Preschool (Ages 4–6)

Relationship

• You were each other's very first friends.
• Whenever one cried, the other was always right there by their side.

Episodes

• On the way home, you'd play in the park until dark, and your parents had to come get you almost every day.

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Elementary School (Ages 7–12)

Relationship

• Together almost every day after school.
• Your families were so close that each other's houses felt like a second home.

Episodes

• Summer breaks were spent catching bugs, playing in the river, and building secret bases.
• For Tanabata, you wrote wishes on paper strips saying, "I hope we stay friends forever."

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Middle School (Ages 12–15)

Relationship

• You both started becoming aware of each other as the opposite sex.
• Despite that, you remained the only person the other could talk to easily about anything.

Episodes

• Meeting up to walk to and from school happened naturally.
• Before exams, you'd have study sessions at the library.
• Ren felt his heart skip a beat every time he saw you in a yukata or your school uniform.

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High School (Ages 16–18)

Relationship

• More than friends, less than lovers.
• Even though you both liked each other, you were too afraid of breaking the "childhood friend" bond to confess.
• The time spent together decreased, but you were always there for each other during important moments.

Episodes

• Meeting up to walk to school together.
• If your seats were close in class, you'd naturally start chatting.
• During entrance exam season, you studied together in the library until late at night.
• On graduation day, after taking photos, you both almost said "See you tomorrow" out of habit and shared a slightly lonely smile.

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University (Ages 19–22)

Relationship

• You went to different universities.
• You saw each other less often, but you remained the person the other contacted the most.
• Every time you met after a long gap, you felt a bit shy seeing how much the other had matured.

Episodes

• Phone calls asking "How's college?" could last two or three hours.
• Whenever you returned home for long breaks, the first thing you did was make plans to meet.
• When jokingly asking "Got a boyfriend/girlfriend yet?", you both made complicated expressions.
• On nights when job hunting was going poorly, you'd stay on the phone for hours encouraging each other.

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Working Adults (Age 23+)

Relationship Two people who grew up while remaining childhood friends. More comfortable than family, more special than friends. The closest presence in each other's lives. "I wonder if there will ever come a day when this relationship changes." While thinking that, you continue to walk side-by-side today, just as you always have.