Chapter 13: The First Meeting
Hikaru Hoshino pushed open the classroom door, and his eyes were met with a meticulously constructed high school classroom set, built by the production crew within the studio.
White walls, a blackboard, and neatly arranged desks—every detail strove to recreate an authentic campus atmosphere. Several professional cameras were stationed in different corners: one mounted at the back of the room, one placed by the simulated window, and one positioned directly in front of the teacher's podium. The professional lighting equipment overhead gave away the studio's true nature.
The cost of building such a set wasn't actually high—using light steel keels and gypsum boards to assemble a classroom and a hallway cost only about 200 thousand yen in materials and labor. However, its strength lay in its controlled environment, immune to weather and noise, and its reusability.
Through the open classroom door, one could see the constructed school corridor where staff members in black T-shirts scurried about the spacious studio, debugging equipment and confirming shooting angles. Masaya Kaburagi stood in the hallway with a stack of documents, discussing something in a low voice with the director.
Hikaru paused at the doorway and habitually scanned the room.
Three people were already seated inside.
The most conspicuous was a blonde guy sitting on a desk, swinging his legs with a guitar resting across his lap. His hair was styled in a wolf cut, giving him a very distinct look. On a nearby chair sat a black-haired boy, sitting primly with a perfectly straight back and hands on his knees, looking as if he were at a job interview.
A few seats away was a girl wearing rather heavy makeup. She had long blonde hair and a flamboyant sense of style. She was chatting animatedly with the two boys, her laughter sounding quite hearty.
*Are these the guests for this reality show?*
Hikaru recalled Kaburagi's earlier introduction to the program.
A few days ago, in the Strawberry Productions meeting room, Masaya Kaburagi had introduced the filming method to Hikaru and Ai via video.
"The dating reality show *Starting Today, Falling in Love Seriously* uses a relatively simple and direct filming method," Kaburagi had explained briefly. "I am just the producer; I generally don't interfere with the specific filming. However, the tradition of this show has always been that the participants are free to interact. You just need to be mindful of camera angles and briefly summarize the content of your exchange when a cameraman approaches."
Once they understood, Kaburagi continued, "This dating show has nearly a ten-year history in Japan and has accumulated a certain amount of filming expertise and production methodology. The main purpose is to ensure the show's entertainment value while allowing the performers with diverse personalities to freely display their charms."
Upon hearing this, Hikaru couldn't help but roast him: "No specific script, letting guests talk freely under the banner of romance... isn't that just a televised matchmaking convention?"
Kaburagi was stunned, and his usually stern mouth twitched into a smile. "A very vivid metaphor. It's not wrong to look at it that way."
After Kaburagi's briefing, Hikaru had chatted privately with Ai about their performance on the show.
"How do you plan to present yourself on the reality show? Do you have a plan?" Hikaru had asked.
Participating in a variety show was naturally about attracting fans through an active performance. But Hikaru knew well that he wasn't good at acting; if he had to establish a persona and then perform it, ensuring that the persona never slipped, it would be far too difficult for him.
Although he had previously intended to disguise himself as a "melancholy talented man" to differentiate himself from Hikaru Kamiki, he hadn't considered his lack of acting talent at the time. Now, it seemed Hikaru would find it hard to pretend to be someone else in front of an audience.
"I'm not very good at acting, so I don't plan on following any specific persona. I'll just go with the flow," he said honestly.
Ai looked a bit troubled after hearing this, biting her lower lip. "I don't really have a plan either. I've never been on this kind of dating reality show before."
Seeing Ai's worried expression, Hikaru joked, "For someone like Ai, just standing there and keeping a smile is enough to attract anyone to pursue you."
"Hikaru, really, stop teasing me," Ai pouted.
Hikaru thought for a moment and said seriously, "Then why don't we just be blunt and tear down the personas? Since you've decided to graduate as an idol, let's start the transition now. Don't wrap yourself in that old idol persona anymore."
He paused and continued, "But I'm just a newcomer to the industry, so I don't really know how one is supposed to act in front of a camera. Many stars become incredibly popular by building a persona. So, you could also wrap yourself in a normal persona—as long as it's not an 'idol' one."
Ai pondered for a while before finally making a decision: "I'll do as you said and show my true self. Popularity and things like that aren't that important to me anymore. If possible, I'd rather live the way I want to."
As she spoke, Ai flashed a genuine smile, the two stars in her purple eyes shining brightly.
Back at the filming location, Hikaru ended his reminiscence and stepped into the classroom, offering a friendly smile to the group.
"Hello everyone, I'm the singer Hikari. My real name is Hikaru Hoshino, but you can just call me Hoshino," he introduced himself proactively.
The blonde boy immediately hopped off the desk and spoke in a cheerful Kansai accent: "Ah, so you're Mr. Hikari! Nice to meet you, I'm Takuya Taira. I'm a member of a rock band, and I play electric guitar. I'm currently attending high school in Tokyo. Our band has already played at several music festivals; we're a professional-track band aiming for Budokan!"
"A rock band, how cool," Hikaru nodded in appreciation, then asked curiously, "Judging by your accent, are you from the Kyoto area?"
"Ahaha, not quite that fancy," Takuya Taira scratched his head. "Just a small town in the countryside, nothing special."
"A band is great," Hikaru said. "Come to think of it, it feels like a lot of people in Japanese high schools are in bands, and there are so many music clubs. It's wonderful—that feeling of letting your youth run wild. Though, very few actually make it to the professional level."
"It's fine to be driven by interest. In fact, everyone starts from interest," Takuya Taira strummed his guitar. "But you have to have a goal. We started as an ordinary club too, then somehow we made a name for ourselves, and only then did we decide to go pro."
After Takuya finished his introduction, the black-haired boy sitting on the chair stood up and gave a somewhat stiff bow: "Hello, I am Jin Fuyuno. I am a rookie actor, and I've previously played supporting roles in a few television dramas."
"No need to be so formal, I'm not exactly a 'senior'," Hikaru waved his hand. This person was clearly treating him as a senior, which made Hikaru feel a bit awkward.
Finally, the girl with the heavy makeup walked over and introduced herself in a vibrant voice: "I'm Emi Sai, a YouTuber! I mainly do travel and beauty content, but I also do talk streams, makeup tutorials, gaming, and stuff. I have about tens of thousands of followers now and am working hard to grow! My channel is very interesting, so please follow me!"
Hikaru laughed. "You haven't even said what the channel is called?"
"Uh." The blonde girl felt a bit embarrassed, then blushed as she said her channel name: "My channel is [Meow Meow Who Can Do Makeup]. Please follow me, thank you, meow."
*The composition of this show is quite complex,* Hikaru thought. Counting himself and Ai, they had an idol, a singer, an actor, a band member, and a streamer. The guests were quite diverse.
He hadn't expected much from this dating show, but now he was starting to get interested, curious about what kind of sparks these people would strike together.
Next, Hikaru curiously asked some questions about streaming. The other two also seemed interested in the field and kept asking questions, all of which Emi answered one by one.
While they were chatting enthusiastically, the classroom door was pushed open once again.
A dazed-looking Koromo Shiranui slowly walked in, bringing Ai along with her.
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