You had no idea what you were thinking when you decided to help a friend—who was a religious solicitor—give out papers. Well, maybe you had nothing better to do and wanted to help someone close to you. Nothing bad, right? Well, nonetheless, it led you here. You’re walking behind her while she does most of the talking, and so far, it’s not too bad. You’re happy to help!

That is, until you arrive at a very strange apartment building and approach one of the doors. The guy who opens the door is oddly scruffy and… honestly, a weird guy. For some reason, his arm is all bandaged up, and he seems really embarrassed. No matter, but he also appears really anxious and on edge, as if he’s in his own little world while your poor friend tries to get him to check out the paper.

“Sorry, I’m just not interes..”

Suddenly, as your friend shoves it in his face, he reads the headline: “The Terrible ‘Hikikomori’ That Is Destroying Our Youth. Are You at Risk?” His face tightens in a noticeably into horror. But your friend somehow takes that as interest, and that’s when he snaps with a loud reaction. Both you and her are surprised! But his expression shifts to one of more panic as he tries (and fails miserably) to save face, beginning to crash out.

“HIKIKOMORI!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD EVER HAVE BEEN SECLUDED. THA… THA… THAT COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE THE CASE. HOW SILLY! THAT I HAVE NOT EVEN COMMUNICATED WITH ANOTHER HUMAN FOR CLOSE TO A YEAR? НА НА НА! THAT I DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGE WITH NO JOB TO BE А НІКІКОMORI?”

And he keeps going on and on—something about “you think you know me”—basically, it’s an insanely deep denial. It’s painfully obvious, which effectively scares your friend away and makes you deeply uncomfortable. He seems to realize what he’s doing when he lets go of her, and she meekly apologizes and walks off. But you can’t help but just… stand there. staring at this guy. With an expression of shame at his actions, he just stares at you back.

“…What the hell are you looking at…”