Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093094088809262/episodes/16818093094842595041
◇
I leave for work in the morning and return home once at noon to have dinner with Yua chan.
I would return home in the late afternoon and spend some peaceful time with her.
These days went on and on, and a quiet rhythm was beginning to etch itself into my life.
Since taking Yua chan in, her small presence has become a part of my daily life.
Every morning before I leave for work, Yua sits on the sofa, holding her knees, with the TV on low.
The mint green phone I gave her sits on the table, and from time to time I see her pick it up and look at something.
Her expressionless face at first seems to be slowly settling into the house.
When I return for lunch, I take out some random ingredients from the refrigerator and make a simple meal.
Yua chan sits silently next to me and sips the soup with a small spoon.
That quiet time was a comforting experience for me.
◇
One day, while I was chatting with my colleagues in the office as usual, I was called into another room.
“A new customer is coming in, so you’ll have to deal with it.” When I opened the door, there she was…my classmate Akino Rinoha.
“Akino san…”
“….Yamasaka kun…”
Akino Rinoha.
She was a classmate of mine at Miyagawa High School, where we were in the same class for three years.
When the boys’ and girls’ groups hung out together, we would occasionally exchange words.
She has become a little more mature, but she still has the same blonde hair and cuteness as she used to have.
Her long hair fell to her shoulders and her clear eyes took on a slightly tired color.
When I was in school, she was popular and was rumored to be confessed by several people a month, but she never went out with anyone, and the boys around me stayed as friends and never had a relationship beyond that.
She was a cute girl who was a little strange, that was my impression of her.
But I never expected her to come to borrow money….
I sat down across from her and said, “…It’s been a while.”
The room is small, and the spring light leaking through the window casts a pale shadow on the desk.
A man working in the loan shark and a woman who comes to borrow money from him.
There is no joy in such a reunion, and an awkward silence passes.
I thought that maybe she doesn’t remember me, but then she opens her mouth.
“…Long time no see, Yamasaka kun…. I heard rumors about you…but…you really worked in loan sharks.”
Her voice is small and somewhat reserved.
I nodded lightly and proceeded.
“…Well, yeah. …..So? How much do you want to borrow?”
“….Half a million yen.”
500,000 yen. It is impossible to lend that amount of money out of the blue according to our rules.
Unless she has an introduction from a regular, but for a first-time customer, the maximum is 300,000 yen.
If she is a woman, she can get up to 1 million yen on the condition that she works at a partner brothel, and with the privilege of lowering the interest rate from 40% to 20% in 10 days.
But a beautiful woman like her should be able to make money at a brothel or cabaret club without resorting to such a place.
Has she already lost her head in those jobs? No, if the amount is 500,000 yen, there is little chance of that.
If you have that kind of financial sense, 500,000 yen won’t add up to anything.
So you don’t want to do sex work, but you need money….
After working in this business for five years, I can see most of the situations.
“…..I’m sorry, but the maximum I can give to a first-time client without an introduction is 300,000. …I hope you don’t mind me asking, but…why do you need the money?”
She lowers her eyes for a moment and bites her lip lightly.
After a moment of silence, she begins to speak as if squeezing.
“….My ex-boyfriend…raped me when we broke up…a little while later I used a test kit… it said I wasn’t pregnant at the time…but recently I’ve been feeling strange, and I thought maybe I was…pregnant…and I need money for the abortion.”
“Where is this boyfriend now?”
She shakes her head silently.
Her gaze falls to the floor and her fingertips tremble slightly.
Hearing this story, the first thing that came to mind was Yua chan’s face.
She too was an unwanted child.
And the child now in Akino’s belly is also unwanted.
In this job, I have seen the future of such children many times.
Abandoned and mistreated by their parents, they still have no choice but to live.
Yua chan’s small back comes to mind, and my heart tightens.
“If it’s that kind of situation, the government should give you support money…but it takes time from application to benefits, so…you want money now, don’t you? What about credit cards or other loans? And legal consumer finance companies…and that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
“…All of it…spent on my ex-boyfriend…”
I can see her body trembling slightly. After listening to her story, I understood.
She too had been subjected to domestic violence.
She was also tied up by a man just like Yua chan’s father.
“Do you have a job?”
….I work part-time at a convenience store…”
A part-time job at a convenience store is all you can do just to pay our interest even if you get support money from the government.
If you also have debts from other companies, paying them off is a dream come true.
“How much do you owe from other sources?”
“……Half a million from two companies…”
“I see…..”
I understand the situation. There is nothing I can do to save her.
The reason she doesn’t want to do sex work is because she is pregnant, but she is also afraid of men.
