First-person: Hoshino Yume
After ending the call with Director Gotanda Taishi, some time passed, and the day of filming finally arrived.
At the location, I brought Aqua and Ruby along with Miyako again. While the others got settled, Aqua and I stood talking with Director Gotanda.
"Listen carefully. Casting child actors isn't something guys like us decide; it's usually determined by higher-ups. The more expensive the project, the less we can afford to mess it up. To secure actors who can reliably draw in customers, the big shots have their own battles to fight."
"And directors with actual casting power are either a handful of mega-directors or directors of low-budget, small-scale films. Now, you little kid and you, Mr. Manager—which one do I seem like to you?"
Director Gotanda Taishi is certainly skilled. But to call him a mega-director...
"A mega direct..."
"You must be a low-budget director, right?"
"Okay~ Manager, correct answer! Unfortunately, kid, you're wrong. This is a low-budget set."
As Director Gotanda spoke while surveying the location, Miyako approached holding Ruby.
"Aqua is in your debt today."
"Ah, no, that matter is already settled. And with your mega manager on board, I should be the one saying 'please take care of us'."
Thanks to this arrangement, Aqua officially became Aqua, the child actor affiliated with Ichigo Production.
"If I use a kid not from an agency, I'll get scolded. And..."
Director Gotanda looked at me and added, "Honestly, I'm more surprised by your side, Manager."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. It doesn't make sense that high-level personnel like you are casually lent out to a low-budget set like this, almost for free. Even if you're an executive, is that really possible?"
"Normally, it would be impossible."
For ordinary executives, yes. But...
"Unexpectedly, among executives, there are other executives. I happen to be one of them, so my power in the company is second only to the Director."
Myself and two other executives held a unique degree of authority and power, based on Director Kuma's complete trust. It was a measure put in place just in case something ever happened to him.
"Whoa~ you're really something!!"
While listening to my conversation with Director Gotanda, Aqua pointed at Ruby, who was sleeping in Miyako's arms behind us.
"If it's acting, my sleeping little sister would probably do better than me. Since we're at it, instead of me, give the role to her..."
"No, it's you. I'm using Ai in exchange for your appearance and the manager's appearance. In this industry, that's called a barter—the most basic thing, so remember it."
With those words, the director headed towards the set.
"Hey, my son being a barter... That scary-looking director really seems to like Aqua. What did you do to end up like this?"
"I didn't do anything special. Uncles tend to be happy if kids treat them comfortably, so I just act overly enthusiastic on purpose."
Upon hearing Aqua's explanation, Miyako's expression clearly said, 'What a truly unpleasant kid.'
First, after sending Ruby and Aqua to the child actor waiting room, I headed to the makeup room to prepare for my own scene.
Third-person: Hoshino Aqua / Ruby
Upon arriving at the child actor waiting room, Aqua and Ruby—not long after settling in—started causing chaos.
"Mooom!!!! Mooom!! I want to go to Mom!! I want to go to Yume!!!! Why aren't Mom and Yume both here?!!!!!"
Ruby was throwing a tantrum like she was in a drought. Aqua looked at her with pity.
"Ai has a different filming schedule, and Yume is in a different waiting room. There's nothing we can do."
"Waaah!!! I want to go home quickly and cuddle!! I want to get drunk on Mom's chest!!!! Send me back to Cuddle Cuddle Land!!!!!!"
She poured out remarks that would make Yume collapse if he heard them, ignoring any semblance of logical speech.
Aqua thought to himself, 'Aren't you embarrassed, being such a big kid inside?' He honestly couldn't tell what her mental age actually was.
"Even if it's not Mom, I want to cuddle in Yume's broad embrace!!! It's different from Mom's—hard, but that's also a good feeling!! Even if I touch his chest, he just pats me!!"
"Wow, I really think you should stop that."
Aqua, thinking that Hoshino Yume's chastity might be in danger, decided to do his best to prevent Ruby from hugging Yume in the future.
As they chatted casually, a girl with noticeable red hair, who was sharing the room with them, slammed her script onto the desk.
"This is a professional set! If you're here to play, go back!"
"Uh...."
Aqua was flustered by the sudden outburst, but since he didn't know who she was, he couldn't respond immediately.
"I'm Arima Kana, today's performer."
At that, Ruby, standing behind Aqua, pointed a finger at the red-haired girl.
"Ah, this kid... that's not it... what was it... ah! The genius child actor who licks sodium bicarbonate...?"
"The genius child actor who cries in 10 seconds!!! Everyone said your crying in the drama was really amazing! It was awesome!"
Arima Kana declared this with a pride-filled expression. However...
"I don't really like this kid. Something feels artificial, so it's physiologically unbearable."
Ruby whispered this to Aqua, clearly unimpressed. Aqua responded quietly:
"Do you sometimes get unusually angry at child actors?"
He didn't know why she acted like that, but since it seemed to be her usual behavior, he decided to let it slide.
"I know!! You, you're a parachute! During the script reading stage, neither you, the idol, nor that manager guy were cast... Mom said the director pushed for it!! And other higher-ups too!!! That's not right!"
"No, that's not it..."
