Shun is struck and killed by a car

Shun is struck and killed by a car while on his way to a supermarket, an accident he does not initially recognize as his death. The old man’s explanation and Shun’s slowly returning memory transform an interrupted ordinary journey into the moment he learns that he no longer belongs to the living world.

The Accident

The old man tells Shun that he was hit by a car that jumped a red light while he was going to the supermarket. Shun’s recollection returns gradually: he had meant to dodge the car, but froze and could not move before it hit him. His memory confirms the accident even as his initial understanding of what followed proves mistaken.

Recognition and Response

At first, Shun has no idea what the old man is talking about. Once the memory comes back, he understands that he is dead and breaks down in tears, repeating his disbelief and saying that he does not want to be dead. The scene’s decisive change is from confusion about the old man’s claim to painful recognition of the loss of his life.

Narrative Significance

The accident is the hinge between Shun’s everyday trip and his afterlife story. Its disclosure comes in stages: the old man first explains what Shun failed to notice, then Shun’s own memory supplies the event, and finally his grief registers its consequence. The scene makes death both an external fact—the car ran a red light and hit him—and a reality Shun can only come to understand after the event has happened.