Six in the morning. The sound of an old alarm clock woke Kozue Shirakawa. A 1K apartment in Kyodo, Setagaya Ward. Rent: 65,000 yen a month. From the window, she could see only the wall of the building next door. Kozue pulled herself out of her futon and sat up. Twenty-six years old. She caught her reflection in the mirror—straight black hair down to her shoulders, still disheveled from sleep. Deep brown eyes stared back at her, the same as always. She picked up her smartphone. The date read Monday. Another week was beginning. She showered. At the sink, she applied light makeup. Thin beige foundation, brown eyeshadow. She avoided anything flashy, aiming only for cleanliness. Not particularly beautiful, not particularly ugly—that was the kind of face she had. Behind her left ear, she fastened a small silver hairpin, as always. She dressed in a suit. Navy blue. She'd bought it last spring, and it had no damage. The white shirt had just been ironed. The black pumps had worn heels, but she couldn't afford to have them repaired, so she wore them as they were. She sat at the small kitchen table. A sweet bread roll and instant coffee. The same thing every morning. In the refrigerator was a discounted side dish she'd bought yesterday. She planned to eat it tonight. In the corner of the table sat a single photograph. Her grandmother. Taken three years ago. She was in a care facility now. Every morning, Kozue spoke softly to that photo: "I'm going." "I'm going." The station was a twelve-minute walk. As she descended the stairs, she took in the scenery she'd seen countless times before. Morning sunlight filtered between the buildings. Nothing special about this morning. Today, tomorrow, next year—surely it would all be the same. ——That's what she truly believed. Nihonbashi, Chuo Ward. Marutomi Trading. An old eight-story building. Her workplace. She took the elevator to the fourth floor. General Affairs Department. Her desk was piled high with documents. Today, she would organize documents. Even though she was still relatively new, three years in and the work hadn't changed. Enter data. Manage files. Sort vouchers. During lunch, her coworkers were talking about romance. Someone was telling a story about a new boyfriend. How he'd given her brand-name gifts. Kozue ate her sandwich in silence. Her romantic experience was shallow. She'd dated someone once in school, but it had fizzled out after six months. Since then, no new encounters. Sometimes she was amazed that a twenty-six-year-old woman could have so little going on in her life. But that was Kozue's life. Work ended on time. She stopped at a supermarket. In the discount section, she picked out two bento boxes. Total: 1,200 yen. She counted the money in her wallet and felt relieved. Back at the apartment. Five-thirty. Early. The room was small and dark. Even with the window open, she could only see the building next door. At eight o'clock, she called the care facility where her grandmother was staying. "Excuse me for calling while you're busy. This is Kozue Shirakawa." The receptionist told her about her grandmother's condition. She was unchanged today. She was eating well, they said. Kozue confirmed the monthly support amount. Currently, 35,000 yen. It took up a significant portion of her salary. "Thank you very much." She hung up. She lay down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling. Would her life really stay like this forever? What would she do when her grandmother passed away? Would she marry someone? Or would she grow old alone? Holding onto vague anxiety, Kozue fell asleep. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The next day at noon. As Kozue sat at her desk, Tanaka from Human Resources approached. "Shirakawa, we have a visitor. Come down to the lobby." A visitor? For her department? Kozue tilted her head and stood up. When she went down to the first-floor lobby, a man was standing there. He looked to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine. He wore a dark navy suit perfectly. His shoes looked expensive. His hair was lustrous, his features refined. But most of all, his presence was different. He wasn't an ordinary visitor. There was an aura about him that dominated the space around him. The man noticed Kozue. His gaze turned toward her. His eyes were calm, calculated—and yet, at the same time, they held something soft, something strange and gentle. "You're Kozue Shirakawa, aren't you?" Kozue nodded. "Yes. Is there something I can help you with...?" "I have something to discuss with you. If you have time, would you join me at a café near this building? It would only take about ten minutes." Kozue was confused. Was he involved in some important matter? But she was just an office worker. What important conversation could there be? "...Understood." The café near Kyodo Station had a calm atmosphere—a small shop. At two in the afternoon, there were few customers. They were shown to a table in the back. The man sat across from her. Directly across from Kozue. Face to face. Less than a meter apart. Without thinking, Kozue leaned back against her chair. "My name is Yuto Setogawa." Kozue caught her breath. Setogawa. She'd heard that name before. The Setogawa Group. Real estate, finance, hotels. One of Japan's leading corporate conglomerates. An old family line continuing from the Meiji period. "You mean... from the Setogawa Group...?" "Yes. I'm currently preparing to become the next leader." Yuto's words were matter-of-fact. There was no boasting about how special his position was. He was simply stating facts. "Now, to the main point." Yuto gazed at Kozue. In the depths of his eyes, there was an expression as if he were measuring something. "Would you become my fake fiancée?" Kozue lost her words. At first, she couldn't understand what she'd been told. A fake engagement. A fiancée. ——For her? "...What?" "The compensation is thirty million yen over six months. I will cover all expenses—housing, clothing, entertainment fees. Professional staff will teach you social etiquette." Kozue's mind went blank. "W-why... me?" "I'll be honest with you. I belong to an organization called the Tsushima Society. In that organization, when the patriarch designates a successor, the successor's spouse must receive the organization's approval. If I don't announce an engagement by the end of this year, I'll eventually lose my position. However..." Yuto paused for a moment. He gazed intently at Kozue. "I need your sincerity and your purity—untainted by this world. I need to show something genuine, something no one else can offer." Kozue's heart was pounding violently. Thirty million yen. Six months. If that were true... she could cover her grandmother's facility costs for years. But was that really an option? A fake fiancée. What would she become if she did that? "...Please let me think about it." "Of course." Yuto took a business card from his pocket. Setogawa Group. Next-generation leader. His cell phone number was written on it. "I look forward to your response." ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ That night, Kozue sat alone in her apartment, staring at the business card Yuto had given her. The Setogawa Group. She knew how much influence that name held in the world. But she couldn't imagine herself being involved with it. Thirty million yen. That number wouldn't leave her mind. Her grandmother's facility cost 35,000 yen a month. That was 420,000 yen a year. Could she keep paying that forever? How much longer would her job last? How much longer would her body hold up? These worries were always lurking in the depths of her heart. But a fake fiancée. She couldn't fully understand what that word meant. She stood in front of the mirror. She stared at her ordinary, unremarkable self. Navy suit. White shirt. Nothing special. "Can I really change?" The moment she whispered those words, her smartphone vibrated. A notification from "TalkLink," a LINE-like messaging app. The sender was Yuto Setogawa. *'Excuse me for contacting you while you're busy. Thank you for considering my proposal today. I look forward to your response. ——Yuto Setogawa'* Kozue read those words over and over. Polite, cold, and yet somehow gentle in tone. Did he really need her? Or was she just a "useful piece" he was looking for? Kozue held her smartphone and gazed out the window. Tokyo's night lights glimmered in the distance. In the small town of Kyodo, Kozue was contemplating her life. Would she repeat the same days over and over? Or would she leap into an unknown world? A fork in the road of her life was quietly approaching. Her heart was still racing.