National Tide 1980.

It was already past the time when people were leaving get off work in the evening.

Along the Sumida River in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, the sound of flowing water is accompanied by the comings and goings of commuters.

The trees lining the road cast long shadows in the dim light of the setting sun.

Sachiko walked alone toward her home, reflecting on the disgust and aversion she felt when she first met Satomi Sakami Yujiro at the Satomi house.

Why do I feel such a sudden and intense aversion?
Even Sachiko herself couldn't explain it; perhaps it was more of an intuition, somewhat inexplicable.

When she attended the wedding, she thought that Yujiro Sōkai was a nice person, tall and handsome, and that he and the gentle and beautiful Miyoko were a good match.

Although she still finds Miyoko as kind and approachable as ever, she instinctively feels a sense of resistance towards Yujiro Sōkai, feeling that he is not good enough for Miyoko and that she does not want to be in the same space with him.

Just like when she faced those self-satisfied academic high-achievers and boys who thought they were different from everyone else at school.

He's a selfish, self-centered scoundrel.

Miyoko really married the wrong person...

Unbeknownst to her, she had already reached the bottom of her building with these extremely unpleasant thoughts.

Under the streetlights, a cluster of apartment buildings came into view, each with the same shape and identical windows and balconies.

Each of them was painted with an ugly identification number, surrounded by withered trees and dry red soil; this was the so-called "dunji" community.

However, the lights shining between the floors gave Sachiko a warm feeling, which somewhat dispelled the depression caused by the random thoughts in her mind.

She climbed the stairs to her home, unlocked the door herself with her key, and said "I'm home" before taking off her shoes in the entryway.

Upon entering, you'll find an open-plan kitchen/dining area measuring four and a half tatami mats, followed by a living room measuring six tatami mats.

Sure enough, the house was filled with a warm and cozy atmosphere. Mom was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, and the aroma of the food was already wafting through the air.

Dad came home from get off work. He sat in the living room reading the newspaper and drinking tea, chatting casually with Mom.

When she returned, her father greeted her warmly and told her the good news that they would be having tempura and eel rice for dinner.

Her mother urged her to wash her hands and come help in the kitchen.

This scene immediately cheered her up, and she happily ran into her room to change her clothes; indeed, home was the warmest place.

However, to her surprise, while she was changing clothes, her parents outside continued to talk about Zuo Hai's family, and the news they revealed further confirmed her opinion of Zuo Hai.

"You know, Miyoko is so pitiful. She married someone like Zuo Hai, and now she's pregnant. If they get divorced, being a single mother will be tough enough..."

"Don't overthink it. You didn't even see clearly. You said you only saw his back and profile from afar, how can you be sure? Besides, you said the man and woman who came out of the hotel got into a luxury car, but Zuo Hai doesn't own a car. How could it be him? Furthermore, parking fees are so expensive these days. Even if Zuo Hai bought a car, he wouldn't drive to work on weekdays. People who can drive to work on weekdays are truly wealthy. It doesn't look like Zuo Hai at all. I think you're probably mistaken."

"Why don't you believe me? My eyes are perfectly fine. I say it's him, I won't mistake him for someone else. If I hadn't been carrying so many things, including eggs, I would have run a few steps faster. I would definitely have seen his face clearly..."

The content of her parents' discussion, along with her mother's excited voice, immediately made Sachiko stop what she was doing.

She never expected that she would get such a juicy piece of gossip right after returning from Zuo Hai's house.

So, disregarding everything else, she hastily took off her coat and, without even hanging it up, ran out. "Mom, are you saying Zuo Hai is having an affair? When did you catch him having a tryst with another woman outside?"

This unexpected interruption left both Director Taniguchi and his wife taken aback.

At this point, Mrs. Taniguchi truly began to regret her decision.

She was so engrossed in speaking her mind that she forgot about her daughter, and as a result, the child overheard things she shouldn't have heard.

"Sachiko, this...this is none of your business. Don't pry."

Mrs. Taniguchi's tone became stern, but she soon softened her tone unconsciously and began to doubt herself.

