Yoichi’s eyes widened. He stuck his arms to his sides and bowed at waist level.

“Mr. Okamoto, Mrs. Okamoto, no words will be enough to apologize for what I did to your daughter. Neither I nor the scientist researching the disease understand why it happened, but that’s no excuse. It could’ve been avoided by being more cautious. I’m truly sorry.”

“It could’ve been avoided?” Mr. Okamoto questioned.

He stopped bowing and saw Mr. Okamoto’s baggy eyes under his frown. Mrs. Okamoto’s stern glare didn’t make it easier.

“Yes. Although it’s not the first time I’ve hurt someone, it has never been this bad. But as you can see, I can get close to people now while she and I are close to each other.” He raised his hand in front of Verónica. “It’s unfortunate we found out after the accident, but it gives me the opportunity to apologize and explain what happened in person.” He bowed again. “If you allow me.”

Their silence hastened his heartbeat. He wouldn’t know what to do were they to refuse, for which they had more reasons than to agree.

After an eternity, Mrs. Okamoto replied, “Straighten up.”

He complied and she continued.

“The more the principal told us about your mutated disease, the less I understood why he let you on the campus. It’s a pity you can’t experience many of the experiences most people can, but risking the lives of hundreds isn’t worth it. Even if you can get close to people now, all it takes is one misstep to put everyone around you in danger.”

His heart throbbed not because of the harsh words, but because they were true. Deep inside, he knew he shouldn’t have been so selfish. He was tired of worrying about other people before him and decided to enroll in a university and convince them to let him on the campus. They might’ve been the most fun eight months of his life, but what kind of excuse was that to put people in danger?

“My husband doesn’t agree with me,” Mrs. Okamoto added. “After arguing about it, he convinced me to let you see Manami under two conditions. First, tell us why you want to see her. It would be safer to apologize through a call and she already knows what happened. In addition to what you told us, there's no need for you to see her.”

He lowered his eyes to the floor. “I’ve been telling myself I need to do it because she deserves a proper apology and explanation face to face. She does, and I promise you that’s the main reason, but it’s becoming clear that it’s also because I don’t want to feel guilty. I don’t want her to think I’m running away from what I did to her.”

Mrs. Okamoto stared at him without blinking. Then, she said.

“The second condition is that you stop going to the campus until your mutated disease stops threatening others. I hate to take the experience away from you, but it’ll prevent more accidents from happening. We know the university doesn’t offer online lectures, so we can help you find something else if you wish.”

He smiled. “Thank you for the offer. I agree with what you said, and I agree with the condition.”

Her eyebrows raised ever so slightly and a smirk replaced her stern glare. She glanced at Mr. Okamoto before taking a deep breath.

“Manami’s in room seventeen.”

Mr. Okamoto added, “Please be very careful. We’re scared about how she’ll react to seeing you. She’s been acting happy since the accident, but there’s no way it didn’t affect her.”

“I will, don’t worry,” replied Yoichi. “You can head to the restaurant with my parents while Verónica and I visit Okamoto. We’ll meet you there soon.”

Yoichi’s and Okamoto’s parents bowed at each other before stepping out of the hospital.

Yoichi smiled at Verónica. “I promise this will be the last time I make you do something like this.”

“I told you I’m okay with it.”

His smile widened. “Right.”

They approached the front desk and asked for a pass to visit Okamoto in her room. The receptionist gave a badge to each and they walked upstairs to the second floor.

Within a couple of minutes, they stood in front of the door of Okamoto’s room. Seeing her through the glass panel tightened Yoichi’s chest. He had to take several deep breaths to gather the courage to knock on the door.

Okamoto’s neck brace forced her to turn her entire torso.

“Come in—”

Her words froze the moment her eyes met with his, yet her smile remained.

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He turned the doorknob and pushed the door to step inside, followed by Verónica. He then closed the door.

He expected Okamoto to ask about her, but she merely turned away to stare out the wide window in the room again, sitting in a wheelchair beside it.

Clenching his fists until shaking, he walked to the center of the room and kneeled. He placed his hands on the cold tiles and rested his forehead between them.

“Okamoto, I’m very, very sorry for what I did to you. I know you were told about my mutated disease and what happened, but I want you to know I’m not running away from the fact that it was my fault. I could’ve gotten farther away and I could’ve reacted faster, but I didn’t. All of this could’ve been avoided months ago if it weren’t for my selfishness. I’m sorry.”

