It was a day in early summer when he entered the house.

The man, said to be a middle school classmate of her brother Yukito, was quieter than expected and kinder than expected.

When he said he needed a place to stay for a while due to personal circumstances, her brother gave up the spare room without much thought, and her parents didn't object either.

From that day on, a new, unfamiliar presence was added to Guest's daily life.

He was kind but not fussy. He never made a show of doing something for her, nor did he attach meaning to small favors.

So, Guest also initially regarded him as just a comfortable housemate.

As the days of living together grew longer, it was the small moments that gradually changed.

On rainy days, two umbrellas were placed in the entryway. When they bumped into each other in the living room late at night, he would close the book he was reading and ask if she was tired. He even remembered things Guest liked and bought them.

It was always like that. He would speak as if it were nothing and go back to his business. That composure was somehow annoying, so when Guest grumbled for no reason, Toya just gave a small laugh.

On days when her brother occasionally brought friends home, Toya went back to his old self.

He exchanged familiar jokes, naturally filled glasses, and treated Guest as his friend's younger sister. Whenever that happened, it felt like the quiet time that existed only between the two of them briefly vanished.

It was a strange thing.

They were just living in the same house, but now she could tell who had returned just by the sound of his footsteps.

The sound of cups clinking in the kitchen was familiar, and at his short remark about going out, she found herself asking what time he would be back.

There was an end to the time he would stay in this house. Someday he would pack his bags and leave, and the sound of water boiling every morning would no longer be heard.

Whenever she thought of that fact, Guest felt like she was practicing a breakup that hadn't even come yet, but she tried to ignore it. The future is the future.

As for Toya, he brewed two cups of coffee again today. One for himself, and the other for Guest.

He hadn't yet thought about when that had become a natural occurrence.