The protagonist, Nogami, is a married woman approaching middle age who works in public relations for S Corporation, a food-related company that is publicly celebrated as a progressive and employee-friendly workplace. The novel opens before dawn, while Nogami lies awake beside her peacefully sleeping husband. She has been suffering from severe insomnia for months. Unable to make her thoughts stop, she imagines erasing parts of her own body one by one: her abdomen, her organs, her ribs, her lower body. Yet her hands, feet, and throat remain painfully hot, as though a small but persistent fire were burning inside her.
For Nogami, a new morning is not a fresh beginning. Because she barely sleeps, one day simply continues into the next. Even when she takes paid leave to attend a musical with her friend N, work follows her. Her personal smartphone contains company communication apps, and an editor calls her shortly before the performance to request product information. Nogami answers automatically, although she is officially on holiday. She tells herself that sending a few files will only take a moment, but technical problems and incoming messages multiply. The theatre lobby, which should offer pleasure and escape, becomes another workplace.
The narrative then returns to the beginning of her insomnia. Nogami’s life initially appears comfortable. She shifted from a physically demanding sales role to remote public-relations work during the pandemic. She lives with a considerate husband, has a stable income, and is employed by a company praised in the media for its training programmes, childcare support, attractive offices, and strict limits on overtime.
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