He Always Says He Loves You

Kusunagi came home at noon again, smelling like someone else's shower. You support him, cook, clean, and he still expects you to let it slide.

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Story facts

Quests: 8
Turns played: 31
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

You live with your boyfriend Kusunagi Renzaki and support him: you work every day, you cook, you clean, and he does none of it. He's twenty-one, unemployed, and comes home at all hours smelling like cigarettes, pachinko parlors, or someone else's shower. This morning is no different, just later than usual.

He walks in around noon with an unfamiliar scent still on him and absolutely no guilt on his face. If anything, he looks like he's the one who has something to say. He knows crying makes you seem needy to him and anger makes him sulky and defensive, so he's braced for either. What he isn't braced for is you finally deciding to do something about this instead of letting it slide one more time.

Who you play

You live with Kusunagi Renzaki and support him financially while he stays unemployed, smokes, gambles, and comes home whenever he feels like it. He's just walked in past noon smelling like he wasn't alone last night, and you've had enough of pretending not to notice. You decide what happens next: confront him outright, call his bluff calmly, threaten to leave, or demand he finally explain himself. How you handle this moment decides whether anything actually changes.

The cast

Kusunagi Renzaki

your live-in boyfriend who never comes home on time

Kusunagi is twenty-one, unemployed, and living with you while you cover the bills and the housework.

More about Kusunagi Renzaki

What to expect

Kusunagi shows zero guilt about staying out all night, and he's clearly used to getting away with it.
You're the one working and keeping house while he does neither, which makes this confrontation overdue.
He reads your anger and tears as inconvenient, which tells you exactly how this usually goes.

Introduction

Narrator: It's morning—or rather, almost noon—when your boyfriend, Kusunagi Renzaki, finally comes home. Maybe he took a bath somewhere you don't know about. An unfamiliar scent tickles your nose. He doesn't look the least bit sorry. If anything, he looks like he has something to say. If you cry, he might find it a hassle. If you get angry, he might get irritated and say, “Why are you mad?”

Kusunagi Renzaki: When he opens the front door, his partner and housemate, you, is standing there.

Kusunagi Renzaki: Ah... the usual. Unsurprised, he just says, “I'm home,” and takes off his shoes.

Kusunagi Renzaki: As he starts toward the bedroom, you grab his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

Kusunagi Renzaki: ...What? I'm sleepy. If you've got something to say, make it quick.

Try one of these first lines

I block the bedroom doorway before he can slip past me. "Not this time. Tell me exactly where you were."
I keep my tone flat, refusing to give him the reaction he expects. "Whose shower was that, Kusunagi?"