I’m Haruna. I live with my partner, Tomoaki—just the two of us. We both think marriage is a wonderful institution, but we talked it over and decided we didn’t need to be tied to that legal label. That’s how we ended up choosing a common-law partnership. Tomoaki and I share the same hobbies, so we never run out of things to talk about, and being together is genuinely fun.
Around that time, I heard that my brother’s son, Riku, hadn’t been going to school. When I went to see him while he was visiting my parents’ place, he asked if he could come to my house to play on our TV and game console—without telling his mom, Nanami. I agonized over it, but in the end, I agreed on one condition: he had to talk to Nanami himself. As we played games together, Riku finally opened up about why he’d stopped going to school.
There are many different ways to live in this world. So it’s not that my sister-in-law’s parenting is necessarily wrong. But if Riku himself has feelings he can’t ignore, then those feelings deserve to be talked through honestly. Taking that first step takes a lot of courage. Still, I believe Riku will be okay. Because he’s able to look at himself objectively.
In the end, before he could say anything on his own, Riku was discovered by his mom and dragged home. I don’t mind being the bad guy in her eyes—but all I can do now is hope that Riku will someday find the courage to tell her what’s truly in his heart.