He didn’t answer. We were approaching a traffic light. The car slowed before stopping on an upward slope.
“I used to, but not any more,” he eventually said. “When I was still with my ex-girlfriend, we drove around at night. Ever since she left me, I try not to drive alone. Otherwise I’ll start thinking about her.”
The light turned green, and Honda released the hand brake. The engine roared when the car set off.
“How about you, Ishida? Do you have a girlfriend?”
“I do.”
“In Tokyo?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about her.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, especially considering Nae and I hadn’t talked for so long. “She’s all right, I guess. We’re at the same university.”
“She’s fine with you coming here?”
I forced myself to laugh. “To tell the truth, we had an argument and haven’t made up.”
“I see,” he mumbled. “After my ex-girlfriend and I broke up, I realized something. If you love each other, anything can be solved with a simple word of apology. But if you don’t, it’s too difficult to sustain the relationship.”
“I don’t mind apologizing if I need to, but the thing is, I never live up to her expectations. Sooner or later, we’ll have the same disagreement. She and I don’t move at the same pace.”
“Is that the reason you left Tokyo?”
I said nothing, and he didn’t press further.
The black sedan moved through the quiet summer night. The streets were empty, illuminated by the streetlights. When I squinted, they blurred together, creating one continuous glowing line. I remembered seeing something like this before, but where?
20
A
Request
from
Tokyo
When I arrived at my apartment, I found a letter waiting for me. The white envelope was crumpled at the edges, and it had a purple butterfly stamp. My mother was the one who’d sent it. Tearing open the envelope, I removed a sheet of paper, folded twice. The letter said:
Dear Ren,
Jin is looking for you. He says it’s urgent. I told him you didn’t leave a phone number and I didn’t know when you’d be back in Tokyo, but he keeps on calling. Can you get in touch with him?
Jin had been my friend since elementary school.
We were in the same class for many years, and both of us were on the soccer team, so we spent a lot of time together. But after high school, we went off to different universities. I followed in my sister’s footsteps to Keio, while Jin got into Waseda. He called me every now and then when his team needed players, but we no longer saw each other as often. On the occasions we met off of the soccer field, we spent our time prowling the bars, looking for girls.
Jin wasn’t good-looking. Well, I wouldn’t say his appearance was off-putting. He just wasn’t the kind of guy girls would glance at twice, but he had a way with words. Once he got a girl to stop and listen to him, he could pretty much find his way between her sheets. Yet, for some reason, he needed me to be his hunting partner.
“There’s a secret formula,” he had told me. “It has to be done in pairs. You and me, we make the best combination. We complement each other.”
Why me? He wouldn’t explain. But by following his dubious theory, I had hooked up with quite a few beautiful girls. It had always been a no-brainer to go along with his plans.
Before I went to work the next morning, I made a detour to the pay phone near the park. Even now, I remembered Jin’s number off the top of my head.
Someone picked up. “Hello?”
I recognized Jin’s distinctive low voice at once. “It’s Ren,” I said. “My mother isn’t pleased that you keep on calling.”
“Ah, that old hag. She slammed the phone down the other day.” He laughed. “Where are you now?”
“I’m in Akakawa.”
“What are you doing there?”
“Settling a family matter,” I said. Jin knew my sister, but I doubted I’d ever mentioned she’d lived there, and I didn’t feel like talking about her death. “So, why have you gone through so much trouble to reach me?”
“I need your help picking up a couple of girls.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Are you serious? That’s why you kept calling?”
“Do you think I’m joking?”
I could sense from his tone that he was serious, but still, “What’s the rush?”
“I’ll tell you in person. When can you come over? Preferably for a week, and as soon as possible. You’ll do it for me, won’t you?”
It was the first time he’d ever pleaded for help. I couldn’t turn him down, and anyway, summer break was coming.
“I’ll be there next week,” I said.
“Great.” He sounded relieved. “I’ll pay for the train ticket.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t let anyone know I’m coming to Tokyo, especially my mother.”
“Got that. Who would want to talk to the hag anyway?”
So on the agreed date, I turned up at his house in Meguro.
Jin’s house was a three-story landed property with its own garage. His family had lived there for three generations.
The door swung open and Jin greeted me.
“Welcome to Tokyo, Mr. Ishida,” he said, grinning. “We’ve been expecting you.”
“What’s the deal?” I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.
“The deal is . . .” He came out of his house with a Boston bag. “We’re going to have fun.”
Jin hailed a cab and gave the address of a hotel in Roppongi. On the way there, he pretended to be asleep, but I could tell he was faking it. When we got to his room, he threw his bag aside and jumped onto the queen-sized bed while I stood next to him. After a long silence, he began to talk.
“Would you believe me if I said I was getting married?” he asked.
My eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
Like me, Jin was twenty-four. It seemed early for a guy to settle down, especially one as commitment-phobic as him.
