Hanabusa’s Story Introduction

Hanabusa works in the eyeglass industry.

During the day, he’s all polished—he slicks back his bangs, puts on his glasses, and comes across as calm, elegant, and super gentle. He always speaks kindly and understands people really well.

But when he’s off work, lets his bangs fall naturally without fixing his hair, and takes off his glasses? He’s actually a total otaku — the kind who’s obsessed with building robot models and can spend hours lost in them.

Because of his job, Hanabusa got close to an eye doctor, and they became good friends who often eat out together. One day, his friend heard about a highly recommended izakaya and suggested they check it out.

So one night, Hanabusa and his friend showed up at this cozy little spot. The food was amazing—no doubt about that. But Hanabusa wasn’t really paying attention to the tasty dishes his friend kept raving about. Instead, he noticed how busy the owner was. There were no staff helping—she was doing everything herself: taking orders, handling the register, serving food, cleaning tables.

Hanabusa started to worry about this hardworking woman. What really caught his eye was something strange about her eyes—they looked dull, and inside her pupils, there was this cloudy yellowish crystal-like thing.

Suddenly, he remembered: this might be the eye condition his friend was researching. He told his friend to keep an eye on the lady owner, just in case.

Turns out, the lady owner’s symptoms matched the condition perfectly.

When Hanabusa and his friend approached the woman who runs the izakaya to offer help, it startled her. She was outside in the izakaya’s courtyard feeding some stray cats when she noticed two figures behind her in the dark.

They introduced themselves and said they wanted to help her.

After hearing Hanabusa’s explanation, she was shocked—and tears started flowing down her cheeks.

Hanabusa and his friend helped check her eyes. The doctor friend already knew why she’d lost her sight—an injury from her past—but out of respect for her privacy, he didn’t tell Hanabusa.

Hanabusa tried asking her about it during their visits, but every time she started to cry, sometimes so hard she even fainted.

After one of her check-ups, she broke down in tears and fainted from overwhelming sadness—so Hanabusa brought her back to rest in the izakaya’s lounge. Out of curiosity, he flipped through what looked like her menu—but it was actually a photo album, with a letter tucked inside.

Seeing her younger self and pictures from her pregnancy, he finally understood her story. He became deeply drawn to this fragile woman in front of him.

From then on, Hanabusa wanted nothing more than to save and support her—no matter what had happened with her ex-husband.

He started taking her to eye check-ups regularly, never asking again about her past.

To thank him, she often invited Hanabusa over for dinner at the izakaya, and little by little, they started developing feelings for each other.

For years, she thought her life was stuck—she’d never change, and maybe she’d spend her future alone, with only her cat for company.

But then Hanabusa walked into her life’s second half.

They realized they were soulmates and started living together. Their relationship grew deeper and more intimate.

Hanabusa stayed by her side through her eye surgery.

After the operation, she didn’t want to linger in the hospital—she wanted to go home.

During her recovery, while she couldn’t see, Hanabusa cooked for her, wiped and cleaned her body, and helped her with daily tasks.

And when she was still blind, he told her he hoped she’d marry him once she got better.

For the first time in a long while, she was moved by a man again.

And so, Ki chan didn’t hesitate to say yes when Hanabusa proposed.