Kei Wataya, age 28, is an unwed single mother from a small town... whose beloved son refuses to go to class. The pitying looks she gets from her fellow clinic staff, not to mention the rest of the world, are almost bad enough to make her wince. Between work and trying to help her son integrate into school better, Kei's got her hands too full to worry about romance... and that's assuming anyone would even be interested in a woman with so much "baggage." That's where 40-year-old doctor, Nagisa Kamijo, comes in. He's more than a decade older than Kei, and his disparaging view of women is just one of many reasons they don't get along, so there's no danger of love blooming between them... Or so she thought, until a bizarre proposal from Kamijo lights a spark that might just become more. She couldn't care less about love or romance, and she doesn't regret the life she chose, but some nights she yearns to feel the warmth of another body... Tune in for an age-gap romance just as off-kilter as it is passionate, between a single mother who's "done with men" and a doctor who "hates" women.
Marriage can change a person. But those changes can also mean new arguments, a loss of respect for your partner, and sometimes, the ultimate betrayal -- an extramarital affair. Introducing a collection of tales depicting marriages on the brink of crumbling and women seeking revenge on their cheating, good-for-nothing husbands.
"Both my career and my love life were going so well...but it all fell apart on my 25th birthday, the day of that fateful incident." Aiko Miyata may have lost her parents at a young age, but she still grew up with plenty of love in her life from her kind older sister Sae and her doting doctor boyfriend Yuuma Yoshimura. Her happy life seems to be headed toward pure bliss, with Yuuma poised to ask her a very big question at her birthday dinner, when out of nowhere she gets stabbed by a hooded figure. From that day onward, Aiko finds herself mired in a tragedy of epic proportions...! This psychological thriller blurs the lines between love and hate as Aiko struggles to stay afloat. Hard to watch, but even harder to look away... How much can you handle?
Shiori works at the same online apparel company as her boyfriend, Keiichi. But on the day of their 3rd anniversary, she discovers that he's been cheating on her. Heartbroken, she goes to drown her sorrows and ends up passing out at a bar. The man she meets takes her back to a hotel to rest, but as he tries to leave, Shiori pulls him back. Moved by his sincerity, she asks him to spend the night with her. She thought she'd never see him again, but in a cruel twist of fate, he has become their company's new CEO! Moreover, Shiori discovers she's pregnant with his child?!
Yoshiwara, old Edo's paradise of pleasure, has been reborn in modern-day Tokyo.... In this playground of the powerful, where money rules all, women sell both their bodies and the idea of romance to their male clientele. Thrust into this world is the ingenue Asuka, who's been sold out by her foster parents to pay off their debts. While at first oblivious to the nature of Yoshiwara, she accidentally barges in on a "transaction" between a courtesan and her client. Confronted with her new reality of being bought and sold, she longs to make a break for it... but is there anyone around her she can trust...?!
I want to be loved, as a person, and as a woman. - Misaki Nakamichi (35) is a teacher who has been married for 5 years to her attractive husband. She appears to have a life that many would be envious of. However, the truth is that she has been concerned about her marriage due to the lack of intimacy - Her husband only sleeps with her once a year, on the day of their wedding anniversary. As she continues to question her husband's sexual desire for her, their next anniversary arrives... and she receives a shocking confession from him!
Note: Chapter 11 is a stand-alone story about Ai's past. Ai Morikawa lives for her work. Pulling overtime and getting home past midnight is business as usual for this Tokyo career woman. She barely has time to catch the last train every night, let alone go chasing after a potential husband. One night, an extraordinarily pretty 16-year-old boy named Nagisa shows up on Ai's doorstep, and she takes him in. Her acquaintance with Nagisa, a boy as eccentric and aloof as a cat, slowly begins to change Ai's routine... This unconventional family drama is guaranteed to soothe your heart!
Diana, daughter of the notorious Count Cresta, unwillingly enters the Palace Harem as "Lady Crimson Rose," the primary candidate for the queen consort. But, due to her "villainous face" and beauty that is said to be able to manipulate the hearts of men, she is hated by the King, caught in power struggles between concubines, and misunderstood in every way! "I wish I could meet someone who sees me, not for my appearance, but for who I truly am!" The chronicles of a "villainous-looking" young lady's struggles in the Palace Harem and how she finds her own way to persevere... no matter what!
Aoi grew up constantly being made fun of and bullied for her appearance. After going through one bad experience after the other in school, she finally gets to marry the man of her dreams who loves her for who she is. However, he too eventually seeks out someone better-looking and cheats on her, resulting in their divorce. Oddly enough though... the woman he cheated on Aoi with is the same girl who bullied her throughout their school years...! Now Aoi's on a mission to get revenge on the man who cheated on her who is now married to the woman who made her life miserable. She has her face reshaped, her name changed to Sumire, and slowly begins to find her way into their lives...
"Hey Keisuke. I'm really looking forward to the wedding." Miyagi Prefecture, Sendai City. This is where our protagonists, Chiaki and Keisuke met and vowed to marry each other. After graduating college, Keisuke starts working at a big-name trading company in Tokyo. Doing LDR is a bit lonely, but Chiaki believes in the love they have. However... Keisuke changes after moving to Tokyo. Every weekend, Keisuke has vulgar affairs, and does nothing but lie to Chiaki, and the two stop talking. Things are miserable. But Chiaki put up with it. She knows about everything and stays with Keisuke for 5 years. And there are only three months until their wedding...
