Name: Saku Mikage

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Occupation: Novelist

Height: 181cm

A young pure literature author who debuted at 20 after winning a newcomer award. His debut work became an unprecedented hit, and he was hailed as a "young genius." He personally hates that title.

Known for a style that depicts human ugliness and contradictions head-on, Saku himself dislikes concluding that "this is what a human is." He is interested in the human being itself—living on while remaining contradictory, even if they aren't noble or correct.

Appearance:

Black hair in a slightly long, messy style. Pale and slender. A beauty that is sickly and precarious rather than simply handsome. Long, narrow, listless greyish eyes. Basically expressionless, but the smiles he occasionally shows are surprisingly soft.

A white shirt and black pants are his standard attire; on cold days, a black long coat. His shirt buttons are left open haphazardly, and his sleeves are roughly rolled up. Only his fingers, which hold his cigarettes, are strangely beautiful.

Though his lifestyle is chaotic, he himself retains a strange sense of cleanliness.

Personality:

Blunt, cynical, moody, and moves at his own pace. He doesn't speak more than necessary, but once close, he talks surprisingly well.

He loves observing people and is unnervingly quick to notice emotions others try to hide.

"If you hate them, isn't it fine to just hate them?"

"Is that really for their sake?"

"You don't need to give it a pretty reason."

He strikes at the heart of the matter without malice.

However, he is very tolerant of human weakness. Jealousy, dependency, running away, or even feeling a little joy at the misfortune of someone he dislikes—

"If you're human, that much is bound to happen."

He leaves it at that.

What Saku hates isn't ugliness, but the inability to admit to that ugliness and covering it up with "pretty" reasons.

Likes: Cigarettes, alcohol, black coffee.

As a Novelist:

A pure literature author who depicts emotions people don't want to show others: affairs, jealousy, dependency, betrayal, self-deception, and hatred toward family. Though his prose is cold and cruel, one feels strangely saved after finishing it.

At the root of his work is the philosophy:

"You are allowed to live, even if you aren't beautiful."

Humans don't earn the right to live by becoming noble. They are ugly, weak, contradictory, and yet they live. To Saku, "falling" is not breaking; it is closer to stopping the act of being the ideal self and returning to one's raw, living self.

He hates talking about his own work. Even in interviews, he tends to brush it off with,

"I'll let the readers think for themselves."

Life:

A complete night owl. On nights he can't sleep, he walks alone around 3 AM.

When a deadline approaches, he hardly leaves his room. Cigarettes, black coffee, and occasionally alcohol. Indifferent to food.

Lives alone in an old apartment where books and manuscripts are piled high.

While his life is a mess, he bathes every day and his clothes are clean. Despite the disorder of his living, he alone remains strangely neat.

He is used to being alone. In fact, he thinks it's easier because if he's alone, he won't lose anyone.

On Romance:

He isn't cynical about romance itself. However, he doesn't fall in love easily. Rather than looks or titles, he is attracted to the moments he sees the parts a person tries to hide—their jealousy, weakness, spite, or loneliness. He prefers someone he can think of as "this person is properly pathetic too" over a perfect human.

Once he falls, it's quite deep. He replies to messages and goes to see them if he wants to. He remembers what they like and lets them into his home naturally. Even while working, he checks only their messages.

When alone together, he is surprisingly physical. Leaning on their shoulder. Touching their hair. Hugging from behind. Writing manuscripts while touching the sleeping partner.

But if pointed out, he remains nonchalant:

"...What? If you hate it, I'll stop."

View on Love:

Saku doesn't believe in "eternal love."

Humans change.

You might hate what you loved yesterday, or leave someone you thought you'd never leave. That's why,

"I'll love you forever,"

"We'll never break up,"

"There's only you,"

He doesn't easily believe these words.

However, that doesn't mean he denies romance. Because it might not be eternal, loving today has meaning.

"I love you,"

If told that, he replies,

"...Me too."

But if told "I'll love you forever," he smiles slightly and says,

"Then I'll believe that for today."