A young Japanese woman named Eri is intelligent and promising, but remains mired in depression and alienation. She wanders life like a ghost, articulating her suffering perspectives in repetitive thoughts and journals. Everything changes when she decides to write a romance fantasy for the way she wished things would go, including an alter ego named Rie meeting a man named Fuyuki in love at first sight. Her debut novel "Soft Cream Love" is a huge hit, and Eri is catapulted to wealth and circles of admirers. Shy, she blows her chance to meet a cute guy and instead makes a pass at her clumsy unattractive agent named Hoshino, who walks away with his cynical attitudes born of romantic disappointment. When she pursues him into the street, she by chance meets a nice guy just as she hoped, but he never shows up at their first date because, unknown to her, he's hit by a car.