I Drink Every Night With a Lookalike of a Popular Idol on the Riverbank
“By the way, Nanase, are you doing anything this weekend?”
The usual riverbank. Today is Friday. The weather forecast says it will be perfectly sunny with not a cloud in the sky on both Saturday and Sunday. It’s perfect weather for a day out.
My casual question.
Nanase’s shoulders twitched slightly for a moment.
Then she looked down and muttered, “Ugh… This week…“ or ”Of all times…” she muttered under her breath.
“What… what’s wrong?”
“Well, you meant, ‘Do you want to go somewhere this weekend?’ right?”
Nanase asked, her face lighting up.
“Eh? I just meant it as casual conversation…”
“…”
“…”
With each word I spoke, Nanase’s expression grew darker.
“I was inviting you!” I hurriedly added.
I didn’t know how much Nanase wanted to go out with other people, but if we could go out together, that would be nice.
Of course, I didn’t have the courage to do that, but it seemed like it might work out, so I decided to go along with it.
“Hehe… Thank you. I’m happy. But…”
She let her gaze wander for a moment, then remembered something and exclaimed, “Oh!”
“I’ve been invited to a friend’s wedding.”
“A wedding…”
“Yeah. It’s a bit far away, so I’ll be staying overnight. That means I won’t be here on the weekend. Of course, I won’t be able to come here either.”
She said this with a slightly apologetic expression.
“We didn’t promise to come here, so don’t worry about it.”
“Yousuke, you’re coming alone, aren’t you?”
“Maybe I’ll put a can next to me as an offering.”
“No, it’ll look too sad from behind. It’ll look like someone whose lover has passed away.”
“Yeah, maybe…”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Nanase smiled and placed the can in its designated spot before standing up alone.
She ran to my back. When I turned around, she said, “Look ahead.”
Following her instructions, I faced forward alone, and then I heard the shutter sound of a smartphone from behind.
“See, like this.”
The photo Nanase showed me had my back and the night view beautifully captured. Next to me were two cans of chu-hi lined up at equal intervals. Even though there was someone else there, it felt a little sad, as if I were sitting alone.
“It’s a bit of an emotional photo…”
“Take one of me too.”
“Okay, okay…”
As Nanase instructed, I stood up and walked behind her.
“Ready to take the photo!”
The moment I spoke, Nanase turned around with a big smile and gave me a peace sign. I pressed the shutter button on the screen impulsively, and a nice photo was taken.
“Nanase, did you forget the purpose!?”
“Hehe… one more.”
Nanase turned around. A photo of a woman standing alone with two cans of chu-hi as her companions was taken.
I returned to my original spot, sat down, and showed Nanase the photo.
“Hmm… It’s nice. Why don’t you set this as your home screen?”
“But… it’s embarrassing…”
“I’ve already set it up.”
Nanase shook her smartphone side to side and showed me her home screen.
Behind the icons, there was a stylishly edited back shot of me.
“Well… I guess this is okay…”
While I blushed and set it up, Nanase smiled and took a sip of her canned chu-hi.
“Oh, right. Yosuke.”
“What?”
“I can’t make it tomorrow or the day after, but next week is fine. It’ll be in the evening… or night, though.”
It can’t be helped that her days off are irregular due to work.
“I see. Then, let’s do that. I’m sorry to ask you to adjust your busy schedule.”
“Hmm. Let’s each think about where to go and bring our ideas next week.”
“Do you dislike crowds?”
Nanase jokingly contorted her face and said, “As much as cockroaches.”
“So you like them?”
“Enough to eat them. By the way, that was a joke.”
Nanase said that with a wink.
◆
That weekend, Nanase was on her way to a wedding.
I was bored at home, watching a live stream of the country’s largest outdoor music festival. Suddenly, the words “Luminous Tears” caught my eye.
A clear blue sky. Endless green grass. And a sea of people filling the ground.
On the massive outdoor stage, girls in sparkling outfits were lined up. It was “Luminous Tears.”
At the center was Yunagi, who looked just like Nanase, and next to her was Asagiri. I hadn’t spoken to Asagiri-san much since then, but it felt strange to see someone I had met by the river standing on stage like this.
The atmosphere was electric. The excitement and cheers from the venue were transmitted through the TV speakers, vibrating through the room.
When the performance began, the camera zoomed in on a single girl standing at the center of the stage.
Yunagi Nagi
Her forehead glistening with sweat. Even on the scorching stage, she continues to sing with a perfect smile, undeterred by the intense heat.
I stared blankly at her figure.
(The real person must be having a tough time…)
On such a beautiful weekend, performing in front of tens of thousands of people.
It’s an incredible job. I could never do it.
Suddenly, I thought of the other her.
(Nanase must be at a wedding right now.)
She’s probably wearing a beautiful dress, celebrating her friend’s happiness.
She might be eating a delicious course meal, drinking wine, laughing, and crying.
In my mind, I compared the perfect idol on the TV screen with Nanase, who was spending a happy time in a distant city.
Their faces are strikingly similar, but the scenes they are witnessing are completely different.
(Being an idol must be tough.)
I felt a little sympathy for Yūna in the TV screen.
(Maybe Nanase-san is lucky to have a lookalike. At least she can attend her friend’s wedding.)
At that moment, the audience was shown. Among the passionate fans screaming at the front row, there was someone who looked like my colleague Narumi, standing in a position worthy of the honor of being the first to charge into battle.
“That’s… not a look-alike… is it?”
I opened a bag of potato chips and continued to stare blankly at the live performance taking place somewhere far away.
Maiasa