A Story to Read When You First Fall in Love

Once a model student with a bright future ahead of her, Harumi Junko (Kyoko Fukada) should be living the dream. But after she was denied admission to Tokyo University, her life started to take a very definite downhill turn. Struggling to find a job and failing at every relationship she’s ever had, thirty-one year old Harumi is now living a very different life than the one she once imagined for herself. Taking work as a teacher at a private cram school, Harumi wonders if her life could possibly get any worse. As if the universe was determined to answer that question for her, one-by-one Harumi’s cram school students begin dropping her class, leaving her superiors to wonder if it isn’t time to let her go. To make matters worse, her mother won’t stop hounding her about her non-existent love life. Ready to give up on everything, Harumi confides in her long-time friend, Masashi Yakumo (Kento Nagayama) who unbeknownst to her, has secretly harbored a crush on her for the past twenty-years. While Masashi tries to work up the courage to confess his feelings, an unruly high school student by the name of Yuri Kyohei (Ryusei Yokohama) steps in and does just that. Enamored by the only teacher who has ever stood up for him, Yuri can’t hide his feelings for Harumi, but he isn’t the only one vying for her affection. Smitten by the woman who helped him graduate, all those years ago, Yuri’s high school teacher, Kazuma Yamashita (Tomoya Nakamura) has decided the time is finally right to confess his love.  With three men now trying to win her heart, Harumi has no idea what to do. How can she know which man is her one true love when her heart is pulling her in three different directions? Based on the manga of the same name, by Aki Mochida, “A Story to Read When You First Fall in Love” is a 2019 romantic comedy drama directed by Ryosuke Fukuda and Ken Yoshida.