Haruna smiled softly, a slight shrug of her shoulders. “I guess so. But life isn’t always fair, right? Sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got.”

Her words hit me harder than I expected. The idea of adapting, of just accepting things as they were—it was something I hadn’t fully grasped yet. For me, everything was about survival, about fighting the system, pushing back against the circumstances I’d been thrown into. But here she was, talking about finding peace in something I couldn’t imagine living with.

“Do you ever think about the surgery?” I asked. “The transplant, I mean.”

Haruna’s smile faded slightly, and she turned her head toward the window, even though I knew she couldn’t see out of it. “Sometimes. But it’s complicated. The waiting list is long, and my case isn’t exactly an emergency. Besides… I’ve learned to navigate the world like this. It’s not so bad.”

“But don’t you want to see again?” I asked, my voice quieter this time. 

She paused, her expression thoughtful. “Of course I do. But I don’t focus on what I’ve lost. I focus on what I can still do.”

Her words sank in, and I found myself feeling strangely humbled. She was handling something so massive with such calmness, and here I was, barely keeping it together with my own problems. I scratched the back of my head, feeling awkward again.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “Didn’t mean to get so personal.”

Haruna shook her head gently, the soft smile returning to her lips. “It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about it. In fact… I’m glad someone asked.”

I lay there for a moment longer, the weight of everything swirling in my head. I couldn’t help but feel a strange respect for her—not just because of how she dealt with her blindness, but because of how she accepted it. How she carried it like it was just another part of her, not something that defined her.

“Thanks for telling me,” I said quietly. “I… I guess I needed to hear that.”

Haruna turned toward me again, her calm expression never faltering. “We all have things to deal with, right? You’re no different.”

Her words echoed in my mind, and I felt a strange sense of clarity in that moment. Maybe she was right. Maybe we were all just trying to navigate through the mess of life, each in our own way.

Just as I started to relax, the door to the nurse’s office flew open.

“Boss!”

I jolted up, my eyes snapping open to see Subaru crashing into the room like a tornado. His voice echoed loudly, instantly breaking the calm.

Haruna looked up, startled by the noise. She couldn't see who was coming in, but she was definitely caught off guard by the sudden interruption.

“Boss!” Subaru skidded to a stop beside the bed, panting, completely oblivious to the atmosphere. “I heard you weren’t feeling well! I came straight here!”

I blinked, trying to make sense of what was happening. How the hell did he even know where I was? I motioned for him to tone it down, but as usual, Subaru missed the memo.

“I’m fine,” I muttered through clenched teeth, throwing a quick glance at Haruna, who was now fully paying attention, though she didn’t say anything. She had that polite, confused look that told me she was trying to piece together what was going on.

“Are you sure, Boss? You don’t look great—wait, lemme check.” Subaru leaned over, ready to fuss over me like a mother hen, which was about the last thing I needed. I slapped his hand away, feeling my face heat up in embarrassment. “I said I’m fine!”

Completely unfazed, Subaru finally seemed to notice Haruna standing near the counter. He blinked, processing the situation. “Wait… Oh! You’re Haruna, right?” His voice was too loud, his enthusiasm too much.

I gritted my teeth. “Subaru,” I warned, trying to signal to him to stop and leave, but of course, that flew right over his head.

“Oh, right, Boss,” Subaru said, suddenly remembering why he was here. He leaned down, practically whispering but loud enough that anyone could hear, "I found a way to double our money.”

At this point, I’d had enough. I grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him toward the door. “Subaru, let’s go,” I hissed, pushing him out before he could make the situation worse.

Haruna stayed quiet, her head slightly tilted as she listened to the chaos unfolding around her. A faint smile played on her lips, as if she found the entire situation mildly entertaining.

Once we were out in the hallway, I shoved Subaru lightly forward, watching him stumble a little. He turned around, looking sheepish. “What?” he asked, as if he hadn’t just embarrassed me in front of someone who didn’t need to witness that chaos.

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Why are you here?” I muttered, glancing back at the door to make sure Haruna hadn’t overheard everything.

“Boss, I was worried about you,” Subaru said, his tone dead serious. “I also found a way to double our money.”

I sighed, rubbing the back of my head, not even processing what he was saying. “You really need to learn when to back off. I’m fine. Next time, just… don’t come crashing in like that.”

Subaru’s eyes widened. “But Boss, I couldn’t just—”

I raised a hand to stop him. “Enough Now go.”

Subaru stared at me, clearly wanting to argue, but finally understanding that I wasn’t in the mood. “Okay, okay,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender. “But I’ll be back, Boss. You know I’ve got your—”

I froze mid-step, his words finally registering. “Wait... you did what?”