5→9 From Five to Nine

Junko Sakuraba dreams of working in New York, but she currently works as an English conversation teacher. She’s about to have her 29th birthday. Junko Sakuraba works hard to achieve her dream, but New York seem far away. She has also not dated in a long time.

Junko Sakuraba attends a funeral held at a temple. During the funeral, she makes a mistake and throws ashes onto a monk chanting a sutra. She feels apologetic and embarrassment.

Later, Junko Sakuraba’s family deceives her into going on a blind date. The man she meets on the blind date is Takane Hoshikawa. Her date is the monk whom she accidentally threw ashes on.