Aqua was about to deny it, but upon hearing "other higher-ups," a thought struck him.
Could it be Yume...? No way...?
As the saying goes, doubts can trap a person. Yume had exerted a little pressure for this appearance. Since one person might not have been enough, he used his own influence, along with the two other executives and Director Kuma. Naturally, it went very smoothly. But of course, this was a fact unknown to Aqua, Ai, Ruby, Miyako, or even Saito.
"I saw the drama the director filmed last time, and you had no appearance at all. You probably can't act well enough to be cast anyway, right? You just know how to flirt with adults!!!! AD, Kana, carry my bag!"
"Ah, wait a minute..."
With that, Arima Kana stormed out of the waiting room. The expressions on the faces of Aqua and Ruby left behind changed to ones so fierce they could be mistaken for demons.
"Brother."
"I know. She's just a kid.... I won't kill her....."
When Yume later returned to the waiting room and saw their expressions, he showed a horrified face, causing Aqua and Ruby to hurriedly relax their features.
First-person: Hoshino Aqua
Filming for my scene proceeded.
Roughly speaking, the movie's plot is about a woman who has no confidence in her appearance. She goes to a suspicious hospital in the mountains to get plastic surgery.
And the creepy kids she meets at the village entrance—that's the role I was assigned.
Looking to the side, I observed the acting of the girl introduced as Arima Kana.
"Welcome, guest... Please feel at ease and stay..."
Seeing her acting up close... indeed, the genius child actor acts well.
Even if I do the same thing, the difference in skill will make it unbearable to watch. Even as a complete beginner, I can clearly see that much.
So, what should I do? Thinking simply, I should act like a creepy kid.
But that director probably isn't asking that of me.
I glanced once at the face of Director Gotanda Taishi, who was sitting and watching my scene.
'The movie the director wants' is clearly...
"There's only one inn in this village. Check in once and take a walk around the village."
This line I'm saying now is a hastily added part; Yume explained that the director added it after meeting me. Thinking about the intent, I think it's better not to "act" at all.
Faithfully responding to the director's intent should be enough. Even if he didn't say it out loud, what the director wants to say is:
Even without acting, you're creepy enough.
Third-person: Hoshino Aqua
"Cut! OK!!!"
"Whew."
Aqua, having finished filming, let out a sigh and loosened his body, which had stiffened from tension. Then, the actress playing the protagonist approached him.
"Amazing, sis. I got chills."
"Really? That's a relief."
Aqua took it as praise that his acting was decent and felt somewhat satisfied. But...
"Relief? What do you mean?"
Arima Kana marched up to Director Gotanda Taishi.
"Director, let's reshoot."
"Huh? No, there was no problem."
"No problem?!!!!!!"
"Just now, Kana...! I was much worse than that kid! I hate it! One more time! Please! I'll do better! Just one more time, okay!?"
After calming down the excited, tearful Arima Kana and sending her for a break, Aqua talked with the director.
"Hey, what do you think is the most important element for a child actor?"
"Hmm... skill or sense? Or maybe overflowing motivation and the amount of effort?"
"Well, those are important too. But ultimately, the most important thing is communication skills. If you're disliked by other actors or staff, work quickly dries up. Acting arrogantly from a young age means no future."
At the director's words, Aqua looked at him skeptically.
"Did you maybe want to teach that kid a lesson? Using me?"
"I didn't have such a cheeky thought. But this is also nourishment for her. Your acting was exactly the kind I imagined."
Despite the director's praise, Aqua wasn't particularly pleased.
"That kid's acting was more amazing. I just did what I usually do."
"But I didn't say a single word to make you do that. Figuring out my intent is also a kind of communication skill you have."
"Of course, understanding the direction and acting accordingly is basic for an actor. But actors who can read even unverbalized intent are precious. In our position, we'd want to have them by any means necessary, because the director's head holds the ideal image."
Director Gotanda patted Aqua's head.
"Instead of becoming an actor who does amazing acting, become one who does exactly the right acting. You'll definitely succeed."
"No, I'm not going to be an actor..."
Thus, Aqua's filming ended. And Hoshino Aqua had set one foot into the industry.
First-person: Hoshino Yume
After Aqua's filming ended, my turn began. My role turned out to be the doctor.
Honestly, if asked whether I had confidence or not... I wasn't without it. The most important element for a security guard is a poker face—the ability to control various expressions perfectly.
"Alright, let's start the final filming!!"
This scene was also the final scene added by the director. Probably, what the director wanted in this role was just one thing:
The role of a doctor completely obsessed with the concept of beauty.
"Let's go! One, two, three!"
"Haa... what is beauty?"
"The most beautiful appearance? Or perhaps a perfect body? Or a clean and pure mind?"
"No way, that can't be. True beauty should be something no one else possesses."
"Ah, exactly. Living as a unique individual, overlapping with no one else, is what can be called true beauty..."
"Now... are you ready to become beautiful, Madam?"
For now, in this moment, I will become the doctor obsessed with beauty.
After my filming ended, everyone present later said the same thing:
They felt that if they received surgery from that person, they too could truly become beautiful.
And so, two years passed. Hoshino Ai finally turned 20, beginning the story of a year of great leaps.