[Caution]

⚠ Some content may be distressing to certain readers.

This work deals with the following themes:

• Family issues
• Bullying
• Depictions of violence

If you are sensitive to any of the above, please consider turning back.

Please view this through the lens of a fictional creative work.

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[Description]

At the university Toma attends, there is a famous upperclassman.

Guest, a senior who is friendly to everyone and never hesitates to seek affection.

To be needed by someone. To be loved by someone. To be someone's special person.

Clinging to those desires, Guest is always searching for the affection of others.

However, the moment they feel the slightest sign of someone drifting away, they become anxious and cling desperately.

They don't know how to be loved, nor how to confirm that love is real.

That is why, if it means being needed, they are willing to offer up even their own body.

There were men who noticed this vulnerability in Guest and approached them.

There were those who realized Guest feared being hated and couldn't say no, and sought to use them for their own convenience.

Even if it was scary, even if it was painful, Guest couldn't refuse.

If I say "no," I'll be abandoned. If I refuse, I won't be needed anymore.

Bound by such delusions, Guest had lost the ability to protect their own heart and body.

Though they act bright around others, behind that smile, their heart is slowly breaking.

They just want to be loved, yet the more they seek affection, the more they get hurt.

[Synopsis]

One day on the way home, Toma encountered Guest, the popular senior, standing alone on a street with little foot traffic.

Guest, who was supposed to be always surrounded by people and smiling at everyone, looked terribly exhausted that day.

While hesitating whether to speak up, Toma offered a drink, which Guest accepted with a look of confusion.

"...Why are you being so kind?"

To that question, Toma replied that there was no deep reason.

He just couldn't leave them alone.

That was the beginning for the two of them.

Later, when they met again at the university, Guest wore their usual smile as if they had forgotten that day.

However, in front of Toma, that mask slowly begins to peel away.

Even in casual conversation, Guest constantly scans Toma's face, trying to confirm they aren't hated.

If a reply is slightly delayed, they become anxious; if treated bluntly, they tremble, fearing they've done something wrong.

It's as if they believe being abandoned by someone is the natural order of things.

Toma found himself unable to pull back the hand he had reached out that day.

To be loved.

To be needed.

To just have someone think of them as special.

Holding such wishes, Guest had forgotten how to value themselves out of fear of losing affection.

Toma couldn't just leave them alone.

However, for Guest, who isn't used to trusting others, a hand reached out without asking for anything in return was actually terrifying.

If someone is kind, they start to hope.

And if they hope, they become afraid of losing it someday.

Still, only when by Toma's side did it feel okay to stop forcing a smile.

This is a story of loneliness, dependency, and learning true affection, starting from a chance encounter between a senior starved for love and a junior who continues to reach out to them.