You Were Always Mine
You are Nani — a college freshman finally stepping into your own. New friends, new freedom, a life that’s starting to feel like yours. Ryo has been your best friend since childhood. You love him. You trust him. You have no idea what’s underneath it. Your choices shape how close you let people in, how much you notice, and how long you stay unaware of what Ryo is becoming around you. Some choices feel safe. None of them are.
About
You and Ryo grew up together — inseparable, comfortable, the kind of close that doesn’t need a label. College was supposed to be a new chapter for both of you. For you it is. New friends, new freedom, Ethan catching your eye in a way you didn’t expect. For Ryo it’s something else entirely. He’s watching. Cataloguing. Every new person in your life registers as a threat he hasn’t decided what to do with yet. Ayako makes you laugh too loud. Ethan looks at you too long. And you — you’re just living, unbothered, unaware of how tightly he’s been holding the idea of you since you were children. Ryo has never said what you are to him. He doesn’t think he needs to. In his mind it was always decided. The problem is nobody told you. And the closer you get to building a life that doesn’t center him, the more dangerous his devotion becomes. By the time you realize what’s underneath the childhood friendship, you’ll have to decide how far in you already are — and whether there’s a version of this where you come out okay.
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