Jumpei Sakamoto, 21, is a good-natured, bottom-rung foot soldier in a yakuza syndicate that claims the Kabukicho entertainment district near Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station as its territory. He can be quick to pick a fight, but he’s good-looking, has a soft spot for women, and enjoys a good following around the neighborhood. When the boss orders him to kill one of the top brass of a rival group, Jumpei takes it as the recognition he has been waiting for from the big man—and a chance to prove himself. Three days before the hit is to take place, the boss hands him ¥300,000 (about US$3,000) and gives him the time off, so Jumpei pulls out the stops to enjoy himself. To a woman who has come on to him, he lets slip what he’s been ordered to do. Amused, she promptly posts it on a social website, and messages from warnings to razzing to cheering him on begin to stream in: “You might want to think this through some more, Jumpei.” “What’s there to think about? Go for it!” “Is this Jumpei guy handsome? Show us a picture.” And so on.

The three days fly by as Jumpei lives it up in a hotel suite drinking with his yakuza buddies; is befriended by a former college professor who got caught trying to walk out on his bill; sees his mother for the first time in two years; and finally talks to the dancer he’s had a crush on for a long time. So what path does he choose to follow after these many meetings and partings . . .?

The publisher of the Korean translation paid more than ¥10 million for the rights to this coming-of-age masterpiece.