The story of how I bought red clothes because I admired Dr. Asagao's fashion, and ended up being called 'The Red Person'

I love the drama "Medical Examiner Asagao".

The direction that makes you fall in love with every character is charming, of course, but what I find myself following with my eyes almost without fail is the fashion of "Dr. Asagao," played by Juri Ueno.

Given her job as a forensic scientist, she sometimes wears neat shirts, but I also find her casual, relaxed outfits—in a good way—very appealing.

Among them, I especially love her collarless shirt dresses.

The red shirt dress that Dr. Asagao wore in the opening of "Medical Examiner Asagao 2025 New Year Special" was just so cute that even after the scene changed, it remained burned into my memory for a while.

Come to think of it, every time I watch this drama, I always think the same thing.

"I want to wear clothes like that."

Even though I think it every time, before I know it, that desire has somehow vanished from my mind.

"I'm going to go buy some clothes...!"

A month later, I had a trip to Tokyo planned, and I was struggling with what to wear.

Why not take this opportunity to go buy clothes like Dr. Asagao's?

And then, the day arrived. Since Sunday, I had firmly resolved, "I will definitely go to the Aeon Mall alone next Tuesday."

On a weekday, and alone at that,the Aeon Mall.

The nearest Aeon Mall was completed seven years ago. Despite seven years having passed, I have probably only been there four times.

The last time I went was in September when I took my daughter tosee the Pretty Cure movie.

Because it's an unfamiliar place, I remember struggling to find the entrance to the cinema, sweating as I rattled and sped along with the heavy Anpanman cart my daughter was riding in, arriving just in time for the screening.

To me, the Aeon Mall is an unknown territory. It may just be an Aeon Mall, but it is still an Aeon Mall.

Driven by the determination to "spend as much time as possible shopping today," I arrived 40 minutes before opening time.

While waiting in the car for the store to open, I check the website and research the shops I want to visit in advance.
When I'm with my children, I can't get around to all the shops unless I plan things out like that, so it's become a habit.

And finally, I enter the store.

――It's been a while since I've been to an Aeon Mall, and what's more, I'm all alone!!

Perhaps because it's a weekday, the store looks less crowded and more spacious than in my memory. New clothes sparkle before my eyes, and I can't help but smile with joy.

To keep from grinning, I press my lips into a thin line and walk around, gazing at the merchandise while shifting my eyes here and there.

Lately, I've been so desperate with childcare and job hunting that I've stopped caring about my own clothes. Every day, I wrap myself in Uniqlo or Muji, feeling a sense of crisis that I'm becoming an 'old lady' in terms of fashion, thinking, 'This outfit wouldn't look out of place on a man...'

But today is different. I am going to become Juri Ueno—no, Dr. Asagao.

Overwhelmed by the word SALE lined up in the sparkling store, another part of me whispers to the version of me that has started to zone out.

“When in doubt, judge based on whether it’s something Dr. Asagao would wear.”

That's right, I'm here shopping because I admire Dr. Asagao's fashion. Wake up.

I walk past the light purple goods at Francfranc that make me feel like spring is coming, and search for clothes that Dr. Asagao might wear at the shops I researched.

Then, as I approach a variety store in the middle of the aisle leading to the children's section, 'Opanchu Usagi' and 'Chiikawa' characters are looking at me with smiles.

Usually, this is a place where my eldest daughter would hold me up for at least five minutes. 'I have no business with you today,' I mutter to myself, and dash past the variety store.

How many times have I gone back and forth from the second floor to the third, then back to the second, and the first? If I let my guard down, I'll be sucked into GU or Muji.

The familiar sight of a massive amount of products lined up in an orderly fashion is comforting. This won't do; I might accidentally end up buying something at Muji out of habit. After all, Muji does have shirt dresses that Dr. Asagao might wear...?

I calmed down and thought about it.

This is a land of extreme cold. The sub-zero days will continue for a while, and there's even a possibility of heavy snow in February. A shirt dress is out of season.

It is beyond cold; it is painful. That is winter in Nagano.

At a Starbucks I visit only once or twice a year, I drank a calorie bomb called a Blonde Chocolate Symphony Frappuccino, and I was wide awake.

Then, I carefully examined the items I had been looking at, and with the remaining time, I finally opened my wallet.

"Yeah, I'll go with this after all."

No matter which store I went to, I couldn't easily find a collarless shirt dress. On the contrary, the clothes I thought, 'This is nice, I want to buy it,' were always the same as what I usually prefer.

After all, I am who I am.

If there is one difference from before, it is that I have found the courage to wear a bright red knit as if to say, 'How about it? Isn't it dazzling?'

◇

That night, my husband, who had returned home, said with a smirk to my satisfied face.

"Oh, that coat really does look like something Dr. Asagao would wear."

I immediately understood why I felt there was some hidden meaning in his 'might look like.'

"Wait, didn't you already have something like that at home?"

I see, so that's it. That explains the sense of déjà vu.

It is true that I owned a red sweater I bought at Uniqlo last year, but—

"It has so many pills on it..." I mumbled, making excuses.

And so, the next time I watch the drama 'Dr. Asagao,' I will surely think, 'Dr. Asagao's clothes are so cute,' recall my feelings of admiration, and might just run off to buy new clothes again. Because, after all, I am who I am.

The day after I went to the Aeon Mall, I wore my brand-new clothes and met up with my friends, feeling a bit nervous.

But even though they usually call me by my last name, that day my name became "the red person."

While trying to act calm, I felt a mix of embarrassment and the thought, "No, no, it should be fine." It seems a red knit sweater was still a bit too much for me.

But someday, I want to be a woman who can wear bright red clothes as effortlessly as Professor Asagao.