I Drink Every Night With a Lookalike of a Popular Idol on the Riverbank
The usual riverbank. The usual lemon flavor. The usual distance of two cans.
Nanase and I sat side by side without talking about anything in particular.
Even when we don’t talk, it doesn’t feel awkward.
The night breeze feels nice.
“…It’s quiet on the other side of the river, isn’t it?”
I muttered quietly as I gazed at the small lights of the residential area visible across the river.
“Hmm. On this side, the road is close, so there’s always noise.”
Nanase-san answered quietly, looking in the same direction.
Taking her words as a cue, I listened carefully.
The constant sound of cars driving by. In between, I could hear the distant clatter of a train.
“Oh, a train.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“I can hear the cries of corporate slaves.”
“Well, that’s a harsh way to put it.”
“Are you pretty much a white-collar worker, Yousuke?”
“Well… the pay is decent, I guess.”
“Yeah… but it’s too busy, you know.”
In harmony with Nanase’s voice, the sound of insects chirping could be heard from the grass at our feet.
“Hey, Yosuke. What kind of insect is that?”
“I don’t know… It’s just an insect.”
Nanase took out her smartphone and started recording the sound. She then fed it into an AI app to ask what kind of sound it was.
“Did you figure it out?”
“I don’t know what kind of insect it is.”
“I guess the recording wasn’t clear enough.”
“Should I go record it again… Nah, it’s too much trouble.”
The two of us listened intently to the sound of the unknown insect.
This time, we heard someone laughing loudly in the distance, riding on the sound. The laughter reached in fragments, carried by the wind.
“There are some people who seem to be having a lot of fun.”
“Well, it might just be one person playing two roles.”
“A crazy person is approaching!?”
“Haha… This is bad. We have to run away.”
Nanase sat firmly with her butt planted on the ground and drank from a can. Probably, she had no intention of running away.
“Somehow… When we do this, we can hear all kinds of sounds.”
When I said that, Nanase nodded.
“Yousuke, do you have any favorite sounds?”
“Sounds?”
“Yeah, sounds. Other than squishing or popping sounds.”
“If I had to pick one here, it would be more dangerous than a crazy person playing two roles… Hmm… I like the sound of a pencil writing on paper.”
“A pencil?”
“Yeah, not a ballpoint pen or mechanical pencil, but a pencil. That scratchy sound, like ‘sari sari’ or ‘kari kari’… Hearing that sound somehow calms me down.”
“Haha… Are you a literary genius?”
“No. I work at a stationery manufacturer. I use it when writing proposals or coming up with ideas for work. It feels like the sound of a new idea being born. Like the sound of zero becoming one.”
“…Zero becoming one.”
Nanase repeated my words softly.
“Hmm… That’s nice. It’s beautiful.”
She said that and smiled gently.
“What about you, Nanase? Do you have any favorite sounds?”
She looked up at the night sky, thinking for a moment. Her profile, without a cap, was faintly illuminated by the distant streetlights.
“Sounds I like…”
She muttered that, then smiled slightly, as if amused.
“The sound of a camera shutter, maybe. Like, ‘click, click!’”
“Huh?”
I couldn’t help but ask her to repeat herself.
“The sound of a shutter? That’s unusual. I thought most people didn’t like it.”
When I said that, she nodded and said, “Maybe so.”
“But, you know… doesn’t it feel like ‘this moment is being captured’?”
There was a hint of pride in her voice.
“Do you like being photographed?”
“Hmm… yes, I do. I also like cheering. Like an earthquake. It’s a sense of unity.”
“Like at a live concert?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
Nanase leaned her elbows on her knees and smiled at me.
“Do you like going to live concerts, Nanase? Like bands?”
Nanase suddenly stumbled.
“Hehe… Yeah, that’s right. as expected Yosuke.”
“What’s as expected about it…”
“Well, you’re right, Yosuke.”
I don’t understand what she means, but I guess she’s complimenting me.
“Well… I’m embarrassed…”
Nanase smiled gently as she watched me scratch my head.
“So, Nanase, are there any sounds you don’t like?”
“Sounds I don’t like?”
She furrows her brow slightly.
“The sound of a chalkboard being scratched… That’s the only one that gives me goosebumps.”
“Everyone feels that way.”
“Yeah. It makes my defenses drop.”
“Are you a Pokémon, Nanase-san?”
“Hmm. What type?”
“Basically Fairy, but sometimes Ghost and Dark show up.”
When I answered honestly, Nanase smiled happily.
“Hmm. That’s good. An honest answer.”
That smile, beyond the shutter sound, was more natural and beautiful than any forced smile.
I still knew nothing about her real job or her true feelings.
I felt our mysterious relationship deepening little by little in the night breeze.
Maiasa