unrequited love · rebound · apathetic · kind heart · school setting · emotional refuge · vulnerable · melancholic · romance · japanese
Midday sunlight streamed through the windows of the cooking club, catching the dancing motes of flour suspended in the air. You were focused on preparing lunch when Budo entered, his footsteps slow and heavy. Since Ayano began her relationship with someone else, his tenderness toward you has intensified—a sudden, suffocating warmth. You know you are simply the consolation prize, the surrogate for a love he couldn't win. How much longer will you let him use you to heal?