Dreams, Eels, and Omu-rice Episode 12

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“...Hey.”
　When I opened my eyelids, what jumped into my eyes was Ko-chan’s glossy, flushed face.
“I tried waking you up a few times, you know. Shunta, you wouldn’t wake up at all. I went to the wine cave by myself, and I even went into the hot spring bath a little while ago. Look, see? My skin is smooth.”
　Ko-chan’s skin was indeed smooth, but I was surprised by the view of the window visible beyond him.
“Eh?”
　The daytime sky, which should have been dazzling just a moment ago, was quietly beginning to set.
　I looked at the clock and it was six in the evening.
　It felt as if the hands of the clock had spun forward in an instant.

“The wine cave is open until nine, so let’s go see it tomorrow, maybe after we eat breakfast.”
“Yeah.”
　While listening to Ko-chan talk, I was bewildered by my own disorientation. I have memories of going to the wine cave, but looking at the situation, I started to feel like that was a dream too. Even when I tried to recall it, my memories were like tangled threads, and I couldn’t pull them out properly.
“Oh, it’s almost time for dinner. I have a reservation for six-thirty, so Shunta, you should get ready soon.”
　My head was fuzzy, but thanks to my stomach starting to growl, I knew I was hungry. Deciding to put strange things aside for now, I headed to the hotel restaurant with Ko-chan.

　While waiting for the food, looking out at the setting scenery, I started to feel as if I had been put under a spell.
　As expected of a panoramic restaurant, the atmosphere was great. A large window spanning the entire wall overlooked the Southern Alps and the Kofu Basin. At the foot of the lush green mountain range, the lights of houses were lined up, looking like scattered grains of light.
　However, no matter how you look at it, this isn’t a place for a middle-aged man over forty and a high school boy to be facing each other.

“Don’t you think we’re out of place?”
　When I said that in a low voice,
“Hey, what’s with the ‘we’? Don’t drag me into this.”
“Huh?”
　It seems he wants to say that he isn’t out of place.
“Getting swept up in the atmosphere, Shunta, you’ve still got a long way to go. When you become a nice middle-aged man like me, you’re no longer swept up by anything. I’m calm wherever I go.”
　He said things like that. I brushed him off with an “Oh, is that so,” and waited for the food.

　Hearing that we could eat pork from Yamanashi Prefecture, we both chose the meat dish for our main course. The name of the dish was,
　《Poché of Yamanashi Prefecture Crystal Pork Belly with Garlic and Black Pepper Sauce》
　It said. It’s long.
“Hey, Shunta. I wonder what this ‘Poché’ is.”
　Ko-chan asked me. As if to return the favor from earlier, I said,
“Not even knowing that, Ko-chan, you’ve still got a long way to go.”
　Of course, I don’t know what ‘Poché’ is either.

　While we were saying things like that, the reserved course meal began to be respectfully lined up on the table. While struggling a little with the unfamiliar etiquette of forks and knives, I enjoyed the appetizer using grilled eggplant and zucchini, and the delicate taste of the soup.
　Ko-chan seemed very pleased, enjoying the marriage of the food and wine.
“Yeah, I don’t know what it is, but this Poché goes well with red wine.”
　When I secretly looked it up on my smartphone, it seems ‘Poché’ is also called ‘poach.’ It’s a cooking method where ingredients are slowly simmered in water, bouillon, wine, or the like.
　The garlic and black pepper sauce went very well with the lightly boiled pork belly.

　Come to think of it, whether it’s the eel I ate with my mother or this course meal, I feel guilty that I’m the only one enjoying such luxury. But because I feel that the deliciousness increases by that much guilt, the human heart is a contradictory thing.

◇

　After finishing the meal and returning to the room, I turned the faucet in the bathroom and filled the tub with hot spring water.
　It’s a hot spring, after all. I want to soak in it as soon as possible.
　When I stirred the filled hot water with my hand, the water was incomparably smoother than the bath at home. When I slowly sank my body into the tub,
“Ah, paradise, paradise.”
　The words escaped my lips involuntarily.
　Perhaps hearing my paradise, Ko-chan’s cheerful voice came flying from the room, laughing, “You sound like an old man.”

　If there is anyone who can soak up to their shoulders in this water and not make a sound, I would like to meet them.
　The fatigue substances that had accumulated in my body were being washed away, and hot spring components were entering where they had been removed.
　This is true fatigue recovery.
　Doing this, I understand well why tired adults worship hot springs.

　After getting out of the bath and finishing drying my hair, Ko-chan approached me with a mischievous smile, heh heh heh.
“Hmm?”
“Shunta, let’s have a late-night snack.”
　What he took out was a cup of yakisoba. When on earth did he buy something like that?
“We just ate a course meal, didn’t we?”
　Ko-chan pouted.
“What, you’re not going to eat?”
　When I imagined the scent of that unique sauce, a gap opened up in my stomach.
“　　I’ll go put water in the electric kettle.”
　When I said that, Ko-chan started peeling the film off the yakisoba, again with a bad face, heh heh heh.

