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.
โIt’sโฆ coldโฆโ
โYeahโฆ I knowโฆ I’m losing feeling in my handsโฆโ
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.
โHonestly, I’m not in the mood for another one today.โ
โYeah. Me neither. At this rate, it’s turning into some kind of ascetic practice. But I still want to drinkโฆ My hands are shakingโฆโ
โAlcoholic!?โ
โN-no, it’s just coldโah, then maybe we should drink somewhere warm?โ
Nanase seemed to have an idea and clapped her hands.
โSomewhere warm? Another izakaya tonight?โ
โN-no, my place. It’s within walking distance from here.โ
โHuhโฆ?โ
โAcross the river. It’s the apartment building just past that bridge.โ
Where Nanase pointed, tall apartment buildings lit up by lights stood. It seemed to be one of those.
โReally!?โ
โMm. Really. So, shall we go?โ
โW-wait, to your placeโฆโ
โI won’t make you eat anything. We’ll just drink like always and come back. That’s all.โ
โWellโฆ if it’s just a ride homeโฆโ
โYeah. That’s fine too.โ
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 buildingโa stylish place with indirect lighting.
Standing before the automatic glass door, I started to say, โWell, see you,โ to bid farewell. That’s when it happened.
โโฆHey.โ
Nanase looked up at me hesitantly.
โDon’t you think it’s kind of a waste to just split up like this?โ
โHuh?โ
“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?”
โNanaseโฆ did you come from the future to save my life?โ
โIf you can swallow that premise and just go up, then sure.โ
Nanase grinned. โI bought some drinks.โ
โโฆWell then, I’ll take you up on that. Just a little.โ
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-inโunopened envelopes piled up, loungewear hung over the sofa.
โOh, sorry it’s messy.โ
โNot at all. It’s normal, right? For better or worse.โ
โWell, I’m a normal person.โ
Someone not normalโlike, say, an idol’s roomโwould 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.
โSit there.โ
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.
โIt’s pretty spacious for a single person’s place, huh?โ
โWell, it’s a company-leasedโฆNo I mean! Yosuke! Would you be interested in a buzz cut!?โ
โWhat the hell!? A buzz cut!?โ
โYour hairstyle! Don’t you want to try something different!?โ
Nanase blurted out, flustered. What the hell just happened!?
โI, I guess I’m fine as I amโฆโ
โYeah, you’re right. Yeah, no need for a buzz cut.โ
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.
โWhat’s wrong?โ
โWell, I was wondering if you have any preferences, Yousuke?โ
โA buzz cut?โ
โFor girls’ hairstyles.โ
โA buzz cut.โ
I said it jokingly.
โWhoa, seriously?โ
Nanase-san laughed along, knowing it was a joke too.
โSo, what kind do you like?โ
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.
โHey, there’s a cute girl in the picture, isn’t there?โ
โSoโฆ I was thinking maybe just leaving it as is would be fine.โ
โโฆI see.โ
Nanase-san blushed and suddenly became quiet. She’s like some kind of monster that calms down when you show it a mirror.
โNanase-san.โ
โHyaaโฆ yes!โ
Nanase-san turned to face me while adjusting her bangs.
โThere are monsters that calm down when you show them a mirror, right?โ
โWho the hell are you calling Medusa?โ
Nanase-san pursed her lips, glared at me with narrowed eyes, and smacked me hard.
โ
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, โWh-why are you here!?โ
โWell, that’s what I should be askingโฆโ
โโฆThis is my home, after all.โ
โSo you live in the same building as Nanase-san?โ
โโฆIt’s leased by the office. The entire floor.โ
โLeasedโฆ?โ
My conversation with Nanase-san suddenly flashed back. Wasn’t that โleasedโ talk just a cover-up for the real reason?
Though I didn’t know why she needed to cover it up.
โโฆI get the feeling we’re not quite on the same page here. Are you okay?โ
โY-Yeah, I’m fine! So, then, Nanaseโฆโ
โโฆAh.โ
Asagiri covered her mouth with her hand, looking like she wanted to say โOh no.โ
Seeing that reaction, I arrived at a hypothesis.
โCould it beโฆ 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 confidentialโฆ something like that?โ
โโฆโฆโฆโฆโ
Asagiri-san pondered my question for a long time.
โโฆโฆโฆโฆYes.โ
Then, she nodded reluctantly, as if conceding defeat. It seemed my hypothesis had hit the mark.
โIt’s fine. I’ll keep it a secret for Nanase-san’s sake.โ
โโฆThanks. If you’re that tight-lippedโฆ Well, whatever. What were you doing in the room with Nanase?โ
โI can’t say because I’m tight-lipped.โ
โโฆThat just makes it sound like you were doing something dirty.โ
“We weren’t!? It was just cold by the riverbank, so we were drinking in the room!ใSame as always!”
โโฆI see. Got it. See you.โ
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 placeโฆ)
Thinking that to myself, I got into the elevator alone and left the floor packed with idols behind.
Maiasa