そば
side, vicinity
Near enough to touch and staying there, which is the whole of what is being asked. Close as the soba そば on the next plate: そば.
Also the noodles, written 蕎麦, which is a separate word that happens to sound the same.
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Emaki is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Kaishi 1.5k or its authors. The word, reading and meaning come from the Kaishi 1.5k deck, used with their permission. The mnemonic, the note and the kanji breakdown are original work, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.