Dead Hours Inkroost
Dead Hours
Stuck · Ch.73
Right to left
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This series reads right to left — start each page from the top-right panel.
In a brightly lit convenience store at 2:47 a.m., Kaito stands at the register beneath a repeating chime, while Rin looks up toward the ceiling speaker and Kaito says it has been stuck since midnight.
Kaito mops the convenience-store floor while thinking, then talks with Rin, who holds an earbud; he later clutches his head as Rin tells him he is humming.
Kaito, wearing a striped apron, carries a stepladder and pokes a ceiling speaker with a long pole while Rin watches from the counter, and music notes appear around him.
Kaito holds a telephone receiver to his ear at the store counter while Rin stands beside him and tells him to hold the music.
Rin holds up her phone in a store aisle while Kaito sings among floating musical notes and conducts with a push broom, and she films him.
A dark-haired clerk in a striped apron looks up at an overhead speaker while another clerk stands among the store aisles holding a long pole toward the ceiling.
Kaito paces through the quiet store, shouts at Rin as she looks at him, and then they watch an older man carrying a crate enter while dawn light shows outside.
Kaito, Rin, and a capped older man are in a shop as the man sets a crate on the counter and the three stand together beneath drifting musical notes.
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In a brightly lit convenience store at 2:47 a.m., Kaito stands at the register beneath a repeating chime, while Rin looks up toward the ceiling speaker and Kaito says it has been stuck since midnight.
Kaito mops the convenience-store floor while thinking, then talks with Rin, who holds an earbud; he later clutches his head as Rin tells him he is humming.
Kaito, wearing a striped apron, carries a stepladder and pokes a ceiling speaker with a long pole while Rin watches from the counter, and music notes appear around him.
Kaito holds a telephone receiver to his ear at the store counter while Rin stands beside him and tells him to hold the music.
Rin holds up her phone in a store aisle while Kaito sings among floating musical notes and conducts with a push broom, and she films him.
A dark-haired clerk in a striped apron looks up at an overhead speaker while another clerk stands among the store aisles holding a long pole toward the ceiling.
Kaito paces through the quiet store, shouts at Rin as she looks at him, and then they watch an older man carrying a crate enter while dawn light shows outside.
Kaito, Rin, and a capped older man are in a shop as the man sets a crate on the counter and the three stand together beneath drifting musical notes.

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← Motion Sensor · Ch.72
Text Version A written companion to this chapter — for accessibility, screen readers, and search.

At 2:47 A.M. the shop's ceiling speaker gets stuck looping the same four-note jingle, and Kaito's attempts to stop it (a ladder, a broom, head office's hold music) only make it worse until he is conducting it. At 4:58 it cuts out mid-note and the silence is unbearable. At dawn Tetsu walks in humming it, and all three finish the shift humming together.

Page 1

The store is brightly lit at night, with shelves and refrigerators stocked with goods and dark windows along one side; Kaito stands behind the counter while another person sits on a stool. Musical notes appear beneath the ceiling speaker. Caption: “Read from right to left.” Time: “2:47 A.M.” Right middle: Kaito stands at the register as musical notes accompany the chime. Sound: “♪ DING DONG DIDDLY DING ♪” Left middle: Kaito appears in the same pose as the chime repeats. Sound: “♪ DING DONG DIDDLY DING ♪” Bottom right: Rin, wearing an earbud, looks toward the ceiling speaker. Rin: “It’s stuck.” Bottom left: Close-up of Kaito’s tired eye. Kaito: “Since midnight.”

Page 2

Kaito (thought): “Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.” ♪ ♪ ♪ Kaito: “You had earbuds this whole time?” Rin: “Can’t hear a thing.” Kaito: “It’s INSIDE ME.” ♪ Rin: “You’re humming it.”

Page 3

In a convenience store, Kaito carries a stepladder. He says, “Right.” He stands on the ladder and pokes a ceiling speaker with a long pole. The sound effect reads, “POKE.” Later, music notes float around Kaito as he holds the pole. The musical text reads, “♪ diiing... dooong... diddly... diiiing... ♪” Rin watches with her chin resting on her hand and says, “You made it sad.”

Page 4

Kaito: “I’m calling head office.” Telephone display: “Please hold.” ♪ DING DONG DIDDLY DING ♪ Rin: “Hold music.”

Page 5

In a store aisle, Rin holds up her phone while Kaito sings and gestures with a push broom as musical notes appear around him. Rin: “Fight noise with noise.” Kaito: “LA LA LA LA LA!” Kaito: “La la... DIDDLY DING...” Kaito: “♪ DING DONG DIDDLY DIIING! ♪” Rin: “Filming this. No respect left.”

Page 6

The overhead speaker plays: “♪ DING DONG DID-” Time: “4:58 A.M.” Kaito: “…It stopped.”

Page 7

Inside the store, Kaito paces in front of the refrigerators. Kaito: “It’s too quiet.” Rin faces Kaito across the counter. Rin: “You hated it.” Kaito points forward and shouts, “I KNOW what I hated!” An older man in a cap carries a crate through the entrance, humming: “♪ Hm hm hmm-hm... ♪” Outside, a van is parked at the curb beside the store. Caption: “Dawn.”

Page 8

In the shop, a capped older man sets a crate on the counter while Kaito looks at him. The man replies as musical notes appear. Later, Rin, the man, and Kaito stand together behind the counter, with more musical notes above them; Rin holds up a phone. Older man: “Catchy, isn’t it.” Kaito: “You can hear it from the road?” Rin: “Keeping that one.” Kaito: “…DING.” Older man: “Every night. Twelve years.” Name tags read “RIN” and “KAITO.”