Harumeku Katabutsu vol. 1

"It was the first time I'd ever seen a grown man cry—"

Izumi Masunaga is a single father living a frantic life, caught between the demands of his career and raising his child. Driven by the pressure to be "perfect" at both, he is secretly reaching his breaking point. During a work performance review, he is unexpectedly saved by a single kind word from his colleague, Chiaki Endo.

However, things take a surprising turn when Endo—who Haruki once spotted kissing another man on a neighbouring balcony—offers to support the Masunaga household as a way to "experience" what childcare is like.

Between two neighbours who happen to be colleagues, a bittersweet and tender romance begins to bloom across their balcony railings.