Satoru turned around and pointed in the opposite direction of the crowd. "It's just two blocks away. The road marked on the navigation was turned into a pedestrian street last year, so it's probably still using the old map."

"I see." Sumi Kichikawa put away her phone. "Thank you."

"I'm not really busy either," Gojo Satoru said, putting his hands in his pockets, his back swaying with an unconscious air of aristocratic elegance, turning his head to look at him. "Want to go shopping together?"

Sumire Kikkawa thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay."

The two walked side by side across the midday street, with Gojo Satoru slightly ahead.