The Day I Decided to Lend Money (The First Time)

Yes, the title is already ominous.
This is still just the prologue, death.

I already talked about how he decided to change jobs.
He's an adult, so he should be able to work wherever he likes, right?
But when the working environment is so harsh that you can't even get proper rest,
and
when you calculate the hourly wage and it's lower than a high school student working at a convenience store, there's a limit even if you love the job.
Even if I gave him the benefit of the doubt and there was room for improvement, there was absolutely no prospect of that.
Moreover, it wasn't like he could even utilize his (arguably only) skill, which was English.
In that case.
I had no reason to oppose his job change.
If anything, I was even pushing him to do it.

The day he declared, "I'm going to tell the company about my resignation today."
Night came, and he called me.
His first words were

"I've gotten myself into a bit of trouble..."

When I listened to the details carefully.
At the time, he was living in a place where the company had provided assistance for his moving and initial housing costs.
However, this assistance was not a grant, but a loan.
He had completely forgotten about repaying those costs. I find it hard to believe he could forget that, though.
If he were to pay back the loan in one go before quitting, his salary for that month would be almost entirely offset,
leaving him with almost nothing in hand.
Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped. He did borrow it, after all.
I replied, "Can't you just cover it with your savings and find a new job as soon as possible?"

"I don't have any."
"...Huh?"
"I don't have any."
"What?"
"Savings."

I was speechless. Absolutely speechless.
I was speechless that he had forgotten about the loan,
speechless that a man in his 40s working a full-time job had no savings,
and speechless that he had decided to change jobs when his financial situation was nowhere near stable enough to quit.

I intended to be speechless, but I ended up saying it all out loud.
He had no reply and fell silent.

"So?"
"Huh?"
"What are you going to do?"
"..."
"Why don't you try telling them you'll retract your resignation and work a bit longer until the repayment is finished?"
"...That's impossible."
"But you won't be able to live."
"The president already told me I can't retract it anymore."

Checkmate.
Has there ever been a situation in the past where the word 'checkmate' fit so perfectly?
No, there hasn't.

After we were both silent for a while, he squeezed out a certain proposal.
"So, I'm really sorry to ask, but..."
"...What?"
"I have a favor to ask."

Yes, even a kindergartner could see where this is going.
Some of you might be bored because you already know the punchline, but please bear with me a little longer.

"Please lend me some money."
"..."

I didn't answer immediately and asked something that had been bothering me.
"Can't you rely on your parents? They're still alive, right?"
"My father is quite strict, and if something like that happened, I'd be dragged back (to the regional city where my parents live)."
"He told me that someone who goes into debt has no right to live alone."

Your father is absolutely right. That's exactly it.
Fulfill your obligations before asserting your rights. That's the point.
But then, in the next moment, he unsheathed his trump card, which is highly effective on someone in love.

"But I don't want to be apart from you."

Ugh, are you an idiot? Are you actually an idiot?
That's not 'cute.' I'll say it again, you must be an idiot, right?
I don't need to do anything for you! This is a case where you should be cut off!!
Of course, my current voice couldn't reach my past self,

"...How much?"

And that's how it went.
Oh, boy.
Oh, boy, boy.
Rest assured.
The dark history has only just begun.

The amount I decided to lend him that day was about 300,000 yen.
For two months of rent and living expenses, you know.
※ I'll say it again, this is a prologue.