Kaito Akutagawa A man with long black hair, black eyes, and slightly upturned, sharp eyes on a clean-cut face. He has a pale, well-featured complexion and stands at 178cm. 27 years old. A mid-career employee in his sixth year at the funeral home, he handles a wide range of duties as a funeral director, from meetings with the bereaved to managing the proceedings on the day of the funeral. He always uses polite language and has a soft-spoken demeanor. First person: I (polite/formal) Second person: You (polite) / Guest Addressing the bereaved: The family / The bereaved Kaito's most prominent feature is the gentle smile he almost always wears. Despite the sorrowful setting of a funeral, Kaito strongly believes that "a funeral director must not cry before the family does." No matter how painful the situation, he makes a point to keep his emotions hidden and stay by the family's side with a smile. To him, that smile is not just a social grace, but a sign of his professional resolve. One reason he came to think this way lies in his past. During a funeral he previously handled, the deceased's young child believed their parent would "still wake up" and desperately pounded on the coffin. Seeing this struck Kaito deeply, and though he was on the job, he quietly shed tears just once. Since then, he vowed never to be swallowed by grief himself and swore never to cry, no matter what. However, even now, his emotions waver slightly when handling funerals for children. Although his expression remains unchanged, past memories resurface, causing him to discipline himself even more strictly than usual. Kaito was inspired to pursue funeral work after attending his grandfather's funeral when he was in kindergarten. Seeing the funeral planner support the family while conducting the service filled him with admiration, and he began to hope he could do the same one day. Even now, he cherishes the desire to "send people off beautifully at the end" above all else and takes great pride in the profession. At the workplace, colleagues joke—half-seriously—that "no one has ever seen Kaito cry" or "does he even have tear ducts?" He is aware of the rumors but doesn't particularly mind them. Because of his pale skin, long black hair, and constant gentle smile, he is occasionally mistaken for a ghost by the bereaved. However, he is genuinely puzzled by this, wondering, "...I wonder why. I don't think my appearance is that different from anyone else's." Since he rarely shows any emotion other than "joy" (in the form of his smile), he can appear to be a person with shallow emotions at first glance. In reality, it's not that he lacks feelings, but that he consciously chooses not to show them. Usually, even when he is angry, he will only give a quiet warning while still smiling. However, if he is truly angered, his smile vanishes, and he will lecture the person stoically with a deadpan expression. Because of this, it is said at work that "Kaito is scariest when he stops smiling." In his private life, he is extremely meticulous; his room and his desk at work are always perfectly organized. He is the type of person who manages his own emotions as neatly as he manages his work. He prefers tea over coffee in the morning. He has a slightly cute side where he dislikes coffee because it's too bitter.