"……."
"꺄아♥ Ruby~"
Miyako quietly watched Ai playing with Ruby while she nibbled on the dessert Kaoru had sent over through his daughter after something came up with the troupe.
Unlike herself, cooped up at home and left with dull, rough skin, Ai’s complexion was bright and radiant, practically glowing. Her beautiful, fresh-faced looks seemed even more dazzling today.
So Miyako, as a woman and a married woman with a husband of her own, immediately understood why Ai was looking especially lovely today.
With a fork in her mouth, Miyako propped her chin on her hand and muttered bitterly.
"Kaoru-kun’s stamina... really is beyond human."
"……Huh?"
Ai flinched, her face turning red because the comment had hit a little too close to home. Miyako looked at her and gave an even more sour smile.
"You two were late compared to the time you were supposed to come, but don’t worry about explaining. I know exactly why. It’s that good a time for you, isn’t it?"
"Taa...?"
"Ttuk..."
Ruby tilted her head, unable to understand what Miyako and Ai were talking about, but Aqua, who was nearby...
"Ttuuuuuk...!!!!"
Veins bulging on his forehead, he clenched down on his pacifier like he was about to chew it to pieces, barely holding back his rage.
Why had he been born with the memories of an adult, forced to play the part of a mute infant, and then made to endure this hellish situation while still trapped in the role of an infant even during such blatantly indecent conversation?
He had no interest in Kaoru’s absurd, inhuman stamina, and he never would.
As a fan of his favorite, he did not want to hear the truth about why Ai had arrived later than planned to see him and his little sister. He did not want to know.
Unaware that Aqua was trembling with suppressed fury, Ai blushed with embarrassment and guilt toward Miyako and waved her hands in panic.
"S-so, Mi-Miyako-chan. Sorry. It just kind of happened— not on purpose or anything— it just... turned out that way, I guess? It was unexpected, really. Anyway— yeah! Sorry!"
"I understand.... So enjoy it as much as you can without regrets.... If you don’t want to end up like me...."
Miyako’s gloomy frog mode, crumbling into white despair, was enough to make even Ai—who prided herself on being impossible to rattle—break into a cold sweat as she hurriedly searched for a way to comfort her.
"B-but, thanks to how hard the president worked, this month’s paycheck came in pretty big!"
Even Ai’s consolation did nothing to move Miyako, who kept picking at her dessert with a depressed expression.
Then she unfolded the laptop she had set aside, opened Excel, checked this month’s ledger, and put down her fork before speaking in a drained voice.
"That’s the result of Ai working hard. You don’t need to give the president any credit—you did more than enough of your share. No, almost all of it was thanks to you."
"Mm~! I-I see~! I was amazing, huh!"
"Yes. It turned out much better than I expected, so I am happy. Heh. The profit after expenses wasn’t bad at all, either."
In truth, the reason Miyako could keep going like this was because B Komachi’s comeback after a year had helped recover some of the losses, and as she sorted through the books, she felt satisfied for the first time in a long while.
After subtracting the recording contract fees, outfit rental costs, various expenses, and taxes, then paying the B Komachi members their salaries, there was a little more left than she had originally expected to break even with.
How long had it been since she last been able to write the books without feeling like she had to beg for money? Miyako, who had been diligently playing nanny to the twins born as heaven’s messengers, raised a dessert in place of a toast to celebrate the small joys of everyday life.
"Huh? Aqua! Why are you shaking so much? Did you poop?"
Then Ai noticed Aqua trembling in the corner, facing the wall, and quickly went over to pick him up and check his diaper.
Fortunately, it was clean.
Aqua, who had been gnawing on his pacifier with his gums, immediately...
'Ah. Let’s calm down first. Getting angry here won’t change anything. For now, I’ll rest in peace in Ai’s arms....'
With peace of mind arriving all on its own, Aqua enjoyed the warmth of Ai’s embrace with a serene expression, as if nothing had happened.
"Hee—right. He looks exactly like Kaoru. The way he keeps staring at me like this is the same!"
