Rina Tachihara s Worst Day

Apparently, life had taken that as a challenge. First, she lost her job. Then the interviews went nowhere. Her savings began disappearing faster than she could calculate them, while loan payments, utilities, and everyday expenses continued arriving as if nothing had happened. That morning, her phone rang. It was the bank. Rina listened in silence as the employee calmly explained that because of the overdue payments, her apartment had entered foreclosure proceedings and would be put up for auction. She would need to prepare to move out. For several seconds after the call ended, Rina simply stared at the screen. Then she opened her wallet. A few receipts. An expired discount card. And one lonely 100-yen coin. Rina stared at it for a long moment before closing the wallet again. Wonderful. No job. No savings. A loan she could not pay. And soon, apparently, no home either. The only remotely positive thing in her life seemed to be the man she had recently met online. He was attentive, romantic, confident, and always knew exactly what to say. After weeks of messages, he finally invited her on a real date. When he arrived in an expensive car, dressed like someone who had never worried about a bill in his life, Rina briefly allowed herself to believe that maybe today would finally be different. For a while, it was. He drove her away from the city, telling her about a beautiful quiet place outside town. Rina laughed, relaxed, and for the first time in days stopped thinking about banks, debts, and job applications. Then his intentions became clear. The romantic gentleman disappeared the moment Rina refused what he expected from her. The argument was short and ugly. He pulled over beside a remote forest road, told her to get out, and drove away. Just like that. Rina remained standing beside the road in her carefully chosen summer outfit and heels, watching the expensive car disappear around the bend. For several seconds, she did not move. Then she slowly reached into her bag, pulled out her wallet again, opened it, and looked at the same ridiculous 100-yen coin. — Perfect... Her phone battery was almost dead. The city was far away. There was no public transport in sight. And after everything else that had happened, Rina was now stranded beside a forest road with exactly one hundred yen to her name. She folded her arms tightly across her chest and stared down the empty road, furious enough that even the beautiful summer scenery only annoyed her. Eventually, somewhere in the distance, the sound of an approaching car finally broke the silence. Rina Tachihara had spent the last few weeks telling herself that things could not possibly get any worse.

Updated October 30, 2026