“Fukka is someone I’m grateful to have as a friend.” - Iwamoto Hikaru
Iwamoto: It says “How is your relationship with each other these days?“. That’s so difficult!
Fukazawa: We got a difficult question~... Ah, wait a minute. I’m going to change clothes first, (Iwamoto) Hikaru go and speak first! (leaves for a while)
Iwamoto: Hn~... (worrying alone). But I want to travel with Fukka this 2023. As many would expect, I want to go to Fuji-Q Highlands with him. The two of us went there before but I was driving and he was sleeping in the car on the whole ride home (laughs).
Fukazawa: (came back) What do I want for us to do together this 2023? What did Iwamoto-san answer?
Iwamoto: Travel.
Fukazawa: Right! As expected, you answered Fuji-Q right!?
Iwamoto: Un.
Fukazawa: It would be nice to go if we have a 2-day break! I want to go to the game center near the hotel on the first day. Is it still there~? It seems like the game center has been there for a long time, their prizes and game machines are all retro! After that...
Iwamoto: A meal while looking at Mt. Fuji right?
Fukazawa: Yes! After that, we’ll go to Fuji-Q and outlet stores... Ah, but we have two days so maybe I want to go to Fuji-Q, outlet stores, and hot springs on separate days.
Iwamoto: I want to do the Desperation Fortress (attraction in Fuji-Q) again with Fukka (because we failed the last time).
Fukazawa: It finally came into the conversation (laughs)! Everyone becomes friends when they do that!
Iwamoto: We became a team with a number of people in the first room!
Fukazawa: Is it still the same even now? The last time we went there we were locked in a prison cell with about 6 people and had to take the keys by ourselves.
Iwamoto: Right, right. You can only start after you opened it with the key!
Fukazawa: And, speaking about me and Iwamoto-san, there were a lot of times when we had the same room during tours.
Iwamoto: Even though we were originally supposed to be in different rooms in Singapore.
Fukazawa: I forgot the reason why but we ended up being in the same room! And it was a room with one bed.
Iwamoto: There was a small bed at the side but we put our luggage there so the two of us slept in the same bed.
Fukazawa: For about 10 days.
Iwamoto: We got room service every morning but because I’m weak in the morning Fukka’s the one who talks to the hotelman using his clumsy English (laughs). He even gave the hotelman a tip! And then I absentmindedly join Fukka while he eats his food!
Fukazawa: Right, right. I really didn’t know what I was saying in English (laughs).
Iwamoto: And then we even went to see the Merlion at night together.
Fukazawa: I don’t know if it’s because it’s that time (in Singapore), but there are times when we don’t go out right? Well, even if you say “Are you going out?” we can’t just go out when we’re in Japan, but it’s exactly because we were in Singapore that we could go out together! It was really fun!
Iwamoto: We’re already in the middle of touring now and we have our own rooms. What are you doing in your room?
Fukazawa: I’m already devotedly playing games. I’m always playing in Abe-chan(Abe Ryohei)’s room.
Iwamoto: I’m stretching my body while reading a book.
Fukazawa: How stoic! We were together for “SunoManma” a while back, but it really has been quite some time since the two of us talked about work. Even though we normally talk in private but talking at work didn’t feel as strange as I thought it would!
Iwamoto: Un. It was just like this. But as expected being together is fun.
Fukazawa: (wholly agree) Yes, yes, yes. There are a lot of fans who say we’re “natural” like we’re not working.
Iwamoto: It feels like we’re our “unadorned” selves.
Fukazawa: That’s “Sunomanma” (t/n: means “as we are” but is also the title of Snow Man’s radio show)! Well, I was just protecting the broadcast code (laughs). Somehow, I feel like I don’t know what we are to each other anymore because we’re together too much.
Iwamoto: For me, Fukka is a friend... I wonder what he is? But he is someone I am grateful to have by my side. I wonder if it’s something I think of the more I meet other people. Or maybe it’s that I have the same wavelength as other people I met through work. Even without words.
Fukazawa: Un. Even when we’re talking or working I’m sure the other person probably knows “What position I’m in right now is the best”! We don’t go out of our way to say it out loud though. Including the contents of what we talked about. We also somehow know things like “Ah, I’m like this”.
Iwamoto: We have a good balance!
Fukazawa: That’s exactly why the fans call us “dad” and “mom”, I think we definitely have a relationship like that because the fans put it like that.
Iwamoto: I think they understand us better than ourselves because they probably look at us more.
Fukazawa: How did we come to this? I don’t have a clue (laughs).
Iwamoto: Well but maybe it’s because we talk about a lot of things together?
Fukazawa: We went out for drinks a lot once we turned twenty! My birthday is a few days earlier so it’s on Iwamoto-san’s birthday. We weren’t especially talking about work but we still went for drinks.
Iwamoto: Right, right. That’s also why the two of us do things together like go on trips. Somehow, I think there would be things that will be hard to say to the other if we end up having a purely professional relationship.
Fukazawa: I might just say what I want without thinking too much like “Ah if I say this then he would definitely think this”. It would be faster if I just say it! I can say anything to Hikaru.
