Arc-3 Ep-24

“Phew. We finally arrived, huh.”

Four days after the comprehensive concert wrapped up successfully, on a Thursday.

I was standing in front of a hotel in a certain regional city.

This city, with a population of about fifty thousand, is going to serve as the setting for the upcoming movie.

The schedule is set to film all of my scenes over the three days from tomorrow through Sunday.

“Well then, Kayanuma-san. Let’s head into the hotel first. We are meeting the person who will guide us in the lobby.”

“Understood, Niikura-san.”

I take the luggage that the taxi driver who brought us here unloaded, and together with Niikura-san, the sub-manager accompanying me today, we head toward the front entrance of the hotel right in front of us.

I have heard that the filming locations are clustered about thirty minutes away by car from here, and that a staff member will drive us there in a car provided for transport.

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“Good morning. I’m Niikura from Fortissimo.”

“Good morning♪ I’m Mikuri Kayanuma, also from Fortissimo♪”

“Ah. Thank you for accepting the offer.”

Even though filming starts tomorrow, first we are moving to the shooting site to do greetings and get familiar with the area.

Then, after waiting for a break in the shooting, I greet the director, a man in his forties or so.

“Have you already memorized the script?”

“Yes, no problem at all.”

“Well, there wasn’t a huge amount of dialogue anyway. This time we offered you the role as her younger sister.”

“Yes. Thank you very much♪”

The place the director points to has the three young men and three young women who are the main cast of this movie, sitting and chatting.

They are the six actors playing high school third-years, bundled up in warm-looking down coats and the like over their costumes to ward off December’s cold.

Among them, the one who stands out the most is Kaori Kishikawa-san, who is going to play my older sister.

The three guys and the other two girls are idols and actors too, so they all have a certain level of good looks, but even so, her presence is overwhelming.

“Well then, Director. Kayanuma and I will go over there to say hello.”

“Yeah. Shooting is continuing after this, so feel free to observe.”

“Understood. I will study hard♪”

After parting with the director, Niikura-san and I approach the main cast group, and their gazes turn toward us as well. Without shrinking back from that appraising attention, I put on a smile and walk toward where the six of them are sitting.

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“Good morning. Nice to meet you. I’m Mikuri Kayanuma from Fortissimo.”

“I’m Niikura, serving as the manager. Pleased to meet you.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

When dealing with clients or the director, that is one thing, but with fellow industry people I am meeting for the first time, I avoid using an overly sweet, fawning tone.

If we get closer later, that is different, but for now I will watch and wait.

“Likewise, nice to meet you.”

“Yoropii.”

“Nice to meet you. Man, you’re really cute, huh.”

The guys have no issues at all.

With an ultra-beautiful girl added to the mix, there is no way young men would complain.

For them, a set with two people who possess beauty so rare that there are not even ten others like them among female entertainers in their teens and twenties must feel like paradise.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Hello.”

But the girls are different.

The other two, probably chosen to match Kishikawa-san, are quite beautiful girls on the level of Naomi-san or Nozomi-chan.

Naturally, they probably are not thrilled about me joining and making them fade even further into the background.

“Pleased to meet you too, Kayanuma-san.”

“Ah, yes. I will do my best not to cause any trouble, so please take care of me, Kishikawa-san.”

I could not help but stare, captivated by the translucent beauty of Kaori Kishikawa-san, who spoke to me last.

A beauty like this smiling and talking to me? In my previous life, that would have been absolutely impossible.

“We are about to resume shooting soon.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, Director.”

Seeing that the greetings were finished, the director approaches and announces the restart of filming.

The six of them take off their cold-weather gear, change into uniforms that feel traditional, or maybe just old-fashioned and unchanged for ages, then put on duffel coats and peacoats and move away from the waiting area.

“See you later, Mikuri-chan.”

“Let’s talk more slowly next time.”

“Hey, come on.”

The three guys say something to me before chasing after the two girls who went ahead.

Finally, Kaori Kishikawa-san, the last one remaining, also gives me a single line before slowly starting to head toward the filming site.

“Looking forward to working with you starting tomorrow.”

“Y-Yes, understood.”

As I watch her back recede with a smile still on her face, what I was recalling was her appearance from just a moment ago.

(They really were huge...)

Underneath the down coat she took off was, of course, her winter uniform, but even so, the swell of her chest was clearly visible and impossible to miss.

At first glance she had the atmosphere of a classic Yamato nadeshiko, yet that part alone stood out unnaturally.

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“It’s cold, huh.”

“Well, it’s winter after all.”

“Exams are coming up soon too, so don’t catch a cold.”

“You too.”

Right in front of me, a scene is unfolding where six boys and girls are walking along a road on top of an embankment with a typical rural winter mountain in the background, chatting as they go.

Well, I probably should not nitpick that all six of them are good-looking above a certain level, something you would never see in the countryside for real.

Since such a group of handsome guys and beautiful girls is walking along a country road, naturally there are quite a few ordinary people watching the filming.

Among them are chasers for the male idol playing one of the roles. I wonder what those girls think about their oshi being in a romantic situation, even if it is just for the role.

“As expected, appearing in romance stuff might be tricky.”

“Yeah. As an idol, you should think carefully about it. Unless the benefits far outweigh the downsides, that is.”

“Right.”

Even as someone who used to be a guy, doing love-acting scenes with another man, even if it is just work, is something I do not want to do.

I think the god cheat would make it possible, but I will aim to turn those down as much as I can going forward.