02x03 - Plum Rice Ball

[bunniefuu]

When people finish their day
and hurry home,

my day starts.

My diner is open from midnight
to : in the morning.

They call it "Midnight Diner."

Do I even have customers?

More than you would expect.

The guy turned
and switched jobs to be a care worker?

That's right.

He was a writer for a magazine,

but he was no longer getting any work.

Was he close to you?

Yes.

That guy used to offer me a lot of work.

It's a tough job, by the way.

Does he have the strength for it?

His clients always tease,
"An old guy looking after an old guy."

Here you go. The firefly squid
dressed with vinegar and miso,

and the marinated squid.

Spring has come. I just want to feel
peaceful while I'm alive.

Another cold sake, please.

Sure.

Which glows more,
a firefly or a firefly squid?

Firefly squid does.
Fireflies only glow around their buttocks.

Either way,
they won't shine on our old days.

It's delicious, isn't it?

Honestly, I feel depressed when I think
about my days after retirement.

You're already retired, aren't you?

Hey, that's mine!

Wouldn't it be better if you shaved
your hair and had a shining head?

You should talk! You're hiding
your bald head with a cap!

This is the fashion!

À la mode.

-Oh, dear.
-What is that...

Welcome.

Excuse me, I want to ask you something.

Is Shinjuku New Art around here?

It's right there,
but it's already closed by now.

It closes at midnight.

If you're looking to see the Virgin Mary,
you could visit the other one over there.

Are you okay?

Are you all right?

We have both normal-sized
and small pickled plums,

but he wanted the small ones.

If you go to New Art before noon,
you can get an early-morning discount.

Is that so?

Can I have another one?

Of course.

I've heard of an old plum hag before,

but never an old plum geezer.

You found this at Yomogi town park, right?

Who found this?

-It was her.
-What?

It was him, right?

No, it was you!

-No!
-Wait, wait.

I need to talk to your parents,

because the person who found this
has the right to receive a reward.

-Yes!
-It was me!

Too close.

Can we get some money?

It depends.

I'm not sure if it's cash.

I gotta go now.

-Me, too.
-Hey.

Hey, wait.

Oh, dear...

You've got something between your teeth.

Between your teeth.

Something you ate.

No, no, no. How come she doesn't get it?

Here you go.

Mr. Umemiya taught Marilyn
bookkeeping at her high school.

I see. He was her teacher
when she was a student.

Welcome.

-Sorry to have kept you waiting.
-Marilyn. Come sit here.

Thank you.

Sensei, sorry for making you wait.

No worries. I don't mind.

-Master, another of these and the usual.
-Sure.

I've been watching strip shows
for a long time,

but today's was so special.
I'll never see anything like that again.

A heavenly maiden!

Marilyn!

Unveiling!

Student number nine!

Mariko Kanno!

Umejii?

I was so surprised!

I was called out to by my student number.

It was like a sumo wrestler
entering the ring.

I retired so long ago,

but I couldn't help myself. I'm sorry.

I'll call you that again next time, too.

Stop it!

Student number nine!

Here you are.

I started calling him Umejii.

Since I was a slut like my mother,

all my female classmates disliked me
and ignored me.

-They were jealous.
-Maybe.

But he was the only one
that wasn't like them.

I'd call him by his nickname,
feeling close to him.

At lunch time,
when I was smoking on the rooftop alone,

you always gave me a rice ball with plum.

You'd complain, saying you preferred
the one with cod roe.

I didn't say that!

You'd chop small pickled plums
and mix them with rice.

It was delicious.

How's your wife? Is she well?

Yeah.

She still makes me rice balls with these.

Umejii, where are you gonna stay tonight?

Tonight...

It was great getting to see you,

and I did see the Virgin Mary, too.
It was great.

Don't be silly.

Why don't you stay with me?
I live with my boyfriend, though.

Good for you, Mr. Umemiya. I'm envious.

Why not, then?

Deal!

Going with the flow

That night, he stayed at Marilyn's.

The next day, they went to Tokyo Skytree
since Marilyn had the day off.

Our friends

Forever

Support each other forever

Forever

Yes, there.

Kibi...

After that, Umejii wanted
to buy a scarf for his wife,

so he bought one at a department store
in Ueno, and I took him to the station.

I see.

Welcome.

Umejii! What're you doing here?

Student number nine!

Mariko Kanno!

Long time no see!

Have a seat.

He was standing in front of the theater,
staring at her poster.

He doesn't remember me, either.

-In that case...
-It can't be helped.

He's old enough to be like that.

