“No, you wouldn’t. Because you’re convenient . Convenient things don’t cause trouble.”
Mari locked her phone. Looked at the ceiling. Thought about the word exfriend —how it was supposed to mean less than , but somehow had become more honest . The next morning, she woke up to a text.
But the deal had already changed.
The first time Mari called him that— tsugou no yoi exfriend —Ryo laughed so hard he choked on his iced coffee.
He cracked it open. Drank. Smiled a little. tsugou no yoi exfriend
Then, one night, she didn’t.
He stared at the message for seventeen minutes. “No, you wouldn’t
“Hey. I know I’m not supposed to ask this, but are you happy?”