"No contract?" The director almost lost it on the spot.
"Correct," the system replied, perfectly serious.
"Are you kidding me…" The director snapped his head toward his assistant. "Who brought him here?"
They were already mid-shoot, and this kid hadn't even signed paperwork? What kind of circus was this?
Shirase, thoroughly entertained, laughed inwardly. Damned system, are you really trying to climb from random extra to second male lead? No—technically from trespasser who jumped the wall straight into the cast.
Utterly shameless, the system stood tall and unbothered.
The director chewed out his assistant, convinced some staffer had dropped the ball.
Under the poor assistant's wounded stare, he turned back to Shirase. "The pay we promised Yusuke was 150,000 yen. That okay with you?"
"So little?" the system said bluntly, full of disdain.
Even Shirase was taken aback. He'd heard Japanese drama actors didn't earn much, but that low?
Nakano Ichika, more familiar with the industry, stepped in quickly. "That's actually standard. For example, even Ishihara Satomi-san only got about two million yen per episode for Unnatural."
The director nodded. "Exactly. And Mizuhara Kiko—you know, the Vivi model? Even she earned only seven hundred thousand per episode on The Good Wife."
Understanding dawned on Shirase. No wonder so many celebs rush overseas to make money. After agency cuts, they probably pocketed next to nothing.
It reminded him of certain pretty-boy stars back home who filmed by green screen with body doubles and still made fifty million.
After some inward grumbling, Shirase persuaded the system to accept.
Judging from its tone, though, the damned thing had already lost interest—just wanted to wrap up fast and get back to its vigilante routine.
When negotiations ended, the director looked satisfied.
He wasn't blind; he knew full well how lethal Shirase's looks would be for female viewers.
Judging by the fiery stares from the actresses and female staff, that was already proven.
And since this was his own project, if bumping ratings meant giving the kid more scenes, he'd gladly oblige.
While the main cast shot their next segment, Shirase and Ichika were pulled aside for a role briefing.
When the staffer learned Shirase was Ichika's classmate—and still in high school—the man's face was priceless.
"You're really just a high schooler?"
The system barely lifted an eyebrow, too lazy to answer.
Ichika smiled. "That's right—but we're not in the same class."
"That's unbelievable." The staffer looked at him like some mythic being. "Everyone said your movements earlier were insanely sharp and powerful. But a high schooler? Don't tell me you've trained in karate since birth?"
Ichika blinked. She'd only jumped in to help before; she hadn't even thought about that detail. Now she turned curiously to Shirase. "Yeah, Shirase-kun, how do you even manage? You play soccer, practice taekwondo and karate, and still study… Do you even sleep?"
The staffer chimed in again, "Exactly! That's why I said he must've trained since birth!"
The system replied flatly, "You should've said I've been practicing karate since I was in the womb."
Ichika & staff: "…"
Don't add bizarre backstories for me, Shirase groaned inwardly. In truth, he'd only picked up a bit of MMA and grappling from online videos. Nothing serious.
Soon, it was their turn to film.
Walking onto the set beside him, Ichika looked bright and slightly giddy. "This is actually my first time acting with someone I know. It's kinda fun," she whispered, laughing softly.
The system, meanwhile, had locked onto the two Toyota sedans prepared for the chase scene.
According to the script, Shirase and Ichika would swoop in to rescue the leads, then get chased by the villains. This was where Shirase's character was supposed to show off brilliant driving to shake pursuit.
But, of course, the system had other plans.
[Host, if the scene starts and I smash their car to pieces with one punch, would that be too much?]
Why not say you'll smash the people instead? Shirase shot back.
[Dangerous thoughts detected from Host. The system will restrain you.]
Do you hear yourself?
[The system merely wishes the Host to appear more impressive during filming—to stand out.]
And your idea of "standing out" is punching a car into scrap? Even Kamen Rider wouldn't go that far!
After a brief mental tug-of-war, the damned system finally calmed down.
Filming went smoothly after that—at least, mostly.
In fact, the director soon made another surprising discovery about "Shirase."
After learning the boy was still a student, he'd assumed Shirase couldn't drive. The plan was to film only interior shots and have a stunt driver handle the actual chase.
But the system refused.
Under Ichika's increasingly pale gaze, it somehow turned a plain Toyota sedan into a drifting beast worthy of an AE86.
By the time the director shouted "Cut!", the male and female leads in the back seat were green and vomiting.
"Who even gets carsick nowadays?" the system muttered in disgust.
Ichika hadn't thrown up, but she looked queasy. Watching someone drift on-screen was one thing—living through it was another.
The leads had stepped into the car on their own two feet; they left on stretchers.
Later, as Ichika sipped water beside Shirase, she noticed the looks from the female crew growing hotter—some clearly itching to talk to him.
She sighed inwardly. No wonder Itsuki fell for him. Shirase-kun really is something else.
Then she turned slightly, studying his profile, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Dating someone like him would probably be incredible.
But sadly, she had no intention of trying.