"...Only now do I finally understand the feeling hidden in Sasaki-san’s message. It wasn’t some shapeless wordplay! What exactly was he trying to say... Ugh, should I raise the pitch a little more...?"
As always, Akane sat motionless in the center of the practice room, rehearsing.
Neat, tidy notes were densely written between the printed letters that decorated the script.
There were also sticky notes attached to the script pages, and small slips of paper with printed reference material tucked between the pages.
In the theater world, where the proud critics were one thing and gifted newcomers flooded in every year, it was not for nothing that she had earned the troupe’s reputation as its [Ace]. Her effort was etched everywhere.
She observed, researched, interpreted, and immersed herself in the person she had to act as with a level that went beyond perfection and bordered on obsession, and the “fruit” she gained from that became a major foundation for her as an actress.
"...I should look up a little more material."
Akane’s strange methodology toward acting was enough to make even Taiki, who had debuted less than two years ago and was already moving across broadcasting and theater thanks to his outstanding talent, click his tongue in admiration.
Because their innate temperaments were so different, there was an underlying attitude of respecting each other’s methods.
Regardless of other people’s reactions or evaluations.
At least for now, she did not feel any limit or lack in continuing to act and build experience in her own way.
Bang-
"Ah! Aqua-kun~!"
Akane, who recognized Aqua’s presence the moment he opened the door and entered the practice room, greeted him with a bright wave full of delight.
The boy’s usual expression of indifference softened just a little, as if responding to his partner’s greeting with a faint smile.
"Hi, Akane."
"Hi to you too, Aqua-kun~"
After nodding back to Akane’s greeting, a thought suddenly crossed Aqua’s mind.
When he had left home, ignoring his father’s request, it had definitely been 11:40, and in the LINE message they exchanged then, Akane had said she was practicing.
And now the time was...?
"...If you’re still practicing, you did eat lunch first, right?"
As Aqua set his bag down in one corner of the practice room and asked sharply, Akane froze for a moment.
Her eyes flicked to the clock on the wall, and realizing her mistake, she glanced at Aqua’s face and answered in an awkward voice.
"Uh... yeah. I brought fruit and a lunchbox from home.... I-I just ate something light in the break room..."
"......"
It was a lie.
Holding the script he had taken from his bag, Aqua looked at the awkward expression on Akane’s face and quietly muttered to himself.
'I’ve felt this for a while, but she’s terrible at acting when she lies.'
Back when he had been [Amamiya Goro] in his previous life, he had always made sure to eat something, even when he was on duty and exhausted, and he had maintained that habit.
And in this life, Aqua had grown up watching his healthy parents always eat together as a family and make exercise a habit from a young age.
For him, the idea of “having to skip meals and work” was automatically coded as something pitiful and deserving of sympathy.
"...Let’s eat dinner a little early."
"Eh? I-I’m fine..."
Seeing the good-hearted Akane, who had lied to her partner and now looked guilty, the boy pretended not to notice and looked at the script with his cool blue eyes as he said,
"I think I’ll be hungry. Breakfast was a little lacking."
In Aqua’s mind, a new plan was added: even if it was late afternoon, they would stop practice in the middle and go to a donburi place to eat.
Akane did not know exactly what Aqua was thinking, but she realized that he was saying this for her sake.
"I-if Aqua-kun says so... I’ll go..."
"Then I’ll make a reservation in advance. We’ll order the usual menu."
"Okay...."
To anyone watching, it was enough to make them worry that the corners of the script pages might wear away from how much she kept touching them.
Her long, white fingers kept fidgeting without pause.
Those clear, transparent blue starlit eyes.
They looked cold as ice.
But in truth, they were endlessly warm, like the summer sky.
And if you found yourself staring at them without meaning to...
It felt as if you might be sucked in completely, as if falling toward the sky itself.
"?"
"!"
At Akane’s unreadable reaction as she stared at him, Aqua tilted his head and moved his brows.
Like the haze rising over a spring day, a faint red heat rose over her white cheeks.
Her reddening face, beyond her control, was embarrassing and shameful.
Trying to hide it, pretending nothing was wrong, pretending to look at the open script, Akane lowered her head—
"......"
And yet, contrary to her actions, she could not hide the honest [smile] that had formed on its own.
