Green plums cannot become lovers.

An and Asuka have always held the firm belief that childhood friends can never become lovers. Their deep familiarity with one another, along with their knowledge of each other’s intimate secrets, makes the idea of a romantic relationship feel inherently strange and impossible. Their lives intersect with a cast of troubled girls: Marina Kirasaka, a blonde neighbor suffering abuse due to family discord; Shizuka Kuze, a black-haired student enduring bullying in her class; Aoyama and Nanami, who strive tirelessly on their own; and the somewhat quirky Anzu Hachimi. Even the protagonist’s distant cousin is drawn into this complex web. When these girls confess their feelings to him, he rejects them with the mantra, “Green plums cannot become lovers.” Yet, this defense proves ineffective. Years later, the truth emerges as An and Asuka, now physically frail and worn by time, finally admit their defeat to the girls, their legs trembling with the weight of their realization: green plums can, in fact, become lovers.