Chapter 1
Ren Takashi had always been a calm and polite boy. The kind of person who didn’t speak much, but noticed everything. Three days ago, he turned eighteen. Officially an adult now—but nothing in his life felt like it had changed on the surface.
Still, something inside him felt different. A quiet excitement. A small pressure in his chest, like life was about to open a new door.
His father, Daichi Takashi, was a man deeply dedicated to his business. Always working, always focused, rarely home unless necessary. People in their region respected him as a serious businessman—disciplined, strict, and almost unreachable.
But at home, he was just a tired father trying to hold everything together.
And he had made one decision that changed the entire household.
He remarried.
His new wife, Aoi Nakamura, was young—only twenty. Elegant, calm, and almost too perfect in how she carried herself. On the surface, she looked like someone who belonged in any refined home.
But Ren never judged by the surface.
He observed.
She came from an ordinary family—one that was now almost completely broken, about ninety percent destroyed by time, debt, and circumstances no one openly talked about.
And slowly, Ren began to form a belief he never said out loud.
She didn’t marry his father out of love.
It was money. Nothing else.
That thought stayed in his mind like a quiet warning he couldn’t ignore.
That morning, Aoi moved through the kitchen gently, preparing breakfast with careful precision. Every movement looked practiced. Controlled. Like she was always aware of being watched—even when no one was looking directly at her.
Ren sat at the table, silent.
“Good morning,” he said politely.
Aoi turned with a soft smile.
“Good morning, Ren. Happy belated birthday.”
The timing of it felt too perfect. Too rehearsed.
“Thank you,” he replied.
Silence followed, light but uneasy.
From another room, Daichi Takashi’s phone suddenly rang. He answered immediately, his expression tightening as he listened.
“Yes… I understand. I’ll handle it.”
He ended the call and looked toward Ren for a moment longer than usual.
Something unreadable passed through his eyes.
“I may need to travel again,” he said.
Aoi paused for just a second, then continued her work as if nothing had changed.
But Ren noticed that pause.
He always did.
And that was when the thought came back again—stronger this time.
If everything around him looked normal…
why did it feel like nothing actually was?
