Chapter 129 - 129 — Megumi Kato's Favor

While Megumi was patiently listening to Utaha vent her frustrations over text, Haru was busy giving his "acting lecture" to the trio of high school boys. To most people, he looked like your typical professional screenwriter — sharp logic, sound theory, always knowing exactly what to say. But in reality… he was something else entirely. A hypnotist. His method was the same as last time. When the three boys admitted they felt awkward performing in front of the camera, he didn't rush them into rehearsing. Instead, he started casually telling them all kinds of inspirational stories about famous actors. Whether those stories truly inspired them or not didn't really matter. What mattered was that he always made sure to take the first sip of his own "motivational drink." Only after easing the atmosphere with idle small talk — chatting about this and that like they were just hanging out — would he slowly ease them into the real business of acting. And while doing so, he'd quietly activate his [Hypnosis] skill, gently guiding them to perform naturally, just like their usual selves. After all, these boys were already good at being funny and ridiculous in real life. he didn't need them to imitate any famous actors or force themselves into roles. All he needed to do… was give them the confidence to be themselves, even in front of a camera. With that, the hardest part of filming was practically solved. "Man, I don't know why, but every time we talk with you, I always feel weirdly confident afterward." After Haru's [Hypnosis] session, the three boys were back to their usual cheerful selves. He chuckled, having already prepared his excuse. "Maybe it's because we're all about the same age. There's no generation gap between us, so it's easy for us to click." "True that! After all, you're the guy who called himself the 'King of Sword' or whatever!"The boys immediately started messing around again. But despite the jokes, their confidence was real. Grinning from ear to ear, they thanked him one after another before scrambling back to their scripts with renewed motivation. That was when Megumi quietly walked over to his side. "All settled?" she asked softly, her calm gaze focused on him. "Yeah," Haru nodded. "They're new to acting, but as long as they can relax in front of the camera and act like their true selves, this drama's basically tailor-made for them." As he spoke, he handed Megumi's notebook back to her, smiling."Thanks for the notes, by the way. You really saved me — if you hadn't written everything down so carefully, I'd have had to rack my brain trying to remember what I told them last time." "I'm glad I could help," Megumi replied, her voice as gentle as ever. Looking at her calm, graceful expression, he found himself blurting out without thinking, "Are you hungry? Should we grab something to eat first?" But Megumi shook her head slightly. "I just noticed the director's been looking this way for a while. He probably wants to talk to you." Just as she finished speaking, the director himself walked over. Since Megumi was standing right there talking with him, the director naturally didn't ignore her and greeted them both with a friendly nod. Then, turning to Haru with a teasing grin, the director asked,"Amamiya, you've been coming to the set so often lately — don't tell me you're hoping for a cameo?" "A cameo?" Haru blinked, surprised. Truth be told, he had been a little tempted. But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Megumi's gaze wavering ever so slightly. She was... interested? So, he quickly changed his tone."How exactly would this cameo work? Would it mess with your shooting schedule or cause any problems?" What he really meant was — please tell me in advance if you expect me to act like those over-the-top main characters. No way could he pull that off. The director gave him a strange look — You're the scriptwriter... and technically the boss here. If you say yes, who's going to say no? "Of course not," the director chuckled, keeping things professional. "It's just a cameo. If you don't want any lines, we can just shoot some close-ups. Real simple." Haru turned to Megumi. "Wanna give it a try?" "If it won't cause any trouble for the crew... I'd like to," she answered, her voice as considerate and gentle as ever. Her first concern, even now, was the production team. The director's opinion of Megumi instantly skyrocketed. Everything was settled quickly. According to the director's arrangement, Haru would play one of the delinquent from Kaiju High — the "bad guy" school in the drama. As for Megumi, she'd appear as one of the heroine's friends — showing up during that comedic scene where the female lead was desperately trying to hide her delinquent side from the male lead, acting all cute and innocent. Because the director was so impressed