-
< Crowds like clouds gather at the filming site of [Bird in the Cage]... Interest surges even before broadcast, with “favor and difficulty” >
< Entertainment Today Photo: “You can’t do that!” - Staff restraining a citizen trying to rush onto the filming set of the drama [Bird in the Cage] >
< [Bird in the Cage], a race among Korean and Chinese broadcasters to buy the rights... An unprecedented remake of a drama before broadcast confirmed? >
< Popular band ‘LADWIMPS’ joins the production of [Bird in the Cage] OST... Fans’ interest rises ↑ >
< ‘Catch 130 million viewers’ ... Major OTT companies enter fierce behind-the-scenes competition for the broadcast rights to [Bird in the Cage] >
Although the pre-produced filming had not yet ended, the media and public interest in the drama grew even hotter.
With Director Gotanda at the center, the appearance of top-tier actors such as Kamiki Kaoru, Hoshino Ai, and Yoshikawa Yuriko had already reached the point of generating endless buzz on its own.
Twitter, Instagram, and even YouTube were recording scorching interest around related trending keywords.
People went to the set to secretly film the location, fans gathered and sent coffee trucks and other gifts in competition with one another, and there were even incidents where obsessive fans crossed the line and tried to intrude on the filming site, only to be stopped by staff.
As a result, news also reported once again that the production company and each agency had directly consulted with Director Gotanda and added extra security personnel to the drama set out of concern for safety.
However.
As for the people involved, Kaoru and Ai did not really care much.
More precisely, it would be more accurate to say they did not care because they knew that even if they did, it was not something they could solve anyway.
As the saying “a husband and wife are of one mind” existed for a reason.
Rather than the noisy world around them, the couple was busy looking at the script with their fellow actors and focusing on the filming right in front of them.
As the story moved into its later half, they had to pay attention to maintaining the emotional line and immersion for the conflicts between the characters, which were gradually building toward their peak.
Likewise, because later scenes increasingly featured Kaoru and Ai together, they would have to spend most of the weekend outside, leaving the babies at home.
So the couple resolved to leave work on time.
"OK, cut!"
"Good."
"Nice. OK. Good work."
As filming moved into the later scenes, they used the full value of veteran acting experience to secure Director Gotanda’s OK sign like a storm, all for the sake of getting home quickly.
Not only the staff, but also the paparazzi and reporters secretly filming the couple from afar with telephoto cameras, and even the obsessive fans.
"...As expected of the [Non-NG Couple]."
"Insane."
"Is that even possible?"
They could only marvel, shaking their heads in admiration.
Naturally, because of the couple’s acting ability, where that energy and aura merged together...
The other actors matching their rhythm were also stimulated, and the one who received the strongest stimulus and delivered a passionate performance was none other than...
"...Y-you’re crazy?!"
"The crazy one is you. You think you can get away with this filthy act with a married woman? Seriously?"
[Fukumoto Hiroki], who was threatening [Yamazaki Takeru], who was having an affair with his wife [Fukumoto Mami], as part of his plan to bring down the [Fukumoto Group], by approaching him with evidence in hand.
With the venom of a person turned 180 degrees, [Yamazaki Takeru], who had far more to lose, became terrified despite his large build.
"Every day must be happy for you, right? Choosing a wedding dress together, picking out rings together. The woman who will become your wife must be truly happy. Until she sees the ugly true face of the man who will become her husband."
When photos of [Fukumoto Mami] and his own secret meetings—and of them embracing and kissing while their bodies were entangled—were laid bare on the table, [Yamazaki Takeru] stared blankly at the photos with a face so pale it looked as if his soul had already left him.
"!"
"My wife is just an [outside person], so I don’t care if her face shows up in tomorrow’s morning paper and magazines. Mami would probably like that too."
"Y-you— you son of a—"
"I didn’t know because I’d never tried it, but the email scheduled-send feature is quite good. Since things have come to this, I’m in a position where I don’t know when I might disappear either.... Of course, the mail will be sent properly on its own."
To [Yamazaki Takeru], who was about to marry the daughter of a major media owner introduced through a matchmaking meeting arranged personally by [Fukumoto Kenta], Hiroki’s calm voice sounded like a doctor’s declaration of death.
