A Salaryman Who Gambles Away All His Money On Pachinko

My name is Taro Yokoyama, I'm 33 years old and I work as a salaryman in Tokyo.

Today, on my day off, I went to a pachinko parlor and spent all my money.

"This can't be true... I've lost everything... It's still two weeks until my next paycheck, how am I going to survive until then..."

I have no choice but to quit pachinko... No, wait, I can't quit... That's just how pachinko is.

"Why am I always losing! Damn it!"

My salary is about 250,000 JPY per month, and with bonuses, my annual income is 3.5 million JPY.

I'm single and live alone, so I should be able to save money, but I lose it all to pachinko.

From then on, my meals until payday were miserable.

Yesterday I stir-fried bean sprouts and today I ate tofu with soy sauce, probably tomorrow it will be instant ramen.

At noon, I cook only white rice and bring it to the company, and I eat by getting one dish from my colleagues.

But it's really pathetic.

I've tried to quit pachinko many times, but I just can't quit.

"Haa~, it's miserable... I wish they would raise my salary a little more... Then I could play pachinko more..."

For the time being, I borrowed the missing amount from a consumer finance company and deposited it into my account to cover the automatic withdrawals for my rent and utility bills.

Now, I won't have my electricity cut off like before...

It was a mistake to aim for a jackpot and touch the money for the automatic withdrawals.

Okay, this is OK, I'll hold out until payday...

The next day at the company

I have a boss who I'm not good at dealing with, he's the type who nitpicks at everything.

"Yokoyama-kun, the proposal you submitted yesterday had some wrong numbers. Please redo it and resubmit it by the end of today."

"Y-yes, I understand..."

Why do you point that out just before the end of work! This is basically overtime...

Haa~, I won't be able to get a promotion or improve my skills at this rate... All my peers are on the fast track to success, but I'm just a regular employee.

Well, it's true that I'm not good at my job...

I was just accumulating stress in this work environment.

"Haa~, I want to go to pachinko to relieve stress!"

The next payday

"Yes! It's finally payday! Let's go play!"

The tough days of saving money are over, and today is finally payday.

After work, I immediately went to a pachinko parlor.

"Okay! Let's take out all my frustrations on pachinko!"

The result was a 20,000 JPY win!

I was losing 30,000 JPY in the middle, but somehow I managed to turn it into a plus.

"Yes! Tonight I'm treating myself to a solo barbecue!"

On my way home, I stopped by a supermarket and bought some expensive beef.

(Wow, I spent 10,000 JPY, but it looks delicious!)

When I got home, I took out the hot plate and started grilling the meat.

And that's when it happened.

My phone rang...

It was from my mother.

"Hello, Mom, what's up?"

"Taro, how are you doing?"

"Yes, I'm doing fine."

"You're not still going to pachinko parlors, are you? Are you taking care of yourself properly?"

"I go to pachinko parlors occasionally, but I'm doing fine, so don't worry."

"Is that so? Anyway, come home during Obon this time."

"Okay, I understand. Bye."

(Sheesh, no matter how old I get, I'm still a child in my mother's eyes...)

And on the next holiday, I was at the pachinko parlor again.

"Come on, spin, spin! Huh? Damn it! Why not?!"

On this day, I lost 50,000 JPY.

(But I still have funds, so it's okay. I'll definitely double it!)

However, pachinko doesn't always go as planned.

I lost on the next holiday, and then again on the holiday after that.

(This is bad... I've spent all my living expenses again... What should I do... At this rate, I'm not just losing, I'm definitely going backwards...)

The days of frugality continue until the next payday...

I'm getting tired of this... But... Maybe if I quit my job, I'll have more time to go to pachinko parlors and I'll be able to win.

Even though I had no savings, I thought that if I could just focus on pachinko, I would win, so I quit my job.

However, because I quit on my own terms, I couldn't immediately receive unemployment insurance.

In the meantime, I borrowed up to the limit from a consumer finance company again and managed my expenses.

Sometimes I did day labor, but other than that, I was always at the pachinko parlor.

(This machine looks promising... I'll play here today...)

I lined up first thing in the morning, scouted out the machines, and started playing on one that looked like I could win.

The losses continue

Of course, there are days when I win, and days when I lose.

The problem is the overall result at the end of the month.

But the total losses continued.

I've borrowed up to the limit from several consumer finance companies, but I've reached a point where I can't do anything anymore.

At this rate, I won't be able to pay next month's rent.

My father collapsed!?

One day, my phone rang.

It was my mother again.

"Hello, Mom?"

"Taro! It's an emergency! Your father collapsed!"

"What? Father collapsed!?

"Yes, come home immediately!"

"Okay, I understand!"

I hurried to the hospital where my father was.

When I arrived, I found out that my father had stomach cancer.

"Father, do you have stomach cancer?"

"Oh, Taro... Yes, I do have cancer, but the doctor said that there is a possibility of recovery with surgery."

"I see, that's a relief..."

"Yes, the doctor said that as long as I rest after the surgery, I'll be fine."

"I see..."

"Thank you for coming all this way... Are you doing okay with work?"

"Work... Well... Actually, I quit..."

(But I'm relieved... If my father had passed away, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life, because I've never really done anything for my parents...)

Changed my lifestyle

After what happened with my father, I decided to change my life so that I wouldn't regret it.

I canceled the contract for the apartment I was living in and moved back to my parents' house.

From then on, I desperately looked for a job.

This time, not a day laborer, but a proper full-time job.

"We appreciate your application, but unfortunately, we don't think you're a good fit for our company."

"I see, thank you for your time."

I was rejected by several companies, but after three months, I finally got a job at a food company. I'll do my best, even if it's a factory job.

"Taro, I'm glad you found a new job..."

"Yes, and I'm glad Father could be discharged from the hospital."

"Yeah, just don't overdo it and take care of yourself."

"Okay, Father also needs to take it easy and not push himself too hard."

"Yes, I understand..."

First of all, I stopped going to pachinko parlors. After repaying all my debts, I want to take my parents on a trip or something.

I don't want to regret not doing enough for my parents when they needed me.