with Megumi, he even considered giving her a couple of lines on the spot — but she gently declined. "Amamiya-kun and I are both part of the Photography Club, and we've filmed a short movie before... so I know how tough it is on set. I wouldn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble for everyone, so please don't worry about giving me any lines," Megumi explained politely, bowing slightly. Her words not only showed respect for the hard work of the crew but also expressed her consideration in not wanting to add any burden to them. As she was led away by the staff to change into costume, the director couldn't help pulling Haru aside and whispering with a chuckle, "You've found yourself a really kind and thoughtful girlfriend. You better treat her well." They'd known each other for a while, so he could joke around like that. But Haru quickly waved his hands. "We're not dating. You've got the wrong idea." "Huh? Really?" The director looked surprised. "I just thought, since you two came here together today, it seemed pretty obvious." "I already have a girlfriend," Haru added honestly. "Oh, my bad, my bad! Totally my misunderstanding." The following shoot went incredibly smoothly. Since neither Haru nor Megumi Kato had any lines, their scenes didn't slow down the filming at all. What was even more amazing was how, in less than twenty minutes of being on set, Megumi had already left a great impression on everyone she interacted with. That, in itself, was a kind of talent. Before filming a group fight scene, Haru approached Yoshitake Tanaka, the actor playing the male lead, and privately showed them a few flashy but simple fight moves that would look great on camera. When filming started, thanks to Haru's [Hypnosis] skill, they managed to perfectly replicate his moves — sharp, stylish, and perfectly in sync. The director's eyes lit up watching the monitor. "These moves look awesome!" Later that evening, it was time for dinner. The crew had thoughtfully arranged for Haru and Megumi to eat in a quiet corner where they wouldn't be disturbed. His cooking skills were as impressive as always. As for the aftereffects of the [Drugging] skill, Megumi had already experienced it once before and knew how to handle it — there was no awkwardness at all this time. "...I feel like I'm ready to get serious about learning again," she said after finishing her meal, looking up at him with bright, expectant eyes. The meaning in her gaze couldn't be clearer — Teach me? He chuckled softly, already expecting this. "Sure. What do you want to learn this time?" Her eyes sparkled faintly. She tilted her head toward the lighting crew, then grinned playfully and said, "Coach, I want to learn that." The sudden line — straight out of an old classic — caught him off guard and made him laugh. "Wait... You've seen Slam Dunk?" Megumi shook her head honestly. "Nope. I haven't seen it. But... I figured you probably have." Haru froze for a second. That line... felt off somehow. After thinking about it for a second, he realized it might carry a deeper meaning:I looked into it because I thought it might be something you've seen. That… was a kind of special treatment. A subtle sign of affection. Yet Megumi looked as calm and composed as ever. Apart from the slight effect of the [Drugging] buff, there was almost no difference from her usual self. He silently admitted — girls whose emotions were hard to read like her were the toughest to deal with. And the ones who messed with his head the most. They stayed with the crew until it was almost dark. Since neither of them was in a rush to head home, they decided not to call a car and just walked for a while. As they strolled down the quiet street, Megumi suddenly brought up something else."Utaha-senpai contacted me earlier." He matched her tone, playing along. "Oh? What did she say?" "Seems like she had a hard time dealing with Yukinoshita again. So she just... vented a bit to me." She said it in the gentlest way possible. To put it bluntly: Utaha got wrecked by Yukino. Again. He wasn't surprised. "Yukino grew up being tormented by me and her sister, Haruno. It's tough for anyone to win against her." Megumi tilted her head slightly. "Is this Haruno-san really that amazing?" Haru chuckled. "You could think of her as a stronger, scarier version of Yukino." "...That strong?" Megumi blinked in surprise. Her interactions with Haruno had been brief. The only impression she had was of a kind and gentle woman. She had even once wondered how two sisters could have such drastically different personalities. "Haruno's always been outstanding. Let's put it this way — she used to be the one Yukino tried to catch up to." "I see. That actually makes sense now." Megumi nodded and didn't ask why it was used to be. After all, the answer was obvious — the person Yukino was chasing now… was