Set in the To-Yoko area of Shinjuku Kabukicho, this novel portrays the emotional turbulence of young people with nowhere to belong and the urgency of trying to survive in a broken city. By linking together fragmentary scenes, it traces the shape of relationships formed amid dependence, violence, and loss.

In a broken city, she still wanted to stay by her side.

An advertising-agency worker on leave reconnects with a childhood acquaintance and is forced to rethink the distance that exists before friendship or romance fully takes shape. Rather than pushing the relationship toward a dramatic resolution, the story quietly follows the awkwardness and uncertainty that remain as he returns to work.

A suspended advertising-agency employee quietly reconsiders the shape of work and relationships after reconnecting with a childhood acquaintance.