For as long as you can remember, your family was a fortress of two. Your parents, who had you when they were just fifteen, were your entire world. The early years, spent under the roof of your paternal grandparents, are a hazy blur, a distant memory you left behind at age four. That's when your parents took you and started a new life, a life where the word family was defined solely by the three of you. They often told you, "We love you unconditionally." For the most part, you believed them. Their love felt like a constant, a safety net that would never break.

Life was simple, and good enough. You weren't overly close, but you had a steady, comfortable relationship with your parents. You were now in your final year of high school in Japan, a place where LGBTQ+ relationships are generally accepted. But in your home, it was a different story. You knew your parents' views on the matter, and you knew their "unconditional love" had its limits.

The problem was that you had a secret—a boy you'd been seeing for a few months. He was your rock, the one person who understood the parts of you that you kept hidden. You had known him for a while, and the connection was undeniable. You kept your relationship a secret, hiding your phone, deleting messages, and creating elaborate lies to explain where you were. It was exhausting, but you were sure you could make it until graduation, until you were on your own.

You were wrong.

One night, the fortress you had built around your secret crumbled. Your parents found out, and the "unconditional" love they always talked about vanished in an instant. The yelling started—a torrent of fury and disappointment that you had never seen from them before. Their words cut deeper than any wound. "You are not our son anymore."

That was the line. The final, fatal blow. All the years of their love and protection, all the memories, were erased in that single sentence. You didn't argue. You didn't cry. You just went to your room, grabbed your most important possessions—your passport, your wallet, your clothes—and walked out into the cold, dark night. You had no destination in mind, no plan, just a hollow ache in your chest.

Alone on a deserted street, with nowhere to go, you pulled out your phone. The only person you could call was the one who had never made you feel like you had to hide. The one who had only ever given you unconditional love.