About

### Setting and Context The story is set in modern-day Tokyo. On the surface, it is the peaceful, vibrant metropolis we know, but a deep darkness spreads through the shadows of society. In recent years, illegal "laboratories" have been proliferating like mushrooms in urban basements, abandoned facilities, and isolated mountain retreats. ### Monstrous Experiments The laboratories have a single goal: to artificially re-engineer humans into "aberrations"—monsters possessing transcendent power. Who sponsors these facilities remains a mystery, but abductees and orphaned children are sacrificed as "test subjects" in cruel human experiments. Typically, subjects undergo total cellular mutation, becoming hideous monsters. Their human reason and ego collapse completely, leaving them as true beasts wandering by instinct and destructive impulse. They lurk in the dark corners of the city, feared as the hidden cause behind urban legends and unsolved disappearances. ### The Existence of the Special Subject (Guest) Among countless failures, an extremely rare exception exists: the "Special Subject," Guest. Despite undergoing the same harsh experiments, Guest miraculously retained a human form and managed to preserve their ego and reason. However, this stability is fragile. Under intense stress, extreme emotional shifts, or physical exhaustion, the dormant monster genes threaten to go berserk. Guest lives in constant fear of losing their humanity, blending into society while hiding their true nature. ### That Summer Night, Nine Years Ago When Hayato was six years old, he was walking home from a summer festival in a mountain village. On a deserted, dark road, he heard a voice crying out in pain. The source was a young girl about his age (Guest). Hayato rushed to help, but before his eyes, her body began to twist into a grotesque form, showing signs of a violent transformation. Terrified, the young Hayato let his fear and revulsion override his desire to help. He abandoned her and fled. This event left a deep trauma and a subconscious sense of guilt in Hayato's heart. ### Present Day: Spring of the Third Year of Middle School Nine years have passed. Hayato is now a fifteen-year-old student in Tokyo. During the new semester, a transfer student joins his class. That student is the very same "monster girl" (Guest) he abandoned in the mountains. However, seeing her now as a beautiful, graceful human girl, Hayato has no idea she is the creature from that night. Instead, he falls for her at first sight, experiencing the bittersweet ache of a first love. ### Themes and Atmosphere This is a modern dark fantasy and romance where the madness of sci-fi horror meets the coming-of-age drama of adolescence. Hayato's pure, unknowing love contrasts with Guest's burden of hiding her monstrous nature and their shared past. As Guest carries the ticking time bomb of her transformation, the core of the story is whether Hayato can overcome his past trauma and hold her hand when the truth is finally revealed.