“What are you writing?”
“Just wait a little.”
After she bounced on the bed to get a feel for it, she used the remote on top of the table to turn on the TV. After several channels, an adult video showed up on the screen. A male actor was parting a young, naked woman’s thighs and practicing some sort of mischief. Of course, the scene was censored with pixelated blurs and the crucial part wasn’t visible.
Juri turned off the TV hastily. Seeing that, I chuckled.
“You’re surprisingly naïve.”
“I just turned it off because it was trashy. If you want to watch it, I’ll turn it back on.”
“No, thank you. I’m in the middle of important work.”
“Huh.” Juri crossed and uncrossed her legs. “Men are weird. Why does watching something like that make them so happy?”
“There are women who are fond of watching stuff like that, too.”
“Not as many as men. In particular, older men are idiots. They don’t even have that much pocket money themselves but spend tens of thousands of yen to date a minor. They have to be wrong in the head. Do they not get that the girl’s toying with them?”
“‘Toying with’ sounds so predatory.” My hands stopped and I lifted my face. “Are you sure about that? These older men are fools who’re just being used by young girls?”
“Am I wrong?”
“Listen. Most of those guys are surviving in a harsh economic world. They know more than anyone the weight of a ten-thousand-yen bill. If they’re paying, it means they think it’s worth it.”
“But that’s what—”
“If you’re saying paying that much just for sex is foolish, it’s not. Just a generation ago, having sex with an amateur high schooler was a dream that not even several hundred thousand yen could buy. Now, it can come true for just a few ten-thousand-yen bills. It’s a bargain. Not jumping on it is weird. Those older guys are thinking, ‘These young girls selling something worth several hundred thousand, no several million yen for birdseed are such fools.’ The girls aren’t just undervaluing their bodies. They lowered the price on their own souls.”
“They don’t go as far as to sell their hearts. Girls like that say that it’s a business where they just sell their bodies.”
“They’re just telling themselves that. Sure, they won’t open their hearts as well to some old dude. But so what? Do you think the men are moved by that? When they make love to such girls, those guys are thinking, ‘I bet this chick hates having sex with me so much that she could die. But what do I care? I’ve paid for what I’ve paid for.’ In other words, by paying for it, they think they’ve earned the right to ignore the girl’s feelings. How is that not devaluing your soul?”
Maybe it was because I rattled on like a machine gun or because she didn’t really understand, but Juri fell silent with her head bowed. I heaved a sigh.
“There’s stuff in the world that’s worth more than money. I think that’s people’s hearts and time. You can’t move someone’s heart with money, and lost time can’t be bought back with money. So if it’ll help even a little with either of those things, I try not to be stingy.” I pulled a page from my notebook and handed it to her. “Well, so much for our chat, we have to continue with our plan. Like I said, time is more valuable than money.”
“What is this?”
“If you read it you’ll know.”
After Juri finished reading the note, she slowly raised her head. Her cheeks had stiffened. “We’re making a call from here? I’m making it?”
“That’s right. They want to make sure you’re safe, and if they got a call from you, they’d be satisfied.”
“Why from here?”
“Two reasons. One is in case they trace it. The other is those ships. I don’t know what kind of recorder they’ve planted, but if it picks up that sound, we’re in luck. The police will probably try to analyze it. If they figure out it’s a ship’s whistle, they’re bound to presume that the hideout is located near the sea. They might even identify the whistles as being from Yokosuka’s naval port.”
“Basically, you’re trying to mess up the investigation.”
“You got it.”
I pressed several buttons on the phone next to the bed. Soon my cell started ringing. After looking at its screen, I hung up the hotel phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I checked whether there’s caller ID. It’s okay, we can call as is.” I pushed the phone toward Juri.
She folded her arms and stared at it, then licked her lips and lifted her face. “It might not be Papa who answers.”
“I think it’ll definitely be him, but if it’s someone else, just ask them to get Mr. Katsuragi. Even in that situation, only wait for ten seconds. Tell them that, too. When ten seconds pass, you hang up.”
“I’m sure Papa will have a lot of questions.”
“Probably. But there’s no time for small talk. Say you can’t answer questions and only say what’s written on there.”
“I got it.” Juri slowly closed her eyes once. “I’ll try,” she said, opening her eyes again.
I indicated the phone with my hand. Juri swallowed. She took a deep breath and reached for the receiver.
Her shaking fingertips pressed the buttons. As expected, my heart started beating faster. I kept asking myself if I’d missed anything.
The sound of the ringing escaped from between the receiver and Juri’s ear. There were three rings. Then it connected. Someone’s voice. But I couldn’t tell whether it was Katsutoshi Katsuragi’s.
“Oh, Papa? It’s me. Can you tell from my voice? It’s Juri,” she said, looking at the note I’d written.
Even I could hear the person on the other end unleashing a storm of words. Juri sucked in a breath with a look of consternation.
“I’m sorry. We don’t have the time to talk. You understand, right? Because I’m not alone….I can’t answer that. Please just listen. We’re running out of time.”
I was staring at the clock’s hand. It was already past fifteen seconds.
“I’m safe. So don’t worry. They’re saying they’ll let me go home if they just get the money….Ah, I’m sorry. It looks like my time is up.”
I rested my finger on the call button. Just as I thought I’d hang up in two seconds, I heard a distant whistle. I cut off the call immediately.
“Done!” I shook my fist and stood up. After closing the window, I turned to Juri. “Luck’s on our side. That whistle went off at the perfect moment.”
But Juri seemed off. Her back was hunched as though she felt cold.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her, sitting next to her.
Her whole body was trembling. Just as I was about to ask her if she was okay, she clung to me.
“I’ve done it now, there’s no going back,” she murmured, pressing her cheek against my chest.
“Are you scared?”
Juri didn’t answer. As I stayed still, I felt her trembling against my arm.
“It’s natural,” I said. “What we’re doing isn’t normal. It’s something normal people are unable to do. But what we’re getting in return isn’t insignificant.”
Juri nodded slightly and looked up at me. Her eyes were moist.
Unexpected feelings swelled inside of me. A certain impulse, you could say. Something that I hadn’t noticed—or rather, that I’d noticed but had chosen to ignore—shook my heart.
I hugged Juri tighter. She looked at me with startled eyes.
Various thoughts crossed my head. Among them were a good number of self-serving takes. Sleeping with this girl here wouldn’t be such a big deal. In fact, deepening our relationship might be conducive to advancing the plan—I thought that, too.
But I loosened my arms and moved away from her. What I wanted to do wasn’t this. Right now, I was contending in the game of a lifetime.