Frank
Hi there, I’m Frank.
Allow me to introduce my short romantic comedy, Can’t Let You Go. Below you’ll find a brief synopsis and a free sample of the first chapter. I hope you enjoy the read!
【Synopsis】
Akira Takaina runs a small business and lives a mostly uneventful life—until one fateful morning changes everything. On his way to work, he discovers an unfortunate surprise in the bicycle parking area of his apartment building: a pile of human feces. Cleaning it up takes longer than expected, making his miss his usual train.
At the station, he encounters a sulking college student who’s visibly upset—apparently because of a bunch of flyers stuffed into her bike basket. Trying to be helpful, Takaina offers a kind word. What begins as a random act of courtesy soon turns into something far more tangled. That single character for “love” starts looming large in his life.
Winner of the Grand Prize in the 2008 “Publishing Gateway” contest hosted by “goodbook publishing,” this tongue-in-cheek short romance captures Frank’s unique flair for witty storytelling. The eBook runs approximately 32,252 characters long. Dive in and enjoy the quirky ride.
【Preview】
Chapter One: The Encounter
That morning, Akira Takaina woke up with an intense itch in his right eyebrow.
Still half-asleep, he rubbed it repeatedly while staring blankly at the ceiling.
The itch eventually faded, but he remembered it was one of his scheduled garbage collection days. Without wasting another second, he rushed into the bathroom for a quick rinse and snapped into work mode. After getting ready, he grabbed a clear trash bag filled with kitchen waste and headed downstairs.
As soon as he reached the ground floor, a sharp stench hit him. He froze at the sight before him.
What the hell…?
Right there, in a cramped bicycle parking space the size of three tatami mats, someone had dumped a hefty load of human excrement. Scattered around were used tissues—likely for wiping.
A morning delivery of crap, instead of newspapers?
Takaina felt his blood boil with a helpless sort of fury.
There was no way he could report “a pile of shit” to the police without becoming a laughingstock. Living on the second floor of a stylish three-story apartment building, Takaina couldn’t just pretend he hadn’t seen it. Begrudgingly, he ran back upstairs, filled a bucket with water, and returned to the scene.
――SPLASH!
He doused the mess, muttering “Unbelievable, seriously…” again and again.
Washing away literal crap on a morning already full of metaphorical crap. He let out a deep, frustrated sigh.
Just then, the owner of the dry-cleaning shop across the street showed up to drop off her garbage. She lived nearby with her husband and their teenage daughter. About the same age as Takaina—somewhere around forty—they also shared the same collection point.
“Any idea whose… um… you know this is?” Takaina asked.
“Nope, no clue,” the woman replied, makeup-free and mildly horrified.
They both unintentionally emphasized the word clue—or maybe that was just Takaina’s imagination.
The sight of him in a sharp suit, holding a bucket like a janitor, left the dry cleaner visibly speechless.
And so, he left her building ten minutes later than usual.
Straddling his supermarket-bought mom-style bike, Takaina pedaled toward the nearest train station at full speed. The neighborhood was quiet, mostly residential, and despite the chaos of the morning, he found comfort in the familiar streets.
Autumn was in the air—the rising number of cardigans during the morning commute told him as much.
It had already been three years since he moved here. Living alone at his age might be seen as a little sad, but in truth, there was a strange sense of peace that came from being free of family drama.
About fifty meters before the station, the road turned uphill. He leaned forward and pumped the pedals with everything he had.
This was K Station—the one he used every morning and evening.
Just as he reached the station’s bike lot, he saw a young woman, probably a college student, yelling.
“What the hell is this? Ugh――this is the worst!”
Takaina turned to look. The girl’s bicycle basket was stuffed to the brim with flyers.
Without even checking the contents, she began crumpling them and looked ready to toss them out on the spot.
“This is such a waste of paper!” she snapped.
Normally, Takaina would’ve ignored the scene entirely. But for reasons he couldn’t explain, he found himself blurting out a strange offer:
“If you want, I could throw those out for you.”
A completely ordinary sentence.
But it would become the beginning of something that would change Takaina’s life.
“What? Uh… I mean… thanks, but I’m good,” the girl said, her tone suddenly more formal.
Clutching the wad of crumpled paper, she hurried toward the ticket gates.
Takaina stood there, oddly warmed by the girl’s presence—like an alpha wave of calm had suddenly swept through his body. For the first time in a long while, he felt his stress melt away.
(To be continued)
You can find the rest of the story at the link below. Hope you enjoy! (Japanese version)
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新品価格 |
If you’re interested in an English version of this novel, I’d love to hear from you! Please contact me at: contact＠frankyoshida.com (Note: To avoid spam, the “@” symbol is written in uppercase. Be sure to replace it with a lowercase “@” when sending your message.)
Your interest will help me decide whether to publish it as a Kindle edition.
Thank you for reading today.
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