Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051600327232539
Complete silence is designed to eat away at the human mind.
When the musician John Cage entered an anechoic chamber, he reportedly heard two sounds. One was the high-pitched sound of his nervous system at work; the other was the low-pitched sound of his blood flowing.
In other words, when external noise is completely cut off, humans are forced to confront the noise within themselves. It is a terrifyingly suffocating experience.
“…Is this some kind of interrogation room? Or maybe a post-nuclear war shelter?”
A 14.5-square-foot rental space with not a single window. Sitting lightly on a folding chair, I looked around at the gray urethane sound-absorbing panels covering the entire wall.
“That’s rude. This is a premium, completely soundproof private room that costs 3,000 yen an hour. Weekly magazine reporters definitely can’t get in here, and no one will hear us, right? Plus, no matter who I come in here with, I can insist it’s for work. Like, voice training.”
Shizuku sat in the folding chair across from me, puffing out her chest with a smug look on her face.
We’d decided to meet secretly in this “rental soundproof room” at the last minute today because a suspicious car had been spotted parked near her apartment.
“This soundproofing on the walls looks like a row of egg cartons. Are we supposed to feel like chickens at a poultry farm waiting to be shipped out?”
“They’re not egg cartons! They’re proper soundproofing material! As long as we’re here, no matter how loud I sing, I won’t bother anyone.”
“In terms of isolating an idol screaming in her pajamas in the middle of the night, this might actually be the perfect ward.”
“Don’t call it a ward! Here, have some cocoa. I made sure to bring it again today.”
Shizuku took two cans of super-sweet cocoa—still in their insulated bag—out of the tote she’d brought and handed one to me.
The “psst” of the pull tab being opened was absorbed by the soundproofing material, leaving a terribly dry echo. I took a sip, but the taste was just off.
“…It doesn’t taste good.”
“Huh? The expiration date hasn’t passed, has it?”
“That’s not it. Taste depends heavily on environmental cues. When you drink this under these sterile white fluorescent lights, with no ambient sounds at all, this cocoa just becomes a mere ‘brown liquid containing sugar.’ It’s only complete when spiced up by the cold of the park at midnight and the sound of trucks rumbling in the distance.”
“Come on, you’re always complaining. This was the only safe place we could meet.”
Shizuku pouted in displeasure and took a sip from her can.
But she, too, soon stopped drinking the cocoa and fell silent.
Inside the soundproof room, the only sounds were the faint electronic hum of the fluorescent lights and the rustling of our clothes. An overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, born of the place being too safe.
“…It feels kind of suffocating, doesn’t it?”
A few minutes later, Shizuku muttered.
“Of course it does. Humans are just like houseplants. We’re designed so that without a certain amount of sunlight, the gentle sway of the wind, and a moderate amount of external noise, we can’t perform photosynthesis.”
“Photosynthesis… but I don’t have chloroplasts.”
“I’m talking about the photosynthesis of the mind. You probably want to escape the ‘excessive light’ of other people’s eyes, but when you’re locked up in a ‘complete darkroom’ like this, all you hear is the echo of your own inner anxiety and pressure. In short, you can’t relax.”
“……Yeah. I feel really restless. Being here makes me feel like a criminal who’s done something really bad.”
“Should we go? This place doesn’t suit our ecosystem.”
When I stood up, Shizuku looked up in surprise.
“Huh? But it’s only been thirty minutes!? We paid for an hour!”
“Just think of the remaining thirty minutes and 1,500 yen as the cost of treating your claustrophobia and let it go. At least for me, if I keep staring at this egg carton any longer, I’m afraid I’ll hatch into a chick.”
“……Hehe, what’s that supposed to mean? If Minato’s going to turn into a chick, I might actually want to see that.”
Shizuku chuckled softly and stood up from the folding chair.
She threw on a high-end spring coat and fully armed herself with a hat and a mask.
When she opened the heavy soundproof door and stepped outside, the late-night bustle of the city surged toward her like a wave.
The siren of a distant police car. The laughter of drunks. The sound of taxis scraping against the asphalt. All of it should have been just noisy background noise, but after being in that silent room, the air strangely felt refreshing.
“Well, I’m heading this way.”
The back entrance of the building. I pointed toward the station, and Shizuku looked toward the main street where her ride was waiting.
From here, we had to take separate routes home.
“Yeah… Oh, thanks for the cocoa. I’m sorry I was such a burden.”
“Don’t worry about it. It ended up in my stomach anyway.”
The moment I turned to leave, the ease that had been present in Shizuku’s expression just moments ago—when she was making lighthearted banter—vanished in an instant.
The eyes peeking out from beneath her hat and mask looked terribly frightened, like those of a lost child with nowhere to go. I could tell she was clenching her hand tightly around her coat pocket.
“…Hey, Minato.”
“What is it?”
“If we keep running like this, looking for safe places… will there come a day when we have nowhere left to go?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
It was despair at the fact that they’d been robbed of the park, and that even the shelters—their last resort—weren’t right for them.
Her obsession was whispering to her that running out of places to go was synonymous with never being able to see me again.
“If we really have nowhere left to go… what should I do?”
Facing her as she looked at me with teary eyes, seeking an answer, I decided to simply state an objective geographical fact.
“There are about seven thousand convenience stores in Tokyo alone. It would take at least a few years to thoroughly check every back alley and corner of every parking lot. Before worrying about running out of places to go, Shizuku, it would be more constructive to worry about memorizing the choreography for your next single.”
“……”
“Besides, if it comes down to it, we still have the last resort of barricading ourselves in your apartment.”
At those words, a small light flickered deep within Shizuku’s eyes.
The tension in her shoulders suddenly melted away, and her cheeks softened so much that I could tell even through her mask.
“……Yeah! You’re right. If it comes down to it, I’ve got my place.”
“It’s strictly a last resort, though. Hanging out in a girl’s apartment all the time, you know.”
“Hehe, I know. …Well then, see you. Good night.”
Waving her hand briefly, Shizuku jogged off toward the main street and disappeared from view.
Watching her back recede into the distance, I let out a small sigh.
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