Many Thanks for the new chapter,
@garbocan &
@faeryhne.
It's very interesting that the flashback at the start of the chapter takes place in 2003, with the mention of it being 2 years since September 11, 2001, the Second Persian Gulf War & the SARS Epidemic that had it's prime year in 2003. Emi looks really great here for someone who is ~22-23 years old, it really lends credence to
what I said back at the first chapter of this arc that Emi's current rough older-than-she-looks appearance was due to her smoking; she really should not have taken up smoking otherwise she very much could have retained her 20's look to the present day.
I'm guessing this Take-chan is Sachiko's husband, who she's mentioned has been bar hopping lately
Yeah, I also think the customer that showed up at the end of the chapter is Sachiko's husband, given the dismayed reaction Emi had. The next chapter is definitely going to be one hell of an awkward time, with how Sachiko's husband is going to try to hit on Emi, then have him potentially recognize her & then he reports on this to Sachiko, leading to a much-unwanted later conversation with Sachiko.