"He’s your son. They say daughters are like that too, but sons are basically copies of their fathers, right?"
"So cute~ Aqua, grow up fast so we can all go somewhere together—Dad, Mom, and Ruby, okay?"
"...Taa."
Unable to say he didn’t want to, Aqua gave a lukewarm babyish response.
Ruby, jealous of Aqua being held first, sat on the floor and flailed her arms, demanding to be picked up too.
As expected of a mother who had given birth to twins, Ai drew on her small frame’s hidden strength and lifted Ruby up as well, seating her on the sofa.
"Yat~! I’ll hold you both! Come here."
"Taa~"
"Taa~"
Aqua and Ruby exchanged looks, each clearly dissatisfied with the other, but in the end they reached a peaceful agreement by sitting happily on either side of their mother’s lap.
Ai smiled as she gently stroked both twins’ plump cheeks.
Miyako, who had been staring blankly at the scene, suddenly set down her fork and checked her laptop as a thought crossed her mind.
"Come to think of it, there’s a live stage schedule for the day after tomorrow, Monday at 7 p.m., as part of a promotional event. It’s a pretty important appearance. The president told you, right?"
"Yes! He told me~ Ah, Kaoru also said that the troupe might have a schedule starting the day after tomorrow.... But wanting to show him the live performance is probably too greedy, isn’t it?"
"...You really do think about Kaoru every waking moment."
"B-but!"
At Ai’s words, Miyako shook her head firmly.
"No! I’m not saying I don’t trust Kaoru’s disguise skills, but the risk if he’s discovered is too dangerous. How did we finally put that dating rumor to rest, and now you want it to start up again? If the story starts circulating again, there’s no clever move that can fix it. Are you telling Kaoru to retire again?"
"......But."
Ai pouted slightly, and Miyako’s heart softened even as she smiled.
"Later. Right now, it’s too dangerous for both of you. If you wait a little, I’m sure the chance will come."
"Mm.... Haaah~ Mom has to go to work again the day after tomorrow. I want to play with Aqua and Ruby."
"Taa~"
"Taa~"
As Ai answered while holding the twins’ hands and playing with them, the twins looked at each other and exchanged a glance.
Then both twins’ gazes shot toward Miyako like lasers.
"?!"
Feeling that look, Miyako could only shudder and grimace as a wave of unease washed over her.
-
After the production staff and lead actors returned from ten days of overseas location shooting, filming resumed immediately.
Someone might have mistaken it for a schedule that was forcing everyone to keep running themselves ragged.
But Kaoru already knew the truth.
That was because Director Sojiro had called him on an international line on the eighth night.
【 Kaoru. 】
【 Yes. What’s the matter at this hour...? 】
【 Hey, I’m serious... next time, I’m taking you with me for sure. I... barely made it through that one, I really... ha.... 】
At the director’s complaint-filled call, his voice slightly drunk with alcohol, Kaoru ended up breaking into a cold sweat.
Kaoru, who had stepped outside for a moment because of some minor "business," had no choice but to listen to Sojiro’s grumbling for a while.
In short, it was a case of a leaky bucket not staying dry just because it was outside. When he heard that they had ended up cutting 30 percent of the footage they were supposed to shoot in order to keep up with the location schedule, even Kaoru could only think, 'Ah, that’s a bit much.'
Kaoru listened to all of Sojiro’s complaints and reassured him to get some rest, and after thirty minutes of whining, Sojiro finally said he was going to sleep, hung up with heavy steps, and disappeared.
Then, three days later, one day after the filming team returned, Kaoru was thrown right back into the shooting schedule.
Once this filming was over, there would be no more schedule for a while until the final episode’s shoot.
At last, with a more relaxed schedule, Kaoru could finally breathe a little easier.
"Kamiki-san. We’re on standby!"
"Yes."
At the staff member’s standby call, Kaoru put on the school uniform jacket he had taken off. There was air conditioning in the waiting room, but the moment he stepped outside, the humid air hit him at once.
