Chapter 379: Audition Day
When he arrived at the pre-booked photo studio, Sakurai Saki met Minamoto Mashiro right at the door.
She tied her hair in a way that made people feel comfortable — a side ponytail draped over one shoulder, the kind often seen on elegant ladies or anime mothers who usually die early.
"Saki-kun... hmm? Is this the friend you just mentioned?"
Minamoto Mashiro looked Fujiwara Chika up and down, studied her face for a moment, then asked: "Your girlfriend?"
"N…"
Sakurai Saki was just about to deny it, but Fujiwara Chika was faster — she raised her right hand as if claiming the right to answer——
"That's right! I'm Fujiwara Chika."
"…What an energetic child."
Minamoto Mashiro didn't seem too concerned and introduced herself, "My name is Minamoto Mashiro, you can just call me Mashiro-nee like Saki-kun does."
(Note: Up to now it's been "Mashiro-san," but I'll switch to "Mashiro-nee" from here on.)
"Hai hai, Mashiro-nee."
Fujiwara Chika looked at the beautiful woman before her, her face full of satisfaction.
"Chika-chan and Saki-kun go to the same school?"
"Yes, and we're both members of the student council."
"I see..."
Sakurai Saki watched as the two of them chatted and laughed their way into the elevator, and in the end, he didn't bother to explain anything.
A misunderstanding is fine. As long as Chika is happy.
Mashiro-nee seemed to have realized something as well, but she had no intention of saying it out loud.
Inside the elevator.
Minamoto Mashiro looked at Sakurai Saki as he stepped in and asked, "Have you two eaten yet? If not, let's grab dinner after the audition."
It was already past six.
Summer was approaching, so the evenings came later. The sky outside was only tinged with red, not yet showing any signs of dusk.
"Not yet."
"Then what do you want to eat?"
Mashiro reached out her hand and, under Chika's envious gaze, gently patted Sakurai Saki's head.
"Conveyor belt sushi? Or Chinese food maybe."
Sakurai Saki noticed the eager sparkle in Chika's eyes beside him.
Don't tell me you want to pat my head too?
Chika, you're not really the type who fits that kind of move.
Usually, only older-sister-type women can get away with patting a younger boy's head like that…
Sakurai Saki: ( ╹ -╹)?
Fujiwara Chika: ( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡)
Their eyes met, and Sakurai Saki quietly sighed to himself, then stepped closer to her and slightly bent down.
"Ehehe~."
After getting her fill of patting Sakurai Saki's head, Chika looked quite pleased.
Minamoto Mashiro teased her: "Chika-chan, are you jealous?"
She could already tell — this girl was definitely not Sakurai Saki's girlfriend.
Saki-kun sure is popular, huh.
"No, I was just curious, so I wanted to try touching it." Fujiwara Chika explained.
"A girlfriend who's never patted Saki-kun's head before?"
"…Nope~" Chika blushed and lowered her head.
A sudden pang of guilt welled up inside her.
Luckily, the elevator soon reached their floor, and the three of them stepped out together.
The moment they exited, they heard a woman's cold voice: "No, since the male lead has been changed, then…"
"What's going on?" Sakurai Saki asked curiously.
He quickly recognized the person speaking.
Director Kinoshita — the screenwriter and director of this film, and also a long-established, well-known novelist.
She wore glasses, and though her face was ordinary, she could still be considered fairly attractive — not to the point of stunning beauty, but decent enough.
"Seems like it's an issue with the choice of the female lead."
"What's Ichika's role this time?" Sakurai Saki suddenly realized he hadn't asked about it yet.
"Supporting role. The third female lead."
…The third wheel in a love triangle? Isn't that just a forgettable side character?
Minamoto Mashiro noticed his expression and explained, "There's actually quite a bit of screen time — it's still considered one of the main roles."
Fujiwara Chika looked around the scene before her, a bit nervous.
From the doorway, the three of them saw the person who had been hidden behind the frame just a moment ago, now talking with Director Kinoshita.
It was a man in a neat suit, looking very much like a manager or an artist's representative.
"The male lead role has already been decided. The female lead needs to be adjusted to match him…"
Director Kinoshita was speaking when she noticed the three of them entering through the still-open door.
Her eyes swept over Fujiwara Chika, then shifted to Sakurai Saki.
"Sakurai-kun, and Minamoto-san, you two arrived right on time."
Sakurai Saki noticed the manager's gaze toward him carried a hint of hostility.
Combined with what they'd said earlier, he could more or less guess the situation.
The female lead had originally been decided, but since the scheduled male lead was injured in a car accident, the role was now pending confirmation.
'Didn't they say this was supposed to be an audition? Why does it feel like the choice's already been made…'
After that, Minamoto Mashiro stepped forward and exchanged a few words with the manager and the director.
Then, the audition officially began.
They gave him ten minutes to get familiar with the script.
Sakurai Saki looked at the section assigned to him.
He skimmed through it briefly and found that most of the male lead's scenes were flashbacks.
The male protagonist was a young man living in a coastal town, while the two female leads — one lived in Tokyo, and the other in the countryside.
Sakurai Saki had a bad feeling about this.
After reading a few more pages, he realized the film didn't seem very "kind" to the male lead — the guy died early, and even had fewer scenes than the second female lead. Midway through, the cause of death was revealed: he'd perished at sea.
Just as he suspected, this script definitely wasn't a romantic comedy.
After all, Director Kinoshita was a novelist known for writing about social themes, separation, and death — and she was particularly devoted to the concept of mono no aware (the sorrowful beauty in the impermanence of all things).
A script written by an author like that — it had to be pure drama, no doubt about it.
Normally, an audition wouldn't give candidates too much material to perform, but Director Kinoshita seemed rather pleased with him.
...
Fujiwara Chika sat in the corner of the audition room, watching from a chair.
At first, she had planned to mess up the audition so that Sakurai Saki wouldn't get the male lead role.
But when she saw him after makeup, Chika suddenly felt that it would be a huge waste if a face like that didn't end up on screen.
The audition scene seemed to involve a window.
Fujiwara Chika watched as Sakurai Saki walked to where the sunlight streamed in, drew the curtain open, and lifted a prop book.
The warm spring sunlight fell across his face — the handsome young man was quietly reading, his expression focused.
It felt less like he was basking in the sunlight and more like the sunlight itself was basking in him.
Before long, Chika saw the director smiling in satisfaction, patting Sakurai Saki on the shoulder and saying something.
'Wait… are they judging purely by his looks? Saki-kun hasn't even said a single line yet!'
But Saki-kun wasn't a famous actor, nor someone who had invested in the production…
No matter how much she thought about it, Fujiwara Chika couldn't figure it out.
After a few minutes of conversation, she saw Sakurai Saki walking toward her.
"What is it?" she asked.
Sakurai Saki put the book in his hand down. "They said we have to wait for the female lead to arrive so I can act with her."
Fujiwara Chika: Σ(°ロ°)!!!!
She suddenly realized something extremely dangerous!
That was — the female lead!
Isn't that terrifying?! What if Sakurai Saki and that unfamiliar actress suddenly spark some kind of "romantic chemistry"?!
"…Is there a kissing scene?"
"Probably not. The male lead in this story is a pitiful guy who can't even bring himself to confess."
Sakurai Saki had no idea why she was asking that question.
"Good, that's a relief."
Fujiwara Chika glanced at the title of the book in his hand.
In Search of Lost Time. Volume Seven — Finding Time Again.
A novel by the French author Marcel Proust.
Chika had read it once before — or rather, she tried to read it, didn't understand a thing, and now it was just gathering dust on her bookshelf at home.
...