The father and daughter I met at a late-night beef bowl shop who became like family to me

No. 291 The story I will introduce this time

Here, I am compiling stories from bulletin boards like 2channel (now 5channel) and other viral tear-jerkers into articles titled "Stories so good they make you cry," along with the YouTube videos where they were uploaded.

The story I am introducing this time is a post detailing the encounter between the poster, who was working part-time at a beef bowl shop, and a father and daughter who came in late at night, and the process of how they became like family.

Regarding the posting date,
I have confirmed that it was posted on May 17, 2015.

There was a YouTube video based on this story, so I will introduce that as well.

Post content

A while ago, I quit the job I had been at for several years because I wanted to get a qualification, and I was studying for it while working part-time.

My part-time job was at a beef bowl shop, and my shift was basically from 10 PM until morning.
Exactly this time of year, two years ago, around 1 AM, a father and daughter came in as customers.

The father was around his 30s. The child was a girl, probably about 2 or 3 years old.
Despite it being late at night, the girl didn't seem sleepy and was talking actively.
When I brought them water, the father said, "Please let us think about our order for a moment."

At the time, I was working the shift alone, and since the shop was along a national highway in a regional city, there were no other customers.
The conversation between the father and daughter was clearly audible.

Daughter: "I want to eat this, Naho-chan."
Father: "So Naho wants to eat this, huh? (Looking at the contents of his wallet) Okay, let's order this!"

Daughter: "Is beef bowl yummy?"
Father: "Yeah, it's really yummy!"

The buzzer rang, so I went to take their order.
Father: "Excuse me, please give me one of these (small-sized beef bowl)."

Me: "Anything else?"
Father: "That's all."

I wondered if they didn't have any money.

Looking closely at this father and daughter, the father was wearing quite worn-out slacks and a frayed dress shirt.

Even though it was already the end of May, the daughter was wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt covered in pilling.
Their luggage was just one dirty, large backpack.
It was clear from their appearance that they hadn't taken a bath in several days.

Well, work is work, so I didn't pay much attention to it and brought the beef bowl over immediately.

As expected, the father didn't eat anything at all and let his daughter eat everything.
Father: "Naho, is it yummy?"

Daughter: "Sooo yummy! Daddy, aren't you eating, Daddy?"
Father: "Daddy is already full, so Naho-chan, you eat it all."

This is bad, this is that thing you often see in skits!
I can't believe such a parent and child actually exist... it's pitiful...
It's clearly one of those situations where they have no home and no job.
Looking even closer, the father's cheeks were sunken.

The daughter had slightly messy hair, but she was a cute girl with a bob cut.
I thought he must be working really hard to make sure this child gets enough to eat.

But even though I was working the shift alone, I didn't think to say, "This is on the house," and treat them to a regular-sized bowl; I just thought they would leave once they finished paying.

Then, the girl who had eaten her fill started looking very sleepy.
This means they're going to be staying for a long time!
She fell asleep in about five minutes, but until then, the father and daughter had various conversations.

"I want to sleep with Mommy," or "Daddy, is Mommy lost?"
I couldn't quite grasp the situation, but it seems the mother is not around.

Hearing her mutter "Mommy..." while looking sleepy,
I started to feel incredibly sorry for them, and a slightly hypocritical emotion began to sprout.

After the girl fell asleep, I went to get a blanket I keep in my car, returned to the shop, and handed it to the father.

Me: "Um, please put this over your daughter."
Father: "Oh! Uh, no, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry...
We'll leave as soon as this child gets some sleep..."
Me: "There are almost no customers late at night anyway. It's fine until she wakes up."
Father: "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

Every time I walked past, the father, who had his daughter sleeping on the chair next to him with her head on his lap, would bow and say, 'I'm sorry...'
I thought, how humble can you be?
I figured they probably didn't even have a home.
They had come on foot, after all.
Eventually, the girl woke up before 6:00,
and the father left the shop while bowing repeatedly.

My shift ended at 6:00, so after handing over to the part-timer replacing me,
I clocked out around 6:15.

Then, I got in my car, headed onto the national highway, and after driving about 300 meters toward my house, there they were!
I saw the father walking slowly, holding his daughter's hand.
Just as I was passing by, the father picked the girl up.
You know, the father's body just didn't have any strength in it.
It felt like they hadn't eaten anything for a day or two.
He was stumbling, yet he was still trying to carry the girl.

I couldn't just stand by, so I parked my car a little further ahead and ran over to them.

