I Drink Every Night With a Lookalike of a Popular Idol on the Riverbank
Three days have passed since then. I was at the same place on Thursday night.
On the day we first met, I suddenly remembered something on my way home. My colleague Narumi had been talking passionately about an idol named Yunagi Nagi from “Luminous Tears.”
The girl I met on the riverbank that day looked strikingly similar to the smiling girl in the photo Narumi had on his desk.
Of course, it couldn’t be her. So the conclusion was clear: she was a look-alike.
Thinking that, that strange encounter began to feel a little more real.
So I came to the riverbank again tonight.
She was there.
Just like before, she was sitting on the concrete embankment, watching the flow of the river.
I mustered my courage and sat down next to her, leaving a small space between us.
“Ah…”
She noticed me and let out a small sound.
“Good evening.”
“Um, good evening.”
We both silently stared at the night sky in front of us. The sky was hazy, with hardly any stars visible due to the city lights.
We each sipped our lemon-flavored 7% alcohol drinks, staring blankly ahead in silence.
“…Um…”
It was I who broke the silence.
“Do you want to do a Fermi estimation?”
“Hehe… You remembered. Well, no. This isn’t a place to use your brain.”
“Then what kind of place is it?”
She tapped her chin with her finger as she considered my question. Even her slightly girly mannerisms seemed somehow fitting.
“Hmm… It’s just a place to relax. What about you?”
“I’m here for a gathering of Strong Lemon enthusiasts.”
She showed me her can and tapped it against mine.
After a while, when I was feeling a little tipsy, I asked her something that had been on my mind.
“I don’t know much about celebrities, but one of my coworkers is a fan of an idol.”
When I said that, the girl next to me flinched.
“Huh… really…?”
“Her name is Yunagi Nagi”
“Ah… haha…”
“Onee san, um…”
“Huh, yes!”
She turned to face me with a determined look on her face. But she also looked somewhat resigned and sad.
“Don’t people say you look like that person?”
“…Huh? Look like?”
“Oh… They don’t say that? I thought you looked pretty similar.”
“Oh… Ah… Ah!! Yes, yes! They do say that! They say I look like her! I’m her doppelganger.”
Hearing her words, I felt a deep sense of relief.
“I see… An exact double, like a doppelganger, right?”
“Doppelganger…”
“Like the story where you die after meeting them three times.”
“Well, I know what a doppelganger is. Haha… That’s an interesting idea. Then I can’t go to her live show. I don’t know which one of us would die.”
“Are you a fan?”
“No, I’m the world’s biggest hater.”
“Really? That much?”
I definitely shouldn’t let her meet my colleague Narumi. It might escalate into a physical fight.
“Doppelgänger… What language is that?”
“English?”
“Doesn’t it sound like German? The ‘doppel’ part.”
“That’s true… Oh, you’re right.”
“Hehe… I got it.”
When I searched on my smartphone, she smiled and took a sip from her can.
“I was wondering about something too. You know how there’s déjà vu, right? The feeling of having seen something before. That’s…”
“It’s French. It’s like ‘déjà vu.’ It’s ‘u’ with small dots on top.”
She searched and immediately gave me the answer. I noticed her unique red smartphone case.
“Déja… bu?”
I couldn’t say “vu” and my mouth stumbled.
“Déjà vu.”
“Déja… bu?”
“Déjà vu.”
“Byu?”
“Vu.”
“Bu… the pronunciation…”
She couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
“Haha… That’s true. Why can I say it? Am I French?”
“I don’t know. But you do have that vibe. Are you a quarter French?”
“Well, my mother is a quarter. My mother’s grandfather was British, but other than that, she’s just a regular Japanese person.”
“So, you’re one-eighth.”
“That’s what it’s called.”
Before I knew it, she was speaking to me informally. I lost the timing to switch, so I kept using honorifics.
“Then… is that person also one-eighth? you look so much alike.”
“The real one?”
“The real one is onee san too, right… isn’t it?”
“Haha… you should just stop using honorifics.”
“Well, I’ll take you up on that.”
“But it’s amazing. I’m just an ordinary person and a lookalike, but I’m the real thing.”
“I mean, you are not a copy of that person, right? I don’t think there’s any such thing as the real thing or a fake.”
“That’s true. That’s right, yeah.”
She nodded thoughtfully.
“Don’t you mind being told you look alike?”
“Well… maybe a little.”
She said in a slightly sulky voice and lifted the can she was holding.
“Anyway, it’s unlikely for an idol to be drinking canned chu-hi alone outside.”
“Well… maybe that kind of gap could go viral.”
“You’re so positive.”
She laughed as she put the can to her mouth. There was hardly any left inside, and she tilted her head back to let the liquid drip out. It was almost time to call it a day.
“Um… it’s weird to keep calling you ‘look-alike,’ isn’t it? If it’s okay, could you tell me what to call you?”
At my question, she stopped her playful shoulder movements and stared intently into my eyes.
After a moment, she exhaled as if she had given up on something.
“…Nanase.”
“Nanase-san.”
“Yeah. The kanji for seven and the kanji for sea horse.”
“…Blue Eyes?”
“Yeah. Actually, they’re a little blue.”
Nanase said that and turned to look at me. Her beautiful blue eyes certainly suggested foreign roots.
“Is Nanase your first name?”
“Well… I’m not sure.”
“So, could it be Nanase Nanase?”
“Maybe, maybe not. What about you?”
“Aikawa Yosuke.”
“Then Yosuke it is.”
“So Nanase is your first name?”
“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
Nanase smiled and stood up. The two of them waved goodbye to each other, and without either of them saying it, they exchanged a vague promise to meet again and walked off in different directions.
Maiasa