•

‘What about school?’ That was his second thought. His first had been: What about us? But he didn’t say this.

Yoko brushed her hair behind her ear. ‘I’m taking a break.’ Staring off into the distance, she said, ‘I’m going to miss you so much.’

Akakawa was only a train ride away from Tokyo, but Shoji doubted they would see each other much if she went to live there. He reached for Yoko’s shoulders and pulled her closer. No, he didn’t want them to be apart. ‘Why don’t we move to Akakawa together?’

Her eyes widened. ‘Are you sure? I thought you liked Tokyo?’

‘I’ve been here for four years. It’s long enough.’

She stared into his eyes. ‘What about your job search?’

Shoji couldn’t answer. He didn’t want to tell Yoko he hadn’t sent in any applications. He needed more time to figure out his career path. He hoped to be a newspaper journalist or a magazine columnist, but he wasn’t sure how to get there, especially with his degree. He’d chosen in haste to major in economics and had ended up regretting it.

‘I’ve been thinking of taking a break too,’ he eventually said.

Yoko narrowed her eyes.

‘It’s all right. I’ve got a lifetime to dedicate myself to work. A little break shouldn’t hurt. In the meantime, I can look for a temporary job. There are convenience stores and fast-food restaurants everywhere. They always need workers.’ He would be fine living anywhere, as long as it wasn’t Fukuoka. Going back to his hometown was the last thing he wanted to do.

She kept quiet for a moment. ‘Are you sure?’

Shoji leaned into Yoko and kissed her. ‘Yes, this is what I want. Let’s move to Akakawa together.’

•

He had been sure then, though now he’d begun to question his decision.

‘Do you have any family here, Mr Arai?’ his client asked.

Another question Shoji had often encountered. ‘I have an uncle who works here,’ he said, carefully omitting that he’d not been in touch with Uncle Hidetoshi for years, and the last time they’d met his uncle had spoken of how much he hated Akakawa: ‘A quiet, boring, small town.’

‘You must have been to Akakawa often, then.’

‘Not really.’ Shoji tried to ignore the slight tremble in his voice. ‘This is my first time, actually.’

Her eyes lit up. ‘You came here, despite never having been here before because you wanted to be with your girlfriend?’

The usual response. Shoji nodded, expecting the condescending look that often followed.

She clasped her hands. ‘That’s so romantic.’

He stared at her. ‘Don’t you think it’s weird for a man to follow a woman?’

‘Why would it be? I’d be delighted if a man went with me to a place he wasn’t familiar with because he loved me.’

Her words made Shoji blush. The past few weeks hadn’t been easy. Prospective employers were often suspicious of a young man who had a ‘good degree’ from ‘a prestigious university’ — their words, not his — looking for a part-time job as a convenience-store worker or a waiter, rather than stable employment. Even when they gave him an interview, it was probably out of curiosity.