In a world where a single touch can create an unbreakable emotional bond, Yuji has survived by avoiding all physical contact.
No touch. No weakness.

Until the night a stranger saves him from an accident… and their bodies brush against each other.

Now, Yuji and Ren are connected: they feel every emotion, every pain, every desire the other experiences.
But this bond comes with terrifying side effects — hallucinations, a visceral need to stay close, and a gradual fusion of their emotions.

Worse still, Ren hides a secret: they are not the only ones connected.
An organization is hunting those who share this bond, considering them anomalies to be eliminated… and Ren has already paid the price.

To survive, they’ll have to learn to trust each other.
To remain themselves, they’ll have to resist the consuming pull between them.

But some bonds can never be broken.

Chapter 9 – The Truth He Didn't Want to Tell


Not because of the dreams — though he feared those too — but because of the way his body still hummed from what almost happened.


He sat in the armchair by the window, silent, unmoving, like a guard watching over a prisoner.


Or maybe… like someone afraid of himself.


He sat up, glaring at Ren's silhouette in the pale morning light. "Talk."


Ren's eyes opened slowly. "About what?"


"You know damn well about what." Yuji's voice shook more than he wanted. "This… thing. This bond. What is it? Why do I feel like I'm losing myself?"


Ren didn't answer right away. He stared out the window, jaw tight, as if debating how much to say.


Yuji frowned. "That sounds… made up."


Ren shifted in his seat, leaning forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "When two people experience a certain kind of trauma together, sometimes… it happens. Their bodies, their minds, fuse on a level they shouldn't. You start to feel them. They feel you. It goes both ways."


Yuji's chest tightened. "So I'm stuck feeling everything you feel? Forever?"


Yuji laughed — sharp, bitter, bordering on hysterical. "That's insane. That's— That doesn't even make sense. How many people are like this?"


Ren's expression darkened. "Not many. And those who are… don't usually last long."


Yuji froze. "What the hell does that mean?"


Ren's gaze met his, hard and unflinching. "It means there are people out there who consider us dangerous. Anomalies. Experiments that need to be… erased."


Yuji's blood ran cold. "You're saying someone is hunting you. Hunting us."


"Why you?" Yuji asked, voice quieter now.


Ren looked away, lips pressed into a thin line. "Because I was one of them once."


Ren stood, grabbing his jacket. "Not now."


Yuji shot up. "Don't you dare walk out on me—"


Ren stopped at the door, not turning back. "Rest while you can, Yuji. The bond makes you easy to find."


Leaving Yuji alone with more questions than answers.


Chapter 9 - The truth he didn’t want to tell