Red Velvet

Inei thought loneliness was something you simply learned to live with, until Akuji appeared.

Tucked between two forgotten buildings, the flower shop seemed almost out of place, like it had been waiting to be noticed. And behind the counter stood Akuji: composed, unreadable, and strangely familiar. He spoke as if he'd known Inei for years, finishing thoughts Inei hadn't said aloud, offering comfort that felt just a little too precise.

At first, it was a relief. Someone who listened. Someone who understood.

But the more time Inei spent in that quiet shop of wilt resistant blooms and lingering fragrance, the more things stopped making sense. Customers came and went, yet no one seemed to remember being there. Flowers lasted longer than they should. And Akuji... Akuji never seemed surprised by anything Inei said or did.

Friendship, Inei told himself. That's all this was.

But some connections aren't formed by chance.

And some people don't enter your life... they choose you.

The closer Inei gets, the harder it becomes to tell whether he's found a friend... or stepped into something he was never meant to escape.