Me: 'You're so unsteady, you're going to drop your daughter.'
Father: 'Oh, uh, I'm fine... Wait, are you the clerk from the beef bowl shop earlier?'
Me: 'Yeah, I was worried about you from inside the shop... If you don't mind me asking, do you have somewhere to go?'
Father: 'Oh, well, I'm heading to where this child's mother is...'
Me: 'Where is the mother?'
Father: '... (a sheepish, evasive smile)'
Me: 'Look, I haven't had breakfast yet. I was thinking of grabbing something at the McDonald's on the way home, so why don't you join me?'
Father: 'Um, I appreciate the invitation, but I don't have any money on me right now...'
Me: 'If you don't have any money, you can't buy your daughter breakfast, can you? Let's go. I'll treat your daughter to breakfast.'
Father: 'I couldn't! I can't let a stranger treat us to a meal.'
Me: 'Come on, even if you say that, your daughter must be hungry, right? Let's go!'
After that conversation, I forced them into my car and went to McDonald's.

In the car, the father kept apologizing the whole time.
'No, it's fine. It's better to eat with three people than to eat alone.'
'I'm sorry, I'm really sorry...' he kept repeating lol

When we got into McDonald's, I asked the girl, 'Do you like pancakes?' and she said, '...I like them...'
So I ordered a pancake Happy Meal for her, a set for myself, and another set for the father with the same thing as me plus a Sausage Egg McMuffin.

This father was truly humble, or maybe he just had no desires,
because even after ordering all that, he seemed to think there wasn't any for him.

At the counter, he was saying things like, 'Could I have a cup of water?'
When I told him that two of the meals were for him, he said, 'I don't need that, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.'

Anyway, I ordered for four people in total, paid, got the food, and sat down.

Me: 'I love the McGriddles. And Naho-chan, here's your Happy Meal. The rest is for your dad.'
Father: 'Wait, why? I can't, that's too much. I'm fine with just this hash brown...'
Me: 'You can't carry Naho-chan with just that little bit. Come on, eat!'

After that, the father cried. He said he had never encountered such kindness.
You know, the father was pitiful, but I felt even more sorry for Naho-chan.

While we ate, I asked how they ended up in this situation.

Apparently, until about three months ago, there was another sister besides the parents and Naho-chan.
Naho-chan looked just like her father (which was true), and the sister looked like the mother.
The wife doted on the sister and treated Naho-chan quite coldly.

Then, three months ago, the wife left, taking only the sister (the second daughter) with her.
The father's workplace was soliciting voluntary retirement due to worsening management, and the father accepted it.
Or rather, he was forced into a situation where he had no choice but to resign.

The wife, who had control of the household finances, took the small retirement bonus and everything else and vanished.
The money left in his hands was only a few tens of thousands of yen.
That was when the father made a fatal mistake.
He had set the account for his unemployment benefits, which were supposed to be deposited in the month he retired, to an account in his name that was used for household expenses (which the wife controlled).
Of course, he couldn't withdraw the money that was deposited, and the wife withdrew it immediately.
Naturally, he couldn't pay the rent and was kicked out of the apartment.

Hearing that, I thought this father had his own share of problems.
He had to protect his daughter, but he was too naive.
But I couldn't just say that.
Father aside, I had to make sure Naho-chan ate three meals a day and had clothes to wear.
In fact, it looked like they hadn't bathed in days.
I realized it when I put them in the car.
Both of them smelled.
Since they had satisfied their hunger for now, I took them home.
The father was still saying things like, 'No, I can't accept such kindness!' but I wouldn't take no for an answer.

'Anyway, let's get Naho-chan a bath,' I said.
My home is a very ordinary 1DK apartment.
An 8-tatami mat Western-style room, a small dining kitchen, and a bath and toilet.

As soon as we arrived, I told Naho-chan, 'Naho-chan, this is your home for a while.'
Naho-chan didn't seem to understand very well, but she sat down on the low table saying, 'Is this Naho-chan's home?' and looked around the room.

I happened to have Calpis in the fridge, so I let her drink that while I talked to the father.

Father: 'I'm really sorry! To receive such kindness...'
Me: 'What are you talking about! Naho-chan is the one I feel sorry for.
Father, please go take a bath with Naho-chan for now.'

I could hear Naho-chan's happy, giggling voice from the bathroom.
I'm 33 years old, and if I were married, it wouldn't be strange for me to have a child around that age. I felt a bit of a domestic atmosphere.

At this point, I had made a decision.
I would let this father and child live with me for a while and have the father look for a job and a place to live.
First, job hunting.
Once he has a steady job and income, then he can look for a place to live.
This father had lost his parents, was estranged from his relatives, and had nowhere to go, and he couldn't rely on the mother's side who had vanished.
So they had to start a new life together.

