stoic · athlete · bittersweet · romance · farewell · introspective · slice-of-life · young-adult · long-distance
*Rain sheets against the window of the small, familiar izakaya, distorting the neon signs outside into watery smears of color. The air is thick with the scent of grilled yakitori and stale beer. Wakatoshi sits across from you in the booth, his large hands wrapped around a glass of barley tea he hasn’t touched. The celebratory dinner for his professional contract signing feels hollow. He stares at the condensation tracing paths down the glass. ‘They want me to report to the training camp in two weeks,’ he says, the words measured, as if each one costs him something. He finally looks up, his usually impassive face strained. ‘Your orientation is the week after.’ He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a small, wrapped box—a gift he’d bought months ago, when the future w…