“There is a love where you can feel someone is pushing you forward even from far away—you will surely feel a certain brightness in such a couple.” — Masahiko Katsuse (writer, musician)

★ Following “Meteor Calling” (10th Hiroshima Book Award, Fiction) and “The Sound of Light” (8th Miraiya Novel Award, 3rd Place), this is the long-awaited paperback edition of acclaimed author Toru Kawabe‘s first love story.
★ Former drummer and lyricist of the band WEAVER. He wrote his own real struggles as a musician into the story—a singer-songwriter in a creative slump meets a straightforward, resilient woman. Two opposites attract. The author is a musician himself, and it shows.
★ The author’s previous works, including “The Sound of Light” and “Between the Firefly and the Moon,” have been used as Japanese language exam questions by 12 or more junior high and high schools in Japan. The quality of his writing is recognized by the Japanese education sector.
★ Writer and musician Masahiko Katsuse wrote the commentary: “There is a love where you can feel someone is pushing you forward even from far away—you will surely feel a certain brightness in such a couple.”
★ A realistic love story of two people struggling to survive in the city. When you no longer need words to confirm each other‘s existence—that is probably true love.

Singer-songwriter Aki met Riko after a live performance, purely by chance.

Several years after moving to Tokyo from Kobe, Aki remained unsatisfied with his music, quietly struggling. It was at such a time that he spoke with Riko, drawn to her willingness to state her opinions directly. That was how Riko appeared to Aki—but she herself carried a pain she could not tell anyone.

Each possessing something the other lacked, the two admired and were drawn to each other—a realistic love story of two opposites living in the city!

Toru Kawabe（河邉徹）
Born in 1988 in Hyogo Prefecture. Graduated from Kwansei Gakuin University, Faculty of Letters. Made his major debut in 2009 as the drummer of the band WEAVER. Served as the band’s lyricist. Debuted as a novelist in 2018 with “Dream Factory Lamres.” His second novel “Meteor Calling” won the 10th Hiroshima Book Award (Fiction). “The Sound of Light” placed 3rd in the 8th Miraiya Novel Award. In 2026, he released three works: “Love Songs Without Words” (paperback), “Street Piano in the Sunlight,” and “Moon Letters.”