Chapter 69: Volume 1, - 69: The Week Food Stopped Being Punishment
By Thursday morning, 13 April 2023, Ren’s phone held a mix of food photographs and written entries.
The dietitian’s request had arrived during Wednesday lunch, so he had reconstructed the earlier part of the day honestly: black coffee at seven-thirty and a convenience-store chicken breast eaten at his desk. From that point onward, he photographed everything. Three rice balls after eight and a late bag of salted potato chips while clearing KBS emails.
His photo log revealed the quiet chaos of his daily routine. For years, debt and stress had dictated how he ate. He skipped breakfasts, starved through hectic workdays, and compensated at night with heavy, high-calorie convenience food. Food had been an emergency comfort. A quick reward after exhausting days of calculating creditor payments.
During a twenty-minute onboarding video check-in on Thursday afternoon, the registered dietitian reviewed his partial log with a neutral, professional expression. Their full consultation would follow once all three logging days were complete.
"The issue isn’t that you ate potato chips on Wednesday night, Kisaragi-san," the dietitian explained across the screen. "By nine o’clock, you had eaten so little that the quickest high-energy food was always going to be difficult to resist. We need to stabilise your pattern rather than ban specific items."
She laid out practical targets: three structured meals a day, thirty grams of protein per main meal, a fist-sized serving of vegetables or another fibre-rich food, planned snacks like Greek yoghurt or almonds, two litres of water, and no compensatory fasting the morning after overeating.
"Food supports your recovery," she added. "It isn’t something you have to earn, and you don’t punish yourself with it."
After the call, Ren drove to AEON STYLE Kawaguchi for groceries and kitchen supplies, choosing an iwaki Pack & Range seven-piece heat-resistant glass storage set and a TANITA digital kitchen scale. He later collected a Zojirushi STAN. NW-SA10 IH rice cooker from Bic Camera’s Omiya West Exit Sogo store.
He filled his grocery bags with fresh chicken thighs, lean pork loin, salmon fillets, broccoli, carrots, eggs, sweet potatoes, spinach, and Japanese radishes.
Back in his apartment kitchen that evening, reality proved less smooth than the dietitian’s guidelines. Chopping two heads of broccoli and a bunch of carrots took twenty-five minutes instead of ten. When he tried to sear the chicken thighs, the oil spat across the stove and the skin darkened too quickly. He cut into one piece and found the centre still pink. Ren lowered the heat, covered the pan and cooked the first batch through before handling the second more carefully. Meanwhile, he misjudged the water ratio in his new rice cooker, resulting in brown rice that was slightly too firm, but entirely edible.
By eight-thirty, four clean glass containers sat on his counter, packed with grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and measured portions of rice.
On Friday morning, 14 April, Ren weighed himself after waking. The scale flickered before settling at 101.1 kilograms. A normal short-term fluctuation rather than an overnight transformation.
At ten in the morning, Ren walked into Akiyama Bakery to drop off updated documents regarding KBS’s administrative support. The aroma of melted butter and toasted flour filled the bright storefront.
Suzune emerged from the kitchen wiping her flour-dusted hands on her apron. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
"Ren! Perfect timing," she said, retrieving a small paper tray from the counter. "We’re testing a new strawberry cream danish for the spring weekend menu. You have to try a bit."
Ren smiled and accepted a small piece. The pastry was crisp, the cream sweet and light, balanced by the tartness of fresh strawberry.
"It’s really good," Ren said genuinely, swallowing the bite. "The outside is really crisp."
"Right?" Suzune beamed. "How’s the new health programme going?"
Ren pulled out his phone and showed her the meal-logging interface. "I had my first dietitian check-in yesterday. She’s got me photographing everything."
Suzune leaned over the counter, scanning his phone screen with real interest. "Look at those glass containers! You actually cooked chicken and broccoli? I’m impressed, Ren. Just don’t let her ban my bread completely!"
"She said no foods are banned," Ren chuckled. "It’s all about consistency and portion control."
"Good dietitian," Suzune approved, winking. "I’ll send you tomorrow’s meeting details tonight!"
At two in the afternoon, Ren returned to Takeda Gym for his tenth verified training session.
Akari met him near the weight room, checking his digital meal log on her tablet before looking up. "The dietitian noted good compliance with your baseline logging. Let’s see if your energy holds up."
The workout was demanding, but Ren noticed that he did not fade as early as he had on Wednesday. During the machine leg press, his legs felt anchored. Instead of his knees trembling on the final repetitions, he completed three full sets of ten at seventy kilograms with clean, controlled form.
"Much better stability through the hips," Akari noted, making a quick mark on her clipboard. "Your foot drive is solid today. Take ninety seconds rest."
When they moved to the seated rows, Akari loaded the pin to fifty kilograms. Five kilos heavier than Wednesday. Ren set his chest, braced his core, and pulled the handles cleanly to his ribs without swinging his torso. Twelve repetitions, perfectly controlled on the eccentric return.
"Clean," Akari said with a brief, approving nod. "Your upper back is taking the load properly now. That’s ten sessions verified out of twelve. Friday’s work is done."
As Ren walked to the locker room after his cool-down, his phone chimed. A gym portal confirmation appeared first, logging his tenth session. A moment later, familiar blue light materialized in his vision.
[HEALTH OBJECTIVE COMPLETE: MEDICALLY SAFE TRAINING SESSIONS (2/2)]
[MEAL-LOGGING COMPLIANCE: 2 / 3 DAYS — ONGOING]
[RECOVERY REQUIREMENT MET: ADEQUATE SLEEP & HYDRATION VERIFIED]
[REWARD GRANTED: +10 LEGACY POINTS]
[BONUS REWARD: PROFESSIONAL PHYSICAL RECOVERY VOUCHER]
[TOTAL LEGACY POINTS: 67 LP]
By nine-thirty that night, Ren sat at his desk in his apartment. He had showered, eaten a prepared meal of grilled salmon, brown rice, and steamed spinach, and cleared his remaining emails for Kisaragi Business Support.
His phone buzzed on the wooden desk. A text message from Suzune appeared on the screen:
Suzune: Tomorrow! Meet me outside the JR ticket gates near Omiya Station’s west exit at 10:00 a.m. sharp. And wear shoes you can walk in! 👟✨
Ren looked at the message, a slow smile spreading across his face. A warm surge of anticipation settled in his chest, entirely different from the anxious energy that used to keep him awake until midnight.
He closed his laptop, set his alarm for seven, and switched off the lights.