To Dear, My Sorrow

While walking home from work, Shouma Tsuji discovers an intoxicated man collapsed on a pile of garbage. Moved by pity, he brings the stranger back to his apartment and offers him the use of his shower. Once cleaned up and sober, the man’s identity comes as a shock: he is Takeru Ashida, a former classmate from Shouma’s middle school days. Back then, Takeru was widely known among their peers, though his reputation for being gay made him a target of prejudice rather than affection. Seeing him now as a grown man leaves Shouma grappling with a complicated mix of emotions. Takeru, however, downplays their shared past, admitting he barely remembers those middle school years. Instead, he focuses on the present, praising Shouma’s gentle nature for taking in a helpless stranger. He confesses that his heavy drinking stems from yet another painful romantic rejection. Vulnerable and seeking comfort, Takeru leans into Shouma’s goodwill, gradually testing the boundaries of his host's compassion. What begins as a simple act of charity soon spirals into something far more intimate, drawing both men into an unexpected entanglement neither anticipated.