　I put in the dried ingredients, poured in the water from the boiled kettle, closed the lid, and placed the sauce on top as a weight.
“Cup yakisoba after eating a luxurious meal is irresistibly delicious. There’s no other sweet guilt like this.”
　Ko-chan said that, narrowing his eyes in ecstasy.
　After three minutes, I drained the water, and when I tried to peel off the lid,
“Hey!”
　My hand was slapped away as if he were swatting a mosquito.
“What was that for?”
　It didn’t hurt, but I was annoyed.

“You can’t open it yet. Before you open it, you have to tap the lid!”
　Ko-chan tapped the paper lid repeatedly.
“If you do this, the cabbage stuck to the back of the lid falls down. Look.”
　When I peeled off the lid, the cheap scent of fried noodles rose up with the steam. Indeed, there was no cabbage on the lid.
“Oh...”
　I let out a voice of admiration.
　All that was left was to add the sauce and carefully mix it with the noodles. This unique scent, which is unique to instant food, is truly addictive.
“Itadakimasu.”
　Just as I lifted the noodles and was about to carry them to my mouth, Ko-chan lifted his gaze as if reminiscing.

“When I was eating cup yakisoba like this, Erico would always say, ‘Give me a bite.’”
　Well, if you’re made to smell such a good scent of sauce right next to you, you’d want to eat it no matter what.
“But in the end, one bite wasn’t enough, and I’d end up having to make another one. And when she finished eating, she’d get angry. Saying if she got fat, it was my fault. Isn’t that unreasonable?”
　Watching Ko-chan smile lonely, it feels somehow painful.
　Surely, every time he sees cup yakisoba at a supermarket or convenience store, Ko-chan must be remembering Erico-san.
　Thinking that, I felt somehow impatient.

“Hey, Ko-chan, you still like Erico-san, don’t you? If so, why don’t you take a chance and try contacting her?”
　At my words, Ko-chan’s chopsticks stopped for a moment. Then, shaking his head slightly, he slurped up the yakisoba vigorously.

“I can’t do that.”
　He said while moving his mouth busily.
“Why?”
“It would be a nuisance if I were asked to get back together now, and besides, she might already have someone else...”
“She doesn’t!”
　At the surprisingly immediate answer, Ko-chan also opened his eyes wide.
　Why I said such a thing, I don’t even know myself. Even so, I asserted “she doesn’t” with a strange amount of conviction. But realizing that it was a statement with too little basis, I became flustered.

“Ah, no, I just have a feeling. You see, I have good intuition.”
　The intuition of a lowly high school student is no comfort at all. Thinking that, I became even more insistent.
“But, even if she did have someone, that’s fine, isn’t it? In that case, you should just say, ‘Be happy!’ and step aside.”
　Ko-chan looked at me saying such things with a dazzled face.
“　　Being young is nice.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
　I felt like I was being made a fool of and got annoyed.

“For a high school student, ten or twenty years from now feels like such a distant future that you can’t even imagine it, right? Youth is dazzling because you can feel such limited time as if it were eternal. Even if you get hurt with a ‘hit or miss’ spirit, you have plenty of time to resolve it. That’s an amazing thing.”
　Ko-chan is nodding as if impressed.
　Seeing Ko-chan like that, I felt impatient again. Even if adults praise youth, it doesn’t make me happy at all. I get frustrated wondering why they won’t say that now is the most fun time.
　Suppressing the urge to stomp my feet, I said.

"That's true. When you don't have much time left, you don't have much time remaining, so even if you suffer emotional damage, time won't solve it for you anymore."
Ko-chan nearly spat out the noodles he had stuffed into his mouth.
"H-hey, did you just say 'don't have much time left'?"
"Eh? Isn't that right?"
He feigned ignorance.
"Don't talk about me like I'm some old geezer. I've still got plenty of life ahead of me."
I couldn't help but grin.
"Then it's fine if you try and fail, right? Since you're still young, you've got plenty of time for things to work themselves out!"
As I said that, I patted his shoulder encouragingly, and Ko-chan gave a bitter smile. He looked like he wanted to say, 'You have no idea how I feel.'

"Hey, Shunta. You've heard the saying 'spilled water cannot be gathered,' right?"
Certainly, that saying does exist.
"But, you know, there's also the possibility that an old flame could be rekindled and things could go back to the way they were."
I scraped up the remaining cabbage in the container and brought it to my mouth. Leaving only the scent of the sauce, the cup yakisoba container was empty.
"Thanks for the meal. Ah, I'm stuffed."
As I patted my stomach cheerfully, Ko-chan scratched his head and said,
"Seriously, you always have a comeback for everything, don't you?"
He said that, and was laughing.

Continued in Episode 13

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