The fundamental reason they were making a film—and even planning to turn it into a cultural festival showcase—was simply to distract the audience from romantic gossip. The goal was to stop people from obsessing over who was dating whom and wasting their beautiful youth on idle chatter.
The key was just to have fun. Including them as actors, their real motive for participating boiled down to one word: interesting.
What makes something interesting?
Unexpected, captivating, enchanting, and original things could broadly be considered interesting.
Based on this, when Masuzu proposed her idea, Yuu suddenly realized—for the audience, this would likely be far more interesting than her double-casting as the stalker.
Sometimes, just swapping a character's gender could turn a boring cliché into a fresh trend.
If they kept thinking along these lines, the clichéd later plot points like [Their dating news is spread by the stalker; Girl 2 voluntarily leaves the club to support their relationship] could be reworked into an ending like [Hearing her rejection of the female stalker, Girl 2—who has yuri tendencies—feels sad but refuses to give up. She decides to test their relationship by leaving the club. In the end, she not only rejects Male Protagonist 1's confession but even declares war on him].
Ideas poured out like Mentos dropped into Coca-Cola. The script in her mind instantly transformed.
Quickly organizing her thoughts, Yuu felt editing on paper would be too tedious. She directly dictated the revised script to them.
"In essence, the core theme of friendship born from misunderstanding remains unchanged. However, compared to a clichéd male-female romance, in this ten-minute short film, we should focus more on depicting the subtle, bittersweet emotions of the girls—like oranges. We also need to reflect values that counter contemporary mainstream trends… We can even proportionally reduce the male protagonist's role. By spoiling the biggest twist in the PV, we'll strive to maintain audience interest and viewing experience."
Spilling all her thoughts without pause, Yuu unconsciously slipped into a lecture-report tone. She fluently addressed the group at the table, spouting many grand-sounding but vague terms.
After finishing, Yuu wasn't even breathless. She saw the girls in front of her with slightly stiff faces, as if digesting all the essence. Only then did she realize. She quickly reined in her slightly overexcited emotions, cleared her throat, and pretended to be calm.
"Anyway, I think acting like this will be more interesting than before. If you have different ideas, feel free to share, and we'll discuss together."
Masuzu was the first to snap out of confusion. She clapped sincerely: "I think this is super interesting too. Tenkuji-kun is amazing!"
"Overpraising." Yuu nodded calmly, not feeling awkward at all.
As usual, Yukino and Yuigahama sighed in unison. They exchanged surprised glances, then looked away with inexplicably flushed cheeks.
Masuzu stopped clapping. She asked with slight curiosity and hope: "But if the focus shifts to the girls' emotions, won't the stalker's role increase?"
Remembering she had just praised her, Yuu thought seriously. She smiled gently:
"Time is limited, so we won't add roles for extras. Sorry."
"…"
(Great, I'm annoyed.)
Yet even the choking frustration Yuu stirred with a few words made her feel a strange nostalgia and happiness—her whole body tingling like ants crawling. Masuzu unconsciously craved more, yearning for her to fill the emptiness in her chest with warmth.
Her face still held a slightly awkward smile, but Masuzu's heart was calm. She reaffirmed to herself.
She was indeed the same as Haruno.
Something had happened between her and Yuu. Only, for some mysterious reason, she had lost all memories—no, not just memories; even the traces of time they spent together had vanished completely.
Finding a reason to approach her was indeed the best choice.
Watching the young man explaining the next plot to the other two, Masuzu pressed her lips together. She secretly clenched her fist, digging her well-manicured nails into her palm.
…Right. If she kept bothering her, sooner or later she'd remember everything.
From childhood until now, she was used to losing things. But she refused to lose the source of these feelings.
Whether she could remember or not, Masuzu wouldn't regret her current choice. Like clutching the only plank in an endless ocean without hesitation, she cried out her instinctive refusal to give up from the depths of her being.
Now, she had just taken the first step.
Even after filming ended and the cultural festival was over… No matter which of those two was actually her girlfriend, she would shamelessly follow Yuu until that empty heart was filled completely.
"Ahh, a future like this… is actually pretty exciting…"
Lost in thought, Masuzu slowly grinned. She chuckled softly with vacant eyes.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Lunchtime soon ended. After wrapping up script matters, everyone returned to their classrooms.
Though they promised to gather at the Service Club after school, due to class and committee duties, they couldn't set an exact arrival time. They could only confirm they'd head to the club room as soon as their tasks were done.
Masuzu seemed to have nothing else to do. She rushed to the Service Club right after school ended. Unfortunately, she didn't have a key, so she had to wait outside the door for a long time.
Only after Yuu, Yukino, and Yuigahama appeared together did Masuzu snap out of her blank, bored expression. She followed them into the Service Club.
Soon after, the two underclassmen helping with photography entered the club room. They were startled by the sudden uninvited guest. After Yuu's explanation, they reluctantly accepted that this person would also be filming the short film with them.
Kanade had no issue. She remained innocent and simple. She showed no hostility or alienation toward Masuzu.
Iroha grumbled a bit. But she had little influence and no chance to persuade Yuu. She could only force herself to forget the forced-kiss scene she'd witnessed before. She befriended the beautiful, fairy-like senior as if nothing had happened.
After equipment and script preparations were complete, Yuu and Yukino stood at the club room door. One in front, one behind, they took positions to push the door and enter.
"Then, three, two, one… Action!"
As soon as Iroha gave the cue, Yuu instantly embodied the role. Subtly, she influenced the surrounding atmosphere.
She naturally changed her expression. She looked at Yukino with slight helplessness. She comforted her as if coaxing:
"Come on, Yukinoshita. I get how you feel. Do you think I've never been chased? Tons of perverts wanted to be my girlfriend. Just surviving until now is lucky enough…"
Following her back, Yukino entered the Service Club with an annoyed face. She said coldly: "What do you know? Talk like that after you've been stalked by guys."
Yuu shrugged helplessly.
"That's exactly what I'm doing now."
Yukino's footsteps halted. She opened her mouth slightly in shock: "…So you've actually had some?"
"Cut!"
Iroha shouted immediately. Then she slammed the rolled notebook in her hand.
"Yukinoshita-senpai, I totally get your genuine shock. I want to ask Tenkuji-senpai right now if she's zero or one… But please stick to the script while filming! If you want to improvise, wait until later. We don't have much time!"
Iroha, a year younger than them, struck a smug pose. Her gaze was sharp. She lectured a certain senior without any respect, as if she were the greatest director here.
Yukino, aware of her mistake, obediently accepted the scolding. Only after Iroha finished saying everything did she stare at her coldly and say word by word:
"S-sorry, Director Isshiki. There won't be a next time!"
"Uh…"
Snapping out of her high, the wandering crab quickly retracted its large claws. Iroha flashed a fawning, flattering smile. She shrank her neck, as if becoming a different person. She waved her fist without a shred of courage.
"O-okay, okay~ Go ahead. Fighting spirit!"
Yukino ignored her further. After self-reflection, she returned to her starting position at the door. Her expression was serious and solemn, like stepping onto a battlefield.
Thus, the acting continued.