A Love Stronger Than Whispers

Throwback (3): Wedding Crashers

Flashback: Around a Month before the World Baseball Classic.

Homebody Encounters a Home Run (Recliner)

Kazuya Kinoshita, a man more accustomed to the company of Netflix and instant ramen than high society, found himself in a situation as improbable as a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth. Nestled in the plush embrace of a penthouse suite overlooking Tokyo's glittering expanse, a champagne flute awkwardly cradled in his hand, he felt like a bewildered housecat at a dog show.

The catalyst for this surreal evening was a cryptic text from Shinichi Sakurai, his enigmatic neighbor. One minute Kazuya was contemplating the existential merits of miso versus tonkotsu broth, the next he was crammed onto a commuter train, a rented tuxedo itching at his shoulders, en route to a "classified mission" in the heart of Shinjuku. Now, here he was, a solitary civilian amidst a sea of baseball royalty –  formerly the starting pitcher of the ORIX Buffaloes, Soichiro Yamazaki, a man whose fastball once made hitters whimper, his teammate's broad shoulders, four inches and a half shorter, forming a protective barrier on one side.

The bride, a luminous actress who graced Kazuya's television screen more often than he cared to admit, was a close friend of Shinichi's. The groom, shrouded in an air of quiet wealth, was a tech billionaire whose name whispered of Silicon Valley and IPOs. The wedding, a clandestine affair cloaked in the twilight glow of the penthouse's windows, was a testament to the unpredictable twists life could take.

An uncomfortable silence descended, punctuated only by the clinking of ice against crystal. Yamazaki, a mountain of a man with a laugh that rumbled like distant thunder, broke the tension. "TWICE superfan, are we?" he boomed, his gaze settling on Kazuya. The unexpected question sent a jolt through Kazuya. He stammered a confession, admitting to attending their overseas debut concert in Osaka years ago, a memory tinged with the chaotic afterglow of a near-riot caused by Yamazaki's impulsive gift of TWICE merchandise to his then-'girlfriend'.

Yamazaki's booming laughter filled the room, a sound both warm and infectious. "Ah, the 'Lovestruck Rookie' incident," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Seems my reputation precedes me, eh?" He winked, then leaned in conspiratorially. "You know, sir," he said, using a formality that sat oddly on Kazuya, "Yoshinobu Yamamoto and I used to have epic karaoke battles back then. Your little escapade gave me a complex, I tell you. Ended up wearing those yellow-green cleats for a whole season in the Western League. Fashion statement of shame, that was."

A slow grin spread across Kazuya's face. This wasn't just a baseball star, this was a man with a self-deprecating wit and a fondness for questionable fashion choices. Yamazaki continued, a hint of nostalgia in his voice, "Who knew I'd end up marrying a K-Pop superstar, eh? Talk about nerves of steel. Me, a country boy from Fukui, tying a knot with a presidential cook's daughter. All thanks to you giving me that little push," he added with a playful jab.

Kazuya's eyes widened. Here he was, a self-proclaimed homebody, swapping stories with a celebrity about the inner world of K-Pop royalty. It was a surreal exchange, a scene ripped from a bizarre dream. As the night wore on, the lines blurred further. Kazuya found himself regaling the group with his encyclopedic knowledge of anime, dissecting pitching strategies with Yamazaki and his teammates, and even – at their enthusiastic behest – attempting a tragically off-key rendition of TWICE's "1 to 10." The song, meant to be a melancholic pop, took on a hilariously discordant tone under his untrained vocals, but the room erupted in cheers.

By the time the first rays of dawn peeked through the Tokyo skyline, Kazuya felt an unlikely camaraderie with this group of extraordinary people. He had stumbled into a world he never knew existed, a world where baseball stars moonlighted as K-Pop connoisseurs, and champagne flowed freely alongside tales of awkward teenage crushes and questionable fashion choices. As he finally hailed a cab back to his modest apartment, the city awakening around him, Kazuya knew one thing for certain: this was a night he wouldn't soon forget, a night that defied definition and left him with a story as improbable as a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth.