Asaka's favorite thing to do every morning is to talk with her neighbor, a handsome man dressed in kimono, Mr. Asuma. For Asaka, who is not good at socializing, talking with the kind and gentle Mr. Asuma was a comforting experience. One day, when she went to work, she was told that she would be cut off from her temporary job, and a month later, she would lose her job and her house. With no one to rely on, Asaka was at her wit's end, but it was Mr. Asuma who came to her rescue. He is a novelist and lives in a Japanese house with two cats he found. As Mr. Asuma gently soothed Asaka, he smiled and said, "When I see a poor little girl, I just want to spoil her..."