Episode Two

---For example, Mai now.

She had recently come to the company and heard that Shuya had been summoned by Aoki Shin others. Instead of disturbing their discussion, she went ahead to the meeting room where they were reading their lines.

The two main actors Amami Seiji and Matsumoto Tomoka, arrived early, followed by the others, all waiting for the director.

Mai opened the script and started reading out of boredom.

Everyone did this to deepen their impression.

Just then, a faint sound came from outside.

The first thing you hear is a loud, blaring melody.

Then comes the interlude.

"Words いたいことが...やっぱり Mai -chan はかわいいよ!"x3

Everyone was taken aback, their expressions turning strange.

Mai's mind went blank; she hadn't reacted yet.

"...やっとつけたお!"

When the voice reached this point, she was completely stunned.

"ア?イ?シ?テ?ル!!"

When the final word was spoken, Mai's hair stood on end, and her cheeks turned as red as if steam were about to rise from them.

The conference room was deathly silent.

Public execution.

"Ohhhhhhh!"

"Yay!"

"It's on fire!"

After the three male voices finished shouting, there was a sound of high-fives.

Then... they actually switched the song back to the beginning of the interlude!

It's clearly going to be a repeat!

Mai rushed out the door.

She quickly arrived at Aoki Shin's office.

Just as the three of them were about to recite the fixed text again, Mai pushed open the door through gritted teeth and shouted angrily:

"Shut up!!!"

"Ooh!"

"You scared me!"

Aoki Shin and the other man shuddered.

Shuya continued to shake his head, "Yan いたいことが!"

No! You have nothing to say!

Mai felt like she was about to burst.

She grabbed Shuya by the neck, silencing him.

Section 651, Episode 607, Part 2

"What are you doing?!"

Mai, with her hands on Shuya's neck, was genuinely furious.

It's quite rare to see her like this.

"Come on, don't do that."

Shuya pushed her away, saying, "Anyway, it's none of my business. I was just helping out at Uncle Aoki's and the others' request."

He first eliminated one correct answer.

"Um?!"

Mai glared at them.

The two uncles hurriedly said:

"Hello!"

"Shu-chan, you can't just shift the blame like that!"

They found Mai to be terrifying at this moment, and felt an inexplicable pressure emanating from her.

Aoki Shin quickly showed the final draft written by Shuya: "I have evidence, Mai- chan, look! He wrote this!"

"That's true."

Mai recognized Shuya's handwriting and looked at Shuya again.

Shuya retorted, "Wait, listen to that song, they made it!"

"The song is ours, but this was your idea!"

"Damn. Didn't you guys make me write this?"

"Shu-chan, you can't say that..."

The three of them shamelessly pushed each other around, none of them wanting to take the blame.

"Enough! If I'm guilty, the law will punish me, not torture me like this!"

Mai angrily retorted.

"Well, it can't be that serious, can it?"

"Yes, yes, don't be so angry."

"Listen carefully, it's actually not bad, it's addictive."

"But this is so embarrassing!"

Seeing that Mai's face was indeed very red, Shuya knew that she really couldn't accept it.

But... hey, she's so cute like that.

Shuya frowned. "Mai- chan, that's not right of you. We're not messing with you, we're just doing our job."

"But... this is too strange."

Upon hearing this, Shuya replied decisively, "The entertainment industry is a strange place!!!"

Aoki Shin: "W(?Д?)w"

Horiuchi Susumu: "Σ( ° △ °|||)"

Mai: "Σ(っ°Д °;)っ"

Shuya turned the tables, saying, "You can't even handle something like this? Mai- chan, you're not professional enough."

"Am I... not professional enough?"

Mai clearly found this difficult to accept.

And being called unprofessional for this reason really bothers her...

Too humiliating.

"Besides, the Mai- chan' here refers to Inoue Mai from the drama, not you."

Shuya's words do make some sense.

Aoki Shin then explained, "Ahem, that's right, this really wasn't talking about Mai- chan."

"..."

Mai's brows were furrowed.

She felt that their arguments still contained some flawed logic.

But if she could, she still wouldn't want this thing to be born.

This is so embarrassing...

Before she could speak, Shuya said, "Alright, it's about time. Go out and prepare to read the script. Don't cause trouble for the others."

He pushed the Mai out of the room.

With this lofty moral obligation weighing her down, she had no choice but to agree.

Mai was sulking and had little interest in reading the script.

The others, however, were quite happy after Shuya the others explained the situation.

Watching a spectacle is indeed a human instinct.

With the issue of finalizing the promotional text resolved, there were no other problems with today's work.

In the second episode, Shuya still doesn't have many scenes; reading the script is basically just him slacking off.

The morning's workday ended quickly.

Before Shuya left, Aoki Shin slipped him tens of thousands of yen as a reward for his hard work.

A formal composition wouldn't cost this much, but this isn't considered a song, so setting a price for it is difficult.

Shuya had originally planned to give it to him, but Aoki Shin wasn't short of money, so he just gave him a little something.

The two didn't sign a contract; he essentially used the finalized document for his own purposes.

Shuya's attitude towards this finalized version was also subtle; it seemed there was no need to register the copyright, so he simply ignored it.

Anyone who wants to shout out their support can do so.

After Shuya and Mai left the company, he asked, as usual, "What are we having for dinner today?"

I won't eat with you.

"What, are you still angry?"

Shuya, puzzled.

Mai shook her head. "I am a little unhappy, but that's not why I'm rejecting you. I'm going to do a guest appearance on another film set later, I'll buy a bento and eat there."

"Oh... shall we watch anime together tonight?"

The second episode of IS aired today, so he asked that question.

"No, it'll probably be filming until quite late... Besides, I've been getting busier and busier lately, so it might be hard to find time to see you."

Mai blurted out a sentence.

"Oh..."

Shuya nodded, without any further reaction.

Mai, on the other hand, seemed a little puzzled. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Wouldn't any ordinary person complain in this situation... even though she lacked experience and wasn't sure?

"It's nothing. It's just going back to how things were before, it's not like it's the first time."

"That's true."

Mai nodded.

She's always been busy since she was little, so it's unusual that she has so much free time lately.

"That's true, but your bluntness is making me a little unhappy..."

Mai didn't intend to listen to Shuya's reply; she left immediately after speaking.