The story of the 'bookstore' I talked about on Ai no Sato 2

My name is Nayumi Ninomiya, and I appear on the romance variety show 'Ai no Sato Season 2' under the name 'Nino'.

About five months have passed since all the episodes were released, and just as the reactions from those around me were finally starting to settle down—or maybe not—I received a DM on Instagram one day. It said,

"I'm watching 'Ai no Sato 2' with someone I like, and since they liked the story about the bookstore, I want to give them that book as a gift, so could you tell me the title?"

I saw the DM with sleepy eyes and wanted to reply, but I couldn't overcome my drowsiness. When I woke up the next morning and opened Instagram, the DM from that person had been deleted and I couldn't check it. I remember the message felt like it was conveying a sincere feeling. It was a DM I read while half-asleep, and it might have even been a dream, but I've decided to leave the story about the bookstore here on Note.

I first encountered that book through a book review I saw on Note. There are so many wonderful book reviews written on Note. Every time, I'm satisfied just by reading those alone and feel like I've read the book myself, but I was so moved by the wonderful content of the book being introduced that I bought it immediately.

In my 30s, I ended a nine-year relationship, and even though I was the one who broke it off, it took me several years to recover. Since I had few successes in love, I was covered in heartbreak. I had quite a few encounters through matching apps and introductions, so there were relationships that ended in a month due to ghosting, times I was dumped after a week of dating with a 'let's just be friends!', and conversely, I kept running away from people who liked me (I even jumped onto a train to escape when someone was about to confess to me). I couldn't turn people down gracefully, which led to people holding grudges against me, and looking back, I realize I was just really clumsy at love—I was basically a 'virgin uncle' in my behavior.

The reason there wasn't a scene in my black-and-white anime-style flashback was because I told them not to make one, since the relationships I had after my big romance were too pathetic. They might not have made one even if I hadn't asked, though (laughs).

It was this book that healed my heart, which had forgotten how to love after spending my 30s like that.

Naoko Yamazaki's 'Cute Husband'. It's an essay collection about the casual daily life with her husband, but since it's packed with short stories of two or three pages each, 'one or two chapters before bed,' as written on the book's obi, fits perfectly. However, even when I pick up the book thinking I'll just read one or two chapters, it's so pleasant that I end up reading several at once.

It's an essay about a peaceful life with her husband that is nothing special, yet it's precious. It conveys the good distance between the two and their comfortable time together, but sometimes they speak their true feelings sharply. It describes even events that could become emotional in a matter-of-fact way. I think that's the kind of essay it is.

Naoko Yamazaki is no ordinary person, and she writes about various events in her essays, but you can catch a glimpse of days that make you think, 'It's okay for life to be nothing special. It's good that it's nothing special.'

I would love for you to read it and buy it if possible, but I'd like to introduce a passage that had a huge influence on my subsequent relationships by quoting it.

I find myself crying as I transcribe this. Writing is truly amazing.
Just by encountering words, the way you see life changes this much.

In the broadcast, I paraphrased it quite a bit and spoke in my own words, but in reality, it was this wonderful.

I was very happy to hear that there were people whose hearts were moved by my story. I hope you all encounter many wonderful words as well. After all, you can never have too many reference materials for life.

I hope the person who said they wanted to give it to someone they like reads this Note. I'm sure they gathered the courage to send that DM. Thank you (I hope it wasn't a dream).

I'm planning to write on Note regularly, but I'm also working hard on YouTube! I'm sharing my true self in my 40s and my daily life with Taicho, so please subscribe to the channel if you'd like.

I hope I can write about the behind-the-scenes of YouTube on Note as well.