The foolish son who was kidnapped by a loan shark

My name is "Kazuya Tanaka", I'm 20 years old, I dropped out of university and now live with my mother in my childhood home. I don't have any siblings, and my father is away on a long-term business trip to the countryside.

I am currently addicted to online casinos and enjoy gambling to my heart's content on games like blackjack, slots, poker, roulette, and baccarat.

I work at a convenience store about twice a week, earning a monthly salary of 48,000 JPY. Since I don't have to pay rent and my mother cooks for me, all I need to take care of is my gambling money.

Even when the convenience store manager asks about my shift for the next month...

"Tanaka-kun, what are your shift preferences for next month?"

"Ah, twice a week, please."

"Hmm? Can't you work more?"

"Yes, sorry, my mother is ill..."

"Well... I guess we can't help it then."

I would even lie to the store manager to avoid working too much.

After all, I want to live an easy life.

However, online casinos are expensive, and in reality, I've also resorted to using consumer credit loans. My debt has reached about 2 million JPY. I do intend to win big one day and repay it all at once, but for now, I'm just barely managing to pay the interest each month.

"I'm home."

"Ah, Kazuya, welcome back..."

"Hey, old hag! I'm hungry, so hurry up and serve me food!"

"Yes, yes, for now, eat this."

"What's this? This is all you have? Don't you have any meat?"

"I'm sorry, today I only bought fish..."

"You damn old hag, don't mess with me! You know I like meat!"

"That's true, but we don't have that much leeway financially... and besides, you need to eat a balanced diet..."

"Shut up! Ah, I wish I was born into a rich family that could feed me delicious meat every day! My life is the worst because I was born into this poor family!"

(Useless old hag... but I don't have any money... if I don't have money, I can't play at the online casino...)

Just then...

I received a message on my LINE app.

"Hmm? Who is this...? Nicchoku Financial?"

"Wow, same-day loan of 100,000 JPY, no guarantor required, no screening, if you're in trouble, register here?"

"What's this, just add them as a friend... and then send my personal information, address, ID photo, and bank account number... hmm, so I can get 100,000 JPY just by doing this? This is too easy!"

The next day

"Wow! I really did get 100,000 JPY deposited into my account! Is it really okay to get money this easily!?"
I immediately went to eat a high-quality Japanese beef steak.

"Wow, delicious! This is premium Japanese beef! There's no way I could eat this at home! Old hag, you should learn to cook something this tasty!"

(Alright! Now that I'm full, I think I'll go to a hostess bar for the first time in a while!)

"Welcome!"

"Yes, feel free to drink whatever you like!"

"Eh? Really? Thank you very much...! Are you perhaps a wealthy man?"

"No, no, I just work as a freelancer."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Not really."

"Then, can I drink champagne?"

"Sure, go ahead."

(Wow, drinking without worrying about the cost is great!)

The beginning of the tragedy

The next morning...

(Ouch, my head hurts... I drank too much yesterday... Hmm? In the end, how much did I spend?)

In a panic, I checked my wallet and found that I only had 1,000 JPY left.

(Wow! This is bad... I spent 100,000 JPY yesterday... Well, it's not a big deal, it's like I was given that money anyway.)

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Knock, knock!

"Kazuya, are you awake...?"

It was my mother...

"What do you want so early in the morning? You're loud."

"I-I'm sorry, do you have the day off today?"

"What's wrong with taking a day off?"

"What about breakfast?"

"Bring it to me, I'll eat it."

"So-sorry..."

(Useless old hag, as always.)

While eating breakfast in my room and watching TV, I received a message on my phone.

(Hmm? This is from Nicchoku Financial...)

When I opened it, it was a notification about the repayment date.

(Eh? What does this mean...? It says I have to repay 200,000 JPY by the deadline...? Why 200,000 JPY? I only borrowed 100,000 JPY!? This must be a mistake! Well, I'll just ignore it for now...)

However, three days later...

I received a call from an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Is this Kazuya Tanaka?"

"Yes, it is, but..."

"This is Nicchoku Financial, but... have you forgotten about us?"

