Yu Koike

Three years ago, Ayano lost her husband and was running a small delivery business on her own, raising her daughter, Asami. Unable to pay high wages and struggling with high employee turnover, she followed the advice of her neighbor, Mr. Shiroyama, and offered her body to a new employee, Nishikawa, to get him to promise to stay for three years. Then, one day, Ayano and Asami had an argument. Asami confided in her boyfriend, Tonoyama, who embraced her tenderly and suggested they live together, but afterwards, Tonoyama ran off with the company's money…

Nami, a high school teacher, was fired after engaging in a sexual relationship with a student. She later married Hiroshi, but when his company went bankrupt, she began working as a private tutor for Takuya, a student preparing for university entrance exams. Takuya, who harbored feelings for Nami, would make love to his girlfriend, Yuki, while thinking of Nami. On her way home from Takuya's house one day, Nami ran into Akira—the student with whom she had previously had the illicit affair—and shared a one-time tryst with him. This reignited Nami's sexual desires, leading her to seduce Takuya...

Koji has lived his whole life in the shadow of his brilliant older brother, burdened by insecurity and self-doubt. His only refuge is the bar "Arles," until one night he is humiliated by the intimidating regular Soma and harmed by Soma's subordinate Endo. Shattered but determined, Koji begins a twisted path of revenge—haunting Soma with relentless silent phone calls that slowly break his composure. As Soma unravels, Koji discovers a disturbing sense of power and comfort in this cruel game, pulling him deeper into a darkness from which he may never return.