He replied flatly, “I wish I was only joking.”
“What happened?”
“My girlfriend is pregnant,” he said. “The wedding is next month. It’s a mad rush, but we have no choice since she’s already seven weeks in. She’ll start to show soon.”
I didn’t know what to say. I could imagine how devastating it was for him. Scratching my head, I asked, “Is this the short-haired girl you introduced me to last time? What was her name?”
“Sachiko,” he said. “But it’s not her. I broke up with her ages ago.”
I knew Jin dated many girls, sometimes more than one at the same time, but the short-haired girl from Waseda was the last one I’d met. “So this is someone new.”
“Yes,” he said. “How about you? Still stuck with that Nae?”
“What do you mean, ‘that Nae’? And yes, we’re still together . . .” I scratched my head. “Sort of.”
He looked at me and laughed. “So you finally broke up with her. About time, isn’t it? I’ll help you get over it.”
“We didn’t break up. And this isn’t about me. It’s about you and the girl you’re marrying. How long were you dating before she got pregnant?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “A year or two?”
“That can’t be true. You were with Sachiko last year, unless you were seeing them at the same time.”
“Fine, we only dated for a couple of months before she got pregnant. Are you happy now? Can we stop talking about it?”
“All right, all right,” I said, sensing his agitation. “How did this happen? You’ve always been careful.”
“I am careful,” he said. “That’s why I’m pissed. My girlfriend is happy, though. She’s told the
whole world about it. I don’t have any other option but to take responsibility.”
I pulled up a chair and sat. “This girlfriend of yours, do you love her?”
“I do like her, or I wouldn’t be going out with her in the first place. I’m not crazy about her or anything, but I don’t mind being with her,” Jin said. “It’s also an advantageous marriage. Her father’s company is the main client of our family business. It’s a difficult arrangement to say no to.”
“So it’s decided?”
“I guess so. It’s just so sudden. The timing is off, you know what I mean? Honestly, I’m not ready yet, but I have no choice.”
I sighed. “So what’s the plan? Sleeping around for a week?”
“Something like that.” He smirked. “If I can fool around enough to satisfy my whole life’s desire, I might feel better about settling down so early.”
“What a genius plan.”
“Don’t be sarcastic, Ren. I know it sounds shallow and foolish, but I’m a shallow, foolish man.”
Jin was smiling, but I knew he was distraught. The guy had lost his mind. I empathized with him, but disagreed with how he’d chosen to handle this.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you have fun, too,” he continued.
“That’s not the issue. I just doubt you’ll feel any better after we do this.”
“That’s my problem, not yours. I’m taking a gamble, and I’ll accept full responsibility for the outcome.”
I knew he wasn’t going to change his mind. Taking my shoes off, I asked, “So where are we heading tonight?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Jin took an extra hotel key from his pocket and threw it to me. “Don’t take your shoes off here. Go to your room. You’d better rest up. I promise you, it’s going to be a long night.”
“Okay.” I put my shoes back on, took my bag, and left.
Jin was an only child. His family had run a high-end traditional confectionary business for generations. It was labor-intensive work, but they’d built a good reputation and an elite customer base. Politicians, entertainers, and wealthy businessmen were their regulars. The factory was in Kanagawa, and Jin’s parents had another house there. Jin was alone at the family home in Meguro most of the time. Being alone at home was something else we had in common, apart from our love for soccer.
When we were in high school, he often invited me to his house to watch adult videos. He had the largest collection I’d ever seen. After my sister left Tokyo, I often stayed over at his place.
Though his parents were almost never around, Jin didn’t bring girls home. Instead, he fooled around with them at school—the infirmary, the storeroom, the bathroom, you name it. When we got older, he upgraded to love hotels. Money wasn’t a problem, since he got a generous allowance.
I asked him once why he went through the trouble when his house was always empty.
Jin said, “I can’t risk having my parents walk in on me with my pants down.”
“Do they expect you to stay a virgin till you’re married?” I joked.
“You know what I mean,” he said. “They know I’m already having sex, but don’t want to catch me doing it.”
Because I went with him, I also became a love hotel regular.
Jin’s method of picking up girls was simple. We would go to a nice bar in Roppongi, order a few drinks, and hang around until we spotted a pair of girls we liked. Not too young—more often than not university students or office ladies in their twenties—and attractive enough. Jin was always the one who went over and chatted them up. We would buy them drinks, listen to their stories, make them laugh. If we were lucky, we could have some fun afterwards. Jin made sure I had a good time; he would pick up the tab and let me choose which girl to bring to my room.
This time, too, we followed the same pattern as usual. The first three nights went as expected. Jin had always been good at picking up girls, but this time, he was especially smooth. I had no complaints, especially since I hadn’t slept with anyone since I’d moved to Akakawa. But the fourth night was different.
