Hachiman had originally thought he was just there for a visit. After all, he wasn't good at choosing roles and firmly believed that professional matters should be left to professionals. But when he entered the room, he found that everyone had reserved the middle seat for him, right next to Director Nakajima.
The audition process itself was nothing special. Actors competing for the same role received a short script a little while before their turn. They had a brief time to think about how to perform the scene and would then enter the room in order to perform.
Hachiman was very absorbed in watching. He could feel that while the actors' skill levels varied, they were all very serious in interpreting their understanding of the characters. It was a completely different world from the wooden acting in the movie Sweet Today, where Hoshino Aqua had played a cameo.
Soon, it was Aqua's turn. Everyone on the panel was an insider and knew that he had been chosen by Mr. Hachiman himself, so they were full of curiosity about this unknown young actor.
Hoshino Aqua walked into the room, closed the door, and bowed deeply to everyone in front of him. His humble demeanor, more so than any previous actor, left a good first impression. No matter his ability, no one would dislike a humble person.
Aqua's audition piece was a script adapted from the part in the original work where Watanabe Shuya intimidates his classmates. His subsequent performance made it difficult for anyone present to forget him.
"Director Nakajima thinks highly of you, Hoshino. I also think your performance was amazing," Hachiman said with a smile, finding Aqua after the auditions had concluded.
"Thank you, Mr. Hachiman. I still have a lot to work on in my acting career. Thank you for giving me this opportunity." In a place like this, where there was no need to worry about revealing Hachiman's identity, Aqua would directly call him "writer Hachiman" instead of "Hikigaya." Hachiman had said there was no need to hide his identity, but Hoshino still insisted, for reasons Hachiman didn't understand.
"Be more confident, Hoshino," Hachiman said, patting his shoulder. "You know, your performance just now made me feel like it wasn't acting at all; you seemed to really have that kind of hatred and determination. Of course, that's just a joke, don't take it to heart. All in all, it was a very successful audition. Congratulations." He turned and walked away, unaware of the flash of fear in the other boy's eyes at being seen through.
After the auditions, though the actors for each role had been basically decided, they would not be notified on the spot. Instead, the results would be sent to their respective agencies by email after a period of time. Looking through the preliminary cast list, even Hachiman, who didn't pay much attention to the entertainment industry, could feel the star-studded quality of the drama.
What was even more outrageous was that even with such a popular group of actors, their salaries only accounted for a small part of the film's already low investment.
Should I say these actors are dedicated, or that their treatment is just really bad... Hachiman didn't comment. Though he was a little surprised, he didn't bother to worry about it. The salary rules of the Japanese entertainment industry had been in operation for a long time; there had to be a reason. It wasn't his place to worry, especially as someone who could earn six million yen for writing a single script.
However, realizing that today was the last day of the Golden Week holiday, Hachiman did have to worry about something else after school started: the physical examination.
In 1999, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology had developed a new series of physical examinations tailored for citizens of different age groups. For students, the physical was a mandatory program after the start of each school year. In addition to basic measurements like height and weight, there was a wide variety of other tests guaranteed to leave students feeling thoroughly exhausted.
In fact, Hikigaya Hachiman was not a weakling. Long before he started writing, he had invented a way to play baseball by himself, and playing tennis against a wall during P.E. class was commonplace. Although it looked a bit lonely, it was a good way to exercise. In short, he took physical education classes very seriously, which had allowed him to maintain a relatively healthy body.
However, after he started writing, Hachiman had inevitably developed some bad habits, which had led to a decline in his physical fitness. He had vowed to exercise back in junior high, but now that seemed like completely empty talk.
"You can't be lazy like this anymore, Hikigaya! Where is the willpower you have when you write!" Hachiman suddenly muttered to himself viciously in the car. The assistant driving glanced at him in the rearview mirror with a somewhat horrified look.
"Yukinoshita, starting tomorrow, please run with me in the morning!"
During dinner that evening, Hachiman suddenly suggested to Yukino, who was sitting opposite him.
"Hikigaya-san," Yukino said, looking at him with some surprise, "if I'm not by your side, can you not move your own legs?"
"Having someone to accompany me will give me more motivation," he said in a pleading tone.
"Oh? So you just want someone to accompany you. It doesn't matter who that person is? In that case, it seems that if I don't agree, you'll just quickly find another companion, right?"
"...Yukinoshita Yukino," Hachiman said, standing up and giving a pretentious bow. "I, Hikigaya Hachiman, sincerely invite you to run with me starting tomorrow. If you don't come, I won't be able to move my legs."
Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't help but laugh. "That's not necessary, Hikigaya-san. Of course I agree. It's a good thing that you're finally willing to exercise. I'd be happy to accompany you."
"But," she added, "I want to give you a heads-up. Since you've brought this up, you must stick to it. Of course, I don't have any way to threaten you. I can only say that if you give up halfway, I'll be very unhappy and will sulk for a long time."
"That is the biggest threat to me, Yukinoshita. I will definitely persevere," Hachiman assured her.
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