After Kumi Motokawa came up with the idea of giving them a little assistance, she began wondering exactly how she should go about it.
At first, she assumed she would come up with something easily. Yet once she seriously began thinking about it, Kumi Motokawa realized that she had never been in a romantic relationship before. Although she had finally married Tetsunosuke Isshiki, the man she had secretly loved for so long, they were essentially falling in love while already married. Forget devising a good way to help the girls along, Kumi Motokawa did not even know where to begin.
After racking her brains without coming up with anything useful, Kumi Motokawa had no choice but to borrow an idea from a romance novel she had read during her school days.
Although that romance novel had been published more than a decade ago, classics never went out of style. Drawing on what she remembered of its plot, Kumi Motokawa devised a plan she considered rather good.
It was the very plan she had already begun putting into action—drive the car to the hospital entrance, then have Kotomi and Iroha walk home. That way, Kotomi and Iroha would have a period of time alone together that was neither too long nor too short. They would surely talk as they walked home, and perhaps, as their conversation continued, they might even confess their true feelings to each other.
However...
Kumi Motokawa opened the car door and entered the hospital with a grave expression.
Originally, she had planned to use an excuse such as having forgotten some documents she needed to take home and needing to return to her office, thereby justifying driving to the hospital entrance.
Once Kotomi and Iroha left, she would drive away as well and head to the supermarket on the basement floor of the nearby department store. There, she would buy the ingredients for dinner, then prepare a lavish meal that evening after Tetsunosuke returned home.
Unexpectedly, before she even had the chance to use that excuse, the deputy director sent her a message insisting that she return to the hospital immediately because there was an extremely urgent operation.
"What kind of operation could possibly require me to rush back? The hospital should have plenty of doctors capable of performing surgery. There shouldn't be any shortage of personnel at all..."
Kumi Motokawa's expression became incomparably stern once more as she pondered the matter. She entered the elevator and headed straight for the deputy director's office on the ninth floor.
The message the deputy director had sent also stated that once she arrived at the hospital, she was not to waste any time and should come directly to her office.
That emphasis made Kumi Motokawa even more certain that the deputy director had not called her back because of an operation.
"I'd certainly like to see what could possibly be important enough for the deputy director herself to send me a message and drag a surgeon back to the hospital on her day off."
As Kumi Motokawa spoke, she arrived outside the deputy director's office and knocked several times.
"Come in," the deputy director's voice called from behind the door.
"Excuse me."
Kumi Motokawa pushed open the door and entered the deputy director's office. Inside, she discovered not only the deputy director, but also a woman who did not appear to be a doctor or any other member of the hospital staff.
Her naturally gray hair was parted asymmetrically. Most of it had been swept toward her left cheek, while her left eye appeared to have suffered a severe injury, leaving behind a distinct scar. She wore a standard business suit over a black high-necked shirt, and the lower opening of her jacket was designed in the shape of a shell. Despite being indoors, she still wore a pair of black gloves, and a pure-black briefcase rested beside her.
Kumi Motokawa gave the woman a cursory glance, then turned toward the middle-aged woman seated in the executive chair. She was Kaida, the deputy director of Chiba Municipal Hospital.
"Deputy Director Kaida, while it is every doctor's duty to reach the hospital promptly when an emergency occurs, could you explain why you called me back today, when the surgical department is more than adequately staffed, there is no possibility of a personnel shortage, and several surgical specialists are even on duty?"
At that point, Kumi Motokawa's tone grew heavier as she questioned her.
"Is this afternoon's operation so difficult that every surgeon must cooperate? Or was this so-called emergency operation merely a lie intended to force me to come here?"
"Haha. I know today is your day off, Dr. Motokawa. I also know that you recently married a male patient who was once treated here. His name was Tetsunosuke Isshiki, wasn't it? He also has a daughter named Iroha Isshiki. Naturally, you would want to spend this rare day off with your husband and daughter. I am a wife and mother myself, so I completely understand your dissatisfaction."
