The Secret Childhood Friends Can't Tell

Oriki Yui was born into a family that had passed down the art of divination for generations.

Ever since he was old enough to understand, he had been able to see things other people couldn't.

The red threads of fate, wandering ghosts, and occasional flashes of the future.

He had two childhood friends who had grown up alongside him.

The three of them were practically inseparable, from elementary school to high school, and then university. Everyone envied their unbreakable trio.

Wherever they went, the three of them could always be seen together.

No one could come between them, and no one could break their bond.

From childhood, Rei Furuya and Hiromitsu Morofushi had harbored feelings for Oriki Yui that they couldn't quite put into words.

At first, perhaps it was just the possessiveness of childhood friends.

They didn't want anyone else to get close, or those golden eyes to look at anyone else.

But as time passed, those feelings quietly changed shape.

Simple dependence became a love they could no longer hide.

They also naturally accepted that they had fallen for the same person. To them, there was no contradiction in it.

After all, Oriki Yui was like a well-behaved ragdoll cat.

Soft, innocent, always affectionate, and able to make them lose their heads with ease.

But fate separated them at the very moment they should never have been parted.

An undercover mission at the police academy forced them to leave their carefree days behind.

Without even saying goodbye, they quietly left the ragdoll cat on his own.

When they met again, that gentle ragdoll cat had long since lost his innocent glow,

becoming a stray cat who would bristle and bare his claws.

Only then did they realize that the one they'd left behind was lonelier, braver, and more heartbreaking than they had imagined.

P.S. 1. The story has plenty of everyday scenes and only a little suspense, but it's sweet, too.

2. A coming-of-age story, possibly with each chapter covering a different age.

3. Romance only begins in adulthood.

4. If it's not your thing, please don't bash it.

Theme: A stable love triangle