I Drink Every Night With a Lookalike of a Popular Idol on the Riverbank
The day of our appointment. Nanase and I were in a different place than usual.
An hour and a half on the express train. A quiet terminal station, slightly removed from the hustle and bustle of the tourist area. This was the starting point of our adventure.
โOkay, the paperwork is done. Let’s go.โ
I rented a small car from the rental car shop in front of the station and opened the passenger door with a slightly smug look on my face.
โHmm, thanks. I didn’t know you could drive, Yousuke. That’s surprising.โ
Nanase-san, dressed in her usual pants, hoodie, hat, and glasses, spoke to me from across the car.
โWellโฆ not very often, but I sometimes have to drive a company car to help with inventory managementโฆโ
โWowโฆ that’s impressive.โ
She laughed happily as she got into the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt.
When I got into the driver’s seat, Nanase spoke to me from the passenger seat.
โWhat?โ
Nanase pointed to the cleavage where the seatbelt was digging in.
โHey, that’s a cleavage.โ
โNanase!?โ
I quickly looked up from my fixated gaze and looked ahead. Seeing me flustered, Nanase laughed.
โHahaโฆ You don’t have to be so surprised.โ
โNo, noโฆ Nanase. You shouldn’t say things like โcleavageโโฆโ
โOh, was that inappropriateโฆ?โ
Nanase blushed and scratched her cheek as she looked out the passenger window.
โThat’s fine, butโฆ โcleavageโ is something you think, โOh, that person is doing it,โ right? It’s not something you say yourself, โI’m doing cleavage!โโ
โโฆThat’s the point. I didn’t expect you to get so passionate about the etiquette of cleavage appreciation.โ
Nanase smiled slyly, adjusted her seatbelt across her chest, and continued.
โIt’s a matter of taste. Tanka, haiku, the sound of flowing water, wabi-sabi, paislashโฆโ
โI’m about to drive, so please don’t try to make me laugh.โ
โLaughing at cleavage is worse.โ
It wasn’t an open riverbank, but a small car with just the two of them inside. Even there, we could converse while feeling psychologically secure, so it seemed okay.
The scenery of an unfamiliar city, the roads of an unfamiliar city. The bland pop music playing from the car stereo. Occasionally, Nanase’s humming could be heard from beside me. Everything was different from usual and felt fresh.
We relied on our smartphones’ maps to drive into the mountains. Our destination was a small waterfall mentioned in the corner of a guidebook.
โโฆWow.โ
After parking the car and walking along a narrow path between the trees for a few minutes, the view suddenly opened up, and Nanase let out a gasp of admiration.
In the dappled sunlight, white droplets sparkled. Streams of water, like silk threads, slid down the rock face covered in green moss.
The only sound was the soothing sound of water, which filled the air.
There was no one else around us.
โโฆThere really is no one else here, is there?โ
โHmm. It’s all ours.โ
We sat down on a rock near the base of the waterfall and simply gazed at the scene in silence.
Words were unnecessary.
โโฆThe sound of flowing water, wabi-sabi, paislashโฆโ
โโฆNanase-san?โ
I gave her a blank stare, but Nanase-san smiled and reached out her hand to the water’s surface, feeling its coolness.
Words were unnecessary, I decided.
โโฆHey, Yosuke. You knowโฆbeing here makes everything else seem unimportant.โ
Nanase-san muttered quietly.
โYeah. All the unpleasant things at work, everything, feels like this water is washing them away.โ
โHehe. You have unpleasant things too, don’t you, Yousuke?โ
โOf course I do.โ
We looked at each other and laughed.
โโฆBut you know, Yousuke. This is no different from what we usually do, right? Just staring at the water surface all the time. The only difference is there’s no alcohol.โ
โYeah, you’re rightโฆโ
โHeheโฆ Well, it’s fun, so it’s okay. We keep doing it because it’s fun. Something different from usualโฆ Oh, right.โ
Nanase took off her shoes and socks right there and then, and dipped her ankles into the water.
