An answer does not come to me easily.
I said something as irresponsible as “just live,” but his current situation is much more serious than I thought.
Still, it is true that nothing gets better by dying.
People will be sad, and various costs will surely add up, too.
He seems to prioritize his younger sister and his parents…
That’s it!
“Then, why don’t you get a part-time job and earn some money?”
This was the only thing I could think of right now.
“If you get a part-time job, you can at least help a little with living expenses.”
When I said that, Hayami snapped back at me.
“You tell me to get a part-time job, but how much do you think I can make in a month?”
“Eh?”
I have never had a part-time job. I thought about getting one, but my mother told me I didn’t need to. Instead, she told me to focus on my studies, yet my grades haven’t gone up at all.
I had no choice but to guess an answer to Hayami’s question.
“Uhm, about 200,000 yen?”
Hearing that, Hayami laughed through his nose. What a rude guy.
“You, that’s impossible even if you work every day.”
“Eh? Is that so?”
Hayami replied to my surprise with a mocking smile again.
“You really don’t know anything, do you? Are you really a gal? Have you never worked a part-time job? Listen, even if you work 5 hours a day at 1,300 yen per hour, it’s only about 45,000 yen a week.”
“Huh? Is that all?”
“Were you even listening to me? Do the math properly. Try multiplying 1,300 by 5, and then multiply that by 7.”
I tried to calculate it in my head but I couldn’t do mental math.
“You don’t have to calculate it in your head, just use the calculator on your smartphone or ask an AI.”
I tapped the calculator on my phone just as he told me and calculated it.
“Oh, true. But why 5 hours? Can’t you work more?”
Then Hayami explained it to me.
“You see… No matter how hard a student tries, you can’t work until after school ends, right? So even if you dash to your part-time job right after school, you can’t start working until around 5:00 PM, can you?”
“Well… I guess so.”
“Plus, students can only work until 10:00 PM.”
“Seriously?”
“You really are clueless.”
Hayami laughed and insulted me. What’s his deal? Even I knew about… well, maybe not that much.
“Besides, you can only work up to 40 hours a week.
If so, even with 8-hour workdays, you can only work 5 days a week. But there are no places that will let a student work that much, right? At most, it’s probably about 3 or 4 days a week.
Naturally, employers are going to prioritize freeters who can work every day normally, right?
Also, if you work 5 hours for 5 weekdays, you can’t work 8 hours each on Saturday and Sunday.
So even assuming 5 hours a day, it won’t reach 200,000 yen. Well, if it’s 40 hours at 1,300 yen for 4 weeks, it does reach 200,000 yen, though.”
I was starting to lose track of what he was saying. What? It’s too fast, I don’t get it. Why does the math work out like that?
And by the way, has this guy even worked a part-time job himself?
I told him to get a part-time job, but somehow I ended up looking foolish.
“Hayami. Did you know all this and just make me tell you to get a part-time job!?”
Hayami smiled and apologized to me.
“My bad… I just wanted to test you a bit.
Since you told me to live like it’s some manga, I figured if I asked what I should do, you’d definitely suggest a part-time job.
Sure enough, you casually told me to get a job, so I asked you just in case you didn’t know the details.”
“You have a bad personality.”
“Yeah, though people don’t usually say that to my face.”
“Shouldn’t you say that people do say that to you!?”
What is wrong with this guy! He is completely different from how he is at school. What is with this mocking attitude!?
I can’t believe him.
“So, does your advice that I should get a part-time job still stand?”
Is Hayami plotting something else?
“No… forget it. You look like you’re plotting something again. But still, stop doing something stupid like dying and just live properly. Look, you can work part-time while going to school, and then once you graduate, you can work—”
“No, I’m quitting school either way.”
“Huh? Hey, Hayami! You’re already in your third year, you know? You can graduate in less than a year! Once you get out of high school, various things—”
Hayami’s expression changed at my words.
“Who is going to pay my tuition?”
“Ugh, that’s…”
“Nobody can pay my tuition. Even if I get a part-time job and put that money toward tuition, what about living expenses? My old man probably has debts to pay back, and even if I hypothetically earn 200,000 yen working part-time, my actual take-home pay is much lower.
