In the world of Conan, days passed without notice.
One day, at the invitation of the Detective Boys, Rin came to Dr. Agasa's house to help him find a missing wedding invitation for his friend's son.
"Excuse us, Doctor!" Ayumi greeted sweetly.
"Wow! Dr. Agasa's house still has so many interesting inventions!" Mitsuhiko and Genta were attracted by all sorts of strange gadgets as soon as they entered the door.
Conan, on the other hand, had a half-moon eye, expressing helplessness at Dr. Agasa losing something important.
Rin followed behind, curiously surveying Dr. Agasa's house, which was filled with various inventions.
"Ah, you're here, please come in, please come in!"
Dr. Agasa enthusiastically came out to greet them, his round face sporting a kind smile.
"You've really gone to a lot of trouble. I clearly remember putting that invitation in my desk drawer, but I can't find it no matter how hard I look…"
"It's okay, Doctor, many hands make light work!" Ayumi said, full of energy.
"Leave it to us!" Genta patted his chest, assuring him.
Everyone began searching through Dr. Agasa's not-so-tidy room.
Rin also joined in to help. She walked to a bookshelf piled high with old books and miscellaneous items.
"Speaking of which," Rin said, as she searched, looking at Dr. Agasa who was currently directing the children not to touch the precision instruments, "Doctor, I always thought 'Dr. Agasa' was an honorific everyone used for you. I didn't realize your real name actually was 'Dr. Agasa'?"
"Haha, that's right."
Dr. Agasa scratched his bald spot, a little embarrassed.
"My surname is indeed Agasa, and my given name is Hiroshi. And, I also happened to earn a doctorate in engineering, so it's not wrong for everyone to call me 'Hakase,' it's a double meaning!" (T/N: i want to use Professor fully because Hakase if im not wrong is Professor, but ehhh i didnt knew why, i like Doctor more than Professor, its just like more easy to read than Professor)
"Wow! How amazing!" Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta all exclaimed in admiration.
Just then, Haibara Ai, who had been silently searching the drawers beneath the desk, paused her movements.
Her slender fingers pulled out a postcard, its edges already somewhat worn and yellowed, from a pile of old letters and papers.
"Doctor," Haibara Ai's voice rang out. She held up the postcard, "What you're looking for, it wouldn't happen to be this, would it? But… this doesn't look like a wedding invitation."
Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to it.
On the front of the postcard, an exotic street scene was printed.
But what truly caught their attention was a small, yellowed old photograph, clearly quite old, pasted in the blank space of the postcard.
The photo showed two children, who looked to be only seven or eight years old, standing side by side, smiling brightly.
One was a clearly younger Dr. Agasa, with much thicker hair at the time, his round face bearing a simple and honest smile.
The other was a cute little girl with beautiful blonde hair, like a doll.
The little Doctor and the little girl in the photo held hands, appearing very close.
"Wow! It's Dr. Agasa when he was little!" Ayumi was the first to rush over to look, exclaiming in surprise.
"Who's that blonde girl next to him? She's so cute!" Mitsuhiko also asked curiously.
"They look like they have a really good relationship!" Genta pointed at their clasped hands in the photo.
The moment Dr. Agasa saw that postcard, he froze.
His cheeks rapidly flushed, visibly, and even the tips of his ears turned red.
He hurried over in a few steps, almost snatching the postcard from Haibara Ai's hand. He held it carefully, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Do-Doctor?" Conan looked at Dr. Agasa's reaction, feeling very surprised.
"Ah… this… I…"
Dr. Agasa was a bit flustered, stammering for a long time. Looking at the children's curious gazes, he finally sighed softly, as if resigned.
"Her name is Fusae Campbell Kinoshita… she was my classmate in elementary school, and also… she was the first person I ever liked."
Rin looked at Dr. Agasa's embarrassed expression, like a teenager experiencing his first love, and showed a 'gossiply' expression.
She blinked, teasing, "Doctor, you've been single until now. Could it be that you've never forgotten this elementary school first love of yours?"
The room instantly fell silent. Even the most boisterous Genta held his breath, curiously looking at Dr. Agasa.
Dr. Agasa didn't deny it, his gaze gently falling on the face of the blonde little girl in the photo, lost in memories:
"Fusae was very afraid of dogs. Every time we passed that house on the way to school, and when she saw the big dog in the fence barking at her, she would be too scared to move forward.
At that time, I would stand in front of her, shielding her behind me…" A gentle smile appeared on Dr. Agasa's face.
"Also, because Fusae was biracial and had naturally blonde hair, in that era, she was often ridiculed and bullied by some insensitive children."
Dr. Agasa's tone became a little lower, "Whenever that happened, I would also stand up and protect her. Although, I myself was also laughed at for being a little chubby."
He gave an embarrassed laugh.
"What happened then?" Ayumi asked curiously, her big eyes full of anticipation for the rest of the story.
"Later…"
Dr. Agasa's eyes dimmed, his fingers gently caressing the postcard.
"Later, Fusae's family had to move abroad… Before she left, she had someone give me this postcard."
Dr. Agasa flipped the postcard over, revealing the back.
On the yellowed paper, in delicate handwriting, it read:
November 24th, let's meet at a place full of memories.
If we don't meet, I will wait another ten years. Even if I become an old woman, I will keep waiting.
— Fusae Campbell Kinoshita
Below the signature, there was another line of slightly messy numbers written in a different ink: 41633360
"This string of numbers was the code she left for me, and also the agreed-upon location."
Dr. Agasa's voice was filled with regret.
"She said, as long as I deciphered this code, I would be able to find her on November 24th, at the place full of memories… If we didn't meet that day, she would wait another ten years…"
Dr. Agasa sighed deeply, his gaze directed out the window. "Today is November 24th of the fourth decade…"
"Ah?!" The children all gasped.
"So, Doctor, have you deciphered the code?" Mitsuhiko asked eagerly.
"Quickly tell us where the place full of memories is! We'll help you find her!" Genta waved his fists.
"Doctor! You have to think!" Ayumi also urged anxiously.
Dr. Agasa smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"For the first decade, I guessed the place of memories was the street corner where we first met. I waited there all day, but I didn't see her…"
"For the second decade, I thought maybe it was Fusae's old doorstep. I went and waited another day, but still didn't see her…"
"The third decade…"
Dr. Agasa's voice trailed off, his tone filled with remorse.
"I gave up. I felt like I would probably never decipher that code… That day… I just slept at home all day."
"What about today, Doctor?!" Conan couldn't help but press, looking at the numbers on the postcard, his brain working rapidly, "Do you have any clues about this number code from all these years?"
Dr. Agasa shook his head again, his eyes lost in thought:
"This string of numbers… I've thought of many possibilities: a date? a house number? a password? But none of them matched the important places from our childhood… Now too much time has passed, and some memories are also blurry…"
Silence fell over the room again.
The children looked at Dr. Agasa's dejected appearance, all feeling a bit sad.
Rin picked up the yellowed postcard, looking at the forty-year-old handwriting on it, "Even if I become an old woman, I will keep waiting," and felt a pang of sadness in her heart.