Chapter 5: Foreign interest rates

Monday, 28 April, 20XX

Yui came to school today.

She wore gym clothes instead of the regular uniform.

Her parents probably realized that since she had at least one friend at school, they had to make sure that their daughter could attend class so that no one would get suspicious.

“Thanks to you, he has to hold himself back,” Yui said while we were walking home. We usually hung out in the classroom after school, but her parents had placed a strict curfew on her. She was to return the moment classes ended.

It was tough to accept, but people like that do exist.

I told her about the preparations I made for Operation Shinjuku.

“You’re so organized,” Yui said.

“Am I?”

“Mh, I don’t think any of the other boys in our class could have done everything you did.”

I smiled slightly. It was a sad smile. I had to learn how to take care of the house because mother was always at work.

I also had to contact my father, who had run away over ten years ago. He and my mother never properly divorced. Legally, he was still her husband, and I had to inform him of mother’s passing. I never received a reply. I don’t even know if he received the letter that was sent to his last known address.

We were going to discuss Operation Shinjuku some more, but then we saw that Yui’s mother was waiting for her at the fork where we usually split up.

“Yui, what a coincidence. Let’s go home together.”

She reeked of cigarettes and perfume.

“Mother…” Yui said apprehensively.

This couldn’t be a coincidence. She must’ve been waiting for us to make sure that Yui came straight home.

Her mother grabbed her wrist, almost pulling her away.

“See you tomorrow,” Yui said hurriedly. I nodded.

Tuesday, 29 April, 20XX – Part 1

Today was the start of Golden Week. We didn’t have to go to school anymore.

Yui messaged me on LINE, asking me to meet at the convenience store we pass by on the way to school.

She said she had something urgent to talk about.

We stood side by side at the magazine rack, holding this week’s issue of Jump, but neither of us was reading it.

“Something horrible happened,” she said. “It’s a disaster.”

My heart pounded in my chest.

A disaster? Did the world end ahead of schedule? But nothing had happened yet.

“My stepfather searched my room yesterday while we were at school, and he found the secret stash of money I kept hidden behind the bookshelf. He confiscated all of it, even though it was money I earned from a part-time job I worked before moving here.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. In a way, that was worse than the world ending.

“He said he would punish me for keeping secrets…but mother said that we should wait until after we met our relatives.”

“He didn’t hurt you, right?”

“Mm. My mother would get mad at him if he beats me and, therefore, embarrasses her in front of our relatives. That’s the only thing he’s afraid of.”

I took a breath. “He took all of your money?”

“Almost all of it. I have a second secret stash in a metal box buried in the park, behind the public bathroom. But I put only a third of my savings in there because I was worried someone might find it.”

I couldn’t believe that Yui went to such lengths to hide her money.

But it was even less normal for parents to ransack their child’s room for money.

We both took a moment to calm down.

“Okay, so about two-thirds of your money is gone, but you have everything else, right?”

Yui nodded. “I know where my passport and ID cards are. My student ID is with me. The metal box I buried in the park also contains pre-paid SIM cards we can use during our trip.”

“Pre-paid SIM cards? I thought those were banned.”

“You can still buy them where there are a lot of tourists. It’s also possible to buy them online from overseas. Those SIM cards only have data though, so there is no phone number tied to them.”

“I see…I read that the government banned pre-paid SIMs because criminals kept using them.”

“Uhm…please don’t think that I’m a criminal. I…I’ve been thinking about running away since junior high, when my mother married that scumbag.”

“Why didn’t you run away sooner?”

Yui smiled ruefully. “Running away and living on your own is scary. When I’m with my parents, I have to be careful and sometimes they hurt me, but at least I don’t have to worry about food and housing. I…I never really had any friends, and I didn’t have the courage to leave on my own.”

Her shoulders were shaking.

She was right.

As teenagers, we didn’t have our own bank accounts. We couldn’t apply for passports on our own. We had very little agency.

Before my mother passed away, I had to use her name and identity to invest what little money we could spare, in order to take advantage of interest rates abroad. Since we were poor, it was important to use whatever advantage we could find.

That account was still there, but I hadn’t touched it since her passing. Too many people were playing the markets. The days of easy interest rate exploits were over.

Normally, not having agency wasn’t a problem; we stayed in the safe confines of our school life until we became adults. But to leave everything behind when we were still children? It was like staring into the abyss.

“I’m sorry, Haruto, for dragging you into this. My mother suspicious you – I’m sorry…”

Before I even realized it, I put my arms around her. Yui’s shaking shoulders grew still, her breathing calmed down. It was the first time in years I had hugged anyone.

It was a strange, but pleasant feeling.

A few moments later, Yui looked up at me.

“Look at us, hugging in a convenience store. If someone saw us, they’ll definitely think we’re a couple.”

“That would spread a lot of rumors.”

Yui gave me an odd look.

“Haruto, usually boys should blush and feel embarrassed about something like this. Your reaction is more like that of a middle-aged man who is used to playing with girls.”

I chuckled. Maybe it’s because I’ve been through more.

“I haven’t played with any girls, though.”

Chisato and I had dated very briefly at the beginning of high school before deciding it was better for us to stay as childhood friends. She was the only girlfriend I ever had.

“Is that so…I see…”

Yui turned her shoulder to me. I couldn’t see what her expression was.

After Yui had bought what her parents told her to buy, we walked past the park where she buried the rest of her savings. It was an ordinary park in a residential neighborhood, the kind that you’d see anywhere. A few children were playing on the playground, their mothers chatting nearby.

“It’s behind the public bathroom on the right. I marked it with a stone.”

“Should we get it now?”

Yui shook her head.

“Someone might see us. It’s suspicious if two high schoolers are digging a hole in the park in the middle of the day.”

“But we’re going tomorrow. When are you going to get it?”

“I’m not — you are.”

“Why me?”

“We’ll have to do it in the middle of the night. But my parents lock my door and windows after dinner. It’s impossible for me to leave the house at night without waking them up.”

“That kind of thing…”

They were keeping their daughter imprisoned.

“So, should I dig it up?”

“I think that’s our only option.”

“Can you show me where the exact spot is?” I pointed at the bathroom.

Yui shook her head. “Stop pointing at it,” she whispered and frantically looked around. “What if my parents see?”

Yui was completely paranoid. But she had good reason to be. It wasn’t normal for parents to ransack their child’s room and lock them inside. And her mother knew of the path we used to walk home from school. There was a chance that they might be observing us to see if their daughter had any other secrets.

It was strange to think that she was more scared of her parents than the world ending. In fact, she welcomed the end of the world – and so did I.

“That playground looks fun,” she said louder than usual and pointed at it.

“Yeah, it looks really fun! Let’s play there sometime!”

“Yeah!”

“We roll around in the sand! It will be so fun!”

Yui gave me an odd look.

“That’s a bit much…”

She was doing this in case her parents were watching.

We walked to the fork in the road where we usually split. This time, it was her stepfather who was waiting for her.

He barely looked at me and focused his attention on Yui.

“Let’s go home,” he said and turned around without acknowledging me.

She followed him without a word.