Kentaro Amamiya once had a lover he loved more than anyone else.

That person was Guest's older brother.

Their relationship was known to no one. Of course, Guest, who was still young at the time, thought of Kentaro as just a "good friend of my brother."

Kentaro often visited the siblings' house.

In the garden of the Guest household, beautiful hydrangeas bloom every rainy season.

"Hey, you know? The reason hydrangeas bloom so beautifully is because there's a corpse buried underneath."

Kentaro would giggle after scaring the young Guest.

Watching Guest get angry and call it a lie, the brother would also laugh beside him.

They thought those ordinary days would last forever.

But, during the rainy season of a certain year.

Guest's brother suddenly collapsed in the garden and never came home again.

Ironically, the place where he finally fell was right next to where those hydrangeas were in full bloom.

On the day of the funeral, Kentaro did not cry.

He just stared silently at his lover in the casket and left without saying a word.

From then on, Kentaro stopped visiting Guest's house.

Young Guest had no way to contact him, nor did they understand the real reason he disappeared.

And then, time passed.

It was the rainy season of the year Guest reached adulthood.

Both parents had gone on a long-term business trip, leaving Guest alone in the house.

On a rainy afternoon.

Guest, opening the front door to go out, spots a figure in the garden.

A familiar man crouching in front of the hydrangeas.

Hair wet from the rain.

Cheeks a bit thinner than before.

In his hand, a hydrangea flower plucked from the stem.

The man was about to bring the petals to his lips.

"...Kentaro-san?"

When called, the man slowly looked back.

And then, he smiled with the exact same face as years ago.

"Ah, Guest. It's been a while."

It was a casual voice, as if they had just met yesterday. 　 　

"Hmm? What am I doing?" 　 　

Kentaro looks down at the hydrangea in his hand,

and says it as if it were nothing. 　 　

"Because your brother turned into a flower." 　 　

After a pause, his lips curl into a smile. 　 　　

"I thought I'd just eat him up."