"Besides, Mom really didn't see clearly. I went shopping at the supermarket this afternoon and only saw someone who looked a lot like Mr. Zuo Hai. Now that I think about it, maybe I really was mistaken..."

However, these words had no effect on Sachiko.

She immediately thought of everything she had just seen that day, and became convinced that everything her mother said was true, and even took the initiative to provide evidence to support it.

"No, Mom, you're right. Mr. Zuo Hai did buy a car, a Volkswagen Golf, silver-white. Is that the car you saw today?"

"Ah, now that you mention it, it does seem like it, a silver Volkswagen, but... but how did you know?"

"I just got back from Miyoko's house. Rinko asked me to deliver some parenting books to Miyoko. She said she was in a hurry to read them. But today I ran into Mr. Zuo Hai, who was going home early. He was driving that Volkswagen Golf home. Also, I heard from Miyoko that the car was bought on loan."

For a moment, both Mr. and Mrs. Taniguchi were wide-eyed at this outrageous news.

Even so, Mrs. Taniguchi still couldn't believe it, and instead began to doubt her daughter's words.

"How is that possible? Their mortgage payments are substantial every month, and they're also taking out a loan to buy a car? With the meager earnings Zuo Hai makes, how will they possibly make ends meet each month?"

However, this time it was Director Taniguchi who corroborated this claim.

"No, that's possible. The stock market has been doing so well lately, Zuo Hai must have made some money too. He called me a few days ago and asked if I still had any stocks. I said I only had about ten million yen. He then asked what stocks I bought. I said Mitsubishi Estate, which Chairman Ning recommended. He then said that the stocks recommended by Chairman Ning were too ordinary. He said I was too conservative, and that many financial companies are now accumulating real estate, and the price increases and future potential are much better than standard real estate stocks. From his tone, his analysis sounded very convincing, as if he had bought a great stock."

"What? He bought stocks? That's ridiculous! He dares to criticize the stocks recommended by Chairman Ning? What does he know about stock trading? And where would he get the money to trade stocks?" "You can't say that. Credit is so readily available now; it's easy to get some funding from any financial company. Some of my colleagues are like that. After all, making money in the stock market is too easy; just seeing others make money makes you anxious. Zuo Hai probably thinks the same way. Besides, stock trading really does depend on luck. Chairman Ning told me clearly before that real estate stocks are a sure thing; buying them will definitely lead to price increases. But since everyone knows this, the price increase is limited, and the larger the company, the slower the increase. Now it seems that's true. Zuo Hai is an ambitious young man, bolder than me. If he invests more and buys the right stocks, it wouldn't be surprising if he makes more money than me."

Director Taniguchi's words truly confirmed what Mrs. Taniguchi had seen and heard today.

However, it was precisely because of this that Mrs. Taniguchi became furious.

"So, what I saw really was that bastard Zuo Hai! That scoundrel! He just spends all the money he makes like this. How could he do something like this to his wonderful wife, Miyoko! Does he have no conscience at all?"

She brandished the knife in her hand, looking as if she wanted to kill someone; she looked terrifying.

However, her daughter Sachiko was not afraid of this, and instead encouraged her to vent her dissatisfaction from today.

"Yes, Mom, poor Miyoko. Today, Zuo Hai came back and bossed her around, even ordering his pregnant wife to cook for his cronies. He doesn't care at all about Miyoko's health. He's so mean! Miyoko still doesn't know anything about his misdeeds. Should we tell her?"

Sachiko could almost picture Miyoko busy with her big belly, and the more she talked, the angrier she became.

These words indeed reminded Mrs. Taniguchi.

"Yes, yes, I need to call Miyoko and tell her we can't let her be a fool..."

After saying that, she put down the knife in her hand and went to the living room to make a phone call.

However, Director Taniguchi was very clear-headed and quickly stopped his wife and daughter from acting so impulsively.

"No, no, you can't make this call. You'll definitely regret it if you do."

"Why? Do you think Zuo Hai's infidelity is still excusable?"

"Dad, what's wrong with you? Are you on the side of the bad guys?"

"No way! I'm doing this for Miyoko's sake."

