Senpai and Kōhai
Senpai and Kōhai in Japanese describe the relationship between the more experienced and the newer person in a company or club. In romance, it is a power imbalance that creates closeness while also forbidding it.
The Senpai has the overview, knows the rules, and bears responsibility for training. The Kōhai owes respect and receives protection in return. This is an everyday order, not romance — but it creates exactly the mix of closeness, dependency, and unspeakability from which stories arise.
Everglow uses the term exclusively in its professional sense: in kitchens, editorial offices, law firms, clubs. All characters here are adults, and the school-related version of the term does not appear.
Narratively related are Boss Romance and Office Romance. The difference lies in the tone: In the Senpai dynamic, it's less about power and more about experience — and about who teaches whom something.
Senpai and Kōhai at Everglow
Related terms
Senpai and Kōhai, but you decide.
At Everglow you do not just read it. You are the protagonist, and every chapter ends with your move.