Transcending Limits

第20話 Old Men on a Prostitution Tour

One day, after assisting with the morning check-in for departure and hotel check-in after arrival, I was told by the president when I returned to the office that there were customers who wanted to go shopping at night, and could I please take care of it, Kakun-san?

I agreed, and when I went to the front of the casino hotel, there were four old men. They said, "When we say shopping, we mean with women." I declined. I couldn't engage in something like soliciting. I used the transceiver to convey to the president that this was also illegal.

"President, when they say shopping, they mean with women."

"What? Women!"

The president rushed over. He explained that in Las Vegas, AIDS was a serious concern, and there was a town nearby called Parump where places like soaplands existed, and prostitution was legal. Would we not go there?

However, the old men didn't want to go there. They were fired up to buy in Vegas. The flustered president eventually said, "Alright, Kakun-san, I'll leave the rest to you," and returned to the office.

I was at a loss. I contacted the travel agency that was using us, wondering how they handled such situations. They said, "Please do it." In Las Vegas, there is something called a sting operation for prostitution. If caught, not only the guide involved in the arrangement, but also the travel agency, would face penalties. Likely, applying for a legitimate work permit would be denied.

Reluctantly, the old men suggested we go to an izakaya (Japanese pub). It had been a while since I had Japanese food, and it was delicious. As we drank beer, I started to care less, and eventually agreed to the old men's request.

When we left the izakaya, my time as a guide had ended. From here on, it wasn't work, but voluntary. I returned to the casino hotel, first booking two new rooms. Then, in one room, I opened the phone book, selected a suitable ad, and made a call.

"Dancers, four blondes, please."

"Four dancers?"

"Yes."

"I understand. Please wait a moment."

I was curious about what kind of women would come, but all four were dressed casually in sweaters and jeans. I thought they were deliberately trying to appear amateurish. Among the old men, the one with the most authority asked me how much it would cost. When I asked, one of the girls exclaimed in a panic, "We can't!" and raised her voice.

I think they had initially come under the guise of dancers and then changed the arrangement to a more casual encounter. However, the most authoritative old man persisted, repeatedly asking me. Even when I said, "I can't say," he continued to press me insistently. In the end, even this authoritative old man disappeared into the room with a girl, but he was really persistent, and it was truly frustrating.

It was past 1 a.m. I had been working since 5 a.m. the previous day. Finally, I left the room and immediately heard a loud voice calling out from behind, "Hey you!" When I turned around, one of the four women from earlier was standing there, arms crossed, glaring at me arrogantly.

"What is it?"

"Can he speak English?"

This was the first time in my life I had encountered such a foolish question.

"You'll find out if you try speaking to him. Anyway, I don't take commission for this job. The two of you handle it yourselves."

Saying that, I finally made my way home. The next morning, when I went to the front of the casino hotel for work, one of the four old men was there. He said to me, "This isn't your fault, but one of the women from yesterday went out to buy condoms and ran off with the money."

Then, from behind, a man shouted loudly, "You have to keep those women in line at night!" I looked and saw it was an old man. I was so angry, I wanted to take off my travel agency badge and stomp on it. I wanted to shout at this old man, "That's why I didn't want to do it!"

Back in Japan, I went back to work. I contacted Yukiko-sensei, whom I had forgotten to get the contact information from. When she was taking the class, she wore jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt, but she was a piano teacher who had passed the difficult test and earned my respect.

However, I received a message on the transceiver to move to the next casino hotel, so I left the scene. At this point, I should have stomped on my badge. My purpose in coming to America included adventure, but a significant part was also driven by the advantages of being able to eat steak more cheaply than in Japan, and being able to live in a good, affordable house. I didn't need to fixate on getting permanent residency. I should have just gone back to Japan and worked.