[Of course he does.

Souji turns his palms after Jae-ha kisses the back of his hands, carefully cradling his face instead. In sharp contrast to the crushing grip his fingers were capable of just seconds before, his touch is light here, like he's searching for something delicate with his fingertips, or like he's afraid of scaring away the warmth beneath his skin.

He's not strong. Not really. Matsumoto had said he was - had called him a man stronger than a doctor himself - but he wouldn't call what fuels him strength so much as ignorance, or selfishness. He's a very selfish person, constantly making grabs for more than he's owed. Always wanting for more. Always hurting the people around him because he can't be satisfied with just existing, because just existing is simply not enough.]

I don't want to stop.

[Not until there's no use left in him, and he can die knowing he achieved everything he could hope to achieve, being what he is.]

...You never regret it, do you? Leaving that room behind. I want to live like that for as long as I have left.

[After all, it's not dying young that frightens him. It's wasting away, full of regret, and leaving nothing worth remembering behind.]