Upon entering the bar, I spotted two younger girls having drinks by themselves. One was petite, with an infectious smile, and the other girl was willowy and fair-skinned. The taller girl looked glamorous in her black leather jacket and smoky makeup. Her chin-length bob revealed a long, slender neck.
I didn’t think I had a chance with a girl like that, but Jin saw me eyeing the pair. Sensing I liked the modelesque girl, he insisted on giving it a shot. I was hesitant at first, but when the petite one made eye contact with us, I decided to let him try his magic. We went to the empty table next to them and ordered a pitcher of beer. After that, Jin made his move.
“How are you girls tonight?” he asked. “Would you like to join us?”
He posed the question in such a natural manner, as if he were asking whether the table was taken. It was something only Jin could pull off. It would’ve sounded forced if I’d used the same line.
The two girls looked at each other. After a brief silence, the taller girl nodded and the petite girl said, “Sure, why not.”
“Do you come here often?” Jin asked, making space for the two of them.
The tall girl shrugged. “Once in a while.”
As usual, he did the introductions. “This is Ren, and I’m Jin.”
“She’s Anzu, and I’m Kaori,” the shorter girl said. “Are you students?”
Jin nodded. “We’re law students at Tsukuba. We’re here on holiday.”
Creating a fake persona was part of Jin’s secret formula. University students—from anywhere but Keio and Waseda—were the scenarios we used most, but there were times he’d pulled off advertising executives, company employees, and civil servants. So far, no one had ever discovered we were lying. Not even when the girls we were talking to happened to study at the same university as the one he’d picked. Jin executed his lies with such conviction, it was like he believed everything he said was true.
On their part, Kaori did most of the talking. They were drama students at the same private art college.
“We’re staging a play next summer, and I just got one of the leading roles,” Kaori said. “If you’re in Tokyo, you should come and see it.”
“Really? That calls for a celebration,” Jin said.
He led us in a toast and ordered more drinks. He continued talking with Kaori, which gave me a chance to get closer to Anzu. It worked well, since Kaori was all too happy to tell him about the production.
I turned to Anzu. In the dim light, she was captivating. But it wasn’t just her striking good looks. The girl had a familiar aura I couldn’t really explain. Even though we’d just met, I felt like I knew her.
“Why are you staring?” she asked.
“You look familiar,” I said. “Have we met before?”
She swiped her long bangs off of her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Is that one of your pickup lines?”
“Maybe.” I took a gulp of my beer. “What about you? Will you be in the play?”
“No,” she said without a hint of disappointment. “I’m in charge of makeup and costumes.”
“Is that what you’re interested in?”
“Not really. I requested the job because I might not be around during the performance. We have a dozen other students doing the same job. It won’t be a catastrophe, even if I don’t turn up.”
“Anzu is a famous model,” Kaori chipped in. “She did a job for Comme des Garçons last week.”
That must be why I thought I’d seen her before. “So we’ll see your photograph on billboards?”
Anzu laughed. “No, not an advertising campaign. I was only involved in a small runway show. I’m not a famous model. Kaori was just teasing.”
I glanced over at Kaori, but she was busy listening to Jin.
“I’m not that in
to theater, but I had to find something to study to please my parents,” Anzu said. “They’re particular about the need to have a degree.”
“But any degree is fine?”
“Yes, any degree is fine,” she repeated. “I thought drama was the closest to what I’m doing now, but it’s turning out not to be the best choice. I’m bad at remembering lines, and I can’t act at all. Fashion design might have been better.”
“Why don’t you transfer?”
“Half the time, I’m not around. If I moved into fashion, I wouldn’t be able to cope with the schoolwork.”
“Don’t you already have problems meeting the minimum attendance requirement?”
“It’s fine. My friends help me sign in,” she said. “The lecturers know my circumstances, so they close one eye. It won’t be hard to graduate. Ours is just a small private college, not Tsukuba University, and I’m not aiming to be the next big actress.”
I finished my beer and refilled both our mugs. Jin and Kaori were in their own world. Kaori giggled as Jin slipped his arm around her waist.
“What about you?” Anzu asked. “Why did you choose law?”
I struggled for a moment to come up with an answer. “I didn’t know what to study, so my parents suggested I follow in the footsteps of my older sister.”
“Is she a practitioner?”
Clearing my throat, I nodded. “She is.”
“Then you can ask for a recommendation. Your prospects are pretty much secured. You’ve made the right choice. Or at least, you’ve got your life planned well. A lot of people our age have no idea what they’re planning to do after graduation.”
“It’s hard for twenty-somethings to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives.”
“True, but that’s just how it is,” she lamented. “The decisions you make in your twenties might be the biggest decisions of your life. The job you’re planning to do, the kind of person you’re going to marry, those sorts of things. But we’re still young. Too naïve and foolish to make such important decisions.”
I mumbled in agreement and finished my beer in a few gulps.
Rainbirds Page 15
