Otherworld Company Chapter 12.3: Connections May or May not be an Asset

If he had a girlfriend, I will call her and have her pick him up. However, my Kouhai who has a good face is maintaining a record of years of not having a girlfriend equal to his actual age.

So, I can’t use that method.

In conclusion, I sat on a park bench with a glass of water in my hand and puffed on a cigarette until he sobers up enough.

“There are more people than I thought.” (Jiro)

It wasn’t quite midnight, but there were quite a lot of people for the time of day, which was around ten o’clock at night.

Perhaps it’s because the park also serves as a recreational area, so there are couples on park dates, dog walking, exercising, and so on.

“I guess people do those.” (Jiro)

One of the things I noticed was a boy in a hoodie dancing under a streetlight.

“Was it called breakdancing?” (Jiro)

It was an amateur’s description, but I had seen it on a video site or something, so I was sure I was right.

They used their whole body for the dance, waving their arms, standing on their head with one hand, and spinning their bodies on the floor using their arms and gloves even though there was asphalt underneath.

This is the first time I’ve seen it in person, and it’s honestly impressive.

The earphones sticking out of his jacket pocket suggested that he was practicing while listening to music.

The crisp steps, the acrobatic performance, it’s worth a dozen times more than what I’m doing now, just puffing on a cigarette.

“It’s a big deal.” (Jiro)

Just watching them kills time.

“Ahhhhh…” (Kaido)

I don’t know if I should say it’s fortunate, but my kouhai next to me is drunk and crushed right now and doesn’t look like he’s going to wake up for a while.

I have time, and it would be rude to call it merely a way to pass the time.

Then.

In a corner of my mind, I excused myself for being drunk and quietly left my drunk kouhai behind as I entered a nearby convenience store.

“Thank you…”

I quickly bought what I wanted and returned.

“But why do the voices of late-night part-timers sound so somber?” (Jiro)

I walked back to the park, ruminating about the voice of the convenience store clerk who was just doing his job.

“Well, it’s none of my business?” (Jiro)

It hasn’t been long, so Kaido hasn’t had his wallet snatched and the dancer hasn’t finished practicing.

The only thing that has changed is that he was leaning against the back of the bench and now he’s laying down.

“Oi, get up Kaido.” (Jiro)

“Nahhhh…” (Kaido)

“No good.” (Jiro)

Like a good caretaker, I bought him a sports drink and some water to prevent a hangover, but there was no way he could drink it in this state.

I decided to leave him again.

Putting the sports drinks and tonic water on above his head and not beside him. I left the occupied bench behind.

I’ve done my duty.

Now there will be no complaints if he wakes up while I’m gone.

The next stop was the main event, a small dance area where several people were stopping to watch.

I walked up to the place, feeling a little bit tipsy and not drunk.

“Korya!” (Jiro)

On top of that, the person in front of me was fascinated by the spectacle that he raised his voice.

They say that there is a difference in power between seeing something from a distance and seeing it up close, and that was certainly the case.

His movements were different.

The sound of each step being taken added to the performance.

The sound of the wind whistling through their arms became the background music.

Even though there were only streetlights, they seemed to be spotlights.

I could hear the up-tempo music that was supposed to be inaudible.

“You’re good.” (Jiro)

I guess that’s what it means to be fascinated.

Because of the time of day, there were not many people in the street, but everyone who passed by stopped to take a look.

That’s how worthwhile his dance was.

The dance was only about five or six minutes long, but when I finished watching it, I found myself applauding.

I clapped along with the others, or maybe they were clapping along with me, but it was relatively sparse.

He took off his earphones to wipe the sweat off his face and started bowing his head in all directions in surprise as if he had just noticed the applause.

“You showed me something good, and if you like, take this drink.” (Jiro)

I hold out my arm to him.

It was the first time in a long time that I had seen something so exciting, and I wanted to thank him for it.

In the bag from the convenience store was a spare sports drink that I had bought to sober up.

The dance was over and the crowd was beginning to disperse.

“Thank you!” (Dancer)

I got a very cheerful reply.

“A drink after a dance is a must.” (Dancer)

As I had expected a light reply, I was caught off guard.

I was surprised to see him drink it up and feel his cheerful mood through his hood, which prompted me to talk to him.

“That was good. By the way, your pronunciation is quite good, but are you a foreigner?” (Jiro)

“Yes! I’d like to say yes, but I’m not. I used to live in America, but I moved to Japan with my mommy.” (Dancer)

I was convinced that this was the reason why my pronunciation was wrong in some places, and since it didn’t bother me, I continued to talk to him.

“I see. How long have you been in Japan?” (Jiro)

“Three months ago, Japan is very safe and you can practice dancing like this even at night.” (Dancer)

She began to move her feet excitedly as if she hadn’t danced enough.

“Are you still going dancing?” (Jiro)

“Hmm, Mommy said she wouldn’t go home today, so I’ll dance a little more.” (Dancer)

“Well, can I watch? I’ve got a friend who’s out cold, so I’m kind of bored.” (Jiro)

It was my duty as an adult to point out to the young man in front of me that he was having a night out. However, I was not strict enough to tell him off.

At most, I will point my thumb at Kaido, who is laying on the bench in a disheveled state, telling him not to grow up like that.

“OK!” (Dancer)

Taking off his hood and putting on his earphones, I saw his smile full of enthusiasm for dancing and corrected my mistake.

The golden ponytail and sunny smile that flooded my face were a bit boyish, but I guess it was a she, not a he.

I wanted to retract my line from a few seconds ago and tell her to go home, but I couldn’t say that when I saw her dancing so happily.

“Anyway, it’s a good way to sober up.” (Jiro)

I’ll be watching the dance for a while, sports drink in hand.