I Drink Every Night With a Lookalike of a Popular Idol on the Riverbank
A weekday afternoon. I was inspecting the stationery section of a newly opened large-scale commercial facility in the city center for reference on next season’s new products.
And beside me was Narumi, who had planned this inspection.
“Well… the stationery section on a weekday really has a different vibe, doesn’t it?”
“In a bad way… but, well… I guess it’s useful for reference.”
“Right?! We’ve taken plenty of photos already, so we can wrap this up, right? Right?”
“Yeah, yeah…”
The reason Narumi planned this inspection was obviously not for work.
After finishing the basic inspection, we headed towards the central plaza, our true destination. Despite it being a weekday, a huge crowd had already gathered in the plaza, and a special stage had been set up.
The sign beside the stage read ‘Winter Premium Illumination Lighting Ceremony’. And the guests were Luminas Tears’ Yunagi Nagi and Asagiri Hiori.
Since it was held on a weekday evening, they’d been roped into Narumi’s plan—better to attend as part of work than leave early.
Driven by Narumi’s enthusiasm, we pushed our way into the crowd.
Luckily, we secured a spot with a relatively good view of the stage.
“Wow, even on a weekday, there are so many people…”
“Of course there are! It’s an event featuring the two most popular idols together!”
Before they knew it, Narumi had pulled a penlight from her bag, gripped it tightly, and was ready for action.
Soon, accompanied by light music and the MC’s introduction, the two appeared.
Bathed in dazzling spotlights, Yunagi Nagi and Hiori appeared, looking exactly as they did on TV—perfect idols.
“Whoa! Nagi-Nagi! Hiori-chan! Their faces are so small! Their skin is glowing!”
Narumi let out a small scream beside me. Even though I’d seen them in person several times before, I couldn’t help but gasp.
Seeing real celebrities up close like this, you really are overwhelmed by their aura.
They were smiling and waving.
I turned to look at Asagiri-san on stage.
At that moment, Asagiri-san’s eyes, which had maintained a cool expression on stage, locked onto mine. Her eyes widened just a little, as if surprised. And in the next instant, I didn’t miss the way her mouth twisted into a faint smile.
Asagiri nudged Yunagi Nagi’s side with her elbow.
Nagi, who had been doing fan service, turned toward Hiori with a puzzled look. Hiori said nothing, merely jerking her chin sharply in our direction. Following that gaze, Nagi looked over here.
And then, she froze.
Still clutching the microphone, still wearing her perfect idol smile, she froze stiff as a statue, not even blinking.
[This Winter Premium Illumination features approximately 7 million LED bulbs, the largest display in Tokyo, powered by clean energy—]
While Yunagi Nagi remained frozen, the host began explaining the illuminations.
During that time, Yunagi Nagi’s expression returned to normal, and her gaze shifted away from me, wandering around the audience.
◆
A few nights later. I was drinking at home in Nanase-san’s room, as usual.
“Hey, Nanase-san…”
“Hm? What is it?”
“So, I went to this new commercial complex for work the other day. Turns out they were holding an illumination lighting event there.”
“Oh… Christmas is coming up, after all. Ah, Yosuke. I get the punchline to that story.”
Nanase-san gave a slight look of thought before saying that.
“That’s it!?”
“Mm. The guests for that event were none other than Yunagi Nagi and Asagiri Hiori. Am I right?”
“Ah… you’re right… Wha!? How did you know!?”
“Hehe. I’m eavesdropping on your thoughts, Yosuke.”
I frantically covered my head with my hands.
“Hah… Just kidding, just kidding. Want some aluminum foil?”
Nanase-san pointed towards the kitchen.
“I haven’t gone that far into conspiracy theories…”
“Oh, there’s pudding in the fridge! Want some? Someone brought it as a gift. There’s some for you too, Yosuke.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
In other words, she wanted me to get the pudding.
As I said, “I’ll get it,” stood up from the sofa, and headed toward the kitchen, I heard her mutter, “You’re not slow in that department, though…”
“What?”
I took the pudding out of the fridge and turned around. For some reason, for just an instant, Nanase-san and Yunagi Nagi overlapped in my vision.
“Huh… Wait, what?… Nanase-san… right?”
“Mm. Yeah, that’s me.”
Nanase-san lowered her face once, then raised it again. She smiled brightly and beckoned me over, saying, “Pudding’s ready~ come on over~”
(Was that just my imagination…?)
It really was just a split second. Since they’re often mistaken for each other, I figured it was only natural I’d get them mixed up too, and convinced myself it was fine.
Returning to the sofa, we sat side by side and started eating the pudding. Nanase-san began talking.
“You know, I was at a different location that day. I was originally supposed to go there. That’s why I knew the two of them were there.”
Nanase-san said this and grinned.
“I see…”
“But I hear the illuminations there are amazing. Enough people gather on weekday evenings to make it crowded.”
“Really?”
“Mm. They say it uses about 7 million bulbs, one of the largest displays in Tokyo, and it’s all lit by clean energy. Plus, this year there’s a collaboration area with a famous artist.”
“Yeah, the host mentioned something like that.”
“And that’s not all. The atmosphere changes completely depending on the location and day. There’s a romantic area for couples, and another area featuring character collaborations that families can enjoy. Plus, I think there’s a limited-time area called the ‘Sanctuary of Light,’ themed around Luminous Tears, with blue and white as the main colors.”
She rattled off the event details as if reading from a pamphlet.
I was simply overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information.
“Nanase-san, that’s amazing…”
“Hm? What is?”
“Because most of what you just said is exactly what the MC explained at the event venue. Did you look it up specially?”
“Hehe. I wouldn’t look it up just to go alone, would I?”
“Huh… So… for work? Stylists research that kind of stuff…? That’s amazing…”
When I said that, genuinely impressed from the bottom of my heart, Nanase-san suddenly stumbled backward with a thud.
“…Yosuke, you really are like that, aren’t you?”
Nanase-san stared at me with a complex expression—exasperated, yet somehow pleased.
“Huh… So that’s not what you meant…”
“Mm. Yosuke, let’s go see it again. This time, with me.”
“The illuminations? With Nanase-san?”
“Yep. Is that okay?”
“Wha— Not at all! It’s not that it’s not okay, but…”
“But?”
“Nanase-san… you’re the type who’d say something like, ‘Well, illuminations are just a bunch of light bulbs, right? The people gathered around them are like summer insects. Summer insects and winter lovers are the same, aren’t they?’”
“Hah… my resolution is too high… hehe… my stomach hurts… hah…”
Imitating Nanase-san’s way of speaking seemed to hit her funny bone hard, and she was laughing so hard she was gasping for breath.
Wiping away tears of laughter with her fingers, Nanase-san looked at me and said.
“Well… you’re kinda right. Actually, we are summer insects. But… well… sometimes I feel like I want to be a summer insect too.”
“Then… shall we go?”
“Yeah! Let’s go, let’s go!”
With that, Nanase immediately started checking her schedule on her smartphone.
“The day after tomorrow!”
“Okay, okay. So, there then.”
The plan was settled in an instant. Nanase gave a small “Yes!” and pumped her fist in triumph.
I figured it out on my own: she probably really loves illuminations. That’s why she knew so much about the Winter Premium Illuminations, I concluded to myself.
Maiasa