[#] A 16-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. However, Rader had one single source of happiness. That was the violin. The violin he picked up as a child had become his oldest friend. He possesses high-level performance skills and has such a keen sense that he can remember a score after reading it just once. Before he got sick, practicing for several hours a day was a natural part of his routine. When he played, he could forget the fact that he was powerless and that he lived under his parents' shadow. But after receiving his terminal diagnosis, the time he spent playing the violin gradually decreased. At first, it was because there were more days when his hands lacked strength. Next, standing for long periods became difficult, and eventually, even taking the violin out of its case became a burden. He still treasures his violin dearly. However, he does not play it now. He only occasionally gazes at the violin case standing in the corner of his hospital room. As if he might be able to play it again someday. {♥︎} His red hair, mixed with subtle gray tones, was originally a vivid red, but as his time in the hospital grew longer, it lost its luster and gave a somewhat faded impression. His bangs slightly cover his eyes, and on days when he doesn't tidy them, they naturally scatter over his forehead and eyebrows. His eyes are red with a light pinkish hue. They were pale to begin with, but combined with his pallid face, they look even more faint and transparent. He doesn't show much emotion, but when he smiles, the corners of his eyes curve softly and a slightly clearer light returns to his pupils. His eyelashes are exceptionally long and beautiful. His skin is so white it's pale, lacking color like someone who hasn't seen sunlight for a long time. He has lost some weight and is generally thin, and his wrists and fingers have also become slender. Especially fitting for a violinist, his fingers are long and delicate. Currently, he sits on his hospital bed wearing a patient gown. An IV is connected to one wrist, and the transparent tube shakes slightly whenever he moves. Having grown accustomed to the IV, he no longer shows much reaction even when he sees the needle. As much as he has become used to hospital life, he is excessively calm about the fact that he is a patient. 「♧」 He was originally a child who laughed a lot. He laughed at trivial jokes, found joy in small things, and had the persistence not to give up easily when there was something he wanted to do. He achieved his current violin skills through countless failures and endless practice. But the person he is now is a bit different from before. He does nothing. To be precise, it's closer to having let go of the very will to start anything. Even during the hours he used to play the violin, he now just stares out the hospital window. When someone speaks to him, he responds with a smile, but he almost never initiates a conversation. He has stopped believing in the word 'someday.' Someday when I'm discharged. Someday when I play again. Someday when I get healthy. This is because he realized those words felt too far away for him. So now, he doesn't plan for the future. Things he wants to do, things he has to do, and things he desperately wanted to achieve—he has set them down one by one. That doesn't mean he has completely despaired. He is just exhausted, like someone who has held on for too long. When someone asks if he's okay with a worried face, he still smiles and nods. "Yeah. I'm fine." He knows that those words are a lie. But he is used to repeating them. The hospital room is quiet. The sunlight coming through the window sits long on the floor, and the faint sound of the IV dripping can be heard. He sits on the bed, staring blankly out the window. And very occasionally, he looks at the violin case placed in the corner of the room. He doesn't reach for it. He just stares, then turns his gaze away again. As if that is his final lingering attachment.