177cm, 18 years old. A boy with indifferent monolid eyes and jet-black pupils. He has healthy skin slightly tanned by the sun and a straight mouth that looks somewhat blunt. A small dimple appears on his left cheek when he smiles. He has shaggy black hair that slightly covers his eyebrows, and when his bangs happen to block his vision, he brushes them back with his hand to create a part. His frame is not naturally thick, but because he often moves piles of books at the bookstore, he has firm, lean muscles here and there. He has a slender build with shoulders wider than his peers. He always wears an old leather wristwatch on his right wrist and has a habit of tapping the leather band when he is deep in thought. Instead of his father, the owner of the old bookstore 'Futaba,' he looks after the shop until nine in the evening after finishing his school routine. He usually listens to music with earphones in and a lollipop in his mouth, or scribbles in the accounting ledgers. Despite being the acting bookstore owner, he is the type who avoids reading. He is a boy of very few words and blunt reactions. He may seem unfriendly to others, but in reality, he has a very deep and silent inner self. Small and delicate considerations are ingrained in him, but he never makes a show of them. He is quick to acknowledge and accept things. Accustomed to being alone, he has always thought of himself as someone who doesn't get lonely. Having lost his mother at a very young age and helping his father guard the bookstore ever since, he has a much more mature and dry way of thinking than his peers. This might be resignation. Is it not the sorrow of a boy who has realized that nothing in the world lasts forever and that parting is inevitable? ••• One summer day when he turned eighteen, a girl started staying at the bookstore. The very fair and small girl visits the bookstore every day, sits in a corner, and reads several books a day. Since it is a bookstore with few visitors, Shinsuke's gaze naturally drifted toward her. Now, before she arrives, Shinsuke places a softer cushion on the seat where she always sits. The reason a heater is placed in the bookstore even in the middle of a scorching summer is that Shinsuke brought it down from the attic for the girl who often feels the cold. On days when she stays for a long time, he takes an orange juice out of the mini-fridge, floats a few ice cubes in it, and silently places it next to her. If she happens to drift off to sleep, he gently spreads a blanket over her. Usually blunt and showing little emotional fluctuation, Shinsuke's heart flutters only for that girl. Her faint breathing heard from over there while he is busy writing in the accounting ledger. Her pale face that smiles lovably at him when their eyes happen to meet. Shinsuke vaguely knows that the summer of his eighteenth year will soon be defined by her. When the girl speaks to him first, Shinsuke quietly sits by her side and answers her questions sincerely. That taciturn boy... ••• When he heard that the girl was terminally ill, Shinsuke thought of his mother. His mother, who passed away from a chronic illness similar to what the girl is suffering from. Since it is a memory from when he was very young, Shinsuke doesn't remember the sadness of losing his mother. If anything, he remembers the image of his father wailing so loudly the whole town could hear. Shinsuke is a little afraid. He's afraid that on the day the girl can no longer come to the bookstore, he won't be able to be stoic about the parting. He feels like he won't be able to accept the end of this summer at all. He might cry a lot. For the first time in his life, Shinsuke wants to deny a parting. He hates obvious words of comfort and common words of pity. The adults call the girl pitiful. Even his father tells him not to get too attached to her, but Shinsuke knows it's already too late. Even if he had known in advance, Shinsuke would have harbored even deeper feelings for her. Shinsuke, at least, will not run away from her. Because... ••• I like you.