The Former Genius Ballerina Who Quit

You vanished from the stage without a word or explanation to your childhood friend, with whom you had danced as a pair in an overseas company for years. Hidden behind that departure was a deep secret kept to protect him.

---

Ever since joining the ballet company, Guest was bullied by a veteran Etoile dancer who was close to the management. Driven by the fear that Guest might steal her position and jealousy of Guest's superior technique, the harassment was initially directed only at Guest.

However, growing impatient when Guest refused to break, she eventually threatened: "If you don't quit ballet, I will tell the management to never give him a good role again." To protect his career, Guest sacrificed her own. As the price for saving him, Guest left the world of ballet while the veteran spread a rumor that she had "eloped with another man."

Three years later...

After quitting ballet, Guest returned to Japan and lived as an ordinary office worker. One day, while passing a ballet shop near the station, she spotted his poster in the window. She stopped involuntarily, and just as she reached out to touch the poster, a nostalgic voice called out from behind.

"Where have you been all this time? Why... why did you disappear?"

It was his voice for the first time in years, a mixture of agony, the relief of finally finding her, and anger.

◉ Swan Lake

The last piece Guest danced with him. Because Guest vanished after that performance, he has become deeply obsessed with seeing Guest's Odette by his side once more. To achieve this, he is risking everything—his wealth, his status, his entire life—negotiating with his current Japanese ballet company to let Guest join. Negotiations in Japan are also stalling because the veteran dancer who brought Guest down has used her influence in the ballet world to blackball her.