(Eh? Nicchoku Financial? Isn't that the place I borrowed money from!?)

"Anyway, you know that the repayment deadline has passed, right?"

"Ah, yes, sorry, I forgot..."

"With interest and late fees, you owe us 250,000 JPY. Please pay it by the end of today."

"Tw... that much!?"

"Hmm? Our interest rate is 30% for 10 days, right? Didn't you read the contract properly before applying?"

"Ah, I-I see..."

"Then... you have to pay us back, or we'll be in trouble."

"Hii! I-I'll definitely pay you back tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow? In that case, with additional late fees, we'll need you to repay 300,000 JPY, okay?"

"Th-Thirty thousand... I understand..."

(I only borrowed 100,000 JPY, and now I have to repay 300,000 JPY a month later!? This outrageous interest rate must be from a loan shark! Loan sharks are illegal, so I don't have to pay them back, right? Okay, I'll ignore them for now, and if anything happens, I'll go to the police!)

Nicchoku Financial pays a visit

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang, and my mother opened the front door.

I quietly went downstairs from the second floor and hid while peeking at the entrance.

There were about three men with unfriendly faces standing there.

"This is Nicchoku Financial. Is Kazuya Tanaka home?"

"Kazuya went to work..."

"Where does he work?"

"Ah, um... at the convenience store in front of the station..."

"I see... Is he really not at home?"

"Yes..."

Then, the loan shark man started shouting.

"Kazuya-kuun! Come out here! We want our money back!"

"Wait, please keep your voice down, we have neighbors. What money are you talking about?"

"Kazuya-kun borrowed money from us, but he hasn't repaid it... With interest and late fees, it's already up to 500,000 JPY."

"So-so much..."

"We'll be leaving for now... but please tell Kazuya-kun that we will get our money back."

"Y-yes, I understand..."

After that...

My mother questioned me.

"Kazuya, I told them you weren't at home because it seemed suspicious, but who were those people from Nicchoku Financial?"

"Nicchoku Financial?"

"Yes, they said you borrowed money and haven't repaid it."

"Ah, don't worry, I'll pay them back once I get my salary from my part-time job."

"But can you really repay 500,000 JPY?"

"Haa? I only borrowed 100,000 JPY!"

"I don't understand, but shouldn't you contact them?"

"It's fine, it's an illegal interest rate anyway..."

"Should we consult your father?"

"No, don't tell Dad anything!"

"Okay, I understand..."

Flyers distributed in the neighborhood

However, a few days later...

I was in my room on the second floor when I heard voices coming from the entrance on the first floor. Apparently, some of our neighbors had come to visit.

Curious, I opened my door and listened in on their conversation...

"Mr. Tanaka, this is causing us trouble... It's been every day lately, and it's scary."

"I'm sorry..."

"Please, just make it stop as soon as possible."

"I understand, I apologize for the inconvenience."

After a while, it seemed like everyone had left, so I went downstairs to ask my mother what had happened...

"Hey, old hag, what was that about?"

"They said that this flyer has been appearing in the mailboxes of our neighbors every day..."

It was a flyer.

The content was as follows:

"This is Nicchoku Financial, the same company that Kazuya Tanaka has borrowed from! Same-day loans, no guarantor required, no screening! Please contact us at this phone number..."

"What the hell is this!"

"Kazuya, you said you'd pay it back once you got your part-time job salary, but... are you really okay?"

"Annoying! I said I'm fine, so leave me alone!"

Nicchoku Financial shows up at my part-time job!?

However, the next day...

When I arrived at my part-time job at the convenience store, I found the Nicchoku Financial guys waiting near the entrance.

"Eh? Aren't those the Nicchoku Financial guys? This is bad, I can't go to work like this..."

I had no choice but to wait and see what would happen. Soon, I received a call from the convenience store manager on my mobile phone.

"Hello?"

"Tanaka-kun, are you in trouble with some shady people?"

"Eh? Why do you ask?"

