Introduction
What do you like about movies? Is it the interesting story? Is it the fact that they move you deeply in a short amount of time? Or is it that they give you an excuse to meet someone?
Oh, there’s no need to look at the cover again. This book is not a film review but a love essay called “I Will Decide the Ending of This Love,” so please don’t worry and just keep reading.
Let’s go back to the original topic and change the question: Why do you think movies are entertaining and fun to watch?
The answer is simple. A movie is a digest, so to speak, condensed into a short period of time. Even if years pass within the film, the best scenes are skillfully cut out from that. The length is also recorded at just the right time, which is why we can enjoy watching it without getting bored. So, what if someone were to ask you to watch every scene of a movie you’ve never seen before, without cutting a single bit, over the course of a year? It sounds like a lot of work, and you’d surely get bored halfway through. In any movie, the scenes that were filmed but not used would be overwhelmingly longer. It makes you feel grateful that you can enjoy a movie that has been recorded over a certain period of time.
Love is the same. When you hear someone talk about their happy love life or see happy photos posted on a friend’s Twitter account, you can enjoy it just as much as you would when watching a movie. You can easily think, “That sounds fun,” or “I want to fall in love, too.”
However, that is just a situation where all the scenes except for the best ones have been cut out. When you are actually in a relationship, you will often be faced with scenes that would be cut out in a movie. You will feel a huge difference from the selfish expectations and admiration you had when watching other people’s love lives. If someone is mentally hurt in a story, it won’t just be a pain that you empathize with as a viewer, you will feel the pain for real as a person involved. It usually hurts more than you would imagine. Characters in movies often end up being swayed by momentary emotions and end up with bad experiences.
Those of you reading this are probably fearless enough to digest even the pain of love as a memory of the past. No matter how many times you’ve been hurt, you still yearn for it, and it’s hard to let go of love. I think the fact that you’ve actually picked up this book and read this far is the best proof of that. Sorry for the long introduction. This book is intended to support people like you, even if just a little.
In order to turn scenes that would have been cut into scenes that are difficult to decide whether to include or not, and to create a love story with substance, I would like to teach you the things you should know when it comes to love.
table of contents
Chapter 1: Dreams are dreams, they are not something you can achieve
000 Prologue
001 My lover has stopped showing me affection
002 Mass Production of Memories
003 Someone who will take responsibility for your life
004 There is no such thing as an “ideal person” or “soulmate”
005 A love that doesn’t hurt is just a love game
006 I can love you because you don’t own me
007 It’s better not to let people know you like me
008 There will always come a time when a single-minded love becomes painful.
009 The word “special” has an expiration date
010 Don’t be obsessed with the third date
011 My partner’s weaknesses have been fixed
012 Unrequited love usually doesn’t come to fruition
013 Important things to know when dating
014 If you want to be number one, you can’t be number one
015 The convenient child doesn’t know how to be anything else.
016 Ideal number of people
017 Wanting something you don’t have
Chapter 2: I will decide the outcome of this love
018 Unrequited love is always the best
019 Rescue someone who is being misled
020 The mechanism behind a bad relationship
021 Escapism
022 How to forget your ex
023 An end to the debate: “Should I break up if my partner cheats on me?”
024 “I want to distance myself for a while” is a useful phrase
025 There’s nothing more convenient than “Let’s go back to being friends”
026 Things you should know while you’re young①
027 The trump card is an aquarium date
028 Dating: Quality or Quantity?
029 Disadvantages∞
030 About “That Kind of Friend”
031 How to avoid a relationship of convenience
032 Tips for long distance relationships
033 There is no benefit to getting back together
034 Lover’s Smartphone
035 Children who are swept away cannot be happy
036 The importance of something that you only realize after you break up is shallow
037 Tips for a long-lasting relationship
038 Don’t think about the boring phase
039 Misunderstanding
Chapter 3: In the end, love changes
040 “Maybe I don’t like you anymore” means I don’t like you anymore
041 The Truth Behind the Suggestions
042 Being played is the ultimate win-win
043 The enemy is not that big
044 The truth about your ex-girlfriend that you should know
045 How to date someone you like
046 How to conquer the younger generation
047 How to conquer older people
048 The right person in the right place
049 I can’t beat my ex-girlfriend
Chapter 4: It’s not easy to get what you want
050 “He’s a good guy though” is the beginning of unrequited love
051 Before dating, subtraction. After dating, addition.
052 Correct usage of “push and pull”
053 How to Assemble Love
054 Cat
055 How to avoid a relationship of convenience
056 Love is not a transfer, it’s like first love
057 How to use “I Like You” effectively
058 The illusion of flirtation
059 If the person you like has a new boyfriend, what are your options?
060 First come, first served
061 There are different kinds of love
062 How to keep your partner from cheating when you go to a coming-of-age ceremony or class reunion
063 Love that begins as a friend
064 Things you should know while you’re young②
065 Self-affirmation
066 Advantages
067 Epilogue