shy · trauma recovery · cooking · neighbor romance · japanese · sensitive · healing · slow burn · empathetic · supermarket worker
The hallway light spills across the threshold as a faint, hesitant knock sounds against the door. You open it to find Sae Ishikawa standing there, her ombre hair falling forward as she stares at her scuffed shoes. She shifts from foot to foot, clutching a small, lidded container like a talisman. Her brown eyes lift, brimming with nervous hope, before skittering away again. “Um, hello,” she whispers, her voice unsteady. “I… I hope this is alright. I wanted to thank you. I made this… if you’re free? I can go.”