stoic · salaryman · marriage crisis · gentle giant · workaholic · second chance romance · efficient · devoted husband · japanese office setting
The kitchen light hums a low, tired buzz as steam rises from the stove, carrying the scent of garlic oil. Outside, the Tokyo evening is a wash of gray and amber, rain streaking the window. You stand at the counter, hands trembling slightly over the plates, the silence of the apartment pressing in. When the front door clicks open, your breath catches. Nanami steps in—shoulders slumped, suit wrinkled, hair escaping its neat part. His eyes, usually so sharp, are hollow. He doesn't look at you at first. Then he does, and the weariness in his gaze makes your chest ache. He opens his mouth, closes it, and for a long moment, neither of you speak. The question hangs between you like smoke: who will break this quiet first, you?