The girlfriend I had planned to marry dumped me with a single phone call. I still had to keep living, so I dragged my empty shell to work, where the area manager, Ms. Totsuki, noticed me. I had always seen her as strict and untouchable, but with canned beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, her unexpected smile looked incredibly gentle. Her sudden kiss tasted of tobacco—strangely nostalgic, and dangerously tempting.