A Story in Yokohama -26【hydrangea】
A Story in Yokohama【 Subtitled "Longing"】-26
“You've been unfaithful to that woman.”
J said as they left the courtroom.
“I had no choice.”
“Betrayal is acceptable, as long as it's calculated.”
“I thought about it a lot.”
“Thinking is not enough. Have you considered carefully what you have to lose?”
“I've thought a lot. Well, you live in a cruel world, don't you?”
“My job in the underworld is different from yours. You're trying to do something you can't do.”
“I weighed what I might lose against cutting ties with that person. However, if I just end up with having led the tax evasion without any argument, I won't be able to live as a tax accountant in my future.”
“Even if you get what you want, will that be enough to balance yourself in the future?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you think you'll be able to maintain the same level of control you've always had?”
“I'm not thinking about that. I'm just trying to figure out what my priorities are right now.”
“I see.”
That evening, Naomi was visited by a man.
“I'm so sorry it had to go down that way.”
“It's okay. He’s not as strong as you.”
“What are you going to do about the trial?”
“There's nothing to be done. I know the outcome.”
“You'll need a lawyer.”
“I'll ask a friend of my husband's.”
“Why did you agree to Yuichi's proposal?”
“Because he planned it on his own. I had no idea he would propose something like that. When he came to me with his plan to evade taxes, he looked so alive. He went from a boy to a man.”
“Were you prepared for this?”
“To be honest, at first I thought it would work. But the tax inspector was better than Yuichi. It was bad luck.”
“My lawyer said there's a high probability of guilt in the case.”
“No, 100% guilty. The question is whether I'll get probation or not, but with the amount of tax evasion, I'll probably go to jail.”
“Will you appeal if you are sentenced to jail?”
“I'm not going to appeal, and if I go to jail, please bring me the books that my sister left me. Although I don't like prison, Thomas Mann's books might be a good read and it will pass in a year or so.”
“I'm so sorry.”
“It's not your fault. I'm the one who accepted Yuichi's proposal. By the way, are you still going to support Yuichi from now on?”
“I will. It's my mother's dying wish.”
“Aside from my sister, will you continue to support him as your own way of life?”
“I'm living with my mother's memory, and this is what she entrusted to me when she was dying.”
“Yeah. Junko is so lucky to be remembered by you for so long.”
“...”
“Junko showered you with all the love she could muster. You don't have to worry about me. I have to take responsibility for playing with fire.”
“I knew you would say that. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“About that tax inspector. You knew that man before, didn't you?”
“Why?”
“I vaguely had a feeling you knew him. And he knew me, too.”
“That's right. It's my husband's sister's child. But I never told him about you.”
“He's too sharp for a public servant.”
“He's a bit like you.”
“In what way?”
“His father died early and he lived with his mother alone like you. When her mother got sick and was hospitalized, my husband took him in and changed his last name to our Fukada, and we lived together for a while. My husband was willing to adopt him as long as he was okay with it.”
“I didn't know that.”
“But not long after her mother died, he left us when he graduated from high school. After that, he struggled to get through college and became a tax inspector.”
“How can a man who was taken care of by you and your husband, and who is also a relative, examine you so harshly?”
“His mother led him to that. She refused any help from my husband as long as she could work on her own. She was the kind of person who never took a day off, even when she was sick.”
“Why did she work so hard though she had a rich brother?”
“She believed in ‘working hard and living honestly’. When she collapsed from overwork and was hospitalized, she finally said, ‘I can't work anymore. The rest is God's will.’ ”
“Was she a Christian like you using that term?”
“Yes, she was. At the funeral, he said, ‘My mother lived the life God gave her diligently and righteously. I'm going to follow in her footsteps.’ ”
“I didn't know that.”
“Junko, who never married because she didn't want to be constrained, lived a free and spontaneous life while raising you alone, is a different type from her. However, they are the same in that they refused to compromise and lived their lives the way they wanted to. He believes that it is his role to correct any mistakes, even those made by relatives. His roots are in his mother, just like you.”
“He's a hard man to deal with.”
“Both of them are my relatives. That's why I kept quiet and watched.”
“Didn't you think Yuichi was going to lose?”
“When Yuichi came up with a plan and seriously tried to woo me, I thought he might succeed. But when my nephew came to inspect and tried to touch the contract, he hesitated for a while and then put on his gloves. That's when I knew this boy was the real deal. I realized that Yuichi was no match for him, thinking only with his head.”
“Eventually Yuichi will have to accept everything and take responsibility. Then I will make him start all over again.”
“Please do.”
“Besides, I think it's time we talked about our relationship.”
“Right. By the way, are you interested in that female investigator?”
“Why?”
“She looks a little like Junko. My nephew is brilliant, but he's just serious. But she has a way of exposing herself and reaching out to grab our hearts. She has a lingering effect.”
“I don't know, but I may have a same feeling.”
“She's asking me a question.”
“About what?”
“My relationship with you and Yuichi.”
“What did you say?”
“I told her I can't talk about it right now. But I might tell her someday.”
“She's a stranger. We have to settle things between us first.”
“Right.”
Commentary
After the trial, J asks Yuichi why he betrayed Naomi, and that evening, he visits Naomi.
...To be continued...