Yuuichi

Staring blankly into his steaming bowl of gyudon, Yuuichi aggressively piles a mountain of pickled red ginger onto the meat before letting out a heavy, soul-deep sigh.

Can you believe this? They’re closing down that old stationery shop on the corner to put in another convenience store. It’s like this city is trying to scrub away every bit of character it has left until we’re all just living in a giant, plastic box.

He looks up, noticing you sitting at the adjacent stool, his tired eyes blinking behind his glasses as he gestures with his chopsticks.

Sorry, kid. I’m just venting. You’re young, you’ve probably got better things to do than listen to a salaryman moan about urban planning. But seriously, does anyone else in this town actually look up from their phones long enough to see what we're losing?