Having readjusted his state, Hoshino Aqua raised his foot, preparing to walk out of the lounge.
But before he could step outside, a voice came from behind first.
“Wait, Hoshino Aqua.”
“Uh—”
Hoshino Aqua, who was always cold in temperament, rarely made a strange sound.
But this was also something that couldn’t be helped.
Through his conversation with Yuji just now, he simply couldn’t maintain his usual calm and indifferent demeanor.
It was just like a child who had just been scolded by an adult.
Fearing that some inadvertent action of his would incur another scolding from the other person—the crucial point being that the other person was also entirely right…
Hoshino Aqua was in exactly this state of mind right now.
He swallowed hard, couldn’t help but subconsciously recall his actions just now.
Isn’t it just standing up…
and then preparing to walk out the door?
This couldn’t possibly be because his left foot stepped out first, offending Yuji, right?
It shouldn’t be, right?
“Is there anything else…”
Hoshino Aqua took a deep breath, and having forcibly prepared himself mentally, he turned his head to ask.
But quickly, the question got stuck in his throat.
Because there was no accusation or reprimand at all.
Yuji in front of him just lowered his body slightly while extending his hand.
“What are you doing?”
He couldn’t help asking.
“Do you plan to see Kyoko with that face?” Yuji didn’t speak, just casually pointed to the life-sized full-length mirror placed next to the lounge.
“Eh?”
Hoshino Aqua was stunned.
He subconsciously turned his head.
Until now, Hoshino Aqua finally discovered that the traces on his face were an absolute mess.
Never mind that cute childish face being blotched with tear stains.
His clothes were also full of wrinkles, and his collar was all messy; this terrible image was barely fit to be looked at.
Only then did he understand that Yuji calling out to him wasn’t because he wanted to blame him.
He shifted his gaze back.
Yuji had already extended his palm.
Very seriously and meticulously, he wiped the traces clean from his face, while bit by bit straightening out the collar and the wrinkles on the clothes.
“…” Hoshino Aqua.
To be honest, as an adult, watching the other person make such actions like taking care of a real child, he was also a bit embarrassed.
But…
Looking closely, Yuji’s calm expression seemed to carry a certain magic.
Amidst Hoshino Aqua’s faint gaze, that expression…
seemed to overlap with the expression of his late mother…
Hoshino Ai.
Just for a split second, Hoshino Aqua, who had still been somewhat uneasy, suddenly quieted down — at this moment, he actually had the feeling of not wanting to disturb the other person.
And on the other side.
Yuji, who had cleaned up all the traces, let out a slight breath — it was finally cleaned up.
He didn’t have as many thoughts as Hoshino Aqua.
He just felt that Hoshino Aqua was, after all, the adopted son of his own direct superior, Saitou Miyako.
If Saitou Miyako were to see Hoshino Aqua crying a pear blossom washed in rain and looking like he had clearly been beaten up…
then he would probably be slapped with a huge label by her on the spot for “enjoying bullying child actors on the filming set”.
This wouldn’t do.
The reason reliable adults are reliable is that they do not let go of any details that need to be checked.
He carefully swept his gaze across Hoshino Aqua’s face.
Handsome and cute, although the forehead was red, it was covered by bangs and should be invisible, and apart from the eye sockets still being a bit swollen, it was basically identical to usual!
Very good!
There shouldn’t be much problem like this.
Yuji nodded with satisfaction, lowered the palm that was tidying the bangs, stood up again, and prepared to completely end this heart-to-heart meeting with Hoshino Aqua.
Then…
He heard the hesitant voice of Hoshino Aqua coming from behind.
“Minami Yu…”
The voice stopped for a moment, but quickly became firm.
“No…
can I call you Brother Yuji?”
“Hmm?”
Hearing this, Yuji turned his head in surprise.
Hoshino Aqua behind him was looking at him very earnestly.
Although the gaze hidden under the blond hair was awkward and uncomfortable, he still tried very hard to raise his head, fully exposing his expression.
“Why so sudden?”
Yuji stopped his footsteps.
There are actually quite a few words in Japanese that can express the meaning of “older brother”, and what Hoshino Aqua used here was a semi-nickname, a pet name kind of style, carrying a very intimate and respectful meaning.
