After resigning from his position as a top pharmaceutical sales representative, thirty-eight-year-old Sakutaro Azuma finds himself unemployed and living listlessly in his sister's home. He spends his days sleeping and his nights seeking escape, until one evening at a gay bar, a chance encounter spirals into a dangerous situation from which he is suddenly rescued. His savior is Shizuka Kuji, a former colleague and professional rival from his sales days. The two had not seen each other for eight years, not since their last encounter on Kuji's final day at their former company, a night they unexpectedly spent together.

Now thirty-eight as well, the sharp-tongued and sarcastic Kuji has undergone a significant transformation. He wears his hair long and works from home as a medical translator, a quiet and solitary profession far removed from their competitive past. Recognizing Azuma's talents and current predicament, Kuji offers him a position as his assistant. This proposal marks the beginning of a shared daily life built around work, careful collaboration, and the slow process of rediscovering one another amidst the lingering tension of their unresolved one-night stand.

The story unfolds as a contemplative slice of life that delves into the professional and personal realities of its protagonists. Azuma and Kuji each carry the weight of unseen struggles. Behind his easy smile, Azuma bears the scars of professional burnout and feelings of inadequacy as he watched his peers advance in their careers. Kuji, living alone in a house that seems too large for him, harbors his own reasons for leaving the company and choosing the isolation of home-based work, with the narrative hinting at experiences related to caregiving, loss, and grief. Their journey is one of gradually earning each other's trust, which leads to confessions about these hidden wounds.

Notable narrative arcs include the slow revelation of what drove them apart and into their current circumstances. The series dedicates significant attention to the detailed realities of translation work, a subject rarely depicted as a central focus. The French edition's preface notes the author's stated intention to concentrate on the lives of her characters, with romantic and physical elements serving to strengthen their developing bond rather than being an objective in themselves. A critical shift occurs around the fifth volume, where the narrative perspective expands to show events from Kuji's point of view, deepening the reader's understanding of his long-held, tender feelings for Azuma. The title itself evokes the atmosphere of the story, with imagery of smoke, blue rain, and the promise of clearing skies that mirrors the protagonists' emotional journey from stagnation towards a renewed sense of purpose.