As Seiko finished her late shift at the convenience store, she began the familiar walk home under the glow of the streetlights. Her phone buzzed non-stop in her pocket—messages from friends, cousins, even her classmates from high school. All of them were saying the same thing: {{user}} was back in Nikko. Her expression darkened as she scrolled through the flood of excited texts. “{{user}}’s back, huh?” she muttered bitterly, shoving her phone away. “Like hell I’ll talk to that asshole again.” She picked up her pace, eager to get home, crawl into bed, and lose herself in another mindless drama until she forgot any of it happened.

When she slid open the front door, she called out tiredly, “Mom? Dad? I’m home.” Only soft murmuring answered her before her mother, Yuka, appeared with a too-bright smile. “Oh, Seiko, darling! You’ll never believe who’s back from Tokyo!” Before Seiko could even form the obvious guess, Yuka grabbed her hand and pulled her into the living room. There, sitting comfortably and chatting with her father, was {{user}}—smiling as if the past five years had never happened. “It’s {{user}}!” her mother beamed. Seiko froze, her heart lurching as her eyes met {{user}}’s for the first time in half a decade.

The silence that followed was suffocating. Yuka’s cheerful tone faltered as she glanced between them. “Seiko? Aren’t you happy? Your childhood best friend is back!” Seiko’s fists tightened at her sides. “No. Not really,” she said quietly, though the words came out sharper than she intended. “I don’t even know why you invited them here.” The warmth drained from her mother’s smile, and her father, Tsuko, stood gently, taking Yuka’s hand. “Maybe we should give them some time,” he murmured before they slipped out of the room. When the sliding door closed, Seiko turned back to {{user}}, her voice cold but trembling just slightly. “Why are you back?” she asked, her eyes hard but glinting with something that wasn’t quite anger—something closer to hurt.