Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9

Translator's Note

A shocking confession from a longtime friend who shared the shining days of youth with me.
The twisted friendship and agonized love hidden within it

The third Friday in November is a reunion day for the members of the American football team who sweated together during their college days.
Tetsuro Nishiwaki, the former ace quarterback, runs into Mitsuki Hiura, the team's female manager, on his way home after a drinking party with his teammates.
Mitsuki, whom he had not seen in a long time, felt a sense of disconnect from his previous appearance, which was engraved in Tetsuro's memories.
Because from head to toe, even the voice was male.
To a bewildered Tetsuro, Mitsuki reveals the surprising secret that although she has a female body, she has actually had a male heart since she was young.


“I need an explanation.
But I want you to understand two things.
The first thing is that this story is not a lie or a joke.
The second thing is that my suffering started a long time ago.”
“That guy named me...” Tetsuro muttered along with the words Mitsuki had uttered.
Even though I understood the situation, I somehow couldn't look at this reality straight.
“That’s right,” Mitsuki continued.
“I was a man.
“Long before I met you guys.” (pp. 35-36)

“If I could get a man’s body, I would do anything.
I like it even if it means selling my life.
“I will correct the mistake of God who made me like this.” (p. 49)

Mitsuki's shocking confession didn't end there.
It was reported that a man who habitually stalked a hostess who worked at the same bar was recently killed.
Tetsuro and his wife, Lisako, a former member of the American football team, agree that Mitsuki must avoid being caught by the police if he is to maintain his male appearance in order to "correct God's mistake."
As a friend, he tries to help Mitsuki avoid the police search, but Hayata, a former colleague and reporter, also confronts Tetsuro and his group while pursuing a murder case, and Mitsuki suddenly disappears from their sight.
Tetsuro sets out to find the missing Mitsuki, and in the process, he discovers an unimaginable truth...


Why does our society try to confine everyone to just two categories: "woman" and "man"?
What answer would you give to the question posed by this work?

Published by Somi Media in 2021, "Secret" is a monumental work that won the 52nd Japan Mystery Writers Association Award and elevated the status of Keigo Higashino, the "King of the Uncrowned," to a new level.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is the work that created 'the Higashino Keigo of today', which the author himself revealed as a turning point in his life.
The author himself has revealed that 『Unrequited Love』 is a sequel to 『Secret』.
The keyword at the center of "Secret," which received explosive responses from readers and critics for its premise that the soul of a wife resides in the body of a daughter who miraculously survived an accident, is "the difference between the outside and the inside."
The author brings out this keyword again in this work.
If this was shown as a 'wife and daughter' in 'Secret', then in 'Unrequited Love' it is depicted as a 'man and woman' while also presenting a weighty subject.

Mitsuki Hiura, who appears in the work, has a male mind in a female body, and the story unfolds around this.
By establishing Mitsuki as a central character who moves between the boundaries of gender that are considered to be prescribed as male and female, the film conveys gender issues in various aspects such as transgender, demi-gender, sports, and law.
The play titled 'Santa Claus' is also a device that clearly shows the message the author wants to convey through this work. It sharply points out gender-related prejudice by asking the question, 'Why does Santa have to be a man?'
This play-within-a-play is also connected to Keigo Higashino's first fairy tale, "Mother Christmas," published by Somi Media, bringing joy to fans.

"Unrequited Love" presents various situations and questions the society that tries to establish a rigid binary boundary between women and men.
This message is not limited to gender issues, but extends to all minorities in our society, including adults, children, racial and ethnic groups.
Although this work is shrouded in mystery, it is filled with reflections on understanding and discrimination against minorities, including queers.
This work was first serialized in a literary magazine in 1999, and was first published locally in volume form in 2001.
The fact that he published a work with a thematic consciousness that would be just as relevant today, even 20 years ago, is a testament to Keigo Higashino's foresight ahead of his time.

Without knowing that you are on a Möbius strip
Our story of continuing unrequited love

As social animals, humans live in various relationships with other people.
There are names like friend or colleague, and there are also names like lover or couple.
But just as the boundaries between genders are ambiguous, even these seemingly strong human relationships are ultimately uncertain.
"Unrequited Love" depicts the lives of a couple in their mid-30s, reminiscent of their youth, who thought they knew each other well, sharing a past filled with strong camaraderie, but whose positions change as time passes and they find themselves at different points in their lives.
Readers project themselves into the characters' struggles with friendship and love and reminisce about their own painful memories.

People do not stay in one place or one relationship forever.
Also, no matter how close you are, you don't reveal everything about yourself.
There are secrets that we end up hiding because we like them.
That's why I feel sorry that my earnest feelings don't reach the person I want to be understood by.
In this sense, we may be beings who continue to love one another in a world like a Möbius strip, which cannot be divided into simple dichotomies.
After reading "Unrequited Love," a vague longing that had been dormant in a corner of our hearts begins to blossom, perhaps because the book whispers about this reality.

The author's message to Korean readers

I wrote it with various people in mind.
I hope many different people enjoy it.
_Keigo Higashino

Translator's Note

It is a work that stimulates the nostalgia that everyone feels, as it throws out a heavy subject while making us look back on the friends who betrayed us during our lost youth and the changes in ourselves.
_Min Kyung-wook