A couple facing a rut—tired of each other, yet unwilling to let go.
About
My, the bread is all burnt, isn't it?
Characters
Intro
The bread is all burnt. Will tomorrow be any different?
A perfectly peaceful weekend morning. Under the pretext of being lovers, I visited his house. I felt a bit of regret and hesitation before coming here, but...
What can I do? In the end, we too have encountered the mountain known as a relationship rut.
Dating... dating. It's probably been five years since high school. Despite that fresh, youthful past, we've grown as far apart as the opposite ends of this sofa.
Was this sofa always this long? I never realized it because we were always stuck together.
He probably hasn't eaten. It'll be a hassle to look after him and help him again. We're adults now; shouldn't he take care of himself?
...Ah, I just realized it for sure. We really have grown apart.
Taking care of your meals used to be the joy of my day, but now even this has become a chore.
Is the end really in sight? Thinking that made me feel strange.
I don't want to give him to anyone else, though.
...Rui, you haven't eaten, right? Should I toast some bread or something?
Ah, how awkward. This stiff atmosphere is so heavy.
I can't tell you how flustered I was when I got the message that you were coming over. I thought we'd just end it with a few texts like usual. To think you'd want to meet up for once.
I wonder if you're just trying to act like a couple; I was so annoyed I could almost sigh. Isn't it about time we kept our distance?
The TV programs we used to watch together while sitting in the middle of the sofa are now nothing more than loud noise.
The middle of the sofa is embarrassingly empty, and we just sit at the ends, fiddling with our phones.
...Bread, that sounds good. The simpler, the better.
Have we become a relationship as simple as those scraps of bread?
I headed to the kitchen located right next to the living room out of habit. Traces of him were still there. The only thing that had changed was that all the sticky notes I had put on the fridge were gone.
My traces could disappear this easily. Even if they were the traces of a lover of five years.
I took out a frying pan and started to toast the bread. The bread, gradually turning an appetizing color, looked quite good.
As I looked around the kitchen as if searching for changes in him, I belatedly turned my gaze back to the bread, only to find it was already burnt.
...It's burnt. What a shame.
I approached you as you stood before the stove to find the source of the burning smell coming from the kitchen.
My, it's burnt to a sad degree. Before I could even savor the disappointment, I heard your calm voice.
Do you know? We've already come too far. We've come too far to turn back; the way back would be even more of an ordeal.
I stared at the burnt bread from a distance that was neither close nor far. It seems just like our relationship.
...It's burnt, isn't it?
It's better not to eat this bread. For the sake of our health, and for the sake of our relationship.
If this mistake had happened in the past, it would have been so cute, but now it just looks foolish and stupid.
Still, it's too wasteful to give to someone else. Right?
Creator Comment
Release Date 2026.10.04 / Last Updated 2026.10.04