I Drink Every Night With a Lookalike of a Popular Idol on the Riverbank
Today was bitterly cold, and the wind blowing was no longer just wind.
It mercilessly stole away body heat, making us shiver uncontrollably. Even drinking by the riverbank was getting tough.
“It’s… cold…”
“Yeah… I know… I’m losing feeling in my hands…”
What Nanase-san and I held were out-of-season canned chuhai. The cold metal stripped away even the last remnants of warmth from our hands. With each word we spoke, our white breath melted away into the night sky, vanishing into nothingness.
“Honestly, I’m not in the mood for another one today.”
“Yeah. Me neither. At this rate, it’s turning into some kind of ascetic practice. But I still want to drink… My hands are shaking…”
“Alcoholic!?”
“N-no, it’s just cold—ah, then maybe we should drink somewhere warm?”
Nanase seemed to have an idea and clapped her hands.
“Somewhere warm? Another izakaya tonight?”
“N-no, my place. It’s within walking distance from here.”
“Huh…?”
“Across the river. It’s the apartment building just past that bridge.”
Where Nanase pointed, tall apartment buildings lit up by lights stood. It seemed to be one of those.
“Really!?”
“Mm. Really. So, shall we go?”
“W-wait, to your place…”
“I won’t make you eat anything. We’ll just drink like always and come back. That’s all.”
“Well… if it’s just a ride home…”
“Yeah. That’s fine too.”
We started walking parallel to the riverbank.
The sound of cars grew louder as we approached the bridge. There, we changed direction and took the bridge’s sidewalk.
Partway, a group of four people who looked like students came walking toward us. Nanase-san swiftly moved behind me, and at the same time, I stepped forward, forming a vertical line.
Nanase-san nudged me from behind, but when I turned around, she just grinned. Probably just messing around.
Occasionally swatting Nanase-san’s hand away like shooing off a bug, we arrived at the entrance of her apartment building—a stylish place with indirect lighting.
Standing before the automatic glass door, I started to say, “Well, see you,” to bid farewell. That’s when it happened.
“…Hey.”
Nanase looked up at me hesitantly.
“Don’t you think it’s kind of a waste to just split up like this?”
“Huh?”
“Well, you know. You might get hit by a car on your way home, or a meteorite might fall.
Wouldn’t it be better to take shelter first, wait a while, and then go home?”
“Nanase… did you come from the future to save my life?”
“If you can swallow that premise and just go up, then sure.”
Nanase grinned. “I bought some drinks.”
“…Well then, I’ll take you up on that. Just a little.”
The auto-lock opened, and I stepped into her private space for the first time.
A living room quite spacious for a single person. Though unified with monochrome furniture, it felt intensely lived-in—unopened envelopes piled up, loungewear hung over the sofa.
“Oh, sorry it’s messy.”
“Not at all. It’s normal, right? For better or worse.”
“Well, I’m a normal person.”
Someone not normal—like, say, an idol’s room—would probably be more colorful, overflowing with stuff, or display some mysterious obsession. I’ve never seen such a room, so I don’t know, but that’s probably how it is.
“Sit there.”
She pointed to a sofa placed right in the middle of the room, big enough for two people.
I sat down cautiously on the edge of the sofa, as if stepping into some sacred place.
Nanase-san, who’d fetched a canned chu-hi from the fridge, sat down neatly on the opposite edge.
Distance-wise, the riverbank was closer, but being in this closed room made me strangely tense.
Perhaps because it was her own room, Nanase seemed relaxed. She turned on the TV, humming softly as she played music.
“It’s pretty spacious for a single person’s place, huh?”
“Well, it’s a company-leased…No I mean! Yosuke! Would you be interested in a buzz cut!?”
“What the hell!? A buzz cut!?”
“Your hairstyle! Don’t you want to try something different!?”
Nanase blurted out, flustered. What the hell just happened!?
“I, I guess I’m fine as I am…”
“Yeah, you’re right. Yeah, no need for a buzz cut.”
She’s a busy person, suddenly proposing things and then withdrawing them. I gave a wry smile and let it go. Nanase glanced at me briefly before turning her face away again.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, I was wondering if you have any preferences, Yousuke?”
“A buzz cut?”
“For girls’ hairstyles.”
“A buzz cut.”
I said it jokingly.
“Whoa, seriously?”
Nanase-san laughed along, knowing it was a joke too.
“So, what kind do you like?”
Nanase-san closed the distance with a smile.
Man, the pressure is intense!?
I moved back a bit, launched the front camera on my smartphone, and pointed it at Nanase-san.
“Hey, there’s a cute girl in the picture, isn’t there?”
“So… I was thinking maybe just leaving it as is would be fine.”
“…I see.”
Nanase-san blushed and suddenly became quiet. She’s like some kind of monster that calms down when you show it a mirror.
“Nanase-san.”
“Hyaa… yes!”
Nanase-san turned to face me while adjusting her bangs.
“There are monsters that calm down when you show them a mirror, right?”
“Who the hell are you calling Medusa?”
Nanase-san pursed her lips, glared at me with narrowed eyes, and smacked me hard.
◆
Walking alone down the apartment building’s indoor hallway on my way home, I saw a familiar face approaching from the other end.
It was Asagiri-san in her regular clothes.
As soon as Asagiri-san noticed me, her eyes widened and she exclaimed, “Wh-why are you here!?”
“Well, that’s what I should be asking…”
“…This is my home, after all.”
“So you live in the same building as Nanase-san?”
“…It’s leased by the office. The entire floor.”
“Leased…?”
My conversation with Nanase-san suddenly flashed back. Wasn’t that “leased” talk just a cover-up for the real reason?
Though I didn’t know why she needed to cover it up.
“…I get the feeling we’re not quite on the same page here. Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine! So, then, Nanase…”
“…Ah.”
Asagiri covered her mouth with her hand, looking like she wanted to say “Oh no.”
Seeing that reaction, I arrived at a hypothesis.
“Could it be… that lending rooms to staff is actually a secret? Like, since Nanase-san isn’t a member, renting her a room is supposed to be confidential… something like that?”
“…………”
Asagiri-san pondered my question for a long time.
“…………Yes.”
Then, she nodded reluctantly, as if conceding defeat. It seemed my hypothesis had hit the mark.
“It’s fine. I’ll keep it a secret for Nanase-san’s sake.”
“…Thanks. If you’re that tight-lipped… Well, whatever. What were you doing in the room with Nanase?”
“I can’t say because I’m tight-lipped.”
“…That just makes it sound like you were doing something dirty.”
“We weren’t!? It was just cold by the riverbank, so we were drinking in the room! Same as always!”
“…I see. Got it. See you.”
After asking everything she wanted to know, Asagiri-san waved goodbye and walked away, entering her own room a little further down the hall.
(Nanase-san lives in such an amazing place…)
Thinking that to myself, I got into the elevator alone and left the floor packed with idols behind.
Maiasa