Of course, Takeru himself knew best what damage Hiroki’s betrayal—someone he trusted even more than his son-in-law—would do to the group, and the social ruin he would suffer in the process.
The [Yamazaki Takeru] sitting in the chair dropped to his knees with all the humiliation he could muster and shouted in a frantic voice.
"P-please— don’t do this! Branch manager Hiroki! Why are you doing this! We’re all in this together, [colleagues]! The chairman’s health isn’t good either, so if he’s suddenly shocked..."
"I’m grateful that an [outside person] is worrying about the chairman’s health more than his own son-in-law. Then let’s make a deal."
"...?!"
With a sly smile, [Fukumoto Hiroki] took off his thick-rimmed glasses and, still seated, leaned forward slightly.
He matched [Yamazaki Takeru]’s eye level and calmly stated his demands in a low voice, sharpened cold and keen.
"Your mother-in-law’s art pieces... exactly which container are they stored in?"
"!"
[Yamazaki Takeru] knew perfectly well what was meant by those words.
High-priced art pieces bought entirely in cash were useful for laundering corporate slush funds, no matter the country.
However, what [Fukumoto Hiroki] was after was not just the art pieces. It was more than that.
The tip of the blade aimed by the man before him would be Chairman [Fukumoto Kenta]. His stirring up of the affair scandal was, in the end, only a surface-level reason.
But.
"I trust you’ll tell me."
As he fiddled with the photos on the table showing [Fukumoto Mami] and his own explicit secret meeting, the man asked again in that cold voice.
[Yamazaki Takeru] finally squeezed his eyes shut.
The choice between being branded an adulterer while keeping his loyalty, or having everything dumped on him in a future prosecutor’s investigation and rotting in prison for decades, was not something to decide so simply.
As he had said, in the end, he was an [outside person].
After weighing the options, [Yamazaki Takeru] finally opened his eyes.
The imposing momentum he had once had was gone, and only a shameful trace of tears remained.
"...I-I’ll tell you. Hic..."
"OK, cut. That was a good performance."
"Thank you—!!!"
Director Gotanda stroked his beard as he witnessed the remarkable growth of “Mizutani Shigeru,” who played [Yamazaki Takeru].
He had always been a hard worker with decent acting ability, but by matching up with Kaoru during filming, he had grown even further as an [actor].
The same was true in the scenes with Yoshikawa Yuriko and Ai.
"You’re acting like you’ve set up a separate household from my husband. Are you the careless type?"
"......"
[Fukumoto Mami] placed a luxury handbag worth several million yen on the table as if to show it off, then sneered at [Aizawa Honoka].
A cold-blooded sociopath who ruled over others without caring for those beneath her.
And yet, even in her sly gaze as someone who could not stand by and watch the loss of her own [property]—
[Aizawa Honoka] met the eyes of [Fukumoto Mami], who had come to threaten her, head-on!
As if proving she was no longer the weak sort who would tremble, flee, and turn away at the thought of losing something precious.
"Do you know? Hiroki-san’s favorite food."
"...What?"
At the sudden, incomprehensible personal question that came out of [Aizawa Honoka]’s mouth—
Even as Mami’s eyes sharpened in disbelief, [Aizawa Honoka] continued without caring.
"You don’t know, do you, Mami-san? Hiroki-san’s favorite food."
"......"
Though it sounded like an ordinary topic of conversation, [Fukumoto Mami] could not answer easily, as if struck at the core by a question that seemed like nothing at all.
Not an idiot, she quickly saw through why [Aizawa Honoka] was mocking her by asking something like this, and said in a sharp voice,
"Really? Good for you, knowing Hiroki’s favorite food so well. But so what? It’s true, isn’t it, that a nobody with nothing is trying to wreck a well-off family with some sneaky scheme?"
"A well-off family.... Ah, I’m sure that’s true. You must talk to Hiroki-san often, then?"
"......"
Clack-
A chilling grinding sound of teeth leaked from inside [Fukumoto Mami]’s tightly clenched mouth.
Even though that woman kept spouting nonsense, pretending nothing was wrong and slipping over the wall like a snake crossing a ditch, as if deliberately scratching at her insides for all to see...
She was furious at the situation in which she could not actually rebut or respond at all.
Despite the luxury handbag worth several million yen.
