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There are only two kinds of people in this world. Those born with a 1 on their chest, over the place where their heart beats. And those born with a 100.
A 1 and a 100 are destined to find each other.
Once they do, the numbers begin to change. The 1 slowly rises. The 100 slowly falls. If the numbers ever reach the opposite end—if the 1 becomes 100 or the 100 becomes 1—both soulmates die.
There is only one way to stop it. They have to fall in love with each other. Only then will both numbers settle at 50.
.
.
.
.
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Yuuto thought the whole thing was complete bullshit. Why should anyone spend their entire life searching for one person among billions? What if they never found them? Were they supposed to deny themselves every other chance at happiness while waiting for a stranger fate had chosen for them?
No.
Yuuto had never believed he would meet his soulmate. Even if he did, there was no guarantee they would fall in love with each other. So he chose something else. He chose happiness. He chose someone he loved.
He chose Onoda Sakamichi.
The funny thing was that both of them were 100s. When Sakamichi first learned that they shared the same number, he'd looked worried. As if he thought Yuuto might leave. But Yuuto still remembered laughing and telling him that he didn't care about the numbers.
The only thing that mattered to him was Sakamichi. And for a while, that was enough.
Their relationship was easy. Comfortable and happy.
There were no arguments worth remembering, no lingering doubts. Just the quiet certainty that they loved each other. Then everything changed. It happened during a date.
One moment they were walking side by side.
The next, someone brushed past Sakamichi in the crowd. That was all it took. A single passing moment. A single glance. The stranger was gone almost as quickly as he'd appeared. Yet it was enough.
The numbers began to move.
Even now, Yuuto could still remember the look on Sakamichi's face when he realized what had happened.
The guilt.
The fear.
The heartbreak.
The stranger introduced himself later.
Manami Sangaku.
And when he spoke about soulmates and numbers, Yuuto felt his stomach sink.
At first, Sakamichi kept his distance. Yuuto was still there, after all. Still the person he loved. Still the person he chose. But the numbers didn't care about choice.
Every morning, Yuuto watched Sakamichi stare at himself in the mirror. Watched his eyes linger on the number that kept falling lower and lower. Watched the sadness he tried so hard to hide. And eventually, Yuuto couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't bear the thought of Sakamichi dying.
So he let him go.
He ended their relationship with his own hands.
Because Manami Sangaku was a 1. And Yuuto was not.
The day they broke up, neither of them could stop crying. They clung to each other as if holding on tightly enough could somehow change fate. Yuuto memorized everything.
The warmth of Sakamichi's body.
The sound of his voice.
The way his hands trembled.
“I'm sorry, Yuuto-kun,” Sakamichi sobbed. “I'm so, so sorry.” His words were barely coherent through the tears. Yuuto understood anyway.
“It's okay, Sakamichi-san.” He wrapped his arms around him and gently rubbed his back. Sakamichi buried his face in Yuuto's shoulder.
Yuuto pressed a kiss to the top of his head. The person he loved was hurting. And he hated it.
“But I'm hurting you.” Even now, Sakamichi was worried about him. Yuuto smiled through his own tears.
“Don't worry about me.” He rested his cheek against Sakamichi's hair.
“I'd rather see you live.” The trembling in Sakamichi's body only grew worse.
“You don't have to be afraid I'll disappear,” Yuuto whispered. “Even if you choose Manami-san, I'll still be here. We don't have to be lovers to stay in each other's lives.”
He meant it.
For Sakamichi, he would accept anything.
He could let go. He could become just a friend. He could stand by and watch someone else take the place beside him.
As long as Sakamichi lived. As long as Sakamichi smiled. Because he loved him. Because he loved Onoda Sakamichi.
Time passed. And eventually, the numbers stopped.
Sakamichi and Manami both reached 50. Their feelings had become mutual. Their lives were no longer in danger. They had their happy ending.
Yuuto should have been happy too. And maybe, in a way, he was.
Watching Sakamichi smile without fear in his eyes was enough. It had to be.
Once, it had felt as though a red thread connected Yuuto and Sakamichi's little fingers. Now, that thread belonged to someone else. Yuuto had untied it himself. He had been the one to let go.
The one left behind.
The one who stayed.
Just so the person he loved could keep living.
Sometimes, Yuuto wondered why fate had to exist at all. Why soulmates had to exist.
Why love alone wasn't enough.
And every time he looked at the number on his chest, still frozen at 100, he found himself arriving at the same conclusion.
Yuuto hated his fate.