Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka / 千歳くんはラムネ瓶のなか

Saku Chitose appears to lead an enviable high school life. Extraordinarily charismatic, tremendously confident, and effortlessly friendly, he is the kind of person others naturally look up to. But his popularity carries its own burdens; not everyone views him kindly, and whispers of cynicism follow wherever he shines too brightly. To Saku, living an ugly life is worse than death—a belief that drives his need to maintain his perfect reputation. At the start of his second year, Saku's homeroom teacher asks him to help bring back a classmate who has stopped attending school. Initially hoping to resolve the matter quickly, Saku finds out that the shut-in Kenta Yamazaki harbors open contempt for him and everything he represents. A simple favor instead exposes the distance between those who live within the social light and those who were never given a chance to shine. Surrounded by the expectant gazes of those who both admire and despise him, Saku treads the delicate line between sincerity and performance—searching for what it truly means to live beautifully in a world that sees only the surface. ...