Today was April 25th, leaving only ten days until the end of the Golden Week holiday. Hachiman believed the project would be running at full capacity from now on.
"Isn't the timeline a bit tight, Director Shimada?" Hachiman asked, making a quick mental calculation. "Can everything be completed?" In truth, this wasn't something he needed to worry about.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Hachiman," Shimada explained confidently. "In fact, our company has already done a lot of preparatory work for Confessions. We aren't starting from scratch. Director Nakajima will be sending you the script he wrote for your review this afternoon." When a giant machine like Toho began the initial stages of a film, many employees would lose their right to sleep in exchange for astonishing efficiency.
"I know you are also an excellent scriptwriter, Mr. Hachiman," Tetsuya Nakajima added with a smile. "I've read your Disintegration of Various Causes, and the long script within it is very exciting. I hope my adaptation of Confessions will satisfy you. If anything in the script raises any questions, you can contact me at any time." He mentioned that he had even adapted more than one version.
"Director Nakajima, you've won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. I have full faith in your ability," Hikigaya Hachiman smiled back, and the four of them began their pleasant meal.
After enjoying the indescribably amazing Indian meal, the four of them parted ways.
Seeing that it was still lunchtime, Hikigaya Hachiman decided to go find Hoshino Aqua. The audition time was a bit tight, so it was necessary to let him know the details. Even though the role was essentially decided, he still had to go through the proper procedures. It would be embarrassing if he performed poorly.
Today was the weekend, and Hachiman knew that Hoshino was currently in Edogawa Ward, filming a reality dating show called Genkoi (an abbreviation of Real Love). He decided to visit the set. Anyway, Edogawa was on his way back to Chiba City, so it wouldn't cause any delay.
Taking a ride with Mr. Hayama, Hachiman soon arrived at the filming location Hoshino had told him about. Today's episode of Genkoi was being filmed on location, and the production crew had rented out a large park, placing a sign at the entrance that read, "Filming in progress, no entry."
"Hello, sir. This park is being used for filming this afternoon. Please come back after six tonight," a security guard with a good attitude said, stopping Hachiman as he approached. He wanted to call Hoshino Aqua, but he knew that during filming, the cast used work phones provided by the program, and their personal phones had to be handed in.
Helpless, Hachiman could only look into the park from a distance, hoping to spot him.
"Aqua, now that you have the TikTok account password, why don't you upload something?" Mem, an eighteen-year-old beauty who was actually twenty-five, said to Hoshino Aqua.
"I don't really understand the tools young people use... so I'll pass," Aqua said with little interest, flipping through his copy of Confessions.
"So old-fashioned."
At that moment, the filming of Genkoi was on a break, but on a reality show, the cameras never truly stop rolling during the so-called "break time." If any of the cast members truly believed it was free time and unconsciously revealed something during a casual conversation, they would have played right into the production crew's hands.
"By the way, Aqua, it seems you've been reading this book Confessions during all our recent breaks. Hasn't this book been out for more than a year?"
"Good books should be read more often," Aqua's answer was as calm as ever. Since joining the show, he had positioned himself as someone just there to collect a paycheck. Among all the guests, his popularity was neither high nor low, and his reputation was neither good nor bad. He just wanted to quickly understand the role of Watanabe Shuya to prevent himself from dragging down the crew and affecting Hikigaya's reputation.
Of course, since cameras were everywhere, being caught just sitting there motionless could have a negative impact. So after reading for a while, Hoshino chose to get up and find something to do. He looked into the distance and inadvertently saw a familiar figure.
"What's wrong, Aqua?" Mem, who was standing by, noticed him standing there and asked curiously. However, he didn't speak, but instead walked straight in the direction he was looking, raising his right hand to wave.
"Hikigaya-san!" Hoshino Aqua called out anxiously before he had even reached him. "Why did you come here without telling me? I could have come to greet you!"
"It's okay, Hoshino. I just finished a meeting in Setagaya and came here on a whim. You're still filming, so I'll keep it short," Hachiman said, getting straight to the point. "The film version of Confessions will be officially launched today, produced by Toho. The director is Tetsuya Nakajima, whom you should be very familiar with. I've already discussed your role with him. The audition is tentatively scheduled for ten days from now, on May 5th. You should pay attention to the upcoming audition notice. As I said before, you'll be selected as long as you go, but it's better to be well-prepared."
"Okay, Hikigaya-san, I've got it all down. I've been busy lately..."
"Hoshino! We are still shooting! What are you doing?" Before Aqua could finish his words, he was interrupted by an angry question. He turned to see the director of Genkoi walking toward him angrily.
"I'm so sorry, Director! I'll be right back! See you later, Hikigaya-san!" Hoshino didn't want to cause any trouble for Hachiman, so he immediately apologized and prepared to return to the set.
"Wait! Excuse me, are you Mr. Hachiman?" the director asked, glancing at Hachiman, who was turning to leave. As if realizing something, he immediately stopped him.
"Yes. Sorry to interrupt the filming. I'll leave now."
"No, it doesn't matter! Mr. Hachiman, please, just pretend what happened just now didn't happen! You can chat with Hoshino for as long as you want. It's break time right now. I'll have all the cameras turned off immediately!" The director's attitude did a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.
A short while later, Hikigaya Hachiman was sitting under the program's only parasol, enjoying an expensive drink specially bought for him by the staff. He was finally beginning to realize just how useful his name was.
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