Soshite Tsuzuki ga Aru no nara

Sakaguchi is a dispassionate editor working for a mahjong manga magazine, drifting through his career without any real drive. During a routine business outing, he makes an unexpected stop at a convenience store and crosses paths with Fujishiro, a former underclassman from his high school days. Their shared history carries a heavy burden: Fujishiro’s extraordinary artistic talent was the very reason Sakaguchi abandoned his own lifelong dream of becoming a manga creator. Yet, to Sakaguchi’s surprise, the once-brilliant Fujishiro has completely given up drawing and now lives a mundane existence as a part-time worker. Determined to see his former peer return to the craft, Sakaguchi begins inserting himself into Fujishiro’s life, pushing him to pick up the pen once more. His meddling eventually pays off when Fujishiro creates a new work defined by its striking originality, quickly capturing the attention of readers and rising in popularity. However, this hard-won success brings an unforeseen complication. When a major publishing house steps in to recruit Fujishiro, Sakaguchi quietly assumes that their rekindled connection has reached its natural end, leaving him to wonder what comes next now that the story they built together may be over.