this boy beside her. Just as they were about to get in a car, they ran into a young man holding up his phone, clearly live-streaming. "Excuse me! I'm an outdoor streamer, and you two are seriously photogenic. Mind helping me out real quick?" The guy had clearly seen they were about to leave and hurried over to stop them. To his credit, he at least had the sense not to aim his camera directly at their faces. Haru immediately shook his head. "Sorry, I don't want to be on camera." The streamer looked like he was about to insist, but Haru beat him to it."But hey, if you're looking to spice things up for your stream… I've got a killer idea." "For real?" The guy's eyes lit up, getting excited. Haru lowered his voice, subtly gesturing toward the two black men standing at the corner behind them."See those two guys over there? Go run up to them with your camera and sing a song — I guarantee it'll make for perfect content." "What song?" "It's a Chinese song. The title's Sunshine, Rainbow, Little White Horse. Really catchy." "Is that so? Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look it up online first." Haru barely managed to hold back his laughter as he opened the car door, getting in alongside Megumi. Once the driver started the engine, Haru glanced out the window — only to see that same streamer frantically searching for the song on his phone. That finally broke him. He couldn't hold it anymore — he burst out laughing. But just as his laughter rang out, music suddenly started playing right next to him from a phone speaker: "Don't you cry~ Everything will be fine~" He turned around in surprise. Megumi was sitting there, holding her phone in both hands, staring at the screen with genuine curiosity. Noticing his gaze, she tilted her head slightly and asked, in all seriousness:"Is there something special about this song?" He replied with a perfectly straight face, "It's just a regular pop song. Nothing special." Megumi narrowed her eyes slightly, her voice soft but sure."I feel like you're lying to me." "Absolutely not." He didn't bother explaining further, and Megumi didn't press him either. After all, not knowing Chinese didn't mean she was out of options — she could always ask for help from someone else. Like Yukino. Megumi knew Yukino had been suspicious of her for a while now. And she also knew that Yukino was probably already aware she had gone to the set alone with Haru tonight. So, Megumi made a decision — she'd ask Yukino directly about the Chinese song. On one hand, Yukino might help her understand what was so special about it. On the other... it sent a subtle message of its own — I'm not hiding anything about being with Haru today. In fact, I can calmly and openly tell you myself. That evening, around 7:30 PM. Haru was hanging up the laundry. Meanwhile, Yukino was lounging in his living room, casually petting his cat. Then the buzzing of her phone broke the quiet. Glancing at the screen, Yukino was a little surprised to see a message from Megumi. It was brief and straightforward — Megumi first explained what she and Haru had been doing at the filming site, then mentioned there was a Chinese song she wanted to ask about. Being this upfront with me... is she trying to ease my doubts and lower my guard? Yukino saw through it immediately but replied nonetheless: "I haven't listened to many Chinese songs, but send it over. I'll see if I can help you understand the lyrics." Just as Haru was hanging up the last piece of clothing, music suddenly echoed from the living room — a cheerful, bouncy melody, accompanied by a singer's unmistakably enthusiastic voice: "You are that that that~ that that that that~" He fell silent on the spot. Seriously? Was this turning into a serialized drama now? Last episode just wrapped up, and the sequel's already started airing? He didn't even need to go out and check — it was obvious. Megumi had definitely gone to consult Yukino. And the reason she hadn't asked Utaha instead? Well, that was simple — Yukino was clearly more familiar with Chinese. By the time he finished hanging the laundry and returned to the living room, he found Yukino staring at him with a look that was... hard to describe. "What?" he played dumb, pretending to know nothing. Yukino's tone was subtle. "You heard that song just now, didn't you? Tell me... is there really nothing wrong with it?" With her level of Chinese, there was no way she hadn't caught the wordplay buried in those lyrics. He stayed perfectly straight-faced. "Nothing at all. It's just a nice, upbeat pop song. 'Sunshine, Rainbow, Little White Horse' represents the most beautiful thing the singer could think of during the toughest times of his life." That was still his story, and he was sticking to it. Yukino narrowed her eyes. She could tell he was probably lying. But... somehow... it also sounded like it could be true.