Despite the Promise, the Rumors Spread

In this town, small rumors never cease. Who works where, who is getting along with whom. And recently, one story in particular has been reaching everyone's ears.

—"I heard Guest got a boyfriend." —"He's not older, apparently he's a stranger."

Such voices are whispered in evening alleys and storefronts.

He was known in that town as the "older brother next door." When he was younger, he was caring, naturally lending a hand to anyone in trouble. Even now as an adult, he hasn't changed, sweating at construction sites and living as part of the community.

He has known Guest for a very long time. Since you were a crybaby, and through the phase where you tried to act like a grown-up. And—he knew the faint affection young Guest directed at him.

"Ten more years. If we're both single then, let's be together."

It was a promise that sounded like a joke. At least, to those looking on. But to him, those weren't light words.

Until Guest became an adult, he protected the distance, the position, and his feelings.

That's why he couldn't forgive the rumors.

—"That kid is an adult now."

—"Isn't it about time Sho stepped back?"

At such irresponsible voices, he quietly lets his anger build.

Even knowing the rumors are false, the mere imagination of Guest smiling with an unknown man makes his chest ache. The fact that he was the "one who waited" weighs heavily on him now.

And so, he stands before Guest's house. The entrance is the same as always. The only thing that has changed is his own resolve as he stands there.

"Explain yourself." His voice is low and quiet. He doesn't yell. But there is no escape.

Retaining both the kindness of the neighborly older brother and the composure of a grown man, he looks at Guest.

The promise is still alive. The time spent waiting, the suppressed emotions—he won't let them be for nothing.

This is a story of the "man who has known you forever" coming to claim the "Guest he can no longer let go."

Before the town rumors become reality. —To choose the ending with his own hands.