I have an older sister who got divorced after her husband ran up debts, and she moved back in with her only daughter, so I think I understand that kind of hardship a little bit.
To that offer, the father cried and thanked me several times.
Since I was studying for certifications at home except for my four night shifts a week at the beef bowl shop, I could keep Naho-chan company while the father was job hunting.

My income at the time was 140,000 yen a month after taxes from my part-time job, and I had about 2 million yen in savings from before I quit my previous job.
I could afford to let the father and child live with me for about half a year.
If my financial situation had been tight, I wouldn't have been able to make such a proposal.
There were two certification exams a year, so I could postpone one (half a year) if needed.
Seeing Naho-chan smiling and giggling, I thought that was acceptable.

After the bath, Naho-chan ran out naked.
I caught her with a bath towel and dried her off.
I was drying her off, thinking, 'Wow, I feel like a father.'
I made a simple lunch, and after that, I had the father take a nap with Naho-chan.

From what I could see, the father hadn't slept since last night.
How long had he not been sleeping...?
Naho-chan woke up first, and I played with her.

She was apparently two years old, and I didn't know how to play with a two-year-old, so we just drew pictures.
I only had felt-tip pens, but I think we spent about two hours drawing, scribbling, and drawing things that looked like faces.
Around 7:00 PM, my girlfriend rushed over, and the father had just woken up.
He was still saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry.'
While we had dinner as four people at a nearby family restaurant, we talked about the future.

Tomorrow, we'll first go buy clothes and daily necessities for the father and child, and then start job hunting.
Find a job as soon as possible, earn an income, and if they can become independent, look for an apartment.
The grace period is four months. (Actually, half a year would have been fine, too.)
Make sure to find one by then.
The next day, the four of us went to a shopping mall in the city.

First, we bought a set of clothes for Naho-chan at a franchise children's clothing store, and then we bought casual clothes for the father and a suit for job hunting.

We also bought various daily necessities since we needed three times as much.
I think I spent about 70,000 yen just that day.
My girlfriend was enthusiastic, saying things like, 'This is a rehearsal for when we have kids.'

Does that mean we're getting married...?
At a slightly stylish children's clothing store, my girlfriend and I gave Naho-chan a dress as a gift.

I hadn't bought a gift of children's clothes since I bought one for my niece.
Life after that was, well, as noisy as if I had a daughter.
At first, she seemed nervous about being brought to a place she didn't know, but as she got used to it, she showed quite a mischievous side, running around, drawing grand art on the walls, and pulling up the bulbs from the planters I was growing on the balcony.

However, the father found a new job in just half a month.

He found a quality control job at a factory, the same as his previous workplace.
As a result of the interview, he was hired.

He started working the following week, and two months later, when he received his full monthly salary, he found an apartment.
Two months and 19 days after coming to my room, the father and child moved to their new room.
Actually, the father was only two years older than me, but he moved out waving his hand, saying, 'Big brother! Bye-bye!'

And the place they moved to was the floor below my apartment lol
Even now, the days of playing with Naho-chan, who has grown a little, continue.
My girlfriend also plays with her on her days off (weekdays).

And at the end of this year, my girlfriend will become my wife.
She's already saying, 'I want a child as mischievous as Naho-chan.'

Since Naho-chan is already like a daughter to me, it feels like having a second child even if we have one.
A little sadly, we plan to move to a slightly larger room after we get married.
It's in the neighborhood, just a two-minute walk from our current apartment, though.
We were talking about a condo about 10 minutes away by car, but my wife said, 'I want to stay near Naho-chan after all,' so we chose the second option in the neighborhood.

My daughter was born this month, and Naho-chan and her father came to celebrate and it was lively.

By the way, I'm still good drinking buddies with Naho-chan's father.
He paid back the money I spent on shopping at the beginning in less than half a year, and I told him to use that money to buy Naho-chan a school bag when she enters elementary school.

I wrote this on this thread because complete strangers became like family in my life.

YouTube

I would like to introduce a video that was made based on this story.
※ It seems there are other videos besides the one I am introducing.

Nikoru-n-sama

[2ch Short] Tomoyan-sama

Finally

My note article is not intended for profit.
I am simply writing this article because I want to share a story that made me cry with everyone.

However, if there are any issues such as 'copyright,' I will delete it, so please let me know.

In addition, the images posted are from Irasutoya-sama and Minchirie-sama.

Thank you for staying with me until the end.