If my dad’s salary goes toward the debt as well, there won’t be much left for living expenses, right? And for tuition, there are other costs besides the school fees. I looked it up, and the amount needed for a single year is about 500,000 yen. Our household doesn’t just have a huge chunk of money like that lying around.”
I was left completely speechless. I don’t know anything about his family’s circumstances. I couldn’t carelessly say anything.
“My bad.”
That was the only word I could say. I’m not the one paying my own tuition either. I don’t even know how much is being paid.
That’s why I couldn’t argue with anything he was saying.
“Our public school tuition isn’t expensive compared to private schools. But money goes out just to live day by day. It’s impossible to live on 0 yen a day.
Plus, it seems tuition isn’t paid monthly. It seems like it’s paid in a lump sum during certain months.
I’ve already been enrolled for a few more months, and I have to pay for that part too. How am I supposed to pay for that? Debts remain, and we have to keep living. Even so, there’s no room to pay my tuition until March.”
“Then what about your sister’s tuition?”
“My mother will probably do something about that.
If she goes back to her parents’ home, there’s no rent, and my mother said she would work. She said she thinks she can manage my sister’s tuition.”
“Then all the more reason why I can’t go with my mother.”
“I see… I suppose so.”
Hayami wants his sister to keep going to school even if he can’t.
He really acts like a big brother.
“I don’t care about myself anymore, but my biggest worry is Yumi…”
Yumi? Who is that?
“Hayami. Who is Yumi?”
“She’s my current girlfriend.”
Come to think of it, there was a girl who came to our classroom after school and went home with Hayami. I figured she was his girlfriend, but I didn’t know her name at all.
“Yumi and I have been together since we were little, and last year we were finally able to start dating. But since I ended up in this situation, I can’t keep dating her anymore.”
I don’t know anything about Hayami’s girlfriend, but why is it impossible? After all, they’ve been together since they were kids, right? Won’t she refuse to break up easily over something like this?
“Hey Hayami, I don’t know your girlfriend well, but even if your family has debt, and even if you have no money, wouldn’t she still stay with you?”
I think I said something a bit irresponsible. Surely love can conquer all. Is that really true? Dating when you have no money probably won’t make you happy.
Truthfully, even I think that.
“At first, I thought so too. But reality is different.
In reality, my parents got into debt, life became difficult, and they are getting divorced. This is reality.
At first, Yumi might say there’s no need to break up.
No, she might do that while we’re still students. But once we enter society and face reality, Yumi will regret it. She’ll think the time she spent dating me was a waste.”
“No, that’s not…”
“I definitely think so. That’s why I’m planning to break up with Yumi.”
Hayami had already made up his mind when things turned out like this.
“But I don’t think Yumi will accept it even if I tell her we should break up.”
“Why? You’re going to tell her the proper reasons, right?”
“No, even if I give her the reasons, I think Yumi won’t look at reality and will say something naive.”
As a student, having her parents pay her living expenses and getting allowance on top of that. That’s the kind of life she lives.
If Yumi living that kind of life stays with someone like me who has absolutely no money, she’s going to suffer right now.
Won’t she surely say she’ll get a part-time job too, and that we should do our best together? She said she wanted to go on to higher education, didn’t she?
Yet, if she dates someone like me, she’ll surely push herself and start working part-time.
If she does that, her study time will be cut short, and she might fail her entrance exams.
And if she fails, it will affect Yumi’s future, too. Then when she grows up, Yumi will regret that time.
I want Yumi to be happy. Actually, I wanted to make Yumi happy myself, but in reality, that’s already impossible.
If so, I want her to break up with me here and find a new happiness.
I don’t know when that will be but I think she’ll be happier that way than staying with me.”
“You… you’re thinking that much for your girlfriend’s sake…”
“I want Yumi to be happy. I’ve loved her for a long time. That’s why staying with a broke guy like me won’t work out in the end… Seeing my own family made me realize that all over again.”
“Hayami… then you should explain that properly to her.”
I say that, but Hayami shakes his head.
“It’s impossible. Just like I said, Yumi definitely won’t accept it.”
“Then…”
“Haah… If it’s a choice between dying or not, maybe I should just cheat on her so she ends up hating me…”
“What are you saying?”
Saying that, Hayami stared right at me and dropped an unbelievable bombshell.
“Hey Toyama… won’t you be my cheating partner?”
“Huh?”