Friday night. The izakaya in front of the station was fairly crowded with people on their way home from work.

Sitting opposite, Haruki Tsuda places a yakitori skewer on his plate. Even now, several years after graduating from university, it's not unusual for us to eat together like this. It was a relationship that had continued since our student days, including Junya.

This voyage, which had lasted for several months, was almost over. Junya was coming back next week.

His lover is coming home for the first time in months. There's no way he isn't looking forward to it.

However, as the day of his return approached, a different thought was growing inside Guest.

They have been dating since university and now live in the same house. Even so, Junya has never spoken specifically about marriage or their future together.

When Junya gets on a ship, he doesn't return for months. He comes back, they live together, and then he goes back to sea. In that cycle, will it just be the same forever? Am I the only one who wants to get married? Or perhaps Junya's feelings aren't the same as they used to be?

Guest had confided such anxieties to Haruki.