"Hah... I knew my son would do well. He did a great job. Perhaps my time as a disciple under Director Gotanda Taishi was for this very moment?"
After emerging from the dark forest and slowly walking home, I opened my smartphone and saw a video that seemed to be edited by Aqua himself, posted on Jinreal tweet.
[I know you were anxious]
[Sorry, I have a magazine shoot...]
[It's okay. Do you hate me, Akane?]
[I don't hate you... Because you're strong and kind... I like you...!]
[I like how you're trying your best, Akane. So I won't get mad.]
"Being young is nice. You can live so happily."
What did I do when I was young?... No, from the start, in both my past life and this one, all I did was work.
Even with a family now, did I ever have time for myself aside from the moments spent with them?
"When I get back... maybe we should go on a family trip for the first time in a while..."
But Aqua and Ruby might be too much...
In the end, hiding a living family for the sake of being an 'actor'—no, to protect Ai's 'daily life' even before being an actor—is painfully ironic.
"Well... still, Aqua put in a lot of effort here. This video will likely transform the image of Kurokawa Akane while also..."
Jinreal's popularity might reach its peak.
"Good for them, good for them~"
On the way back... should I pick up some sushi?
When I returned home in the early hours of that morning, Ai and Ruby gave me an earful.
I groaned.
Getting home at dawn, hearing complaints all day, and then heading straight to work... I'm exhausted, so I should finish up quickly and go back to sleep.
After three hours of scolding from the mother-daughter duo, Yume dragged his tired self back to the office.
"Long time no see."
"Ah, Yume, you're here."
Entering the office, the person waiting for me was my schedule manager. He held a document envelope in his hand.
"First, please check this document."
"Yes, thank you."
I slowly began to read the document handed to me.
"Huh... As far as I know, this program is about people living alone filming their daily routines..."
The program's name was 'I Live Alone'... Surely everyone knows I don't live alone but with Ai.
As I wondered why a show about people living alone would contact me,
"Ah, they're doing a special episode this time. So they want to film Yume and Ai's daily life."
"A special episode? That makes sense then."
"What would you like to do? If it's inconvenient, I can decline... Also, you have Aqua and Ruby at home, right?"
"Ah."
Come to think of it, our home is listed as just me and Ai living together, isn't it?
For reference, my manager is part of the team under me and one of the few people I trust, so he's somewhat aware of my family situation.
"Hmm... what should I do..."
Ai would probably love it...
While I was still pondering,
"Oh? If that's a concern, we can leave Ruby and Aqua at my place."
"Miyako?"
Miyako's voice came from behind, and turning around, I saw her standing there.
"Hehe, I'll take care of the son and daughter you love so much. One day should be enough, right? Perfect timing—my husband is on a business trip, so I was lonely. This works out well."
"Um... if you're willing to do that, I'd be grateful... Are you sure it's okay?"
Of course, if Miyako takes care of them, it's a blessing...
"Hehe, it's fine. The schedule is this week, right?"
"Hold on a moment."
I checked hurriedly.
"Yes, it's this weekend."
"Then, let me know in advance. Hehe, I'm looking forward to it."
"...Okay."
Miyako actually adores children. Unfortunately, she can't have any of her own, so she occasionally looks after Ruby and Aqua when Ai or I are busy.
"Well then, I'll be going~"
"Take care."
Watching Miyako's back as she left,
First, the issue with Aqua and Ruby is solved... I'll talk to Ai first, then inform Miyako and proceed with the arrangements.
"Then I'll go talk to Ai right away. She'll probably—no, 100% agree, so please contact them to set up a meeting by tomorrow."
"Yes, understood."
"That's all for now."
After a brief meeting, I called Ai.
"Ai, I got an offer for a program. It's called 'I Live Alone,' but they want to do a special episode filming our daily life. What do you think?"
[Huh!? Really? Of course I'd love it!!! When when when is it!? What should I wear? Then we can have a proper date that day! What about Aqua and Ruby...]
"Hold on, hold on. Where are you now?"
[At Ichigo Pro~]
"I'll head over there now, so ask Miyako to wait for me."
[Roger~]
"I didn't know she'd be this excited..."
Well, it's a relief she's happy.
With lighter steps, I headed to Ichigo Pro.
[Hoshino Aqua]
In the Jinreal filming set's waiting room, Aqua, MEM-cho, and Sumi Yuki's gazes turned to Akane, who had just arrived.
"I'll be back for filming next week."
"That's a relief~"
"But you don't have to push yourself to come out... Ah, no, I wasn't being sarcastic! I want you to come out even if you have to push yourself!"