Your big photo was hanging on the wall.

I was so happy to see you hard at work
in Tokyo.

Umejii, aren't you hungry?

Yeah.

I am.

I came up here from Fukushima today,
and I haven't eaten anything.

Master, can I have a rice ball
with the little pickled plums?

And another one with cod roe, please.

She likes that one.

Of course.

You were always complaining.

I always was, wasn't I?

What's wrong? You look sad.

When she told me she'd give up high school
to be a dancer,

I tried so hard to stop her,
but she wouldn't listen to me at all.

She's so stubborn. Isn't that right?

Here you go.

Do you cook at home, too?

I just go home and go to sleep.

You should cook her meals sometimes.

I bet she'd be pleased.

Umejii, Master is--

You're right.
I should spoil her sometimes.

If you're not nice at home,
she'll leave you.

I'll try my best.

That night, Marilyn took Mr. Umemiya
to her home again.

The next day, although she asked him
his home phone number and address,

he wouldn't tell her, changing the subject
and talking about old times instead.

I feel sorry for the pickled plum.

But if I don't crush it,
I can't get its juice.

I prefer these ones.

They taste good with a generous amount
of salt, don't they?

Yes.

My wife's pickles
aren't quite so salty these days.

She must care about your health.

If you consume too much salt...

Can I see your hand, please?

This here is the kidney's pressure point.

And right here is the adrenal gland's.
I'm gonna press here.

Do you feel anything?

Hey, you!

You're going to open your own
chiropractic clinic, aren't you?

If you reveal your trick so easily,
your business will fail right away.

-Yes.
-I'm sorry for the trouble.

It felt good, anyway.

Sorry, Kibi.

Here's the scarf!

Don't forget this.

You'll give it to your wife, won't you?

You don't need to do that.

You have it, Mariko.

Don't be silly.

You asked me to pick out a nice one.
We bought this together in Ueno!

Here.

Really?

I'm so old and absentminded nowadays.

Thank you. I'll take this to her.

Marilyn.

Have you managed to talk to his family?

I called the high school,
but they didn't know his contacts' info.

And I cut ties with people there.

I see.

Good evening. Is Mr. Umemiya here?

Dad!

We were looking all over for you!

Mr. Umemiya lost this cell phone.

His daughters tried to track it by GPS,
but it had run out of battery.

My sister and I take turns
looking after him,

but I've been busy the last few days.

We both thought
he was with the other sister.

We are very sorry for the trouble.

Since our mother passed away
two months ago...

he's suddenly gone strange.

Why are you crying?

Dad!

You, Midori!

Long time no see...

Slut Mariko.

This woman, Midori, works
for the care facility Mr. Umemiya goes to.

In high school, she was the leader
of a group that ignored Marilyn.

Thank you.

Please come to the police station with me
to fill out several documents.

Sure. Thank you.

Dad, please watch your step.

-What a relief to have found him!
-Such a relief.

Umemiya sensei...

There are times when he's fine,
but he occasionally loses his memory.

I heard his cell phone ran out of battery.

How come you knew he was in Tokyo, then?

He visits our facility once a week.

On the day he went missing...

he left this behind.

MARILYN - I FOUND THE RIGHT PLACE
IT'S MY IDEAL JOB

Gosh...

It's an article from when
I first went onstage at New Art.

Every time he'd visit, he'd always say,

"I thought I should've have taken Mariko
back home from Tokyo,

but Mariko has found her place at last.

I won't try to stop her, because she said
in the interview that it's her ideal job."

Umejii...

I hated that nickname.

I hated you as well, how you'd behave
as if you were the only special student.

I hated you, too,
always with those other girls.

I spent more time with him than you,

but he'd always cared most about you.

He carried it with him all the time.

He never gave me a rice ball
with little pickled plums,

back in high school or now.

Wait a second.

Are you leaving without eating anything?

Master, a rice ball
with little pickled plums, please.

-Here you go.
-What?

The other one is on me.

Are you sure?

If you don't eat it, I will.

Since then, Marilyn takes my rice balls
with the little pickled plums with her

to bring to Mr. Umemiya from time to time.

Hana. What did you make?

It's a hydrangea.

A hydrangea!

What is yours?

A photograph of...

Remove the pits from the pickled plums,
chop them into bits,

and mix them in
with rice and sesame seeds.

Nori has two sides.

The shiny side is the head.

Putting the head facing out feels nicer
on your lips and tastes better, too.

Here you go.

Wonderful.

Good night!

Night.

THIS STORY IS A WORK OF FICTION