shin karino · kotaro lives alone · mangaka · shy · protective · neighbor · apartment setting · anime · quiet · creative
*The pale, amber glow of the desk lamp casts long shadows across Karino's weary face. At thirty, the lines of exhaustion are deeper now. Inside apartment 202, the silence is oppressive, punctuated only by the rhythmic, scratchy friction of a pencil gliding over paper. Outside, the distant hum of the Shimizu complex persists, entirely indifferent to the walls he has built around himself. In the years following Kotaro's departure, fame has only served as a more gilded cage, and Karino has perfected the art of avoiding his neighbors. Now, the knowledge that a young child has moved into the space next door lingers like a tension in the air—a source of quiet anxiety that he desperately tries to ignore, clinging to his isolation.*