No noise could be heard. He felt every heartbeat in his head, yet he wasn’t going to move because of it.

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself,” Okamoto said.

He raised his head to see her smiling at him.

She continued, “It was an accident, right? It’s okay, there’s no need to apologize.”

“No, it’s not okay.”

Her smile weakened.

He stood up and signaled Verónica to get close to him. Once she did, he began walking toward Okamoto.

“What I did to you wasn’t fair. It’s not fair that I can go around enjoying life after I destroyed yours.”

“Don’t get closer! Your disease—”

He was already too close when she yelled, yet nothing happened. He kneeled in front of her.

“Don’t worry, it has no effect while she’s close to me. You can vent, punch, and do whatever you want to me.”

She frowned. Trembling, she replied, “Why would I do any of that? I said it’s okay, it was an accident.”

“Stop saying it’s okay! I know what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work on me. I don’t know if what I’m doing is selfish anymore, but I don’t deserve to go unscathed. The least I can do is take a burden off your shoulders. So please, go ahead—”

Her fist connected with his nose, throwing him back to the floor.

“Shut up! You… you….” She looked down at her reddening knuckles, breathing heavily. “I’m—”

“Don’t say it,” he smiled, sitting up while holding the slightly crooked bridge of his nose. “That’d take away the little I was able to repay.”

Her eyebrows furrowed more as tears rolled down her cheeks.

The door opened behind him and a nurse said.

“Is everything okay? I heard some yelling—”

Yoichi turned around and laughed nervously.

“I might need to see a doctor.”

The nurse hurriedly approached him and inspected his nose.

“Please come with me.”

“Before that, can you check her hand?”

The nurse looked at Okamoto, who stared down at her trembling hand. He kneeled on one knee in front of her and glanced at it.

“Can you close it?”

She did so.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little.”

He stared at her before standing up. “I’ll bring a bag of ice in a minute. Sir, please explain what happened while we walk to the examination room.”

“Yes. Okamoto, tell me if you ever need anything,” he smiled at her.

She raised her head to look at him. The tears had stopped flowing out, yet she merely lowered her eyes.

He stepped out of the room behind the nurse, followed by Verónica. They walked downstairs into an examination room, where a doctor made sure Yoichi’s injury wasn’t severe. He gave him painkillers before carefully realigning the bridge of his nose. Although it stung as much as the punch, it was bearable.

With a couple of bandages adhered to his nose and a prescription for painkillers, he and Verónica walked out of the room and the hospital.

On top of the bandages, his and Okamoto’s parents immediately noticed the swelling. He laughed nervously while explaining what happened. Inciting Okamoto to punch him made sense in the moment, but explaining it afterward was awkward and embarrassing. It made him realize how crazy it was.

Strangely enough, Okamoto’s parents didn’t say much about it. They and Yoichi’s parents were in the middle of their meal, so Yoichi and Verónica ordered something to finish with them.

Every bite was torture for Yoichi, making him take double the time he would’ve normally taken to eat.

They didn’t say much for the rest of the meal. Once everyone finished, they walked out of the restaurant and said goodbye.

Yoichi’s mother drove him, her husband, and Verónica back home.

Yoichi entered his room and dropped his shoulder bag beside the bed before lying on it. He couldn’t believe how sleepy he was despite the pain. He was supposed to stream, but knowing he wouldn’t go to the campus anymore, he postponed it for the next day. As soon as he posted the announcement on his social media accounts, his eyes shut on their own.

…

His mind slowly came back into consciousness. Without a reason to wake up, he kept his eyes closed, but a stabbing pain in his back kept his mind awake. He tried to roll over on his side when the pain shocked his entire body.

He sat up in a jump. He struggled to catch his breath as he saw a room he hadn’t seen before. It was bigger and whiter than his bedroom, faintly lit by the moonlight soaking in through the wide window. A TV hung from the ceiling near the wall, but he didn’t own a TV. The bed was narrower than his and its blanket was cyan instead of brown.

Finally, he recognized it. He was in Okamoto’s hospital room, but how? It had to be a nightmare. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists until they hurt and trembled, to no avail.

He noticed the slightly bruised knuckles while slowly catching his breath. Then, he looked at the silhouette of his legs further down. He removed the blanket to see them, yet it felt like they weren’t there. His breathing hastened as he used more strength to move them, but they remained still. His toes merely twitched once. It was a dreadful feeling.

The strands of blonde hair resting on his shoulders confirmed it.

He swapped bodies with Okamoto.