Her right hand, resting on the table, was already clenched into a fist so hard it looked nearly bloodless.
Even so—
"I, even right before I came to meet you, Fukumoto-san. I was talking with Hiroki-san just fine. Maybe even more often than his wife, for longer... ah— maybe even more affectionately?"
With her starlit eyes sparkling, she had become nothing less than a woman in love.
With no money, no connections, and no family background to back her up.
Nothing at all to her name but being a worthless, empty-handed bitch.
And yet she kept scratching at Mami’s insides with everything she had, looking up at [Aizawa Honoka], who had climbed right over her head.
"Hhhngh!"
For a moment, [Fukumoto Mami] fiercely grabbed the hot coffee cup.
Clang-!
"!"
"...."
The sound of glass breaking came from the counter.
The signal that poured cold water on the overheated atmosphere and instantly ended the silent war between the two women seated across from each other was...
"Ha. Hahaha... You’ve completely lost your mind. For a homewrecker."
With her eyes blazing red from anger and wounded pride, it became another signal as she lifted her gaze and let out a dry laugh toward the [mistress] opposite her.
As if any further conversation was a luxury, [Fukumoto Mami] grabbed her handbag and stood up.
"Make sure you accept the lawsuit papers, homewrecker. I’ll wring you dry until not a drop of water comes out."
Toward [Fukumoto Mami], who was subtly hinting that she would file an adultery lawsuit and hit her with a massive damages claim, [Aizawa Honoka] lowered her gaze to look at the coffee cup.
And then...
"Do you know what kind of coffee Hiroki-san likes?"
"I DON’T KNOW!!! He’d drink Americano, wouldn’t he? Who the hell in this world can’t drink that?"
Even as everyone’s attention focused on the irritated Mami, [Aizawa Honoka] instead lifted her starlit eyes with a look of pity and said,
"Hiroki-san... can’t drink coffee. He’s sensitive to caffeine."
"......"
A strange, awkward silence.
Like someone who had been struck on the head, [Fukumoto Mami], who had lost the words to say, stared at her blankly for a moment—
Then she turned away and walked off without saying a word.
"OK, cut! That was very good, both of you!"
"Thank you!"
"Hehe— everyone worked hard~★"
Director Gotanda, who called cut, stood up from his chair and applauded.
The tense war of nerves and emotional line between the two women was enough to trigger his admiration.
Ai and Honoka—like skilled volleyball partners tossing the ball back and forth—matched each other’s acting and created dazzling synergy, generating an extreme level of immersion.
As with Shigeru, Ai and Yuriko were also becoming even more brilliant by serving as strong stimuli for each other.
And at last!
"...Somehow, we ended up filming the flirting scene almost all the way into the latter half."
"...Haha."
"I like it~! It feels like finishing all the homework you’ve been putting off and then finally going out to play."
Late at night, after the sun had fully set. Director Gotanda and the couple came to the walkway along the Sumida River in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, for filming.
It was already early summer now, but in the story’s timeline, this was the scene where [Matsukura Hiroki] and [Aizawa Honoka], after their lunchbox-fueled flirting, came out to the riverbank for their first outing disguised as a date.
A cool breeze blew along the river, making the couple’s hair flutter.
Of course, Director Gotanda’s elastin-like bob haircut fluttered along with it too.
"......"
Kaoru, looking at the equally lively sight with a strange expression, turned his gaze toward the crowds that had gathered like clouds around the filming location and the walkway.
Where on earth was the information about the filming location leaking from?
Even with security tightened, the staff moving busily around with cameras for the shoot were bound to catch people’s eyes.
Even in his previous and present lives, he had instinctively raised his guard whenever he was in a place with a huge crowd.
"The walkway is so pretty.... Oh! Let’s come here with the babies later, Kaoru! It’d be perfect for Amber to practice walking."
"Ah, yeah. Let’s do that. Before it gets even hotter."
Toward his wife, who brushed her purple hair back behind her ear as it swayed in the cool breeze, her starlit eyes sparkling—
Kaoru nodded with a relaxed smile.
Since he was about to film with his wife, he did not want to distract the people around them unnecessarily.
Like a wolf, his blue eyes flashed sharply as they swept over the crowd before returning.
There were already plenty of people controlling the area, so there was no need to be overly wary to the point of interfering with the shoot.