Yuki, perhaps thinking her words were rude, blushed and quickly corrected herself. Watching this, Akane smiled.
"I know."
"Sigh... It feels like the world's become a place where it's hard to say anything. If I'd said that on Twitter, it would've caused a stir, right? I really need to be careful."
"From now on, Akane, maybe it's better to create a character? If you show your true self and get criticized, it'll hurt."
"A character...?"
Akane spoke in a tone that suggested she didn't understand MEM-cho's words.
"That makes sense."
Aqua seemed to grasp what MEM-cho meant.
"When you act, that role becomes armor. If you reveal your true self, you'll only get hurt."
In our family, only Ruby shows her true self outside anyway.
Long ago, Aqua had asked two people a question.
"Huh? Mama's true feelings? Well~ I don't really know~ From the start, Mama only plays the role of a successful actress outside~!"
"Me? Well... from the moment people said Ai and I would get married even before we were lovers, our characters were limited to being a married couple, right? And... in this job, there are many 'truths' that mustn't be known."
Back then, Yume's (my father's) eyes looked oddly hollow... Probably due to personal circumstances, so I didn't ask, but... what are these 'truths' that not even I, Ruby, or Ai know?
Well, that's not important right now.
"This isn't just limited to reality shows; it's an important concept in social skills too."
"Aqua-kun, you're acting in multiple layers too, right? You could show a bit more of your inner self~"
"I refuse."
I have no intention of showing my true colors here. That's enough at home.
At Aqua's words, Akane looked at him.
"I'm good at acting, so maybe I'll try it...?"
"That's true, Akane is secretly an actress, after all."
"That's pretty much my only strong point...! But what kind of role should I act?"
"Hmm... Aqua-kun, what kind of girl do you like?"
"Why ask me..."
Why is this suddenly directed at me?
"You're the only guy here right now. Tell us your ideal type."
"Ideal type..."
At that moment, only one person crossed Aqua's mind.
"A pretty-faced girl."
"Wow, the worst."
"The embodiment of lookism."
"A smile like the sun... perfect performance... seemingly invincible words and actions... eyes so captivating you could get drawn in."
Even if you look for someone like that... Ai (my mother) or Yume (my father)... and if there's another person, maybe Miyako (auntie). But the difference is,
"That's a tough description..."
"Isn't that too abstract?"
"Hmm..."
After Aqua's words, MEM-cho pondered for a moment.
"But isn't that something like? Someone who was in B-Komachi and is now active as an actress, like Ai?"
"!?"
"Ai? The legendary idol who's now a perfect actress, Senpai Hoshino Ai?"
"Right, right, isn't that it?"
MEM-cho showed a photo of Ai on her smartphone as she spoke.
"No, well, roughly correct."
I didn't expect them to catch on so quickly... or maybe it's obvious?
"Oh, so you like that type... But that actress is in a relationship, right?"
"Yeah, with another actor named Hoshino Yume~?"
When MEM-cho showed a photo of Ai and Yume together,
"What? He's incredibly handsome!? Why didn't I know about him until now!?"
"I heard he's not very active as an actor~ Acting is more like a side gig for him?"
"Ehh~? That's amazing!"
"R-right!? Senpai Yume is absolutely incredible!!"
Akane suddenly spoke up loudly, surprising the three of them. The most startled was Aqua.
"Huh?"
"Well... I acted with him once, and... while Senpai was performing, it felt like the character had leaped right out of the script. As if such a person really existed right before my eyes."
"Heh..."
He sure leaves an impression on actors, damn father.
"More importantly, Aqua, do you like married women~?"
"A face fanatic~"
"I'll... try acting like the girl Aqua likes..."
A girl... she's 30 years old, for starters.
"Do it, do it!!"
"Conquer Aqua!!"
No one can mimic Ai... well, except for two people. No one else can possibly imitate Ai. It's a difference of innate talent.
But the two exceptions Aqua had in mind were Hoshino Yume and Miyako.
Aqua had seen Hoshino Ai in Hoshino Yume and Miyako just once. During Ai's birthday party long ago, when Yume and Miyako performed a song they made just for her... it felt like there were two Hoshino Ais.
Out of curiosity, when Ai asked,
"Oh my... well, our youngest wife's talent is special, but to us, it's 'just' that kind of talent."
"...If we want to mimic it, we can do so easily."
"To be honest, we possess near-perfect talent."
Back then, instead of finding their words arrogant, they spoke so matter-of-factly that I couldn't say anything. The memory remained because to Hoshino Yume and Miyako, even Hoshino Ai's 'talent' was merely 'ordinary'.
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