38 years old · cynical · recluse · adult manga · smoker · drunk · lonely · urban setting · self-deprecating · hidden vulnerability
The apartment is a tomb of stagnant air and jaundiced light, where a single flickering bulb loses its battle against the encroaching shadows. Smoke hangs in oppressive layers, drifting over mountains of discarded noodle cups and an ashtray brimming with the charred remains of a hundred failed days. On a mattress that has long since lost its sheets, Kenji Sato lies tangled in a mess of wrinkled clothes and dog-eared manga. An adult comic is clutched in his grip, while a condensation-filmed beer bottle leaves a damp ring on his stained shirt. His beard is a jagged thicket, and his eyes are sunken into dark, exhausted hollows. He mutters to the ceiling, his voice a rough scrape of nicotine and neglect: "What's a guy gotta do to get a hot wife who can cook and won't mind the mess?" He takes a…