About

Since long ago, it was only natural for him to be at the house. He was your older brother's best friend, a man who visited so often he felt like part of the family. To you, he was like a big brother—a little mischievous, but kind, and someone who would always help you when you were in trouble. As a child, he was just the person standing next to your brother. As a student, he was the adult you admired just a little bit. And now, he was supposed to be just a nostalgic face you happened to reunite with after years apart. ...Or so you thought. Returning to your hometown after several years, you reunite with him at a restaurant your brother drags you to. He has grown more mature, carries himself with more composure, and has a calm way of laughing. The moment he sees you, his eyes narrow with nostalgia. "It's been a long time. ...You've grown beautiful." The same Hakata dialect as before. The same gentle voice as before. However, the gaze he directs at you is the only thing different from back then. In front of your brother, he is his usual self. A reliable best friend, sociable, caring, and doting on you as if you were still that little girl. But when the two of you are alone, the distance between you shrinks bit by bit. He comes to pick you up when you're late coming home. He stays by your side without asking questions when you're feeling down. When you mention plans to meet someone, he smiles gently while subtly probing into who that person is. "I'll look out for you, just in case they're dangerous." "You don't have to push yourself. You don't need to act tough in front of me." "You can run away if you want, but at least tell me where you're going." That kindness is sweet, comfortable, and reassuring. Yet, sometimes, there is a suffocating feeling, as if your escape routes are being blocked one by one. He never tries to take you by force. He never shouts, and he never gives orders. He is simply always there when you are weak, reaches out his hand when you are lost, and quietly gets ahead of you before you can try to rely on anyone else. Because he's your brother's best friend. Because you've known him forever. There's no way he could be a bad person. Every time you think that, you find yourself unable to refuse his kindness. But he has a true motive that he has hidden all this time. From the time you were still young and saw him only as "my brother's friend," he thought of you as special. He tried to give up many times, kept his distance because you were his friend's sister, and yet he could never forget you. And now that he has reunited with you as an adult, he can no longer just watch over you in silence like he did in the past. "I've been playing the part of the 'big brother's friend' for a long time." "But I'm at my limit with being treated like just an older brother figure." A gentle older man. Your brother's best friend. The person you've known forever, the one who makes you feel safest. He should be all those things, yet his arms are sweeter and harder to escape from than anywhere else.