How to Write Clumsy Love
Chapter 1: How to Keep a Clumsy Dog
Cold rain was soaking the old apartment complex in the suburbs of Tokyo.
Yuto Nakahara opened his front door, feeling irritated by the sound of the intercom. Standing there was the young man who lived in the apartment next door.
“Mr. Nakahara... right? I’m sorry, this is a sudden request, but—could you look after this dog for a little while?”
At the man’s feet, a well-groomed brown dog sat quietly.
Its name, apparently, was “Tupi.”
“Huh? Why me?”
“You’re the only one I can really reach... I’m so sorry. There was a sudden death in my family, and I absolutely have to leave the house...”
Nakahara stared at the young man in silence. As someone who was fastidious, he honestly found the existence of a dog to be a nuisance.
However, when Tupi let out a small sneeze and sat neatly on his shoe, his heart moved ever so slightly against his better judgment.
“...Fine. But I absolutely refuse to do this for more than three days.”
“Thank you! You’re a lifesaver!”
The young man bowed deeply and then ran down the stairs.
Left behind, Nakahara glanced into his room and let out a deep sigh.
“...Of all things, of all things, Tupi...”
The next morning, when Nakahara swung his legs out of bed with a groggy head, Tupi, who had been curled up at his feet, immediately lifted its head.
“Ugh...”
He couldn’t help but flinch at the sensation of a damp nose touching his foot. But Tupi didn’t seem to mind at all, wagging its tail back and forth.
“...Time for a walk?”
He reluctantly grabbed the leash and left the apartment. The air, still damp from the light rain, felt cool against his skin.
Tupi sniffed the air happily, walking along while smelling the city.
“To think that a lump of fur like this would enter my world... this is no joke.”
Even as he thought this, he found himself naturally matching his pace to Tupi’s.
With that, he headed to his usual diner, “Mother’s Taste.”
When he opened the door, the gentle aroma of dashi and miso filled the air.
“Good morning,” came a bright voice from behind the counter.
Kana Makabe—she was one of the reasons Nakahara kept coming to this restaurant.
She was a cheerful woman who nonetheless possessed a certain inner strength. She worked at the restaurant while raising her elementary school-aged son.
Kana looked up, and her eyes widened when she saw Nakahara with Tupi.
“Oh, a dog? Mr. Nakahara, did you have a dog?”
“No, that’s not it. The kid next door left it with me. Apparently, its name is Tupi.”
“Oh... Tupi-chan, how cute.”
Kana crouched down and gently patted Tupi’s head.
“He has such a gentle face. It feels like he’s already taken a liking to you, Mr. Nakahara.”
Nakahara looked away slightly and muttered,
“He’s just being fickle, that’s all.”
For some reason, the grilled salmon set meal he ate at the diner that day felt like it had more flavor than usual.
In the restaurant during the early afternoon.
When the customers had cleared out and Kana was taking a break at the counter, Nakahara suddenly spoke up.
“...I thought dogs were just noisy, but that one is quiet.”
“Yes, Tupi-chan is very calm, isn’t he? Maybe he’s like you, Mr. Nakahara.”
“Like me?”
“Yeah. Clumsy, but once you let your guard down, you get close to people.”
Nakahara pondered this for a moment.
“...You have that side to you, too.”
Kana looked a little surprised, then broke into a gentle smile.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
That evening, Tupi was sleeping at Nakahara’s feet.
Nakahara sat at his desk and spread out the manuscript paper for the romance novel he was in the middle of writing.
He picked up his pen and whispered softly into the quiet room.
“...I never thought that something like true love existed in reality.”
Outside the window, the wet streets where the rain had stopped and the distant streetlights flickered quietly.
Chapter 1: End
