Looking at Ayako, who was putting on her best "acting face," Seiya slowly picked up a strand of wavy hair from his computer desk, smiling faintly. "Yuko-neesan has long straight hair, and mine's short and black… So tell me, Ayako-neesan, who do you think this hair belongs to?"
Faced with her foster son's sharp question, Ayako froze. Seiya sighed deeply, rubbing his temple before finally explaining the situation about the Current Love show.
He knew that if he didn't clear up this misunderstanding quickly, knowing Yuko and Ayako's personalities, they'd probably pull something even more ridiculous later.
So, to save himself the trouble, Seiya clarified that what he'd said to Arima Kana on the phone earlier—about her being his girlfriend—was actually referring to their roles in Current Love, not real life.
Of course, he couldn't tell them anything about his deal with Aqua or his mission to uncover the mastermind behind everything.
The events of that year had been a huge emotional wound for both women.
Especially for Ayako—she had once been so devastated she even contemplated ending her life. It had taken her years to stabilize emotionally, and Seiya had no intention of reopening those scars.
The next morning, bright and early, Seiya arrived at the designated meeting place given to him by Katsuya Teyuki.
Current Love had a high school theme, so the filming location was naturally set at a school.
However, instead of being filmed at Youtou High, the crew had chosen another school in the same city.
To avoid interfering with normal classes, all filming was scheduled for weekends, lasting one month, with two episodes released each week.
Since it was a dating reality show, there wasn't much focus on acting or rehearsals.
Most of the cast were relatively unknown rookies or internet idols, so by the time the production crew arrived, the participants had already shown up early.
After all, newcomers had to act like newcomers—young as they were, they at least understood basic courtesy.
When Arima Kana arrived at the school filming location, she froze for a moment at the sight of two boys and three girls already gathered at the gate.
She thought she was early—but apparently, someone had beaten her to it.
Still, after a brief surprise, Kana nodded approvingly.
If she had had this kind of attitude back when she was younger, maybe her life wouldn't have ended up like this.
The gathered group at the gate noticed her arrival. Seeing a pretty girl around their age step out of a taxi, they returned her polite smile—after all, who else would show up at a school on a weekend except for someone in the same program?
A few of them found her face familiar but couldn't quite recall from where.
Then, one short-haired girl with bluish-purple hair suddenly widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Arima Kana!"
Her words immediately jogged everyone's memories.
"Oh, right! The child prodigy actress!"
"Yeah, yeah, I remember—she sang that Green Pepper Dance Song, didn't she?"
"So she's one of the guests for Current Love too?"
At the mention of Green Pepper Dance, Kana's eye twitched.
If this had been her younger self, she would've exploded on the spot. But now, she was no longer the same hot-headed girl who didn't know how to deal with people.
Knowing that these were her future co-stars, Kana forced a polite smile and greeted everyone warmly.
Through their introductions, she quickly learned their names:
Washimi Yuyuki – a beautiful girl with wavy blue hair, first-year, professional fashion model.
Kumano Nobuyuki – a cheerful, sunny-type boy, second-year, professional dancer.
Morimoto Kengo – intellectual and artistic, third-year, member of a band.
MEM-chu – a cute, petite third-year girl, popular internet influencer.
But when Kana's eyes met the last person—a short-haired girl with bluish-purple hair—her forced smile almost broke.
"Kurokawa Akane, second year, stage actress. Pleased to meet you, Arima Kana-san!"
Kana's expression stiffened as she reluctantly shook her hand. "Arima Kana, second year, actress. Pleased to meet you too."
But no sooner had she finished speaking than Akane feigned surprise and said with mock innocence, "Oh, so Kana-chan is still acting? I thought you'd retired already."
That line hit Kana like a critical blow straight to the chest.
But the self-proclaimed "Hat King" wasn't about to back down. "My popularity might've dropped, but in terms of acting, I'd say it's still better than some nameless stage actresses."
The tension between them was palpable. Even MEM-chu and the others could tell right away—these two not only knew each other, but there was history between them.
"Am I interrupting something here?"
A calm voice drifted over as Aqua approached from the distance, carrying a relaxed smile. He walked up to the group and introduced himself as well.
"With Aqua-kun here, that makes three guys and four girls," said Washimi Yuyuki thoughtfully. "According to Current Love's usual format, that means there's still one male guest who hasn't arrived yet, right?"
She glanced at the others, curiosity flickering in her eyes. "Do any of you know who the last one is? It's almost time to start—look, the production van's already here. This last guy sure has a big ego, huh?"
Her tone was light, but she was clearly trying to defuse the tension between Kana and Akane while also voicing everyone's curiosity.
In the entertainment world, hierarchy and seniority mattered a lot.
Sure, they were all good-looking teens, but handsome boys and pretty girls were a dime a dozen in this industry.
Unless you were really famous, it was rare to land such an opportunity. For these lesser-known, "18th-tier" talents, getting cast in Current Love was already a huge break.
Even though there was still some time before the official call, as juniors, it was basic etiquette to arrive early.
Kana, being a former child star, was the only one here with even a sliver of name recognition—and she'd shown up on time.
So who was this last guy that hadn't arrived yet? Didn't he worry about making Katsuya Teyuki angry?
That was why Washimi Yuyuki couldn't help wondering—was this missing participant simply ignorant of etiquette… or someone important enough to afford being late?
(End of Chapter)