"Ready...!"
At Director Gotanda’s standby cue, Ai and Kaoru stood side by side, keeping a subtle distance that still made them seem like they were flirting, and looked at the camera at the same time.
The couple’s brilliant starlit eyes shone toward the camera.
In an instant, an otherworldly charisma burst forth, enough to make [falsehood] be believed as [truth].
"Action!"
Kaoru wore a comfortable white shirt and light blue jeans, while Ai wore a relaxed navy dress.
For this scene, Director Gotanda had specifically ordered that they not receive costume sponsorship and instead come in the casual clothes they usually liked to wear.
If other people wore them, it would have been the very definition of an ordinary outfit—but
thanks to the aura the two of them gave off, the sight of a beautiful man and woman enjoying a date was dazzling, like a magazine spread.
"...The lunchbox today was delicious too. I’m always grateful to be able to eat something made so well."
"Fufu, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I thought you seemed to prefer a slightly lighter seasoning, so I’ve been adjusting it a liiitle~"
"Oh, really? H-how did you know that...?"
At Kaoru’s cautious question, Ai looked up at him with a gentle, shy smile and said,
"Even so, I’m confident I won’t lose when it comes to noticing things in the kitchen~"
"Ah— y-you’re, uh, attending a cooking academy...?"
"Nope! Mm... you’re a little less perceptive than I expected, aren’t you~?"
"Ah, is that so? If, if that’s how it came across— I’m sorry— no, um, excuse me."
"Pffft—! Puhahaha~!"
Toward Kaoru, who was awkwardly pushing up his thick-rimmed glasses and flustered—
Ai burst out laughing with all her [sincerity].
Kaoru, too, smiled sheepishly and scratched his head at his wife’s laughter.
It was such a natural laugh that it was hard to tell whether it was acting or whether she was truly laughing.
"Ahem~ Ahem! Hehe— sorry. I laughed a little too rudely, didn’t I?"
"...It’s fine. You look much prettier when you’re smiling."
"...Huh?"
"Ah...."
The two of them, having lightly forgotten that they were still only at the flirting stage, fell back into awkward silence.
Ai fidgeted with the hem of her dress, while Kaoru kept pushing up the bridge of his thick-rimmed glasses and wetting his dry lips with his tongue.
Director Gotanda watched their acting and, without realizing it, ended up wearing a pleased old-man smile.
With filming going so smoothly—
"Is there any side dish you’d like in your lunchbox?"
After hearing Ai’s line and naturally forming the next line in his head, Kaoru looked straight ahead and swallowed once.
"I..."
Then, just as he turned his head to deliver the next line—
Caw caw—
Suddenly, the ominous cry of a crow flew into Kaoru’s ear.
Having lived through both his previous and present lives, Kaoru’s even sharper sixth sense seized control of his consciousness and body in an instant.
Ai’s breathing and heartbeat. The contraction of her pupils. Hundreds of long purple hairs scattering in the wind. The countless vibrations and sounds echoing from the surroundings.
Every sense involved in receiving and processing it all was input one by one in clear, detailed form, as if watching a high-speed camera.
The footsteps of an unidentified person running from behind, in the blind spot where he could not see.
"......"
His blue eyes flashed coldly, and Kaoru’s body, already raising muscle memory to the limit in order to sense the danger and prepare for it, moved.
He let out a low breath and turned in an instant.
"Whaaa—!?"
In that extremely brief moment when Director Gotanda, startled so badly that his eyes nearly split open, was trying to stand from his chair—
The staff who failed to stop the intruder, and the people who, having actually seen a crazy person rush onto the set alone, could not react at all.
In the split second of crisis when they were too shocked to respond properly—
"Aiiiiiiiaaaaaa!!!"
A large adult man with a bag on his back screamed and lunged at the Ai standing beside Kaoru.
At that instant—
"!"
Kaoru calculated the man’s running line, stepped in front of Ai as if to shield her, and quickly lowered his upper body.
At the same time, he thrust out his right leg to block the man’s path, lowered his center of gravity, and grabbed the man by the collar with his right arm.
Like a pendulum moving slowly, the man’s troubled gaze twisted toward Kaoru in response.
"Hup-"
Just as if he were lightly lifting Amber after she had gotten tired and sat down while learning to walk.
