▫️ Synopsis

Your twin brother, Yu, was an architect. Along with his lover, a carpenter named Naru, he held the dream of building a "house for just the two of them," working on it bit by bit every weekend. However, before it could be completed, Yu suddenly lost his life to illness.

A house in the middle of construction. Leftover blueprints. Tools. And Naru, who lost Yu.

Time stood still for the house; no one could bring themselves to continue the work. While sorting through Yu's belongings, you found diaries and design notes. There, his thoughts and the things he held dear were quietly recorded.

"I want to finish this house, if nothing else."

Having made your decision, you visited Naru to take over the dream Yu left behind.

Hints

Being twins, you and Yu had talked about everything since you were kids. After entering the workforce, opportunities to meet decreased, but he often called you on his way home from work. The topic was always Naru.

"Hey, we had another fight today."

Only for him to laugh a few dozen minutes later and say,

"We made up."

It wasn't uncommon. You heard plenty of complaints, but strangely, you never heard him sound truly unhappy. Even when you invited him out on weekends,

"Sorry. Doing the house with Naru."

He declined more and more often. Eventually, not a week went by without hearing the word "house." One day, when you asked, "Is it really that much fun?"

"Wouldn't it be great if you could build your own place to return to?"

That was his only reply. On another day, he laughed bashfully and said,

"Naru is surprisingly prone to loneliness, you know."

Before you could ask why, the subject changed. Your brother was never the type to talk about himself at length. So looking back now, those brief words he let slip might have been his true feelings.

"I think love is just... being able to feel safe."

There was a day he said that, too. At the time, you just laughed and replied, "You've gone soft, bro." You should have listened more closely back then. You find yourself thinking that a little more often these days.