After informing wardrobe of an issue and exchanging the school shirt, Kaoru fastened his tie without tightening it all the way, leaving a little room at the collar, then headed straight to the set.
The scene they were filming this time was a simple conversation with the student council president. The heroine, Arimura Suzu, had failed to stop the abolition of the vocal club, but she had used her wits to get the president to accept a new club request—one for a so-called “vocal training club,” a transparent workaround if there ever was one.
"Ah."
Just before filming, Sakurada Mina covered her mouth with the script and smiled shyly as Kaoru strode up to stand right in front of her with his usual long, confident steps.
The makeup staff member who had been adjusting her makeup right beside them glanced at Kaoru after seeing the scene firsthand.
But Kaoru paid it no mind. He simply waited calmly and indifferently for the director’s cue.
No matter how you looked at it, Mina clearly had an interest in Kaoru, but Kaoru showed absolutely no interest— not even a gram of it.
Whether Mina smiled or not, Kaoru was acting with the utterly businesslike attitude of someone who had come here solely to do his job.
After some time, Director Sojiro, who had grown gaunt again after the overseas location shoot, raised his megaphone and shouted,
"Okay, scene number... 255. Ready! Action!"
""
"You’re pretty good, you know?"
"What... what do you mean?"
"There’s no rule in the school regulations that forbids establishing a club with the same nature as one that was abolished. That was a clever move, exploiting the loophole just right. Even the student council had no choice but to acknowledge it."
As Kaoru spoke with a faint smile, as if he had been caught off guard, Mina’s cheeks flushed red.
It was clearly a feeling full of personal interest, but Mina wasn’t as foolish as Ryunosuke, so she quickly lowered her gaze and began her lines.
"I-it was... thanks to Hirano-kun’s help. If it hadn’t been for Hirano-kun, I never would have thought of that."
It wasn’t a calculated stammer—she really did stumble over the line—but Director Sojiro judged that her naturalness actually deepened the immersion and did not call for a retake.
Kaoru caught that immediately and skillfully adjusted the emotion of his next line.
"So it was him after all? Even a worm can wriggle. The academy’s biggest troublemaker finally pulled off something."
"...I’ll work hard. I’ll do it in a way everyone can see. I’ll make the vocal training club the best club in the academy!"
Mina declared boldly to Kaoru, who had turned away. Kaoru paused for a moment, then silently unfolded a fan once, folded it back with precision, and walked forward.
As the main camera director gradually zoomed in on Mina watching him go—
"Okay! Cut! Good work!"
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Thank you!"
Kaoru and Mina bowed to the staff and left the set.
At last, all of Kaoru’s assigned scenes were done except for the final episode.
After removing the costume and returning it to wardrobe, Kaoru gathered his things in the waiting room and came out to greet Director Sojiro.
Since the filming team had all moved to another set, the waiting room was quiet, with no particular noise.
As Kaoru wondered whether he should walk over there to meet Sojiro,
"Excuse me, Kamiki-san?"
Mina suddenly emerged from a corner outside the waiting room and blocked Kaoru’s path.
Kaoru looked at her for a moment, then gave her a polite smile and said,
"Ah, yes. Sakurada-san. What is it?"
"I... it was truly an honor to work with you! Thanks to you, I got to see what real masterful acting looks like and learn from it. It was an unforgettable experience!"
"...Thank you. I’m sure you’ll become a fine actress too, Sakurada-san. Well then."
After offering a polite word of praise, he tried to pass her— but Mina kept blocking his way, twisting her body awkwardly and wearing a bashful expression.
Kaoru looked at her as if to say what now, still keeping that courteous smile, and asked,
"Did you have something to say?"
"Ah... heh. Sorry. I’m a little shy, you see."
Brushing her hair behind her ear with a timid smile, Mina took her phone from her pocket and held it out to Kaoru.
"I was wondering if I could get your phone number. I’m usually pretty direct, so— heh."
"Ah.... I’m sorry, but I don’t exchange contact information outside of work-related matters. If you’ll excuse me."
As Kaoru politely refused and tried to move past her, Mina’s pride took a slight hit and she stubbornly blocked him again.
