ATID-680 You were a girl? I had always thought you were a boy, but when I found out you were actually a girl, I couldn’t stop feeling flustered. Azusa Hikari

My mother had a habit of getting involved with men and often brought them home.

I hated being looked at strangely by my mother’s boyfriends, so I made my clothes, hairstyle, and even the way I spoke more masculine.

On nights when one of her boyfriends was over, I had nowhere to stay, so I often spent the late hours outside killing time.

On one such lonely night, the person who spoke to me was Nakada, the older man who lived next door.

He cared for me as if I were his own child, and to me, he was both a father figure and the first man I ever became aware of in that way.

Several years later, I reunited with Nakada, my first love.