I Drink Every Night With a Lookalike of a Popular Idol on the Riverbank
Friday night. When did the phrase “Flower Friday” become obsolete?
I was sitting at the end of the counter at a bustling chain izakaya, thinking about such things. In front of me, my colleague Chiaki Narumi was squeezing lemon juice onto chicken wings with practiced ease.
“Aikawa. You seem different lately. Did something good happen?”
Narumi looked me over and smiled mischievously.
Since we joined the company, we’ve always gotten along well. We’re colleagues in the planning department. She’s bright and straightforward, and she’s the only person I can talk to about anything.
“Huh, really? I don’t notice it myself.”
“I can tell. You seem happier than before. More energetic, I guess. Though I could also say that’s just because you used to have the eyes of a dead fish.”
“That’s a harsh way to put it…”
I smiled wryly and took a sip of my lukewarm beer.
“…Actually, I’ve made a new friend recently.”
As soon as I said those words, Narumi’s eyes lit up. I could almost hear the click of her curiosity switch turning on.
“What? What kind of person? The way you’re talking, it sounds like a girl! A girlfriend? Spring has finally come to Aikawa!”
“No, it’s not like that… She’s an idol look-alike.”
“…Huh?”
Narumi stopped midway as she was about to put a spoonful of potato salad into her mouth. Her face clearly said, “You’re bragging.”
I decided to tell her about the strange events that had happened over the past few weeks, with a little help from the alcohol.
About a mysterious woman who called herself Nanase.
About how she was a look-alike of Yunagi
And about the unknown hardships of being a look-alike.
When I finished telling the story with a hint of pride, Narumi pressed her temples with her fingers and let out a deep sigh, as if contemplating the truth of the universe.
“Well… I’ll give you credit for having the mental fortitude to insist that she’s her doppelgänger in front of me, who’s been following Nagi since her days as an unknown underground idol. But do you really think there are two such cute girls in this world? Even one is a miracle, but two? I’d rather believe that cloning technology has been practicalized than that they’re completely different people!”
Narumi ranted on and on, then suddenly stopped, as if she had realized something.
She stared at the sticky ceiling lights as if trying to figure something out.
Then, with a sudden movement that seemed to be accompanied by an effect sound, she turned to face me.
“…Could it be the real person?”
“No, I don’t think so. Yunagi Nagi is the one who keeps giving weird answers on the quiz show, right? Nanase is more… normal, I guess… She has a slightly introverted perspective…”
“You!” Narumi slammed her hand on the table.
“Of course she is creating a TV character! Anyway, just because theyre lookalikes, it doesn’t make sense to be careful about protecting the real person’s image! What kind of sense of mission is that?”
Narumi slammed her glass down on the table. The ice made a sad clinking sound, as if to say, “You don’t have to say that.”
“Got it? Aikawa. Listen carefully. The former is a national idol hiding her identity and drinking canned chu-hi on the riverbank.”
“Yeah.”
“The latter is an ordinary person burning with a mysterious sense of mission to protect the image of a national idol’s look-alike.”
“Yeah.”
“Which one do you think is more realistic?”
“Hmm…”
I thought about it seriously.
Then I answered.
“The latter?”
“Why the hell!”
Narumi’s retort echoed loudly, drowning out the noise of the store and the smell of fried food.
“But I’ve met ‘Nanase-san’… For me, that’s reality. Narumi hasn’t met Nanase-san, that’s why she says that.”
“Then I want to meet her too. That Nanase person. That way it’ll be clear, right? I wouldn’t mistake her for someone else.”
“Eh… well, that…”
Nanase is an anti-Yunagi fan. If she meets Narumi, who is a big fan, wouldn’t they start fighting right away?
Worried about that, I couldn’t casually say, “Why don’t we meet her?”
“Nah, it’s not worth wasting Narumi’s time…”
“Hmm. I’m curious about someone who can capture Aikawa’s heart so firmly.”
“Well, I’m not captured by her!”
Narumi pointed at my watch with a glare.
“You’ve been glancing at your watch since earlier. Are you waiting for someone?”
“No, there’s no set time.”
“Time… huh.”
Narumi puffed out her cheeks and bit into a chicken wing.
◆
Narumi and I parted ways immediately after leaving the store. With a slight buzz from the alcohol, I walked home alone, enjoying the pleasant night breeze.
I kept repeating Narumi’s words in my head.
Indeed, what she said was reasonable. Logically speaking, that’s probably true.
But…
I still feel like something’s off.
If she were really the national idol Yunagi Nagi, could I have talked to her so casually?
Could we have laughed together over something trivial like the number of tatami mats floating in the sky?
Probably not.
The person I’m meeting isn’t “the national idol.”
It’s “Nanase-san,” who spoke about the hardships of being a look-alike with a hint of sadness, but also with a strong core.
As I thought about these things, my feet naturally led me down the path to the usual riverside.
It was Friday night. Maybe, just maybe, I had a faint hope.
She was there.
Sitting alone on the concrete embankment.
Wearing the same cap pulled down low over her eyes, holding the same lemon-flavored canned chu-hi in her hand.
But today, something about her was different.
Her back seemed much smaller than usual.
The air around her seemed to be completely still. She was drinking alone, looking lonely.
What should I do?
What should I say to her?
As I stood there, unable to move, a small pebble at my feet made a soft clinking sound.
At the sound, her shoulders twitched.
She slowly turned to look at me.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
The moment she caught sight of me,
the lonely look in her eyes softened, and they narrowed like a crescent moon.
Even in the dim light, I could clearly see her smiling broadly.
“Hey, Yosuke. Are you going to the drinking party today? You’re late.”
Seeing that smile and hearing her voice, all the words and common sense that had been in my heart melted away in the night breeze, becoming irrelevant.
The smile I had been longing to see was this one.
Maiasa