I'll post an extra chapter every 300 Power Stones. Good luck with that!
Goal for the next extra chapter: 47/300
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As soon as the applause died down, the director and the screenwriter stood up from their seats and stepped back onto the "stage." They bowed their heads to thank everyone and gave a long speech.
Then, the director said,
"I'd like all the actors who participated in this project to come up here."
I had the impression that the director was looking directly at me. I looked around, and all the actors were getting to their feet.
Miu then placed her hands on my back and said, "Go."
Hearing her words, I smiled and stood up. As soon as I stepped onto the "stage," the director called me over to his side. After another speech, we all bowed our heads, thanking all the critics and journalists for their applause.
Then, countless pictures began to be taken.
I started to feel a little nervous since Aya Fuji was standing right beside me.
Even though she was smiling and acting as if nothing had happened, she was clearly irritated with me. Huff... I let out a sigh when the photo session ended and stepped down to meet up with Miu and Rina.
However, all of a sudden, Aya called out to me.
I turned around, and she said, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."
Even though her apology didn't seem sincere, I smiled and replied, "It's alright. I'd already forgotten about it."
"Good. I hope your friend doesn't get upset with me and start saying unnecessary things about me to other people."
So that's what she's worried about.
"Don't worry. Miu isn't that kind of person."
Honestly, she should be more worried about the other actors who witnessed everything that happened. Even one of the journalists could have seen it.
She acted like an idiot.
"I see. So everything's alright between the two of us now, right?" Aya smiled at me provocatively and stepped a little closer. Then she asked, "Would you like to have dinner with me after we leave the event?"
She spoke quietly so that no one else could hear.
Hearing her question, I thought, *You've got to be kidding me.*
"I'm sorry, but that's impossible."
"I see."
Aya was visibly bothered by my rejection.
Then I chuckled briefly and said, "You really shouldn't be trying to get so close to me. I'm only thirteen years old, you know?"
Hearing my words, Aya looked visibly surprised, unsure of what to say.
"I'm flattered by your interest, but you shouldn't do this. As your friend, I'm giving you a warning."
I made sure no one else could hear those words.
Even though I don't like her very much, I don't want her career to be ruined by a scandal like this.
It's better to give her this warning and keep her away from me.
*I just have to hope I don't end up working on another project with her again.*
I have a feeling she won't give up.
Aya seemed about to say something, but decided to remain silent.
I walked over to Rina and Miu and said, "Shall we get going?"
"You're not going out to dinner with the other actors?" Rina asked.
"I'm not really in the mood. Let's just have dinner somewhere, the three of us, before heading home. My treat, of course."
I left the theater with the help of the security guards and got into the car.
As soon as the car started moving, Rina asked,
"You were talking to Aya. What were you two talking about?"
Hearing her question, I replied,
"Nothing that important. Just forget about it."
"I'm sure you're hiding something..."
####
After a while, we arrived at a restaurant not too far from the theater. As soon as we walked in, no one recognized me, so we didn't have any problems. We sat at a table farther away from the others, where no one was nearby.
After we sat down, the waiter came over to take our order.
"Kyo, isn't this restaurant a little too expensive?" Hearing Miu's words, I took a closer look at the menu, and she was right—it was really expensive. A single dish with a high-quality cut of meat cost over 15,000 yen.
Isn't that around a hundred dollars or something?
And it doesn't even look like that much food.
"It's fine. Order whatever you want." I smiled at Miu.
It won't make any difference to me.
Miu nodded and ordered a meat and vegetable dish. I ordered the same thing, but I also added a serving of fried rice and a side of French fries.
Then it was Rina and Daiki's turn to place their orders. I had invited Daiki to have dinner with us as well, and since he hadn't eaten yet, he accepted without a second thought. After everyone had ordered, Rina and Miu started chatting.
Meanwhile, I took out my phone to check the reaction to the event.
The first episode would be released to the public in less than an hour.
We had watched it at the theater at 8:00 p.m., but it wouldn't air on TV until 10:00 p.m.
Honestly, I was curious to see what people would think. Would the first episode get high ratings? Would my first project be a success?
I searched for the series' name on Twitter, and there were already plenty of accounts posting about the event. I also started reading reviews from journalists and critics who had Twitter accounts. Every review of the first episode was overwhelmingly positive.
The lowest score I saw was 4.6 out of 5.
I smiled as I read through all those reviews.
Then I opened Rotten Tomatoes to check the critics' score. The site isn't commonly used in Japan, but I decided to take a look anyway. To my surprise, there were already a few reviews, and the series had a 100% approval rating from critics.
"Why are you smiling? Did something good happen?" Rina asked.
"Ah, I was just looking at the critics' reviews."
"I'm sure they're all positive, right? Everyone at the theater applauded, after all."
"Yeah, every review I've seen has been positive. Now I'm curious to see what the audience will think."
"I'm sure everyone will love it. The first episode was amazing," Miu said with a smile.
"What about what happened at the theater? Any news about that?" Rina asked.
"You mean my 'argument' with Aya? Well, I haven't seen any news about it."
"And what about Miu?" Rina looked over at her.
"Me!?" Miu asked in surprise.
"Of course. You arrived at the event with Kyo, and you've already been seen together before. People are obviously going to write articles about it."
I picked up my phone to check.
I did an ego search and found a number of recent articles.
There were plenty of stories about Miu and me. Of course, most of them were fake news or contained incomplete information.
I ignored all the articles and said, "There's nothing about that online."
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