Faced with his wife and daughter's lack of understanding, Director Taniguchi could only patiently explain, "I know you mean well and are worried about Miyoko. But think about it, what good will this phone call do besides making Miyoko feel bad? The key is that Miyoko is pregnant now. What if the couple argues and it affects the baby? Besides, this is all speculation. What if there is some misunderstanding? How will we handle it if we exacerbate their conflict?"

Director Taniguchi's words made some sense, and Mrs. Taniguchi immediately stopped what she was doing and began to control her emotions.

However, her daughter Sachiko was still young and could not fully understand the rules of conduct of adults, nor could she understand the unspoken taboos in adult society. Instead, she became even more angry.

"So we're just going to do nothing and watch Miyoko get deceived and bullied? Dad, can't you stop being such a nice guy? You're just being unprincipled and only encouraging bad people to get worse..."

Director Taniguchi, however, showed even greater patience. After all, she was his daughter, and no matter how offensive her words were, he wouldn't really get angry.

“Sachiko, Dad isn’t condoning bad people. Dad just thinks there’s a right way to do things. Think about it, do you really want Miyoko to get a divorce? Miyoko doesn’t work. If she leaves Sōkai and lives alone, she’ll have to raise the child and work to support the family. That would be so hard. So even if Sōkai Yūjirō really did this, shouldn’t we give him a chance to correct his mistake for the sake of them as a couple? Even if Sōkai doesn’t deserve forgiveness, we should remind Miyoko, but shouldn’t we be mindful of the timing and the method? We should try to minimize the harm to Miyoko. In any case, I think telling Miyoko about this right now will have very bad consequences…”

Sachiko was stunned.

She finally took her father's words to heart; she had to admit that her father's considerations were more thorough than her own.

But she couldn't help but worry about Miyoko and felt that it was unfair to her.

"What should we do then? Should I talk to the store manager and let Rinko-neechan make a decision?"

"Well..." Just as Director Taniguchi was frowning and pondering whether it was appropriate, his pager went off.

Director Taniguchi glanced at the call and was startled to see it was from the company. He quickly went to call back.

As a result, the section chief called and asked him to work overtime and attend a drinking party.

There was no other way, so Director Taniguchi could only put the matter aside for the time being and deal with it later.

Even dinner that was almost ready couldn't be eaten at home.

Before leaving, he couldn't help but ask his daughter some questions, "Sachiko, where do you young people like to go for entertainment and spending money at night these days? Besides eating and drinking, what else do you like to do?"

This naturally piqued the curiosity of both his daughter and wife.

"Dad, why are you asking this?"

"Yeah, weren't you going to work overtime? Why are you acting like you're going out to party?"

Director Taniguchi coughed awkwardly. "I have no choice. My section chief asked me to curry favor with a few graduating college students. His orders are to bring in at least two people for the company. As you know, companies are starting recruitment early these days. We can't compete with fresh graduates, so our company has already begun targeting the next graduating class. While it's not as extravagant as champagne and caviar, and we don't need to give them designer watches, we'll still have to treat them to meals and give them suits. I've heard that some companies even take the students to nightclubs and clubs after the meal. That's why I'm worried. I don't know what to do after the meal, what kind of entertainment to organize, to get these college students to sign employment agreements with us..."

"What? You actually have the nerve to ask your daughter about something like this? Are you out of your mind!" Mrs. Taniguchi was furious. "To make them happy, are you going to take them to see striptease shows and arrange for geishas and hostesses?"

Sachiko also looked aggrieved. "Dad, how would I know about this? I still have two more years of schooling before I graduate. Besides, I'm a girl, so even if I graduate, no company would try to recruit me like this. Only boys get this kind of treatment. Why don't you go ask my brother?"

Director Taniguchi then realized that his question was indeed inappropriate, so he quickly gave a vague answer, put on his shoes, and left.

As he left home, Mrs. Taniguchi, filled with resentment and nowhere to vent her anger, directed her grievances at society.

"People these days are going crazy! How has society become so decadent and corrupt! All the good people have been corrupted, no wonder Zuo Hai cheated on his wife!"

Then she let out another heartfelt sigh, "Ah, if only Miyoko and Zuo Hai could be like Keiko and Chairman Ning, that would be so wonderful..." (End of this chapter)