Utsukushii Kare/ My Beautiful Man [ENGLISH TRANSLATION]

Chapter-2; PART-2: Bitter Sweet Loop

         

                                    Translator: White Lotus

          

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"I didn't expect these Nishikigoi would be so pretty."

As they were in the izakaya, which was crowded since it was the weekend, Koyama commented while checking the photos in the camera.

"However, it's a little miserable that only when foreigners used the word ”Cool Japan” did we recognize its value; oh, thanks for accompanying me."

After the chuhai* was served, the two of them made a toast. In terms of beauty, these Nishikigoi exceeded expectations. Those streamlined shapes that glistened in silver were dyed in an elegant pattern of black and vermilion. There were also some koi species whose entire bodies were covered in a golden hue. The colors were so strikingly vibrant that even Hira, who was completely uninterested at first, couldn't help but take out his camera and start capturing photos.

(T/N: *Chūhai (チューハイ), an abbreviation of "shōchū highball" (焼酎ハイボール), an abbreviation of "shōchū highball" (焼酎ハイボール), is an alcoholic drink originating from Japan. Traditional chūhai is made with barley shōchū and carbonated water flavored with lemon, but some modern commercial variants use vodka in place of shōchū, and beverage companies have diversified into a variety of flavors, including lime, grapefruit, apple, orange, pineapple, grape, kyoho grape, kiwi, ume, yuzu, lychee, peach, strawberry cream, and cream soda. Image:

.)

"Hey, I'll show this to everyone tomorrow." Koyama said. When he peered into the photo to check if it was a masterpiece, Hira discovered that it was actually a picture of him taking photos of koi.

"The impact of 'Hira taking photos of koi' would be immense, don't you agree?"

As Hira tilted his head in puzzlement, Koyama laughed, saying, "You didn't even notice?"

"In Hira's photography, he deliberately takes photos of cityscapes with people in them and then goes through the trouble of erasing them from those photos. Then why not just shoot the scenery with no people around in the first place? But that also has a unique effect. Although the empty spaces are filled up with scenery, it can't be reproduced perfectly; there's always a subtle distortion somewhere. How should I put this— it makes people feel uneasy. Everyone thinks your photos are great, but they're also worried about you. That's why I want to show this picture to everyone to reassure them."