The script reading session ended, and Yuan Chuan You walked out of the hotel.
He tightened the collar of his clothes and watched as Sakurajima Mai, surrounded by her assistant and agent, boarded a black van. Before the door closed, the girl even waved at him, her smile exceptionally bright in the warm interior light of the vehicle.
Arriving at the train station, Yuan Chuan You found a corner to stand in. He took out his phone and glanced at the schedule his agent, Nakahara Kazuya, had sent him yesterday—aside from the filming notice for '49', he had no other work scheduled for the week.
The roar of the arriving train grew louder as it approached from the distance.
Yuan Chuan You put his phone away and squeezed into the carriage with the crowd. With no seats available, he could only grab a handrail to keep his balance in the swaying car.
Despite having no other gigs to run to, the young man's mindset was calm. In any case, he couldn't see the synthesis paths for higher-tier entries right now, so he could only move forward slowly, one step at a time.
Sunday passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was Monday.
At nine in the morning, Yuan Chuan You arrived at the set on time. As soon as he walked into the studio, he sensed something was off—staff members were gathered in small groups, whispering amongst themselves; the script supervisor's expression was tenser than usual, and even the normally gentle makeup artist seemed distracted.
He knew the reason why. The first episode of '49' was set to air this afternoon, so everyone on the crew was likely worried about the ratings.
As a newcomer who had just entered the industry, Yuan Chuan You didn't have much of a concept of ratings, but he understood what they meant for the crew—things like the investors' attitude, everyone's future prospects, and so on.
"Yuan Chuan-san, please sit here."
The young female makeup artist, wearing a mask, beckoned him over. "Do you have many scenes today?"
"Not many. I should be done by the morning."
The makeup brush swept gently across his face. Yuan Chuan You closed his eyes and reviewed the script content he needed to perform today in his mind.
In the second episode of '49', because [Kagami Dan] had been possessed by his father's soul and was exhibiting a lot of unusual behavior, [Inoue Satoshi] and [Yamada Marina] decide to visit [Kagami Dan]'s home together and have a chat with his mother.
The entire sequence of scenes added up to less than 8 minutes. After all, they were just supporting characters.
"All done."
The makeup artist patted his shoulder and said with a smile.
"Mm."
When he walked onto the set, Kurokawa Akane was already in her makeup. Today, she was wearing a long, dark gray woolen coat, its collar slightly open to reveal a cream-colored turtleneck sweater. A silver, star-shaped hairpin was clipped to the left side of her shoulder-length black hair, making her look very elegant.
"Yuan Chuan-san, good morning~"
"Kurokawa-san, good morning."
After working together on the advertisement cover shoot, Kurokawa Akane had grown much closer to Yuan Chuan You.
Although on the surface she still had to maintain a basic social distance, the corners of the girl's mouth would always unconsciously curve into a smile upon seeing the young man's face.
"Let's work well together today, Kurokawa-san. I hope we can get it in one take."
"Mhm."
The shoot went very smoothly. Director Asano had always admired the young man's acting and finally called "Cut!" with a face wreathed in smiles.
At half past eleven in the morning, all of Yuan Chuan You's scenes were finished.
What remained were the numerous shots for the male lead, Yamada Shu. His acting was always a serious challenge for the director.
"Good work."
After changing back into his casual clothes, Yuan Chuan You found a quiet corner to sit down. The set was still bustling, but there was nothing left for him to do.
He took out his notebook and continued writing Love Letter. The original work had twelve chapters in total, and he had already finished a third of it in the past two days.
Meanwhile, Kurokawa Akane didn't have to go to the theater troupe for rehearsal today, so she followed his example, grabbed a chair, and sat down next to the young man.
"Yuan Chuan-san, the show is going to air in half an hour. Do you think our ratings will meet expectations?"
"The production team is strong, after all. And hasn't Johnny & Associates been promoting it on Twitter constantly these past couple of days? The numbers will probably be good."
"Yeah, I hope so too. Everyone on the crew has worked so hard."
---------------------------------------------------------
'49' was scheduled to air on television at twelve noon, catching the tail end of the morning drama block.
A certain residence in Tokyo.
Seventeen-year-old high school student Natsukawa Yuki sat cross-legged on the living room floor, her eyes glued to the commercials playing on the TV screen. There were three minutes left until the premiere of '49's first episode.
She had deliberately taken a sick day from school today specifically to support her idol's drama premiere.
"Yamada Shu, Yamada Shu!"
Natsukawa Yuki repeated her idol's name like an incantation, her legs shaking restlessly. Her mother, Natsukawa Rina, sat beside her with a somewhat helpless expression.
"Mom, the show is about to start! I'm telling you, Yamada-kun's acting will blow you away this time!"
Natsukawa Rina shook her head with a smile.
"You've been going on about this since last week, my ears are about to fall off. Is Yamada-kun's acting really that good? I think you just like his handsome face."
"Shh—it's starting! Don't talk, Mom!"
The commercials ended, a cheerful piano intro began to play, and the screen brightened. Cherry blossoms, classrooms, and boys in stand-up collar school uniforms appeared in succession.
"Aaah! Shu-kun!"
When Yamada Shu appeared in the center of the screen wearing a crisp school uniform, Natsukawa Yuki couldn't help but scream, then hugged a cushion and rolled around on the floor.
"That look in the uniform! That face! He's an angel! Definitely an angel!"
Natsukawa Rina patted her shoulder and said with a wry smile, "Calm down, Yuki, the neighbors are going to call the police."
On the TV, the plot slowly unfolded.
The story began with an argument about divorce. [Kagami Dan], played by Yamada Shu, was arguing with his father on the roadside when a car suddenly came crashing toward them.
In a flash, his father shoved [Kagami Dan] out of the way. After the accident, his father's soul actually entered directly into [Kagami Dan]'s body.
"As expected of Johnny & Associates' ace, Shu-kun's acting is amazing! He can play two completely different people at the same time~"
Yuki cupped her face with both hands, her eyes shining with alarming brightness.
Her mother, however, merely agreed calmly a few times. After all, she could tell at a glance that Yamada Shu's acting was terrible; her daughter was just mesmerized by her idol's handsome looks.
The plot continued. The next day, [Kagami Dan] went to school, and after a series of twists and turns, he ended up on the rooftop after being mocked.
And then...
"Eh, who's this handsome guy?"
Seeing a certain blond-haired character appear on screen, Natsukawa Yuki's expression faltered for a moment.
On the television screen, Yuan Chuan You was leaning against the rusty chain-link fence on the rooftop with a lazy posture. The contours of his side profile were distinct and his nose bridge was high. Because it was a close-up shot, all the best features of his handsome face were highlighted.
"Yo, isn't it Kagami-kun? Come on over, I've got something good for you this time."
Yuan Chuan You, as [Inoue Satoshi], recited his lines with a grin, his every move full of style.
"What a handsome young man. I think he's much more handsome than the Shu-kun you like, Yuki."
As a woman in her thirties, Natsukawa Rina was long past the age of liking pretty boys. Although Yuan Chuan You on the screen also looked very young, he gave her a very special feeling.
"Hmph, just some random character. How could he possibly be more handsome than Shu-kun? Don't talk nonsense, Mom!"
"Is that so? Then why won't you turn your head to look at me, Yuki?"
Natsukawa Rina smiled, her eyes fixed on her daughter's unmoving profile. "Shu-kun isn't on screen right now, you know."
"I... I'm supporting Shu-kun's first drama as the lead! I don't want to miss a single shot!"
"Alright, alright."
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 100 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 10 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