Arc-2 Ep-38

 Early May, right after Golden Week had ended. Finally, the acting role I had been waiting for—the role of an actress—had come my way.

However, it didn’t come to me directly; it was originally an offer for a drama that Rina-san had received. She had declined it, and it was subsequently passed on to me.

As expected, the ace of Sistema Solare continues to turn down acting jobs. Well, since this effectively brought my debut as an actress forward, I should be grateful. Originally, this debut was scheduled for after the Reitaisai.

The god-level acting talent that I had not yet had a chance to demonstrate was finally about to ignite.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

“………………There are no lines……”

“For the first episode, that’s correct. But from the middle onward, there will be some. …Given your role, I don’t think there will be many, though.”

In the first script that Taneyama-san, the general manager of the 6th generation, handed to me, I do appear, but I have zero lines.

“…As expected, there’s no way a newcomer would receive a role with many lines without even an audition.”

“That’s true. They probably asked for you precisely because the lines are minimal, so they could overlook your lack of acting experience.”

This is the drama I am appearing in for the first time. First of all, it is a one-cour continuous drama, scheduled to air on terrestrial television every weekday at 9 p.m., starting in July. I have absolutely no complaints about the time slot.

It has no original source material; it is an original story by a scriptwriter who has produced many hits. Far from complaining, this is something to be genuinely grateful for.

The story is a love drama where childhood friends—a boy and a girl in high school—momentarily become attracted to others of the opposite sex, yet ultimately end up together.

My role is the beautiful girl from another school who catches the attention of the male childhood friend. My presence serves as a rival, and similarly, a boy appears to interest the female childhood friend. Various complications unfold, but in the end, the childhood friends reunite.

Thus, my momentous first-episode appearance consists merely of being noticed by the childhood friends as they walk together—essentially a passerby. That is why my drama debut will be a scene without lines, seemingly requiring no acting ability.

“I wonder how much screen time I’ll have from the middle onward?”

“They only have the plot so far, and it seems the detailed script will evolve as they shoot the drama.”

I do wonder if it’s alright to be this casual, but that is the power of a hit-maker scriptwriter.

“The director is young, so the scriptwriter will be the most influential figure.”

“…I’ll do my best so the scriptwriter will want to use me more.”

“Yes, please do.”

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

“Nice to meet you. I’m Mikuri Kayanuma from ff•Fortissimo♪ Starting today, please treat me well♪”

“Ah, nice to meet you. It’s your first drama appearance, right? I’m counting on you.”

“Yes♪”

Today as well, accompanied by Taneyama-san, we moved to the drama location. The location was a private high school. It is the high school that the protagonist childhood friends attend, and one corner is borrowed after school or on weekends for filming.

Yes, my role this time is also a high school student. It is a role slightly older than my actual age, but with my appearance, it should be convincing enough. Well, according to the setting, I am a student from another school, so there is no actual filming at this high school for me.

Today’s shoot involving me is the scene in which I, dressed in a uniform, briskly walk along a nearby road and am spotted by the protagonists.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

“Nice to meet you. I’m Mikuri Kayanuma from ff•Fortissimo. Thank you for having me today.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you too. I’m Takuya Tsuji from Ken’en Keikaku.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yuuho Watanabe from Tsubaki Company. Let’s do our best on the shoot together.”

I exchanged greetings with the two actors playing the protagonists involved in today’s shoot. Both Tsuji-san and Watanabe-san are child actors and have appeared in works by this popular scriptwriter before, which is why they were chosen for the childhood friend roles.

Both were selected based on their evaluated acting skills, and their appearances are slightly above average. That said, if the childhood friends were a super handsome boy and a super beautiful girl, it would be harder for them to be swayed by others and still end up together, so in that sense, the casting is appropriate.

“Since this is my first drama shoot, I apologize in advance if I cause any trouble.”

“No, no. Today’s shoot isn’t that difficult, so you’ll be fine.”

“That’s right. If you just stay natural and relaxed, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“I understand. I’ll do my best, staying just tense enough to avoid being nervous.”

“Haha.”

“Hehe.”

Perhaps because both have been in the entertainment industry as child actors for a long time, they are not overwhelmed by my appearance.

We talked briefly before filming started, and I learned that Tsuji-san is a second-year high school student, two years older than me, and Watanabe-san is a first-year, one year older.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

“──Hey, Dai-chan! Are you going to be okay with the midterms!?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ve been studying properly, somewhat.”

“Somewhat…… This is our first test since entering high school, you know? You have to try harder.”

“Shut up.”

“What do you mean ‘shut up’!!”

Their houses are next to each other, and they are the same age. They have attended the same schools from kindergarten onward.

This male-female childhood friend pair is displaying a lovers’ quarrel on their way home from school. And right in front of them, I—an absolutely stunning beauty—will pass by.

“Miika, are you my mom or my parent…… or something……”

“Nn? Dai… chan……”

Just before Tsuji-san and Watanabe-san reach the spot a little before the intersection, at the staff’s signal, I cross in front of them. Wearing a uniform different from theirs, with my jet-black, long hair flowing, I walked briskly.

Exactly as the director instructed—without looking at the protagonists, truly just passing by.

“…Cut!! …Good! Next, we’ll shoot from a different angle.”

As expected from these two experienced actors, there were no NGs. Of course, there was no problem for me, whose only task was walking, and the director approved.

Next, they filmed me from the front as I walked away, with Tsuji-san at the intersection wearing a dazed look and Watanabe-san following with a surprised expression in the same frame.

After that, the only remaining shots for me in episode one were from behind, filmed over the shoulders of the childhood friends.

The two protagonists needed to shoot the scene where the male childhood friend falls in love at first sight while the female childhood friend observes him suspiciously, filmed from many angles.

And so, my first day of filming ended smoothly, without any need to unleash my god-level talent, and without incident.