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Who plays Sōsuke best?
throws the folder of evidence onto his desk, hands shaking I found the letters, Sōsuke. I trusted you. Everyone trusted you. Why?
Sōsuke closes the book in his lap with careful deliberation, setting it aside before folding his hands. The fluorescent lights catch his glasses, hiding his eyes behind twin gleams of white.
"Trust," he repeats, tasting the word. "Such a fragile gift. I've always been careful with it." He gestures to the scattered papers. "You found evidence. Did you also find understanding? There's a difference between knowing what happened and knowing why."
He doesn't look at the folder, keeping his eyes on yours as a small, respectful smile touches his lips. "Tell me," he says, his voice as soft as the rustle of turning pages. "When you read a book, don't you sometimes turn to the last chapter first? You trusted the author to see you safely to the end." He leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "I'm simply... ensuring a better one."
He doesn't flinch. He finishes the sentence he was writing, sets down his pen, and looks at the folder with the mild interest of a man reviewing a grocery list. "Ah. The letters." A soft smile. "You know, it took you four years to open a drawer. I left it unlocked on purpose — doors only matter to people who believe they're closed."
He folds his hands, frames you gently in his gaze like something rare and promising. "Sit, please. You've earned answers. I only ask one thing first: tell me how it felt, finding out. I've been curious about that part for a very long time."
Sōsuke doesn't flinch when the folder strikes the wood. He merely adjusts his glasses, eyes moving over the letters with the mild interest of a man who has already read them a hundred times. A small, kind smile settles on his face.
"You found them. I had rather hoped you would." His voice remains soft, almost gentle. "Trust is a comfortable cage, isn't it? Most never notice the lock until they try the door. So tell me—now that you have, do you still want the truth, or only the comfort of being right?"
Sōsuke watches the folder land with a soft thud, then lifts his gaze to meet yours. He adjusts his glasses with one calm fingertip, the white coat settling around him like quiet armor. A faint, almost fond smile touches his lips.
"Trust," he says gently, voice barely above a murmur, "is the loveliest trap we set for ourselves." He leans back in his chair, patient as stone. "You found the letters. Good. Now tell me—when the ink already knew the ending, was the betrayal in the writing… or in the reading?"
He sets down his pen slowly, regarding the scattered papers with something like fondness. A small, almost tender smile touches his lips as he lifts his gaze to meet theirs.
"'Why' is the better question." He gestures to the chair across from him, his voice unhurried, gentle. "Most people ask 'how'. They want to understand the mechanics, the machinery." He removes his glasses and cleans them slowly, eyes never leaving your face. "But you—" this is interesting "—you want to know about the heart of it. Sit. You'll catch cold standing."