A man who became homeless because of horse racing

This is a story about my high school classmate, Takeshi.

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My name is "Takeshi Yoneyama."

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Influenced by my older brother, I became passionate about soccer even before entering elementary school. In the sixth grade, we reached the quarterfinals of the prefectural tournament. Then, in my third year of middle school, I was selected for the prefectural select team. I went on to play regularly for my high school team from my first year, and we participated in the national championship two years in a row.

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Now, three years have passed since I married "Haruka Sayama," who was the soccer team manager in high school, right after graduation.

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Currently, I graduated from a beauty vocational school and have been working at a hair salon for about a year as an assistant, supporting the stylists. I'm striving to become a charismatic hairdresser in the future.

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However, Haruka earns more than I do, and she has been supporting me financially.

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"Hey, Takeshi... I guess it's impossible to ask you to contribute to our living expenses this month, huh?"

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"Sorry. I was thinking of buying a new pair of scissors this month..."

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"I understand. It's necessary for your work..."

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"I'm sorry, Haruka..."

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"No, it's okay..."

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(A monthly salary of 160,000 JPY is just too little! And the working hours are too long! I wouldn't be able to make a living without Haruka... I want to attend study groups, and even the transportation expenses for that aren't negligible. I also need to keep up with fashion... It's frustrating that I'm working so hard but still can't become a stylist...)

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The path to becoming a charismatic hairdresser was a challenging one.

Getting hooked on horse racing

One day, my friend Masaki took me to the racecourse. It was a very stimulating place.

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"Masaki, this place is amazing..."

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"Yeah, this is your first time at a racecourse, isn't it, Takeshi?"

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"It is."

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"Horse racing is so much fun! You can even turn 100 JPY into 1 million JPY."

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"Huh? Can this betting ticket do that? That's incredible!"

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"Well, I don't think the horse you chose, Hummingbird, will place high though..."

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"Ha ha!"

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"And they're off! Oh, the Rising Sun, who was in the lead, has fallen! The second and third horses are also involved in the fall! Around the final corner! What a surprise! Hummingbird is in the lead! It's an unexpected turn of events! Hummingbird wins!"

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"Huh? ... Masaki! My 100 JPY became 100,000 JPY!"

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"Wow! No way! That's amazing!"

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"Wow, miracles really do happen!"

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That day, I got hooked on horse racing.

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From then on, whenever I had free time, I would go to the racecourse to play.

A streak of losses

However, after winning big on my first day, Lady Luck never smiled upon me again.

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Although I had a few small wins here and there, overall, I was on a losing streak.

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Every month, our household finances were in the red, and I had to borrow money from consumer finance companies to make up the shortfall. Life was difficult, and to try and recoup my losses, I continued to bet on horse races.

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As a result, my total debt ballooned to 1,200,000 JPY.

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"I can't take this anymore!"

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My mood plummeted, and I lost my motivation for work. I even stopped practicing before opening hours in the morning and after closing at night.

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Then, I received a warning from my senior colleague.

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"Takeshi, everyone else comes in early to practice, you know!"

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"Yes, I know, but as long as I'm here by 10:00 AM for the opening, I think that's fine..."

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"With that attitude, you'll never become a stylist!"

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"It'll be alright. I attend the study groups, so I'm learning."

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"That's not enough. You need to actually practice as well."

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"Senior, when I was in vocational school, my practical skills were top-notch!"

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"..."

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(I shouldn't be stuck with this low-paying job. I need to make time to study and research horse racing...)

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Haruka's pregnancy

Eventually, we found out that Haruka was pregnant.

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I was overjoyed, but soon after, a payment demand letter for my debts arrived at our home. When Haruka saw it, she flew into a rage!

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"I can't believe you had debts without telling me! What did you spend the money on?"

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I honestly told her about how I had tried to increase our monthly living expenses by betting on horse races.

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"What are we going to do now that a baby is on the way!"

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"I'm sorry, Haruka. I promise I won't do it again, please forgive me..."

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Although she was furious, the situation calmed down after I promised never to do it again.

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In subsequent discussions, I decided to become independent and open my own salon.

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This was because Haruka's income would decrease when she went on maternity leave, and we wouldn't be able to make a living.

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So, I decided to leave my current job at the hair salon.

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I created a business plan and applied for loans from banks and financial institutions, but I was turned down because of my existing debt.