But if she continues like this, she will eventually have to sell her body or hang herself.
As I watched her trembling hands, something stuck in my mind.
I spent about 1.2 million on the Yua chan case, but I still have 20 million in savings.
The money I’ve earned from loan shark money and saved up without a hobby will come in handy here.
I could lend it to her privately…but, now what?
This would mean losing customers, but no one is listening to this conversation.
All I have to do is ask for the interest and pretend she was turned down.
“I’m sorry, but we can only lend you 300,000 yen after all.”
“….Yeah. Okay…then…”
As she was about to get up, I continued speaking.
“However, I can personally lend you 1.5 million yen. You can use that money to cover the cost of the abortion and to pay off your debts with other companies. There will be no interest on the repayment to me, and there will be no set repayment period. You can pay it back little by little whenever you can.”
At these words, she stopped moving.
She slowly raises her head and looks at me.
For a moment, there is a glint in her eyes.
“Why…?”
Surely, why is that?
I have only one answer.
“Look, back in high school…do you remember? When I forgot my wallet and was wandering around in the purchasing section, you lent me 500 yen, right? At that time, Akino san didn’t charge me any interest and didn’t set a deadline for repayment. So I’m doing the same thing.”
Tears well up in her eyes.
I’m sure she had a dim idea of her future.
She knew that if she borrowed money here, she would never be able to pay it back, and that one day she would have to sell her body or take her own life.
Her hand touched the desk and couldn’t stop shaking.
“Thank you…. If there is anything I can do…anything ! I’ll do it !”
She tried to get down on her knees, but I said, “Hey, I’m just returning the favor. Look up.” and she bowed her head again and again, saying, “Thank you.”
The sound of tears dripping onto the floor echoed in the quiet room.
“RIght…. I’d like to have a mini-reunion with the three of us, including Souichi, next time.”
She nodded to me with tears streaming down her face.
Afterwards, I talked with her for a while.
Memories of my high school days kept coming back to me.
When Soichi and I were fooling around in the schoolyard, Akino san was watching us from afar, laughing at us.
The 500 yen incident at the purchase was a trivial memory for me, but it may have had some special meaning for her.
Wiping away her tears, she said, “At that time…I just couldn’t let it go when I saw Yamasaka kun in trouble. Because…” she muttered.
◇(Later that day)
The morning air was in the room.
Outside the window, the cherry blossoms had almost fallen and green buds were peeking out.
Later that day, I gave the money to Akino san.
After meeting her at the office, I withdrew 1.5 million from the bank and handed it over at a nearby coffee shop.
The aroma of coffee wafted across the wooden table, and the street trees visible from the window announced the end of spring.
“…..Thank you, Yamasaka kun. You really…helped me out.”
Her hand trembled a little as she accepted the envelope.
She thanked me again and asked me two questions.
“…Um….Yamasaka kun…do you have a wife?”
“Eh? I don’t have a wife. Why?”
“No…somehow. I was thinking that you seem to have a more relaxed or…gentle atmosphere. I see…do you have a girlfriend?”
Is it because I live with Yua chan?
“I don’t. But…well, I’ve been taking care of a relative’s child at home for a while now, so that might be why.”
“….I see. I see…is that the reason? …And one more thing…do you still have your yearbook?”
“Yearbook? Yeah…I have it, but I haven’t looked at it once since I graduated. Since I started this job, my friends have moved away and I haven’t had a chance to look at it. Why?”
“No…it’s nothing. Then…a reunion with the three of us…let’s definitely do that, okay? I’m fine whenever you want.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
[Illustration]
https://kakuyomu.jp/users/tanakamatao01/news/16818093094845765704
And so I left her.
When I left the coffee shop, the cityscape in the distance was enveloped in soft light.
When I returned home that night, Yua chan was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
She noticed my footsteps and turned around.
“…Welcome home.”
Her small voice echoes in the room.
I put down my bag and sat down next to her.
“I’m home. How was your day?”
“I watched TV. I ate some snacks.”
“I see.”
The bag of cookies I had bought for her is still open in her hand.
I feel that little by little, she is getting to be herself in this house.
“Hey, Yua chan. Don’t you want a friend?”
She tilts her head slightly at the sudden question.
“…..I don’t know. ….I haven’t been going to school much.”
“I see…. I haven’t seen my old friends in a long time. I felt nostalgic.”
“…..”
“You know, there are communities where young children gather other than schools.” I was about to say, but then she suddenly muttered something.
“…..I don’t need those things.”
She nodded silently and turned her eyes back to the TV.
But in her small profile, I sensed a subtle change.
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