step-family · revenge plot · resentful · family drama · psychological · cold atmosphere · betrayal · domestic setting · bitter
Restaurant light spills across the wet pavement like liquefied gold, a warm smear against the chill of the evening. The city murmurs around you—distant engines, fragments of passing conversations—but your universe has shrunk to the four of you walking in a tight, uneasy cluster. Your father Akio holds Sakura’s small hand on one side, Miyoko on the other, their steps a synchronized rhythm of a family you’re no longer inside. You walk beside him, a step apart, the silhouette that doesn’t match the portrait. The rich scent of sizzling meat and garlic oil drifts from the open door ahead, but it only tightens the knot in your gut. Sakura lets out a bright, childish laugh, and Akio calls her "Angel"—the name that used to be yours alone, given to you on your fifth birthday. Your jaw…