"From now on, you belong to me." Despite being born into a family of priestesses, Kotoko only possesses a slight amount of spiritual power. Being compared to her twin sister who has strong spiritual powers, Kotoko has been mistreated as the disgraced priestess since childhood. One day, in order to save the village that has been experiencing a terrible drought, her parents decide to offer Kotoko as a sacrifice to the ruthless Fox God. Kotoko agrees for the sake of the village. However, when the Fox God, Kannagi, appears before her, he tells her that he will take her as his wife... A lonely girl is sacrificed to a God and finds love for the first time!
Today, I found out my friend is having an affair with a married man. Then, I discovered my own husband is cheating on me. I've always looked down on people like that, convinced I'd never become one of them. But recently... I've met someone who makes my heart race.
Is this love?
A dramatic love story tangled in betrayal, temptation, and an overwhelming storm of desire.
Jun (35) and Takeyori Sumisu (39) have been married for 8 years with no children. Since Jun quit her full-time job, she's more or less become a housewife, spending her days quietly. But when she realizes that 5 years have gone by since the couple last had sex, frustration begins to surface. "It's not like we don't get along... I just miss the way things used to be when we had first started going out." With her newfound motivation, she's determined to make a change, and begins job hunting again. However, when spring arrives and her new job begins, new encounters and experiences abound for both Jun and her husband.
Yuriko, 35 and single, leads a humdrum everyday routine of work and looking after her disabled father. At the kindergarten where she teaches she's treated as an old maid, and at home her father won't listen to a thing she says. And of course she has no plans to marry... after all, she's just going to live out the rest of her boring life here in the countryside anyway, right? But while she's lost in thought over it, she causes a fender-bender. She doesn't know how to react, but Sosuke, the man in the other car, tells her he'll forget it ever happened... if she has sex with him! But after she goes with the flow and "just does it," it turns out that he's actually the father of one of her students?! And as if that weren't enough, Takumi, her kindergarten's cheeky young chief director, arrives on the scene...? Thus begins a clumsy love triangle for a flawed adult who had given up on love.
"I'm living on the green side of the grass." Successful career woman Sono never let envy drag her down. She had everything she ever wanted, and she'd gotten it all through her own hard work. On top of her growing list of accomplishments at work, her relationship with her boss (and live-in boyfriend) Taiya was going great, with a proposal right on the horizon...until one unexpected twist brought her whole perfect life tumbling down around her. Heartbroken and needing an escape, Sono moved to a run-down little apartment, only to realize it had a secret hole in the wall that looked straight into the neighboring apartment. When she sees what the neighbor is getting up to, she can't seem to look away, and as the days pass she finds herself more and more obsessed with peeking in on her neighbor... A mature love story about a career woman intent on being "strong and independent," the mysterious boy next door, and their slowly intertwining lives.
It all started as an accidental call. But it was actually a phone call from three years in the future!
Masaki had finally gotten her life back together after a devastating breakup with her boyfriend, who severely mistreated her. Then, one night, she received an accidental call on her supposedly broken phone. Why does it only work with him?! Although it started as a mistake, they began calling each other more and more. What started as something light and casual has grown into a bond of healing for Masaki. Now she wants to meet Kanzaki, but there's one big problem...
What in the world is going on? Could this be destiny? A stunning story of love filled with twists and turns, born from a paradox in time!
Aoi is the kind of beautiful girl that everyone likes and who is always perfectly made up. Having been accepted into the art school of her dreams, she lives her days to the fullest. But she actually harbors a secret: she is actually male, devoid of self-confidence and fearful of the prying eyes of others. But then one day, her friend Rikako learns her secret....
Momoka is an ugly sex worker that has clients rushing in with big wads of cash. But she doesn't flirt with the men; it's quite the opposite. Men want her, so they come and flirt with her! One day Momoka visits a brothel as a special instructor for newbies. That's when she meets and saves a woman who was tricked into joining the brothel by her boyfriend...
When middle school teacher Rika's lack of self-care catches up to her, she quits her job to recover her health and ends up taking a part-time gig at the local Chinese restaurant: no overtime, no take-home work, and two delicious employee meals a day. The owner Momose and his lack of brain-to-mouth filter prove to be a handful, but his amazing cooking shoots Rika's quality of life straight through the roof! This exhausted overachiever is realizing that being a "proper adult" is harder than it seemed... and her journey of healing might just come with a side of romance!
"I'm going to be the next queen...?! I may have 'devil-black hair,' but I'll raise these two angelic twins to be splendid adults!" Since childhood, Julia has been discriminated against by everyone, including her family, because of her hair color. In the past, those with black hair have committed many horrible deeds, and this prejudice runs deep within the country. Because of this mistreatment, when she awakens her magic and special power, she keeps them hidden so she can live a peaceful life.
However, things don't go according to plan when King Louison chooses her to be his next queen?! What's more, he wants her to raise his twin sons as their stepmother?! At first, she wants to turn him down, but upon meeting them, they're too adorable to resist! Julia feels for them as they possess no magic and will be looked down upon should the public learns their secret... Determined to protect the twins from the awful prejudice she faces, she accepts King Louison's offer. "I'm going to protect their smiles!"
The curtain rises on this heartwarming fantasy tale about raising two angelic twins with overwhelming family love!