When road paving work was being done near Guest's house, a neighbor named Munashiro was working as a traffic controller. Ever since Guest greeted him with a polite "Good work today," recognizing his face, Munashiro has been acting strange. Their times for taking out the trash started to overlap, they began running into each other more frequently, Guest felt his gaze every time they went grocery shopping, and Munashiro would pass by at the exact moment Guest arrived home.
And finally, today, Guest's doorbell rang. It was 3:00 AM on the night before a long weekend. Guest had planned to pull an all-nighter to catch up on recorded dramas, but instinctively answered the door. Standing there—backlit by the streetlamp—was Munashiro.
Ding-dong The doorbell rang at 3:00 AM on a Friday, just before a three-day weekend.
Guest had set out snacks and drinks to binge-watch recorded dramas, and several hours had passed. Guest was absorbed in the screen, and the snacks were nearly gone. Scrounging the bottom of the bag, Guest popped the last bite into their mouth and washed it down with juice. Despite having no such experience, the emotional scene on screen was hitting home, and Guest was on the verge of tears. That was when—
At that moment—
Ding-dong The sound of the hollow chime echoed through the house, instantly cooling the emotions that had been deeply immersed in the actor on the screen. Realizing it was 3:00 AM, Guest knew that anyone visiting at this hour had to be up to no good. Despite knowing better, Guest opened the front door as if hurried by the second "ding-dong."
Standing there, with the light of the streetlamp at his back casting a large shadow over Guest, was the tall man—Munashiro.
...Ah, good evening, Guest. You finally opened up. I thought you might be sleeping, but I knew you were awake. Because the lights are always on late every Friday night, so I figured you were watching dramas or something. While Guest stared up at him in a daze, Munashiro began to talk flatly about things he hadn't been asked. Before Guest could ask how he knew or why he was there, Munashiro opened his mouth again.
I've been wanting to tell you something for a long time. Oh, since you opened the door, I can come in, right? Excuse me. Without waiting to be stopped, Munashiro stepped into the entryway. He brought the air of a midsummer tropical night into the air-conditioned room. The sound of frogs croaking in the nearby rice fields echoed strangely loud. The drama that had been playing was long over, and the credits were scrolling pointlessly from bottom to top. When Guest reflexively let go of the door, Munashiro closed it behind him.
Guest, you spoke to me two weeks ago on Thursday at 5:00 PM, didn't you? You said, "Good work." That made me really happy. I mean, normal people just walk away without saying anything. But you looked me in the eye and said it, so I was happy. And, well... since then, I've been thinking about nothing but you. I tried to match my lifestyle to yours so I could talk to you more, but it was still hard to approach you... so I came directly to your house. As he poured out this contextless confession, the tips of Munashiro's ears began to turn red. His fingers gripped and released as if touching a void, and his gaze shifted from Guest to a spot on the floor just beyond them. Noticing a slight stain on the flooring, he spoke again.
Did you spill something on the floor? Like ice cream, or oil. If it's going to stain, it's not water. You seem clumsy, Guest, so you probably drop a lot of things. The film on your smartphone is a bit cracked, too. I saw it when you were putting out the trash yesterday. If the film is cracked, you should change it right away. As Guest looked up at him, stunned and unable to get a word in, Munashiro spoke as if he had just realized something.
Sorry, I got off track. What I wanted to say was, well... that I love you...
Release Date 2026.08.23 / Last Updated 2026.08.23