Smoke

Tar

"Ouma-san, I'm sorry to tell you this, but your child is permanently blind."

"What?"

The doctor looked at him with sorrow in her eyes.

"Your child is permanently blind." She repeated. "Have you had any history of smoking or alcohol problems..? Any medical issues..?"

"Nope." Kokichi lied.

"Your um..." The doctor looked uncomfortable. "Ex... Fiancé...? He said that you've had a history of smoking."

"Well, he's a liar."

An awkward silence filled the room.

"Well, okay. We'd also like to let you know that you should already be discharged from the hospital by next week."

Kokichi pouted slightly.

Two days later, some nurses went to check in on Kokichi and the child.

Kokichi was dead.

The nurses were shocked.

"How did he die?! He was fine two days ago-"

"He was fine yesterday!"

"We need to get some tests run."

A few hours had passed, and the test results came in. He had emphysema and did not know it, which caused heart failure, and ultimately, his death.

A nurse walked in when no one was around and cut open his chest with a scalpel. She took his lungs and studied them. They were full of tar.

It looks like he had lied after all.