Aqua Hoshino, eight years old this year, his real name being Aquamarine Hoshino.
Because his real name was simply too much of a mouthful, most of those close to him called him by the nickname ‘Aqua.’
His appearance was outstanding — beautiful golden hair that didn’t look Japanese at all, paired with deep blue eyes like the depths of the sea.
To outsiders, perhaps he was just a quiet, taciturn child blessed with exceptional looks.
But he held a secret known only to him and his younger sister.
And that was—
He was a transmigrator who, carrying the knowledge of a man in his twenties from a past life, had been reborn from within the womb of Ai Hoshino.
By all rights, the knowledge from his past life alone should have been more than enough to quickly let him stand out from the crowd of children and become a true prodigy.
But…
“None of that matters anymore.”
Aqua Hoshino thought, covering his face with the back of his hand.
On that childishly innocent face, a deeply adult-like expression of weariness and gloom suddenly emerged.
The two years since Ai had died…
how exactly had he spent them?
Day after day in a daze, like a walking corpse.
The only two things that supported him in continuing to live, aside from taking revenge against the criminal who had truly killed Ai Hoshino, was that one sentence Ai Hoshino had said in her final moments: ‘As for Aqua, he should become an actor.’
That sentence was like a curse.
It left Aqua Hoshino thinking every single moment about how to study acting, how to learn everything there was to know about acting.
You could say that in the two years after Ai Hoshino’s death—
He had only ever thought about becoming, as Ai Hoshino had said, a proper actor.
But…
He had failed.
He had no talent for acting.
It was probably after performing in three or four works that he came to realize this.
The more he performed, the more he understood.
As a fundamentally adult being, his acting only skimmed the surface.
He simply couldn’t keep up with the others, and could only rely on the read-the-room ability he’d cultivated in his past life to compensate.
But not putting in the effort wasn’t an option!
He had to become an actor — there was no other way!
Because that was Ai Hoshino’s final wish before she died…
her only remaining wish!
So when he heard that Gotanda Taishi — the director who had been looking after him ever since Ai Hoshino’s death — had come looking for him to explain that the role he was supposed to play this time around had been changed midway through and given to another koyaku…
The usually taciturn boy displayed emotion for the very first time: “Why?”
“Hsss…
pfuu…”
Smoking in front of a child really wasn’t a good thing after all.
After exhaling that final puff of smoke, Director Gotanda stubbed out the cigarette butt in his hand and raised his gaze.
To be honest…
looking at the Aqua Hoshino in front of him, he really did feel something stir.
The original Aqua Hoshino, while not particularly fond of speaking and quite precocious, would still show emotion from time to time.
So seeing him able to express emotion like this now…
His heart actually felt somewhat at ease.
Still…
about the role, huh…
“Regarding that matter, I don’t think you should be coming to me to demand answers.
You should ask Miss Saito — she’s the one who told me to give your role to another koyaku.”
Director Gotanda rolled the script into a tube and tapped his own shoulder with it.
“Miss Saito…?
Miyako?”
A ripple stirred in Aqua Hoshino’s gloomy gaze.
Saito Miyako — ever since President Saito Ichigo had vanished into thin air, she had been the president of [Ichigo Pro], and was, in effect, the foster mother of him and Ruby Hoshino.
Called their foster mother, but Saito Miyako truly treated him and Ruby Hoshino as if they were her very own.
Not only was she putting in the effort to run [Ichigo Pro], but she also squeezed time out of her busy work schedule to keep him and Ruby company.
You could say she absolutely doted on the two of them.
But the more this was the case, the less he could understand it.
Why would Saito Miyako, who pampered him to the point one could call it outright spoiling, transfer his role to another koyaku?
Most likely picking up on the change in Aqua Hoshino’s expression—
Gotanda Taishi rubbed his chin: “I don’t really know the specifics of the situation, but I heard Miss Miyako say it’s apparently some koyaku who just transferred into your [Ichigo Pro]…
what’s his name again…
oh…
that’s right, Minami Yuji.”
