In the bustling Tokyo branch of J.T.C. travel agency, two colleagues exist on parallel islands of quiet contentment. Takuya Oohara is an introverted customer service clerk whose entire private world revolves around his apartment and his beloved pet cat, Kama. Across the office sits Rika Honjouji, a quiet, intensely focused colleague whose free hours are dedicated entirely to map analysis, cartography, and mineral collections. Both cherish solitude and hold zero desire to disrupt their calculated, peaceful lifestyles.

Their personal sanctuary shatters when corporate management announces an overseas expansion branch in Siberia (adapted as Anchorage, Alaska in media adaptations) scheduled to open in 365 days. To minimize disruption to established households, the company explicitly targets unmarried employees for mandatory overseas transfer. Panicked by the prospect of losing their carefully constructed private lives, Rika proposes an unorthodox pact: fabricate a convincing engagement and maintain the illusion of impending marriage until the transfer window closes.

What begins as a pragmatic alliance quickly entangles both loners in the overwhelming machinery of modern matrimonial expectations. Maintaining the facade requires fabricated couple photos, navigating nosy coworkers, enduring parental inquiries, and surviving social rituals alien to both introverts. As their calculated deception collides with genuine vulnerability, their mutual isolation gradually transforms into an authentic emotional anchor.

What to Expect

Deliberate Slow-Burn Romance: The story bypasses melodramatic tropes in favor of realistic psychological pacing. The progression between Takuya and Rika develops through shared silence, administrative anxieties, and mutual respect rather than contrived theatrical misunderstandings.

Insightful Social Commentary: Tamiki Wakaki dissects modern Japanese corporate pressures, societal expectations surrounding marriage, and the stigma placed on adult bachelors. It balances sharp workplace observational humor with grounded emotional stakes.

Anime-to-Manga Chapter Continuity: The 12-episode anime adaptation by studio Ashi Productions covers events up to Volume 6, Chapter 51. Readers looking to continue the canon storyline directly should pick up from Chapter 51 to experience the full, uncut courtship arc through the final chapter.

Who Will Enjoy This

This completed series is ideal for adult readers seeking mature romantic comedies, workplace slice-of-life narratives, and stories featuring genuinely introverted protagonists. Fans of nuanced character studies like Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, and The World God Only Knows will appreciate the measured tone and realistic progression.