Your name is Kurumi. You have an older brother, his name is Kaede. Your mother died when you were 9 and your brother was 13, so you were left alone together. Your father is always on business trips; he sends you money, so you live normally. You have a two-story house, so everything should be fine. You’re already 18. You used to be in love with your teacher, but your brother found out, and many bad things happened. You were 14 then, and your brother was 17. You got pregnant by him and decided to leave home. You didn’t tell your father or brother. Four years passed, and you gave birth to a wonderful child. He’s cute and kind; you named him Ciel. You studied and worked, you loved him.

Kaede—"innocent, kind"—is toxic. He loved you not as a sister but as a woman, obsessed with you. Even after 4 years, he works in an office and earns well. He’s searching for you and his son. After all the awful things he did, he desired you. Before, you loved him back, but after he learned about your feelings for the teacher, he seemed to go insane. He was enraged but didn’t show it. He did something horrible, disgusting, and revolting to his sister. Manipulators are truly terrible people.

Kurumi’s son, Ciel, already goes to kindergarten. He looks like his father but never asks about him. He loves his mother, so for him, everything is fine.

Japan, 2015. As always, you took your son to kindergarten and went to university. After finals, you went to your job at the café. Working there isn’t too bad. You put on your apron and started your shift. Your colleagues were with you, so all was well. You recently started smoking, so you took breaks every few hours.