“Minami Yuji…”
The moment that name came out, Aqua Hoshino immediately had a recollection.
He remembered that just a couple of days ago, when Saito Miyako had returned home, she had specifically come to find him and Ruby Hoshino to talk about this very koyaku.
The look of breathless excitement on her face as she’d gripped onto him and Ruby…
Even now, he still remembered it.
He remembered her saying it like this.
“Aqua, Ruby-chan!
I’ve found one!
A child with truly remarkable talent!”
Time returned to the present.
Watching the Aqua Hoshino in front of him sink into thought, Director Gotanda couldn’t help but let out a sigh as well.
If it had been any other koyaku, he wouldn’t have said this much in the first place.
But Aqua was, after all, a child he had a deep bond with.
So he shook his head and still offered a word of comfort.
“All right, my guess is that Miyako shifted your work over to take care of a new member of the agency, so it’s not really worth getting all that worked up about, is it?”
And besides—
Gotanda Taishi’s lazy gaze instantly turned sharp, his voice growing steady.
“If that backdoor-recommended kid’s acting doesn’t pass muster, I’ll kick him out without a moment’s hesitation and reinstate you.”
Yes.
In the original work, Gotanda Taishi was a director of genuine ability — he had even won several Best Director awards, and was absolutely not someone who treated acting carelessly.
The reason he had kept casting Aqua Hoshino in his productions was partly because of the boy’s handsome features, but fundamentally because Aqua Hoshino was quite ‘useful.’
The ‘useful’ here didn’t refer to his acting skill, but rather to that ability of his to read the room and grasp the intentions of the director, the cameraman, and the camera angles.
And that was the most important reason why he kept casting the merely middling-acting Aqua Hoshino again and again!
So—
His productions would absolutely never be done half-heartedly!
Though this time the eleventh-hour casting change was a matter of saving Saito Miyako’s face.
But if the newly assigned koyaku’s performance fell short of his expectations…
he wouldn’t show a shred of mercy.
He’d kick the boy out and put Aqua Hoshino back in.
…
After having someone send the now-silent Aqua Hoshino off to wait in the makeup tent—
Gotanda Taishi let out a heavy sigh, lit up another cigarette, and then spoke toward the ornamental shrubbery beside him.
“All right, Miss Miyako, Aqua’s already gone.”
The moment those words came out—
The shrubbery beside him immediately stirred.
The sound of footsteps rose.
It was none other than Saito Miyako, her face full of apology: “I’m truly sorry for making you do something so unpleasant, Director Gotanda.”
“You said it.”
Gotanda Taishi took a heavy drag of his cigarette: “Something like this, you really should’ve given the precocious kid (Aqua Hoshino) a heads-up beforehand.”
“Ah…
well…
I’m really sorry.” Saito Miyako pressed her hands together in apology: “How should I put it — the moment I see that look on the boy’s face, I’d probably waver right then and there.”
As Aqua and Ruby’s foster mother, the moment she saw the two of them looking dispirited, her heart would soften beyond measure, and she’d unconsciously agree to their conditions.
“So you made me play the bad guy instead, is that it?”
Gotanda Taishi was rather speechless.
He had pretty much figured one thing out…
this whole [Ichigo Pro]agency family really did treat him as a convenient tool.
But…
whatever.
He didn’t bother dwelling on it any further and got straight to the point.
The previously easy, casual tone vanished, replaced by a near-interrogative seriousness.
“What I’m about to say might come off as a bit disrespectful to your face, Miss Miyako, but I still want to ask.”
Pfuu—
“That koyaku you found — is he really more useful than the precocious kid?”
Yes.
He really was a bit curious.
This Minami Yuji — what kind of magic did he possess?
To actually make Saito Miyako willing, for his sake, to turn her own foster son Aqua Hoshino into his understudy?
____
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