Aoi's "Day Off"

“Aoi.”

“A-o-i.” I felt someone shake me out of my peaceful sleep. It could only be one person.

“Eiko, it’s my day off,” I said groggily, “Who let you in?” I looked over at my door and saw the maid looking at us, worried. I didn’t blame her. I signaled her to give us some privacy.

“You promised you’d take me on a lunch date!” She protested as soon as the door was shut.

Eiko’s dyed blonde hair blinded me as she opened the curtain to my room, letting the sun bounce off her hair, and disrupting my peaceful morning. Some fashion going around influenced her hair color. Even though I never minded whichever one she chose, this one wasn’t my favorite, especially when trying to open my eyes.

“It’s 6AM…” I answered, forgetting about our previous arrangement, if it was even real.

“Good! We can still make it to the place I booked,” said Eiko. “Put on the clothes I picked out for you,” she said while pointing at a set of clothes carefully arranged from my closet. She had a great sense of fashion, so I couldn’t argue there, even if I found fashion pointless. She was wearing a summer dress with a unique pattern: colorful, shaded leaves as if painted by watercolors. It probably made good money for some designer somewhere. The clothes didn’t make her any different than what she usually was. Eiko as usual looked incredibly beautiful, she had healthy colored skin with a slightly toned body, forged through daily health routines and exercise. A lot of men, or more accurately, people in general, find her incredibly attractive. Many want to be like her, look like her. She is a trendsetter after all. And yet I couldn’t see her as more than a friend, perhaps even a sister, and a ruthless one at that.

“I’ll be out in two minutes,” I said, as I signaled her politely for some privacy.

I finished getting ready and we headed to the garage, where the driver was already waiting for us in the car, as if informed of the plan beforehand. He avoided eye contact with me. I gave Eiko a glance, whose proud face confirmed my suspicions. We rode the car for a little under an hour and we were delivered to a restaurant that had also been prepared in advance. I noticed we were an hour before they were officially open, but they let us in. I could spot in the corner the disgruntled workers that had to come in to work earlier than usual just for Eiko’s plan.

“So how much did you pay them to prepare this place for us?” I asked Eiko as the waiters brought us a prearranged set of food. Eiko just smiled proudly; I knew I wasn’t going to get a straight answer. “I don’t even get to pick what I want to eat?” I asked as I stared at her blankly while the workers decorated the table with beautiful looking dishes.

“You know the drill. Some stuff just looks better on socials,” she explained, as if I had to play along with her. “You can eat whatever you want after we’re done,” she knew what I was thinking at the time.

“So let me confirm. You want people to believe that you and I, an internet celebrity supposed couple, went to a place like this, we weren’t harassed by anyone, and we ate all of this?”

“Keep it down! Nobody else should know that.” Eiko tried to make me speak quietly, since the nature of our relationship was meant to be a secret. At that point I had fully resigned myself to play along with whatever she was planning.

“Don’t you think all this is a terrible influence on young girls?” I said, trying to imagine who would fawn over our fake dates online.

“Is it? Or are they living their dreams through me?” Eiko seemed unapologetic.

“We’re not even a real couple… how long are we going to keep this up?”

“Until our relationship stops getting good views,” she explained, as if the answer was more than obvious. “Why do you refuse to give the people what they want?”

“Is it really all about the clicks for you? There’s more than making content for clicks in life you know. There are plenty of other ways to make money, you don’t have to go through all this.” I answered with an unwavering tone.

“Oh yeah, and work hard just like you? When have you actually had to work in your life? What do you know about making money?” Eiko had engaged her serious face, her expression was intimidating enough for me to back out. I also knew where she was coming from, so I stopped pressing her.

I noticed a waiter looking at us intently, as if ready to help us in a moment’s notice. I subtly signaled him over. “How much did she pay you to set this all up?” I asked him with a serious voice. The waiter simply apologized, bowed, and walked away, no doubt trying to get someone who could answer my question. “You didn’t pay them anything, did you Eiko?” I looked over to my companion, who was looking quite guilty.

“People are going to fill this place in a couple of hours thanks to us anyway, isn’t that enough?” She tried to fend off my accusations. I simply stared at Eiko, who got the message. “Fine, I’ll arrange something with them.”

Eiko proceeded to take footage from multiple angles, including pictures of me eating and selfies. Eiko checked her makeup extensively before taking pictures together. She was very conscious about her appearance and its reflection online. As much as it seemed like she was going too far sometimes, there’s a reason her channel is extremely popular. She’s amazing in so many ways, her beauty is only a small part of it, she is also the smartest girl I know. The views she has earned aren’t enough to express how much charisma and hard work she puts into this. That’s why I don’t mind being dragged along.

We finished taking pictures of the pretend lunch, after which I tried something I actually ordered. It was above average, but not worth the trouble. When we finished eating, it seemed like Eiko was satisfied for the day, so we headed back home.

“And there... All scheduled to the respective websites,” said Eiko with a smile as we rode back.

“Why do I have to do all this?” I was wondering how I got to this point, despite knowing the answer.

“Because you’re my childhood friend of course,” said Eiko, with not even a hint of regret.

“Is that enough to put me through this?” I asked, looking at the Tokyo buildings outside the window as the car hummed along.

“Yeah it is, because you owe me,” Eiko replied, seemingly convinced I owed her for something she did in the past. If I did, I didn’t quite remember what.

I couldn’t help but sigh at our conversation. Not many people got to me, but Eiko and I had been close for long enough that we just knew each other far too well.

“What happens when people find out all the content about this relationship is fake?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Well, then we go offline,” she answered, as if my question was pointless.

“Really, and then what?”

“Then we make a comeback video several months after, when people forget about the scandal.” Eiko seemed proud of her plan. She knows too much about how the internet operates.

“You really thought of everything, didn’t you?” I knew Eiko always had a plan, and that I should probably resign myself to her process.

We dropped off Eiko at her house, and then headed back home. Finally, I could enjoy my day off. Later in the day, I decided to wander the city on my own, a hobby I picked up when I got tired of the bright lights and the glamorous life that my job and Eiko forced upon me. I picked a neighborhood not far from Ikebukuro, lively enough to still feel the city nearby, but far enough from anything crowded. My driver dropped me in a street out of sight, and I walked until I found a charcoal grilled eel restaurant owned by a family. They were grateful for my business and I enjoyed the meal and the warmth, even though there wasn’t anything exceptional about it.

On my way back to my driver I found a singer in a tiny park. The size of the park confused me as to why it even existed. I’ve listened to so many amazing singers in the past, I simply couldn’t find her remarkable. She somehow spotted me, and nervously, but bluntly asked me questions about her singing which I answered to the best of my knowledge. Though she seemed ordinary at first glance, she definitely looked different, but not by choice like Eiko. I couldn’t see her that well at night in that particular place. She seemed expressive, like many singers are, but also somewhat anxious. I hope I didn’t speak too harshly to her, all she needs is some practice. Even in the worst case, you don’t even need to be good to sing anymore.

She somehow refused my money but I managed to slip past her poor attempt to return it. What a curious person in an otherwise ordinary place. Maybe I will go visit again sometime. There was something about her that I couldn’t quite shake off as I went to bed, and fell asleep.