Without changing expression, Kaoru used the man’s own speed and force against him, instantly rotating his upper and lower body axis and throwing the man over his shoulder.
The acrobatic motion drawn by the huge, heavy body as it spun through the air.
And with Kaoru’s judo, which effortlessly and perfectly slammed the heavy body down—
Not only Ai, who was standing right beside him.
But also Director Gotanda and the staff who had risen from their chairs, and even the crowd gathered around them.
Thud—!!!!
"Ughhh—!"
Only after hearing the huge crash made as the man’s body slammed into the ground on the opposite side did everyone wake as if from a dream and finally react to what had happened before their eyes.
"Kyaaah—?!"
Ai let out a piercing scream at the sight of the fat man her husband had thrown onto the ground right in front of her.
Kaoru, who had climbed onto the fallen man’s back, twisted his arm and pressed his knee hard between the man’s back and neck to restrain him, then shouted after hearing his wife scream.
"Are you okay?!"
"Haa— haa— A-A, Kaoru... I-I’m okay—"
Ai’s brilliant starlit eyes filled with fear, her face going white as she unconsciously reached out toward Kaoru.
But Kaoru stopped her and shouted loudly to secure her safety.
"Stay calm, Ai! It’s fine! Get far away like we practiced!"
"Y-yeah, okay!"
Ai had always learned self-defense from Kaoru, along with how to control her stress and stay calm even in emergencies.
At her husband’s shout, she finally came to her senses, took a deep breath the way she had been taught, and forced her trembling legs to move as she ran toward the staff.
After confirming that his wife was running to safety, Kaoru removed the bag from the unconscious man, who had gone limp from the shock.
"Kaoru!!!"
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, you bastards! Right now! What the hell were you doing without controlling the situation!"
"Is it just this one person!? It was only this one person who rushed in, right!?"
"Call the police!"
The sound of Director Gotanda and the staff running toward him, the noisy uproar of the startled crowd.
With calm hands, Kaoru scattered the contents of the bag onto the ground to check for any weapon, then thoroughly searched the unconscious man’s body!
And then, suddenly—
Kaoru felt a gaze so strangely familiar that he lifted his head and fixed his eyes on one spot.
Then his blue eyes began to tremble violently in disbelief.
"......!"
A girl.
The mysterious young girl he had once encountered in the blizzard when he went to find [Amamiya Goro]’s body.
"......"
Even after more than ten years, she showed no physical change at all, only that same strange smile that had been burned so deeply into his memory.
Kaoru saw her simply standing there, staring at him without any obstruction, even amid the noisy crowd.
For a split second, all sound disappeared.
A cold silence settled around Kaoru and the girl.
His heart pounded as if it would burst, and the back of his neck tingled painfully.
Every sense in Kaoru’s body rang alarm bells toward the girl.
A passing question, and then a wave of denial.
For Kaoru, who had directly experienced the supernatural phenomenon known as [reincarnation memories].
And for Kaoru, who now had precious people he would protect even at the cost of his life.
Reuniting with the mysterious girl brought a shock he could not ignore.
"!"
But then, as the girl turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Kaoru instinctively tried to rise and chase after her—
"Kaoru!? A-are you okay?"
Only to be stopped by Director Gotanda, who grabbed his shoulder.
Director Gotanda checked the unconscious man who had been thrown by Kaoru’s shoulder throw, then swept his gaze over Kaoru to see if he was hurt anywhere, but—
"Damn it all, what the hell is this—!"
"..."
Without answering Director Gotanda’s rough curse, Kaoru turned his head and met the eyes of his wife, who was far away and being protected by the staff, watching him with starlit eyes full of worry and fear.
Ai.
His determination to protect the precious people in his life had not changed.
Ai, Aqua, and Ruby, Ame and Amber.
He had resolved to do whatever it took to protect the family he loved.
That resolve had not changed.
Even if the enemy he had to face was a being with supernatural power that could reduce human beings to weak little ants.
Even if his breath stopped and his heart ceased, and he closed his eyes.
He would absolutely.
I promise.
No one will get hurt, ever.
Inside Kaoru’s blue eyes, as he smiled to reassure his wife—
A brilliant red [starlight], enough to burn the entire world, flared up fiercely like a supernova.
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