Chapter 19
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Volume 1: First Performance: A Tragic Love Story Of A Young Lady And Spring Cherry Blossoms
Chapter 19: A Cross-Dressing Boy And A Twin-Tailed Wolf Girl
Lunch break is over and it’s time for fifth period.
The fifth through seventh periods were special classes for each department, and all students in the acting course were moved to a practice room in a separate building.
Holding the textbook that had been distributed beforehand that explained the basics of acting instruction, Honoka and I walked straight down the hallway, chatting away.
At that moment, I overheard a conversation between my classmates walking ahead of me.
“Eh, is that story true?!”
“It’s true! My friend in the voice acting department saw Kyoichiro Yanagisawa in front of the staff room during lunch break!”
“Why is that world-famous actor at this school? Isn’t he mainly active in Europe now?!”
The girls continued their gossip in a lively manner.
…Has news about that man is attending this school already spread among the students?
Honestly, this is just too troublesome.
It was truly unexpected that that damn father would become a lecturer in the acting department.
Karen’s big brother. I don’t know if it’s a fight for succession or something, but he’s been doing some really annoying things.
This is the first time I’ve ever felt this much dislike for someone I’ve never even spoken to…
“Onee-sama, what happened? You looked like you had a sour look on your face…”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing, Honoka-san. I was just a little nervous about my first acting class.”
“Do you ever get nervous, Onee-sama? I’ve always thought you were a cool and calm person.”
“You’re praising me too much, Honoka-san. I’m just a normal person. There are a lot of things that scare me.”
Now it’s just ‘’Dad, Dad, Dad.”
“Is that so? But, but, but, this morning, Onee-sama fought off that man while protecting me… she had an aura of strength that was unfazed no matter what the predicament was!!!”
Saying that, Honoka stopped, clasped her hands as if in prayer, and looked up at me with moist eyes.
Confused by her and giving a forced smile, I heard an irritated voice call out from behind me.
“Hey, you’re in the way. Don’t stop so suddenly.”
“Ah, I’m so sorry…”
When I looked behind me, I saw a girl with red twin-tailed hair – Akane Tsukishiro – standing there with her hands on her hips.
Akane let out a big sigh and turned her sharp eyes towards Honoka.
“Hey, I’ve been listening to you for a while now… You seem to be quite obsessed with that blonde half-Japanese girl, don’t you?”
“A blonde half-Japanese girl…? Are you talking about Onee-sama…?”
“Onee-sama, right? Hmph, you make me laugh. You entered the acting department of this school, which means you’re here with the goal of becoming an actress, right? And yet you’re fawning over this girl, who is your rival in the same acting department… don’t you have any pride?”
“It’s not like I’m trying to please anyone… I just admired her, Onee-sama…”
“Admiration is an emotion only amateurs have. For someone who is serious about becoming a star, admiration is nothing more than a shackle. No matter how talented an actor you are, they will bare their fangs and bite you. The entertainment world is a world where only wolves with that kind of spirit can survive. There’s no way a weakling like you can survive.”
At her words, Honoka’s shoulders twitched and tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes.
I stood in front of her and confronted Akane.
Akane then snorted and gave a defiant grin.
“What? Do you have some complaint? Maybe I made one of your subordinates cry and you’re angry?”
“Is admiration just a shackle? I don’t think so. I think feelings of admiration, like wanting to get closer to someone, wanting to be like that person, are essential for an actor who is playing someone else.”
“Huh…? Even though you’re just an amateur, you have some nerve giving me your opinion like you’re superior.”
Saying that, Akane glared into my eyes, as if we were about to kiss.
…Um, it’s close.
Even though it seems like this, I’m a boy, so I still get a little excited, yes…
“…Hmm, interesting. You really have the look in your eyes that says you’re not scared of anything in this world. You feel absolutely no emotion in front of me…it’s as if you’re looking at a rock on the side of the road. It pisses me off.”
“No, well, I’m basically just expressionless with blank eyes! But I do have emotions! Right now I’m really scared. My heart’s pounding!”
“Huh? Are you excited?”
“Yes. If I get my face so close to a beautiful girl like that, my heart will definitely start beating hard.”
“……Huh?”
Akane tilted her head with a look of genuine exasperation at my words, then moved away from me, let out a short sigh, and muttered a word.
“…I thought you reminded me of him in some ways, but it seems I was mistaken. This kid is just an idiot.”
With those quiet words, it seemed that Akane had already lost interest in me.
Without even looking back, she walked straight down the hallway.
“Are dreams just shackles…?”
Those were the words I said to Akane when we were little.
When the child actor Akane came into my dressing room and said to me, “I want to be like you,” those were the childish words I imitated and said to her.
Since then, that woman declared herself my rival and would always attend auditions I was appearing in, frequently challenging me, and she began to show an abnormal obsession with Fuuma Yanagisawa.
I don’t know why she’s so obsessed with me.
Maybe she was just pissed off at how cocky I was as a child actor, or maybe her competitive spirit was kicking in after she lost to me at auditions one after another.
In any case, it’s probably difficult for me, now that I’m back to being an ordinary person, to understand the feelings of that guy who is still obsessed with the fantasy “Fuuma Yanagisawa” who is no longer even in the entertainment industry…