"We've been getting strange calls at the store, demanding that we hand over Tanaka. And just now, three guys who looked like yakuza showed up and started yelling, demanding that we hand over Tanaka, who hasn't repaid his debts. It's causing us a lot of trouble... customers are leaving, it's business interference!"

"So-is that true...?"

"Don't just say 'is that true', you're fired! You're fired!"

"Huh?"

"You're fired! This means our store has nothing to do with you anymore!"

"W-wait a minute..."

Beep, beep, beep...

Consulting the police

After losing my part-time job, I was desperate and decided to consult the police.

"I see... so you've been harassed by a loan shark."

"Yes, please arrest them immediately!"

"Where is the loan shark's office?"

"Eh?"

"You borrowed money from them, right?"

"Yes, well... I didn't go to their office, but I received a message on LINE and did the transaction through SNS."

"I see, do you have their phone number?"

"Yes, they called me several times, so I know the number."

"Then, I'll give them a call."

The police officer called the number, but it was no longer in use.

Additionally, when they checked the SNS account, it had already been closed.

"Can you arrest them?"

"It's difficult to identify them, so we can't arrest them... Well, anyway, please come back if anything else happens."

(Damn! Even the police are unreliable! Well, whatever, if the loan sharks come, I'll just stay inside the house and not go out. The old hag will take care of it!)

Being taken away

That night...

As I was going downstairs to use the bathroom, I heard the old hag talking on the phone...

(Who is she talking to?)

"Yes, I think so too... I know it's our child, but... yes, you don't have to come back, just focus on your work..."

(Ah, she's talking to Dad...)

The next evening...

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang.

"Yes?"

"This is Nicchoku Financial, is Kazuya-kun home?"

(It seems like those guys are here again... Anyway, the old hag will send them away...)

After a while, there was a knock on my room door.

Knock, knock

"Hiiii!"

"Kazuya, are you hungry?"

"What do you want, old hag? Did the loan sharks leave?"

"Yes, they left when I said I would call the police."

"Oh, good job, old hag. I'm hungry, so bring me food to my room!"

"Okay, I understand..."

After the meal, sudden sleepiness overcame me.

(Ah, I'm full! I'm feeling sleepy... I think I'll take a nap and go out for some entertainment later at night.)

I lay down on the futon as I was.

...

After a while, I woke up...

But I was shocked by the situation I found myself in!

This is because I was tied up and in a car!?

"What the hell is this!? Why am I tied up!?"

"Ahaha! You're finally awake?"

"Y-you guys are loan sharks!?"

Yes, I was in a loan shark's car.

"You really took us for fools, didn't you?"

"Hiiii! What's going on!? I was sleeping in my room, what happened!?"

"You were sold."

"S-sold? By whom!?"

"Your mother, of course. She contacted us and handed you over!"

"L-lies!"

"It's not a lie. She put a sleeping pill in your food and then called us to tie you up."

"So-that can't be... Why would Mother do that!?"

"Well, you're a failure of a son. You fall for SNS scams, you don't repay your debts... she probably wanted to get rid of a defective product like you."

"So-what will happen to me!?"

"We will get our money back, no matter what."

"How? Because of your harassment, I lost my part-time job!"

"We'll introduce you to a new job."

"What kind of job?"

"Well, if you're lucky, you'll end up in a 'tako room'."

"A 'tako room'?"

"Yes, you'll be working in a place where you wake up at 5 am every day and do physical labor until night. It's a healthy lifestyle, wahaha!"

"If I'm lucky, that's what will happen... and if I'm unlucky?"

"Organ sales, drug testing... there are various ways to make money off a good-for-nothing loser like you."

Another man spoke up.

"By the way, we had a guy in the drug test the other day, and his whole body was covered in rashes. He kept scratching and saying, 'Itchy, itchy!' even as his skin split open and he was covered in blood."

"I don't want that... I don't like that at all!"

"Tch, shut up! Gag him!"

"Hey, calm down!"

"Uguu! Guuu..."

"Ahaha! Look forward to what's going to happen to you!"

Conclusion

When borrowing money, it's best to stick to bank card loans or consumer credit loans. If you resort to loan sharks, you might end up like Kazuya Tanaka.