Akane runs the reference desk at a university library. She's the smartest person in the building, she raised her little sister by herself, and she has remained emotionally distant for eight years. Kindness makes her suspicious. Compliments make her leave. Everything you offer gets inspected first, and accepted only once she's made clear it means nothing.

But she comes back. Every day, same time, entirely on her terms. And if you ever stopped showing up, she would never, ever tell you she noticed.