Original subtitles

When people finish their day and hurry home,

my day starts.

My diner is open from midnight to seven in the morning.

They call it "Midnight Diner."

Do I even have customers?

More than you would expect.

Ryu always orders this dish

when he comes to the diner.

Maybe these two?

-This one too. -Yes, that one looks promising.

Betting on a horse race tomorrow?

Preliminaries for the high school baseball tournament.

-You were on the baseball team, right? -Yes.

Your team was crushed in the first match,

and you never got off the bench, as I recall.

Baseball team? More like Baseball Enthusiasts Club.

I was pretty good back in the day, okay?

But the starting line-up--

Wow, the preliminaries will be held at Meiji Jingu Stadium.

The high school students in Tokyo are so lucky.

Are you listening?

Thanks for the food.

Thanks.

The bench players are just as good as the starters, okay?

Oh, really?

Hello.

Is Ryu here?

You're too late.

He just left.

You're kidding!

It's all your fault, slowpokes!

Is this the rolled omelet place you keep talking about, Kosuzu?

-That's right. -It smells like the Showa era here.

-Right? -My, how lovely.

Ryu is the man you're in love with, right?

I feel like I've seen him before...

He's famous around here.

You must have bumped into him somewhere.

-That's true. -Excuse me.

May I sit next to you?

Go ahead.

Rolled omelet and beer, please.

DINER

The police swarmed the strip club?

Was it a raid?

You'd think so, right?

We were so scared we almost bolted for the door.

But something didn't add up.

The dancers hadn't even shown their tits yet.

And then the police arrested one of the patrons.

I don't know why they nabbed him. Here it is, captured on film.

He took the photo. What do you think?

Will this be in your exhibition?

You can't be serious.

It's a terrible photo. It'd sink my reputation.

It's him!

Are you here to arrest us?

I'm not with the Adult Entertainment Division.

Are you looking for someone?

I'm good. Thanks.

Again?

I didn't ask you to come with me.

Spit it out before I make you say it.

What?

A client asked you to start a betting pool for the high school baseball tournament.

Why didn't you turn him down?

Well...

He offered a large bet.

And he's always made good on his payments, so...

That hurts!

I'm so sorry.

All right, that's enough.

Surely there are better ways to punish him.

The yakuza earn money from gambling,

but you won't let anyone gamble on high school baseball tournaments.

How very conscientious of you.

What do you want, officer?

Kumi's in the hospital.

I want you to go see her.

I don't deserve to see her.

Congratulations, Komichi!

Hey, Kosuzu, where do you want this?

Kosuzu? Are you listening?

Ryu is such a hunk.

He's so photogenic.

What's the matter, you weirdo sumo queen?

Don't look at him like that, you pervert.

Ryu is mine.

Oh, please. I'm not interested in him.

I know him.

You're kidding!

He played baseball in high school?

He was a student at Kinosaki High School, famous for their baseball team in Fukuoka.

He was so good, professional scouts went to see him play.

He was the best batter in Fukuoka.

Not just Fukuoka, but all of Kyushu.

But he threw it all away.

His team qualified for the national tournament,

but he got into a fight with the local hooligans,

and the whole team was disqualified.

His teammates must have been so angry.

He got mad and beat up the hooligans without a second thought.

I guess he was always meant to be yakuza.

I feel so sorry for his teammates.

-Right? -Right?

Master, thanks for the food.

I'll leave the money here.

Thanks.

You're leaving already?

You sit here and make fun of him with your baseless speculations.

You disgust me!

Thanks for the food.

Good night.

People finish their day and hurry home.

But sometimes they don't want to go straight back home.

So they drop in somewhere else on the way home.

Thanks for the food.

Thanks.

Welcome.

If you're looking for Ryu, he isn't here.

I'm just here to eat.

What does he usually order?

Wow, this takes me back.

Our team manager made this all the time.

Her octopus wieners had six legs too.

Ryu and I were high school classmates.

Let me guess. You were part of the baseball club?