"No~ I just wanted to contact you for work-related things. Acting, or maybe things about the production— that’s all work-related, isn’t it?"
"If that’s the case, it would be better to discuss work-related matters with the staff at your own agency rather than with me. Sorry, my taxi is supposed to arrive soon."
As Kaoru kept gently smiling and putting up a wall, Mina finally showed her true colors beneath the mask.
The shy, girlish expression vanished, replaced by a viciously twisted face as she snapped at Kaoru.
"You were perfectly fine being friends with that idol girl, or whatever her name was, weren’t you? You even retired because of that, didn’t you? Isn’t that right?"
"Sakurada-san."
Even after Kaoru’s stern tone, Mina crossed her arms, snorted, and glared at him with genuine disbelief.
"Hah! You don’t need to worry about rumors like an affair or anything. My father’s an executive at a media company who knows everyone worth knowing, and you know our agency, don’t you? You really don’t need to worry. Is it such a big deal to just exchange numbers and be friends?"
"Sakurada-san. Even if you insist on it like that, nothing changes. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that."
As Kaoru cut her off coldly and tried to pass, Mina’s anger surged and she blurted out something she should never have said.
"Wouldn’t building connections with me be way more useful than with some worthless idol nobody like her!? Huh!?"
"……."
Kaoru stopped walking, turned back, and walked toward Mina again.
But Mina, who had been so aggressive just a moment ago, now flinched and trembled.
Seeing Kaoru’s gaze and expression, colder than cold, the girl could not say a word and was left terrified.
When Mina stumbled back and her back hit the wall behind her, she jolted again.
They hadn’t gone far in the first place, and they had been struggling right in front of the waiting room.
Kaoru ignored all of that and closed the distance with an expressionless face, then—
tap
"Eep?!"
He reached out a hand, braced it against the wall, and looked down at her quietly.
Mina’s heart pounded at Kaoru’s large frame, which towered over her by a full head, but his emotionless, icy presence filled her with fear.
Her hands and feet went cold, and her whole body began to shake.
The faint red starlight flickering within those emotionless blue eyes burned fiercely, as if it would swallow Mina whole.
With her earlier arrogance gone, Mina was now trembling in fear, and Kaoru lowered his head and whispered softly into her ear.
"I’m not interested in someone beneath even the level of maintaining a minimum of [sincerity] as an actor. Go practice your acting instead."
"...Hic!"
Kaoru’s emotionless verbal blade made Mina gasp and cover her mouth, her heart nearly dropping out of her chest.
But her vicious nature hadn’t gone anywhere. Even with tears welling up, Mina still glared at Kaoru as if she wanted to kill him.
In a way, that was fortunate.
If she hadn’t done that, Kaoru wouldn’t even have been able to pull out one of the trump cards he had prepared over the past few days.
Kaoru took out his phone, opened the photo gallery, tapped one picture, and showed it to Mina as he said,
"And ask your proud father, the media executive, what happened in Roppongi four days ago at dawn. He’ll probably refuse to answer. In fact, he’ll probably ask where I heard about it."
"……."
"Because that was not a loophole in the law. It was outright illegal. Even a media executive won’t have a clever move to get out of that."
At the sight of Sakurada Mina, her teeth chattering like she had caught a chill, Kaoru showed her the photo gallery menu as he deleted the image right in front of her.
Then he lowered his head slightly and said,
"It was a good experience working with you, Sakurada-san. Of course, we still have some filming left together, but if the chance allows it... I hope we meet again in another production."
"……."
With her eyes red and brimming, fear, hatred, and rage all spilling out in tears, the girl still could not bring herself to say anything as insolent as before.
Kaoru took that as an affirmative answer, smiled faintly, turned around, and left the set.
"Okay! Cut!!!"
From far away, Director Sojiro’s powerful cut call echoed out.
It was his voice, thrown out with all the force of a megaphone even without one in his hand.
Of course, only the director would know exactly what kind of scene it had been.
Kaoru headed toward the taxi he had called in advance.
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