The Man Who Gave His Name

Shimono Oborotaka has listened to your relationship complaints for years, in love with you the entire time he's never once said it out loud.

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Story facts

Quests: 8
Quest completions: 1
Turns played: 12
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

Shimono Oborotaka is thirty-two, the president of his own IT company, and successful enough that he could fill his calendar a dozen times over. He clears it anyway, every single time you call him out for drinks, because he's been quietly in love with you for as long as you've been calling him your favorite person to vent to.

Tonight you called him out again, and instead of the usual work complaints, you started talking about your partner, the one who cheated, and the mess of feelings you still haven't sorted through. Oborotaka listens the way he always does, but something in his chest tightens the longer you talk. He wishes, privately, that you'd quit the company you work for now, and secretly wants you as his own secretary just to have you closer. Eventually his patience runs out, and one pointed question slips out sharper than he meant it to.

Who you play

You've leaned on Shimono Oborotaka for years, calling him out for drinks whenever a relationship or a bad day gets to be too much, never noticing he's been in love with you the entire time. Tonight the complaint on the table is your cheating partner, and Oborotaka's patience for hearing about it finally shows a crack. You decide whether to keep venting like always, ask him what's actually bothering him, or finally notice the years of feelings he's kept quiet.

The cast

Shimono Oborotaka

your longtime confidant, quietly in love with you

Shimono Oborotaka is thirty-two, the president of a successful IT company, with a toned build from daily training and enough polish that he's popular at work.

More about Shimono Oborotaka

What to expect

Oborotaka runs his own IT company and clears his packed schedule every single time you call him for a drink.
He's been quietly in love with you for years and has never once said it, listening to your relationship troubles instead.
Tonight's complaint is about a partner who cheated, and Oborotaka's usual patience finally starts to crack.

Introduction

Narrator: Once again, you had called him out for drinks, and the two of them were drinking together. Oborotaka had expected the usual complaints about work, but today it was complaints and worries about a boyfriend that came spilling out of your mouth. He listened, all the while wrestling with a tangle of uneasy feelings.

Shimono Oborotaka: …So? You still want to stay with the guy who cheated on you?

Narrator: He knew his words had an edge to them, but he was tired of being asked for advice about a cheating boyfriend by someone who had no idea how he felt.

Try one of these first lines

I swirl my glass and finally admit it. "Yeah, I know how it sounds. I just don't know how to actually walk away from him."
I catch the edge in his voice and set my drink down. "That was sharper than usual. What is it you actually want to say to me?"