“I can’t quite explain it myself…”
Hoshino Aqua pressed his lips together.
“If I really have to say it, I feel that Brother Yuji…
your past life experiences are probably much richer than mine.”
He subconsciously used honorifics.
And —
Hoshino Aqua took a deep breath and voiced his thoughts.
“Didn’t Brother Yuji say before?
We need to pay attention to the thoughts and moods of the people around us.
I feel that changing how I address you is the first step of my change.”
To be honest, at his age, saying these words made Hoshino Aqua feel somewhat embarrassed.
But he felt he had to say it.
He had to convey his thoughts to the person in front of him.
And —
“No matter from any perspective, I have received all kinds of care from you.
Calling a senior in life like this should be fine, right?”
“…” Yuji.
Silence.
A lengthy silence.
In Hoshino Aqua’s life, there had never been a moment like this where he felt time passed so slowly.
His heart was beating drums, and there was an inexplicable sense of tension.
I have to say, humans are truly wondrous creatures.
Clearly knowing that Yuji most likely wouldn’t reject his proposal, the nervous emotion in his heart still couldn’t be suppressed.
And right at this moment when he was feeling apprehensive.
Yuji’s voice suddenly sounded.
“As you like.”
Hoshino Aqua’s pupils trembled slightly.
The result was self-evident.
Yet the joy in his chest still welled up uncontainably at this moment.
He forcibly steadied this surging emotion, and with sea-blue gemstone-like pupils looking at Yuji, he spoke cautiously.
“Yuji…
Brother…”
“Mn.” Yuji acknowledged, then nodded: “After all, in terms of age, I am indeed older than you…”
After finishing these words, his palm also extended under Hoshino Aqua’s gaze.
“Please take care of me from now on in [Strawberry Pro], Aqua.”
“…Mn!”
Extending a hand as well.
Gone was the tit-for-tat confrontation from just moments ago.
Hoshino Aqua wiped his eye sockets.
Then, he took the initiative to clasp the other’s palm.
…
Time came to a little past three in the afternoon.
Since the scenes to be filmed here had already ended, the prop crew of “The Uninhabitable House” was already clearing away the set at this moment.
Walking out of the lounge, Hoshino Aqua looked at the bright blue summer sky overhead, momentarily falling into a trance.
Although it was just a short morning spent with Yuji, for some reason, his mindset had the illusion that several years had passed.
Slightly adjusting his mindset,
Hoshino Aqua walked outward, pondering the exchange with Yuji just now.
Yes.
Just a moment ago, when he was preparing to leave the lounge, Yuji had specifically called out to him.
“Aqua, when you go out later, remember to look at the expressions of Kyoko and Director Gotanda, understand?”
“Expressions?
Why…?” Hoshino Aqua looked over with a lack of understanding.
But what Yuji responded with was just a gentle wave of his hand.
“You will see something very interesting.”
Time returns to the present.
“Something very interesting…?”
Hoshino Aqua softly muttered these words, then raised his face, searching around for the figures of Saitou Miyako and Gotanda Taishi.
The prop crew was packing things up.
The camera crew was tuning and checking equipment.
The actress was also removing her makeup.
In such a complicated and busy time period on the filming set, finding two specific people should have been quite a difficult thing.
But Hoshino Aqua found them anyway.
And he found these two people very quickly.
The reason was actually very simple.
Because these two people in the crowd had actually been secretly observing him all along.
Saitou Miyako raised her head cautiously, then lowered it again, her gaze full of concern and a bit of guilt.
Gotanda Taishi, amidst breaks from smoking, pretended to carelessly glance over at his side a couple of times.
But no matter what, the two of them had actually been caring for him in different forms all along.
Ah…
Hoshino Aqua closed his eyes.
Until now, he finally understood what Yuji’s words “will discover something interesting” actually meant.
Turns out…
was he really that foolish before?
Even though the people around him had always been paying attention to him, had always been caring about him…
yet he had always turned a blind eye, immersing himself entirely in his own world.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and turned around.
Facing the lounge where Yuji was.
Deeply, forcefully…
Bowed.
This was the first time he respected someone this much, aside from Hoshino Ai.