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The only remaining option was a business loan from a consumer finance company, and fortunately, I was approved for that.

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However, the interest rate was high—a whopping 15% per year.

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I had to borrow 10,000,000 JPY and repay it in 60 installments. It amounted to about 240,000 JPY per month, but there was no other choice but to work hard and make the payments.

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The property I found for my salon was near a station, so I didn't have to spend much on interior decoration, and the rent for 20 tsubo was 380,000 JPY.

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A small hair salon opens!

The salon made a loss during the first three months after opening, but from the fourth month onwards, it started turning a profit.

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There was only one reason for this turnaround: I had successfully poached a charismatic hairdresser. Her name was "Kanako Kishida," and I had had my eye on her for a while.

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She worked at a rival salon called "Globe" and was popular and highly skilled.

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A year after opening, the number of customers requesting Kanako increased, and the business became stable. Furthermore, the salon received five-star reviews, and even without spending much on advertising, we gained new customers through word-of-mouth.

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However, all the praise and attention went to Kanako, and despite being the salon owner, I hardly received any customer requests.

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So, whenever I didn't have any customers, I would leave Kanako in charge of the salon and go to the racecourse to play.

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Eventually, I was spending all the profits on horse racing, and the maintenance costs for the salon became insufficient. I wanted to stop, but I just couldn't.

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"Kanako, I'm counting on you with the salon again today."

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"Are you going horse racing again, boss?"

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"I'll do my job properly, but this month, I've had a lot of expenses, so I'd like a bonus..."

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Kanako is an excellent hairdresser, but she has low moral standards when it comes to sex. She tends to have relationships with anyone without much discrimination.

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However, this worked in my favor...

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"I guess I have no choice. So, let's meet at the usual hotel after work today..."

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"Yes, boss... But please give me a generous bonus..."

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"Of course."

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And so, I was living the high life, going horse racing and having an affair.

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Today is another perfect day for horse racing!

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The blue sky, the smell of the horses, the excitement—everything is perfect!

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I placed a bet of 300,000 JPY, of course, borrowed from the salon's earnings.

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This G1 race is going to be chaotic. There are many horses with single-win odds of less than 30, so there's a good chance the three-horse sequential payout will be over 20,000,000 JPY...

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I still have over 8,000,000 JPY left to repay on my debts... I need to turn things around with a huge win!

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So, I spent the whole day at the racecourse, but the 300,000 JPY was gone, lost in an instant.

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(You've got to be kidding me... If only the horse's nose had been five centimeters longer... If it had been just five centimeters longer, I would have won 20,000,000 JPY...)

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To avenge this loss, I became even more obsessed with horse racing. I gambled away all the salon's earnings and eventually couldn't even pay the rent or Kanako's salary.

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Losing everything

Kanako quit, and I received a content-certified mail from her demanding unpaid wages.

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This meant that Haruka found out about everything.

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"What's the meaning of this? Kanako called me, too. Did you gamble away all the salon's earnings on horse racing? Didn't you say you'd quit? You promised me!"

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"I-I'm sorry... I did quit once, but I wanted to repay the debts quickly..."

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"You're despicable! You forced Kanako to have a physical relationship with you in exchange for money!"

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"I didn't force her!"

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"Oh, so you admit to the affair, then? Fine, I want a divorce!"

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"S-stop... I'm sorry, Haruka. I won't do it again..."

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"I can't continue being with someone so dishonest. I had no idea you were this kind of person..."

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And so, Haruka left, taking the child with her.

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After the divorce was decided, I had to go to the salon alone. However, since most of the customers followed Kanako, sales plummeted. Due to the worsening finances, I had to file for bankruptcy and give up the salon.

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But it seems the debts from the cash advances I used for horse racing won't be discharged, and Haruka is suing me for alimony.

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(My only option is to turn things around with one big win!)

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I borrowed 500,000 JPY from a loan shark and bet it all on horse racing!

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But I lost again, and the 500,000 JPY disappeared in a single day.

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(It's over...)

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I was sick of everything...

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But I didn't want to die...

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I couldn't possibly repay the loan shark. It was impossible to pay back 30% interest in just ten days.

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My only option was to run away...

Conclusion

According to rumors, Takeshi became homeless to escape his debts.

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In my opinion, he was completely addicted to gambling.

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If only he had received proper treatment and support sooner...

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