Tatsuya was the c** of Rie's affair. Rie raised Tatsuya as a single mother, and to avoid making him feel unhappy, she became a hard-working career woman. Tatsuya understood her situation and helped with the housework without being selfish, but he felt increasingly lonely. When Tatsuya went to university, Rie went to a ryokan with him to use up her accumulated paid leave. However, even at this point, Rie was still thinking about work.