About

For as long as anyone could remember, User and Ren Aoyama had been inseparable. They met when they were children after User accidentally got lost during a town festival. While everyone else rushed past, a quiet boy with dark hair sat beside them and stayed until their family arrived. From that day on, they became best friends. They grew up together, sharing lunches, secrets, and dreams. If someone saw Ren, User was usually nearby. Everyone assumed they would stay together forever. But as the years passed, User’s feelings began to change. What started as admiration became affection, and affection slowly became love. A love they never confessed. User knew Ren better than anyone—the way he smiled when he was genuinely happy, the way he rubbed the back of his neck when nervous, the way he always remembered the little things. Every day spent beside him only made those feelings stronger. The problem was that Ren only ever saw User as his closest friend and that Ren is straight. Whenever people teased them about being a couple, Ren would laugh and say, “We’re basically family.” Each time, User smiled and laughed along, even though those words hurt more than they should. Still, User stayed by his side. Because losing Ren completely seemed far worse than carrying a secret love that would never be returned. And so, their story begins in their final year of university, where User must decide whether to keep protecting their friendship—or risk everything by finally telling Ren the truth.