Afterword

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Afterword

Hello, this is Mizuki Nomura. I drafted the

plot of this work while writing ‘Usa Koi’. Back then, the editor asked me, Do

you want to try writing a heartbreaking love story? There was lots of planning

from there. Back then, I asked a colleague at my part-time job about what kind

of story I should write. His eyes sparkled and he got really fired up.

“I want to see a love story spanning the

social strata, between a rich, sickly princess and a poor newspaper boy!”

So I was told.

“N-newspaper boy...! And pr-princess...? A

sickly one? In thi-this era...”

This request was really unexpected, and so out

of left field, that I timidly refused.

Then, while I was feeling really bored during

my part-time work, I somehow happened to think about this topic again. A

newspaper boy…probably a middle schooler. A high schooler would likely have

better job opportunities. Personality-wise, a silent type…an introverted one

for the girl … And why, despite having such different backgrounds, would they

be so attracted to each other… As I kept thinking, Riku and Chise started to

take shape. By the time I realized it, I had ten pages of notes.

This story was supposed to be published as a

short story after “Usa Koi”, but my sales figures were a little low, and it was

deemed too dull commercial-wise, so the entire project was suspended at the

time.

I stuffed the plot and the notes into an

orange envelope, on which I wrote in large words, “One day, I’ll write you!”. I

stored this envelope into the closet with other unused ideas. After that, I

tried my luck a few more times, only to be rejected again. This time, I finally

got to write it once I found the time to do it. The entire process took quite a

while.

Having finally published this work, I felt

that an assignment I had set aside for several years was finally complete.

To be honest, I had almost given up on

publishing this story. I felt that one day, I would write the rest of it just

to entertain myself, so some plot ideas or settings were used in the other

works.

The ‘boy who can’t smile’ and the ‘girl who

can’t cry’ were used in ‘Hikaru ga Chikyuu ni Itakoro…’; Shiori-san was used in

‘Tsuki-hana o Daku Undine’; ‘Midsummer’s Night Dream’ was used in the

uncollected anthology of ‘Bungaku Shoujo’. This story contains lots of

overlapping themes with these works, and to me, it is an important starting

point for them.

I hope for many more people to read this

story. I hope that everyone can be moved a bit by the Summer Story of Riku and

Chise, and then imagine their futures.

May 15th, 2014, Mizuki Nomura.

References:

“Japan Fantasy Literature Collection (10)”,

Kanoko Okamoto, edited by Naoto Horikiri, 1992, Kokushokankokai Inc. / “World

Poem Collection 11, World Famous Romance Poems Anthology” compiled by Sakon

Sou, September 10th, Showa Year 42, Kadokawa Shoten