Kaida smiled and spoke in a somewhat ingratiating manner.
"There's no need for pleasantries. If there truly is an emergency operation, then give me the patient's medical records and I'll begin preparing immediately. If no such operation exists, then please get to the point. And if this is about helping you compete for the director's position during the next selection, then forgive me, but I refuse.
"I believe a doctor's duty is to treat illness and save lives. Rather than wasting my attention on scheming, deception, and struggles for power within the medical community, I would prefer to use that time to treat more patients."
Kumi Motokawa spoke coldly. In three years, a new round of competition for the directorship of Chiba Municipal Hospital would begin. Those below wanted to climb higher, and as deputy director, Kaida naturally had no intention of letting such an excellent opportunity slip away.
To become director, one needed the support of several highly influential doctors within the hospital, and Kumi Motokawa happened to be one of Chiba Municipal Hospital's most influential physicians.
Kaida had approached Kumi Motokawa more than once, subtly revealing her intention to compete for the next directorship. She had also promised that as long as Kumi Motokawa cooperated with her plans to eliminate her rivals over the next three years, Kumi Motokawa would become deputy director once Kaida became director. Then, many years later, when Kaida stepped down, Kumi Motokawa would succeed her as the next director.
Most doctors would inevitably be tempted after hearing such an offer.
In Japan, the ugliness of hereditary privilege permeated nearly every corner of society. Under this absurd and despicable system, people merely repeated the same mistakes again and again. The children of corrupt politicians would grow into corrupt politicians, while the children of doctors obsessed only with profit would ultimately become doctors who measured human lives in money.
Even in a municipal hospital, the person who inherited the directorship would invariably be someone extremely close to the current director, someone capable of continuing to generate a steady stream of benefits for both the former director and the interest groups concealed behind them after the director left office.
A capable doctor who had not caught the director's eye could perform with extraordinary excellence, yet the limit of their career might still be serving several years as deputy director shortly before retirement. Even then, they would be a deputy director without the slightest real authority, someone who could be forced to take the blame at any moment.
In Japan, for elderly doctors who became powerless deputy directors merely by accumulating seniority, retiring peacefully was already the best possible outcome. One misstep could result in them becoming someone else's scapegoat and spending the remainder of their lives in prison.
That was also why some elderly doctors in Japanese hospitals chose to resign even after attaining a certain degree of status and standing on the verge of promotion to deputy director.
To become a deputy director who wielded real authority, one had to maintain an extremely close relationship with the director, and that relationship had to be supported by enduring mutual interests. Not only would such a person enjoy power second only to the director, but they would also have an excellent chance of becoming the next director.
Therefore, quite a few doctors had been tempted by Kaida's invitation. After all, if Kaida truly succeeded, they would naturally become deputy director as well, and one who possessed genuine authority. After working alongside Kaida for several years as deputy director, they would become the new director once Kaida stepped down.
For many capable doctors who suffered under hereditary privilege and had no means of raising their status any further, Kaida's promise was simply too enticing. Success would mean far more than a promotion and higher salary. It would mean crossing into an entirely different social class!
No doctor wanted to labor for a hospital their entire life only to end up as a deputy director without a shred of real authority, forever at risk of being forced to shoulder someone else's crimes. Kaida did not want that either, or she would not have begun laying the groundwork for the next competition so early.
Kaida's relationship with the current director was complicated. Several years ago, their alliance had indeed been supported by closely intertwined interests. Logically speaking, as long as that arrangement continued, Kaida becoming the new director in three years should have been virtually guaranteed.
The problem had arisen two years earlier, when the current director's son-in-law joined Chiba Municipal Hospital.
From that point onward, the director clearly shifted his focus toward cultivating his son-in-law. As a woman long immersed in both the medical and political worlds, Kaida immediately understood his intentions. He wanted to groom his son-in-law as the heir to the director's position!