โOohโฆ It feels so goodโฆโ
Nanase let out a sound as if she had gone to heaven.
โAhโฆ Yosuke. I should have brought some non-alcoholic beer.โ
โIt’s starting to feel just like usualโฆโ
While she was talking, Nanase tapped my shoulder repeatedly.
โYousuke, it’s a deer, a deer!โ
โHuh? Where?โ
There was nothing visible where Nanase was pointing.
โOver there, next to the bushes! Can’t you see it?โ
Nanase lowered her voice but seemed excited as she approached me, pointing her finger. She didn’t seem to notice that she was gradually getting closer to me.
โWhereโฆ?โ
โIt moved! Look! To the right!โ
Nanasรฉ, who was engrossed in the deer, pressed herself against me. That’s when she finally stopped moving.
The two of us stared at each other at close range and froze.
โUmโฆ there’s a deerโฆโ
โA deerโฆโ
โSoโฆ this isโฆ wellโฆโ
โIt can’t be helped.โ
We both said that at the same time and laughed.
โWell, it would be scary if there were bears, so let’s go.โ
โYeah, you’re right. Are you hungry?โ
โI’m hungry. Let’s eat something.โ
Completely healed by the negative ions of the waterfall, we headed for lunch.
ใโ
After eating lunch and strolling around the roadside station, we arrived at the quiet sea at dusk.
โWowโฆโ
Standing on the sandy beach, Nanase-san watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon and let out another small cry.
โI’m going to the restroom.โ
โOkay. I’ll go buy some tea.โใ
I headed to the nearby public restroom, and she walked to the vending machine in the parking lot.
A few minutes later.
When I returned from the restroom, there were people around Nanase.
They seemed to be a young college-aged couple. They were talking to her.
Even from a distance, I could tell that Nanase’s face was tense.
I had a bad feeling, so I hurried over to her.
โโฆExcuse me, is something wrong?โ
When I spoke up, the boy from the couple said excitedly,
โAh, excuse me! You’re Yunagi Nagi from Luminas Tears, right? That’s right, isn’t it? I’m a fan of yours!โ
I knew it. She looks so much like her. Even here, she’s being mistaken for someone else. Nanase’s face turned pale.
I took a step forward to protect her.
โOh, I’m sorry. People often mistake her for someone else.โ
I said in a deliberately calm voice.
โThis person isn’t Yunagi Nagi, she’s Nanase. You know, look-alikes. You see them on TV sometimes. It’s like that.โ
โReally? Butโฆ aren’t they too similar?โ
โYes. So it seems to be quite difficult for her. People often mistake her for the real Yunagi Nagi and call out to her in public, so she came here where there are no people, but she was still being called outโฆโ
I continued to speak rapidly.
โSo, this person isn’t the real one. As proof, last weekend, the real Yunagi nagi was performing at an outdoor music festival, right? But this personโฆ Nanase was at a friend’s wedding in a completely different place that day. So, she’s definitely not the real one. So, please, could you just leave them alone? We’re just two ordinary people on a dateโฆโ
My desperate plea completely overwhelmed the couple.
โOh, I seeโฆ! Wow, they looked so much alikeโฆ! I’m so sorry. I apologize!โ
They bowed deeply several times, looking embarrassed, and quickly walked away.
โโฆAre you okay, Nanase-san?โ
When I turned around, she was looking down.
I couldn’t see her expression.
But the next moment, when she looked up, her eyes were slightly moist.
I couldn’t tell if she was happy or sad.
For a moment, she had a complex expression as if she were about to cry, but then she gave me the kindest smile I had ever seen.
โโฆHmm. Thanks, Yousuke. You saved me. Really.โ
I felt proud that I could protect that smile.
I hoped that I could at least lighten some of the burden she carried as a โlook-alike.โ
As we both turned toward the sea, the sunset melted into the ocean.
Maiasa