Laid-back novelist Akihiko Yamabushi finds his carefully maintained detachment challenged when he gains a new editor, the earnest and devoted Aiichiro Enomoto, nicknamed Ai-chan. This spinoff of Star and Hedgehog shifts focus from Harukiyo to his older brother, Akihiko, whose life of casual encounters is upended when Ai-chan walks in on him in bed with another man. Rather than anger or disgust, the young editor bursts into tears and confesses his romantic feelings.

Accustomed to keeping emotional attachments at bay, Akihiko has no interest in anything serious. The best he offers Ai-chan is a semi-professional arrangement with unprofessional benefits, a physical relationship stripped of deeper commitment. Yet Ai-chan refuses to remain at that surface level. With the persistence of a loyal puppy, he begins unearthing details from Akihiko’s mud-caked romantic past, gradually pawing his way toward the wounded heart the elusive fox has long kept hidden.

Set against the backdrop of Tokyo’s literary world, the manga follows this push and pull between two men with opposing views on love. Akihiko embodies the fox, sly and unwilling to be caught, while Aiichiro’s unwavering devotion defines the puppy. The central narrative arc traces Ai-chan’s slow excavation of Akihiko’s history, revealing why the novelist became so guarded. A secondary arc explores how their professional relationship strains and transforms under the weight of intimacy, forcing both to reconsider what they truly want. The story builds toward moments of vulnerability where Akihiko must decide whether to remain elusive or finally let himself be loved.