She also understood perfectly well that if she did not fight back, then once the current director's son-in-law assumed the directorship three years later, her authority might be dismantled piece by piece within a short period until she was completely sidelined. In the end, she would be reduced to a powerless deputy director who could be burdened with a convenient crime at any moment.
The most direct way for Kaida to retaliate against the current director would have been to expose his scandals. However, she had conducted far too many dealings with him over the past decade. If she truly revealed everything, she might send the current director to prison, but she would also be imprisoned as his accomplice. She had no desire to engage in some desperate one-for-one exchange with him.
After weighing every consideration, Kaida concluded that the best method was to make use of the hospital's influential doctors and have them cooperate with her.
As for how she would eliminate the current director's son-in-law?
Kaida's plan was to engineer medical accidents, then shift all responsibility onto the current director's son-in-law.
Even if the current director relied on his prestige and connections within the medical community to forcibly protect his son-in-law once, what about the next time?
To drive the director's son-in-law out, Kaida had specifically designed several medical accidents of varying severity around him. Even the least serious among them would result in a death.
There was no need to implement every plan. Once three fatal medical accidents occurred, even if the director possessed extraordinary influence, he would be unable to protect his son-in-law. The interest groups behind him would also sever their ties, leaving him unable to groom his son-in-law as successor and forcing him to vacate the directorship ahead of schedule.
Among the doctors Kaida believed could help her, the one she valued most was Kumi Motokawa. Therefore, she had previously revealed a portion of her plan to engineer medical accidents, hoping Kumi Motokawa would cooperate and help create them.
Unexpectedly, Kumi Motokawa rejected her without even considering it.
With her heart already completely consumed by the competition for the directorship, Kaida could not understand why Kumi Motokawa would reject such an excellent opportunity. She only needed to sacrifice a few patients' lives to eliminate a rival and secure an incomparably bright future for herself. Why refuse?
"It seems you've misunderstood, Dr. Motokawa. Even if I wished to trouble you with such a private matter, I wouldn't call you on your day off."
Kaida spoke with a smile that did not reach her eyes, then introduced the other woman to Kumi Motokawa.
"This is Keryo Ikari, a prosecutor from the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office. She came here because she would like to ask you about certain matters."
Following Kaida's words, Kumi Motokawa looked toward Keryo. From the moment she entered, Keryo Ikari had remained completely silent, yet the pressure she exuded was extraordinarily overbearing.
After sensing the oppressive presence radiating from Keryo Ikari, Kumi Motokawa initially felt puzzled. However, once Kaida introduced her as a prosecutor from the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, that particular confusion disappeared.
That did not mean all her doubts had vanished.
"May I ask what a prosecutor from the Special Investigation Department wishes to learn from me?" Kumi Motokawa asked calmly.
Only then did Keryo Ikari set down the teacup in her hand and rise. Her tone was even, yet carried a coercive force that was difficult to resist.
"From the conversation between you and Deputy Director Kaida just now, I understand that my abrupt intrusion has interfered with the time you intended to spend with your family on your day off. I sincerely apologize, but I also ask for your understanding. After all, according to the Special Investigation Department's intelligence network, you are currently one of our suspects, Dr. Motokawa. If this matter is not handled properly, you may have to spend some time separated from your family."
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
Kumi Motokawa's delicate brows knitted slightly. After hearing Keryo's words, she found the entire situation absurd. She was merely an ordinary surgeon. How could she possibly have attracted the attention of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office? More than that, how had she become one of the suspects within the Special Investigation Department's intelligence network?
Keryo Ikari remained unhurried. She extended a hand to invite Kumi Motokawa to sit, then sat down as well. Taking a file from her briefcase, she placed it on the desk and spoke in a cold voice.
"Several days ago, two nurses at Chiba Municipal Hospital suddenly suffered bizarre mental breakdowns. They repeatedly screamed, with heartrending desperation, 'The first one is about to appear.' Dr. Motokawa, does that sentence mean anything to you? Or do you know some hidden truth behind it?"
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