Since several statutory holidays are concentrated at the end of April and the beginning of May, Japan has a long holiday period every year known as Golden Week, which, including compensatory days off, can last from April 29th to May 5th.
With such a long vacation, it was natural for Hikigaya Hachiman and Yukinoshita Yukino to return to their respective family homes. Hachiman planned to use this time to recharge and spend quality time with Komachi.
On April 29th, Toho Films announced on its official Twitter account that the film adaptation of the phenomenal mystery novel Confessions, written by Hachiman, had been officially greenlit. Tetsuya Nakashima was attached to direct, and the powerful, Academy Award-winning actress Takako Fujima would play the leading role of Yuko Moriguchi. The rest of the cast would be announced one after another.
As soon as the news broke, it immediately caused a heated discussion on the internet, and the hashtag #ConfessionsMovieAdaptation quickly began to trend on Japanese Twitter.
"Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima and starring Takako Fujima! This is probably just a strategy to win as many awards as they can." "Confessions is finally being made into a movie! I've been looking forward to this for so long. The director and lead actress are both so solid. It's already booked as the best film of the year." "Didn't Takako Fujima just win the Academy Award for Best Actress last year? Could it be her turn again next year? She's really at the peak of her career." "Director Tetsuya Nakashima has won the Best Director award twice. I feel that with the quality of the original novel, as long as they film it faithfully, it'll be enough to win another award."
Thanks to the strong national influence of Takako Fujima and Tetsuya Nakashima, the movie Confessions quickly topped the expectation lists of many viewers.
On an internal news network visible only to those in the entertainment industry, Toho also announced the open auditions for Confessions, which would involve a total of seven important roles, including Watanabe Shuya, Terada, and Shimomura Yuko. The open auditions were scheduled to be held on May 5th at the Toho Film and Television Department headquarters.
Since four of the roles offered were for junior high school students, a large number of talent agencies grew excited and tried every means to send their young newcomers to this promising project. As a result, Director Shimada and Director Nakashima were receiving more than fifty calls a day.
In reality, since the important role of Watanabe Shuya had already been assigned to a newcomer with no reputation by Mr. Hachiman, the crew would definitely choose actors with high name recognition for the remaining roles for commercial reasons. Therefore, most of the new actors hoping to audition were not even being considered by Toho.
"Aqua, are you really going to audition for Confessions?" on the set of Genkoi, Akane Kurokawa asked. She was a talented stage actor and the young star of a famous theater troupe, but because the audience for stage plays is so narrow, her popularity was limited to a small circle.
"Yeah, I am," Aqua replied, though he naturally wouldn't tell anyone he had been directly recommended for the crew by writer Hachiman. "Akane, won't you come with me? I think your acting is great. You could audition for the role of Kitahara Mizuki."
"Forget about acting in movies. There's no way I'd be chosen," Akane said, shaking her head without explaining further. Aqua didn't press the issue.
"Hiss—be gentle..."
Hikigaya Hachiman was in Yukinoshita Haruno's room at the Yukinoshita family home. He was lying on her bed, receiving a neck and shoulder massage from her. As a result of long hours writing in front of a computer, he had, as expected, developed neck pain.
"I'm telling you, you really should pay more attention to your health," Haruno said earnestly, pressing firmly on the acupressure points on his neck. "You're only sixteen, and you've already started to have the kinds of health problems that only office workers who have been sitting for years get. I'm really worried about your future."
"It started hurting when I turned my head," Hachiman reflected, realizing his bad habits. "After I get back to the apartment, I'm going to raise my computer monitor a little higher. My neck hurts because I keep my head down when I type. I have to change my typing habits."
"It's not just that, Hikigaya-kun," she reminded him, patting his somewhat thin torso. "When you were in junior high, you would go horseback riding with me from time to time. What about now? How long has it been since you've had any formal exercise? If you don't exercise, just changing your typing habits won't be enough."
After the massage, the two turned their conversation back to work.
"The finance department at Sobu High often gives me invoices to prove that the money for the stadium is actually being spent each month. Do you want me to send them to you for inspection?" Haruno mentioned the 250,000 yen she paid to the school every month on his behalf.
"Uh-huh, thanks for your help," Hachiman agreed casually, still in his prone position, enjoying the painful yet comfortable feeling after the massage.
"Oh, Hikigaya-kun," Haruno suggested, "my mother and I both think you should register your own studio. It will save you a lot of trouble and minimize your work outside of writing. You should consider it." This was also a suggestion Mrs. Yukinoshita had entrusted her to convey.
"A studio? Is that necessary?" Hachiman was puzzled. He had always worked alone and hadn't felt particularly tired.
"Excuse me, junior," Haruno pointed out incisively, "you've been involved in a lot of collaborations lately. Can you really guarantee that you have enough energy to handle them all?"
"Setting up a studio doesn't mean you need a stable office location," she explained briefly. "You just need to hire a few professional people to help you when necessary. Of course, the biggest difference is that your collaborations with other companies will change from private agreements to official business-to-business contracts. This has its pros and cons, but from a long-term perspective, I think the pros outweigh the cons. You can also consult other professionals for more specific details. In short, it's up to you, junior."
"Yeah, I'll think about it," Hachiman said thoughtfully. "By the way, if I really do set up a studio, would you be willing to help me manage the accounts? I won't treat you unfairly." He was still lying on the bed, propping his cheek up with his right hand as he looked at her.
"Me?" Haruno was a little caught off guard by his sudden invitation. "I do have the relevant professional knowledge... but, junior, don't you think I'm too young?"
"Young? I don't think you're young anymore... No, no, I'm wrong," he backtracked. "The main reason I want to choose you is because I can be assured of you. There may be many people who are more professional, but when it comes to managing money, trust comes first."
"What if I run away with all your money?" Haruno asked mischievously. "You have a lot of it, Hikigaya-kun."
"In that case, the sister will have to pay the debt. Then Yukinoshita will have to come to my house and be my maid for the rest of her life to pay it off."
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