He blew our chance at the national tournament.

He went on a date with our manager.

She made a lunchbox for him, full of these octopus wieners.

But a group of hooligans began to harass them.

Kumi...

He had to do what he did to protect her.

Do you resent him for it?

It's all water under the bridge now.

Besides, I wasn't angry with him

because he blew our chance at the national tournament.

I was mad about his date with Kumi.

All of us had a crush on Kumi back then.

But she doesn't have long to live now.

Change this, please.

I forgot to tell you the other day.

She doesn't have long to live.

Her breast cancer came back.

They can't do anything about it.

You're going to see her today, whether you like it or not.

If you refuse to cooperate...

We nabbed him just now for obstructing us in our duties.

I'm sure there are plenty of skeletons in his closet.

He'll sit in jail for a few years.

Go ahead.

I didn't take you for the praying type.

I only pray to Oinari, the food deity.

Do you want a drink?

Do you want to know?

What about?

The story behind the red wieners.

I can't say I'm interested.

You should visit your classmate.

The police officer dropped by and told me all about it.

I can't look her in the eye.

She's going to die.

What do I say to a dying person?

There's nothing to say.

Still...

This meeting isn't for you to decide.

It's up to her, and she wants to see you.

Mind your own business.

He works in the municipal office for Shinjuku.

We're both public servants.

Local government employees.

Sorry to drop by unannounced.

Don't be. Thank you for coming all the way here to visit.

She's been looking forward to meeting you, Mr. Kenzaki.

I have to go back to work.

Okay. Take care.

If you'll excuse me.

There we go.

Ryu! Wow, look at you.

It was only a half-lie. He takes care of Shinjuku, but not for the government.

Did you know?

There's a diner open from midnight to dawn in Shinjuku.

And Ryu...

only eats octopus wieners there.

Isn't that hilarious?

Not very manly of him, is it?

That's so sweet of him.

Really? You can't be serious!

Wait, someone's calling me.

Oh, man.

It's a call from HQ. I think they're mad at me.

Oh, man, it's a call from HQ...

Hello? Yes?

That's so like him.

You finally smiled.

Does the past still bother you?

Why are you still hung up on that silly thing?

It doesn't bother me.

Yes, it does.

Noguchi asked you to visit me, but you never did.

You're such an idiot.

I thought you'd be more mature by now.

You haven't changed, Ryu.

You're still a child.

I can't believe you lasted this long as a yakuza.

After you dropped out of school and moved away,

I was bullied by some teachers and students.

I don't blame them.

But I don't think either of us did anything wrong that day.

I've always believed that, and nothing will change my mind.

Back then, Noguchi was the only one who defended me.

Noguchi said to me,

"Why don't you go out with me? You can pretend I'm Ryu."

He confessed his love to me with tears on his face.

But I turned him down.

I was head over heels in love with you back then.

I wanted to marry you.

Hello!

Oh, hello.

A good friend of your mother's came to visit.

Could you give them a moment?

Is it the guy from the baseball club?

Yes. He was hopeless at baseball though.

He spent most of his time moping around me, the star player.

I have some time to kill. Care to join me?

Don't you have to work, Mr. Noguchi?

There are more important things to do in life than working.

Come on, let's go.

Before I married and moved here,

I went to Tokyo to look for you.

I went to the pedestrian paradise in Harajuku

and Shibuya Center Street, among other places.

I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find you.

I was only deluding myself.

It would have taken a miracle to find you.

I got hungry.

I tried a beef bowl for the very first time and it was amazing.

After that, I got on the last bullet train and went home.

I thought we'd never...

meet again.

If I hadn't

asked you out on a date that day,

would things be different now?

There's no point in thinking about it. Don't be stupid.

Take me to that diner. I want to try their wieners too.

Sure. Just let me know.

Thanks for coming.

I'll come again.

Okay.

FUNERAL SERVICE PURIFICATION SALT

TO BE CONTINUED

THIS STORY IS A WORK OF FICTION.

Subtitle translation by Chen Li Woon