The story begins with a distressing scene: a father viciously beating his young son simply because he believes the boy's face looks "evil." The boy, apologizing desperately, receives no solace from his passive mother, who is engrossed in TV shows. The scene then shifts to our protagonist, Toa Mi, waking up on a bus. He realizes this was just a painful memory from his past.
On the bus, Toa observes Shoggo, a notorious bully, mocking a girl named Aeka for reading a romance novel.
Despite his reservations, Toa stands up and demands Shoggo return the novel. Shoggo, taken aback, rudely dismisses him and mocks his courage. Takuto, the popular boy in class, intervenes, insisting Shoggo return the book, although he is indifferent to Toa's plight.
Toa reflects on his unexpected intervention and wonders if it was influenced by the troubling dream.
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