Ren’s father had passed away the previous year. His father had been very strict about etiquette and matters of politeness. Even after Ren had turned 20, his father had been known to throw a punch if he did not approve of his son’s table manners. Ren’s father, in other words, was almost like a stereotypical, mean old mother-in-law. Humph, old man. I hope you kick the bucket soon. Ren used to secretly think that and he thought that maybe his wish had been granted by some mean-spirited deity. One morning, Ren found his father’s body rigid as if he were at attention. His father was staring up at the ceiling and already cold. It had been such a sudden death.
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I’m sorry, Dad, Ren had apologized countless times since. It’s all because of my stupid wish, I’m sorry. Please rest peacefully in heaven, Ren would think as he bowed over the Buddhist altar over and over.
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Ren may have inherited machines and a business, but his life was lacking any sense of joy and fulfillment. Although he did not need anyone else to keep the business running, Ren decided to hire an employee to try and change things. That was how Ren came to find the boy, who was happy so far as he was handling machines all day, from a local technical high school.
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Ren’s business was making machine parts. It was a small-scale factory but had a very good reputation for accuracy and a low defect rate. His authoritarian father had trained Ren well while building up his business, which was based on trust.
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His father was not smiling in the picture on the Buddhist altar. The funeral director had asked in vain for a nicer picture.
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"Don’t you have at least one picture of your father with a smile on his face?" he'd asked since in the picture Ren’s father was glaring at the world, looking stern and dignified. He was the very persona of a highly disciplined man. "If you can do it today, do not wait until tomorrow." That was one of his father’s teachings. A small factory like this one had to be tough on itself in order to survive. It wouldn't have very many clients otherwise. First comes work, second comes trust. Sincerity, friendliness, etiquette, etc. came third or fourth. Ren didn’t remember the exact order of importance. Even his late father had sometimes gotten the order mixed up, so Ren had decided that they were probably equally important.
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Ren scanned an industrial magazine as he slurped up his soup. He didn't take on jobs for mass produced parts. Most of his clients were research and development departments that would order one-of-a-kind parts for precision instruments. From research and development to commercialization, the industrial world always looked for new technology. No matter what kind of part was ordered, manufacturers had to try their best to meet the specifications asked for. Unless they did, the next order might never come. It was a tough world, so Ren made sure he kept on top of things even though his business was on such a small scale.
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Ren glanced up at the calendar. It had suddenly occurred to him that his long-time friend, Yuri Fuwa, had told Ren that he was doing his last job tonight. Thinking of Fuwa made Ren's plain Cup-o-Noodles suddenly taste both sweet and sour. Fuwa was a good friend of Ren's. He was gentle, calm, and very considerate. They didn't get to see each other much anymore for several reasons, but Fuwa always contacted Ren whenever he came back to Japan. Whenever he knew Fuwa was in Japan, Ren felt restless. Is he in some kind of trouble? Does he need my help? Ren always wanted to call to find out the answers to these questions, but he always managed to restrain himself.
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Ren had broken up with Fuwa, so he knew he shouldn't dwell on their past relationship too much. If Fuwa reached out and asked for help, Ren was more than ready to drop everything to do so. But it was not in Ren’s personality to push himself forward to ask, “Is there anything I can help you with, Yuri?”
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Fuwa’s side business was not something you could talk about openly. Although his gig could in some ways be thought of as helpful, it dealt with matters that were in somewhat of a gray area. Technically, Yuri Fuwa was a thief but he did not steal things for personal gain. Fuwa would sell the stolen goods and then use the funds for a good cause. Fuwa never put any of the profits from a job into his own pocket.
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Obviously, it was a risky business. Ren had wanted Fuwa to call it quits. As if Fuwa had sensed this, he'd called Ren last week. Fuwa had told him that his next job would be his last one and that he would find a part-time job at a convenience store.
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"Come back to me," Ren had wanted to say, but he didn't. Fuwa had a new boyfriend now. His name was Bud West, a man with a multinational background and who occasionally had done business with Fuwa.
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Ren had to admit that Bud West was a man of a higher caliber with a keener mind and deeper thoughts, as well as being more passionate about love than himself. Ren was no match for him. It was only natural for Fuwa to be crazy about Bud. There was nothing Ren could do to stop it. Ren had to keep some distance and live on as just a man from Fuwa’s past.
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Ren put his hands together one more time, giving thanks for the meal as he finished his noodle soup. He rinsed the container well, stacked the containers from yesterday and the day before together, and threw them into the recycling bin. At Atobe Manufacturing, even the trash was strictly separated.
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Afterwards, Ren sat down on the sofa bed. It was his habit to watch the nine, ten, or eleven o’clock news while reading the newspaper or one of his industrial magazines. Just as he picked up the TV remote control, the phone next to the sofa rang.
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Hm? Ren stared at the phone. He got the sense that something awful might have happened. Ren stretched out his arm and picked up the phone.
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Kazutaka was still sitting inside a transport vehicle with no windows. He was in the cargo space of a transport vehicle specifically made for shipping valuables and cash. The vehicle was normally used by banks and credit unions to transport cash, but today, it was carrying an attaché case and Kazutaka. Or rather, it was carrying the super expensive jewelry inside the attaché case. Kazutaka was only riding along.
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Kazutaka Yui was a special education teacher. He taught elementary and middle school students who were school-phobic. He had taught at a public middle school for three years before asking the Minamihama City Board of Education to transfer him to his current position where there were all kinds of school-phobic children. Study manuals and teaching guidelines were totally useless in dealing with these kids. What was important was to understand each individual’s personality and state of mind in order to develop a teaching method suited for each particular child.
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Many of the children were depressed and had trouble coming to terms with themselves as being “those kids who couldn't go to school.” Mere words of encouragement were nowhere near enough.
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Take it easy. Just take a tiny step at a time. You don’t have to finish this today; you can work on it tomorrow. Let’s just enjoy the day today. Those were Kazutaka’s trademark phrases, phrases he'd developed over the past two years. Kazutaka did not look like a teacher. He didn’t act like one either, so children felt at ease with him. Unfortunately, this also meant that Kazutaka was far from being an authority figure in anyone’s eyes. Kids would tease him saying things like, "You're so cute. How come you don’t have a girlfriend?" Fellow teachers would say, "Oh, it's you, Yui-sensei. I thought you were one of the students for a moment." Kazutaka simply had a baby face that seemed to invite this sort of attention.
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So why was Kazutaka in the security company’s car, transporting jewelry to police headquarters? It was because of his so-called unsavory ties. Ever since high school, Kazutaka had been surrounded by friends who depended on him, always pleading, "Please, Kazutaka. I’ve got no one else to turn to." He never could bring himself to refuse even though he ended up paying the consequences many, many times for agreeing.
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His old high school classmate, Shīno, had begged Kazutaka to do today’s job. Kazutaka had wanted to opt out if possible. But when Shīno had said, "You are the only one I can count on", Kazutaka once more found himself unable to refuse.
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Shīno would have liked to have some reliable employees who he could place his trust in. But shortly after he took over the business, there were a couple of incidents in which some of his employees made off with high-priced valuables. Because of this, Shīno had become nervous to the point of having diarrhea whenever an important job came up. Kazutaka therefore did not have the heart to say no to Shīno’s pleading.