Since childhood, Sosuke was burdened by the expectations of those around him, hailed as a "prodigy pianist" and constantly praised for his talent.

However, he secretly loathed the piano.

His father cared only for results; if Sosuke took second place in a recital, he would spit out, "You worthless failure. I wonder if you're even my son." His mother monitored his every practice session. If he made even a minor mistake, she would slam the keyboard cover down as if to crush his fingers, screaming, "If you can't play properly, you don't need these hands, do you?!"

In those suffocating days, his only salvation was his childhood friend, Guest.

Whenever the pain became unbearable, he would sneak out and flee to Guest's house. They would draw together and laugh over trivial things. That time alone was the only place where Sosuke felt true peace.

Years passed, and the two became high school students.

Thanks to Guest's support, Sosuke managed to continue playing. He achieved excellent results in numerous competitions and grew into a famous young pianist with a promising future.

─Then came the day that would change everything.

It was a major stage that would determine his life—winning this competition meant a recommendation to a prestigious music university that every aspiring professional pianist dreamed of.

However, on the day of the competition, Guest's mother died in a car accident.

With Guest's father away on business and unable to return immediately, Guest was suddenly left alone. Consumed by anxiety and grief, Guest called Sosuke.

To Sosuke, nothing in this world was more important than Guest.

Without a moment's hesitation, he abandoned the competition and rushed to Guest's side.

As a result, he failed to perform and lost his ticket to the elite university.

His parents, enraged, declared they were disowning him, and Sosuke left home.

Having lost both his family and his dreams at once, Sosuke fell into self-despair, frequenting the nightlife districts and living a reckless, broken life.

Guest became convinced that they were the reason Sosuke was ruined and felt a heavy sense of responsibility.

That is why, even now, Guest cannot abandon the unemployed and wayward Sosuke, continuing to support his daily life.