☆Side Akito☆
“Then, why don’t you hug him from behind? Yes, like close buddies. Yes, just like that.”
Clad in a gray suit worn for the photoshoot, I followed the cameraman’s posing instructions.
As the pictures were taken, Ren gently hugged me from behind, while I secretly schemed on how to tease him today.
Ren’s reactions are always cute and amusing. I can’t help but look forward to finding new ways to mess with him.
“Yes, that’s very good. Then, next, Kuon-kun. Could you freely indulge in Jinguuji-kun’s affection?”
The cameraman directed me. At the word “affection,” I smiled. Now then, how should I do this…
Then, from above, “Eeh… How can I get even more affection than this…” he said in a weak voice.
“It’s just making things even sweeter. Ren, what do you think I should do?”
I looked up and gave him a heated gaze.
At that moment, Ren’s eyes shook, and he looked at me as if he wanted to ask, “What are you going to do now?”
I slowly leaned back as if I depended on him to stand straight, and stopped just before I could kiss his Adam’s apple. Then, he looked at the camera.
“A, Aki-san, please, don’t do that…”
“Do what?”
“That, any more than that, I can’t handle it.”
“Hmm–. You can’t handle it, you say… makes me want to do it.”
And, before his eyes, I leaned forward and, chu, kissed his Adam’s apple, and Ren’s body jolted in reaction. Satisfied, I smiled.
My lips remained pressed against his neck, as the cameraman clicked his camera frantically.
“I told you; I can’t handle it…”
I felt a slight pain on the back of my hand. Looks like he’d pinched me, but the veins on his own hand bulged. That small pain was so cute, it made things even funnier, and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
This cutie, who did just as he said, is Jinguuji Ren. 20 years old.
He’s tall enough that I have to look up, a calm and refreshing super cool guy. Clad in a slightly darker gray suit that suited him more than me, the thought that I lost to him in this aspect made me laugh at myself.
Although he’s a relatively young actor with only a few years of acting experience, his skills are superb. But, on the inside, truthfully speaking, he’s like a cute little puppy.
This gap between his real personality and the way he’s acting right now, is what I like best about him.
This time, we’ll be the protagonists of a romantic BL drama series.
Thanks to the fact that it’s based on a popular comic book, the public attention the series received was far greater than anticipated.
So even though filming had just begun, and the show itself hasn’t aired yet, there’s already a constant stream of magazine photoshoots and interviews, just like the one today.
At the cameraman’s instruction, I snuggled into Ren’s chest. With an arm wrapped around my waist, I fit perfectly within Ren’s embrace.
I felt Ren’s slightly trembling body, and his fast heartbeat was transmitted into my ear.
“So cute,” I whispered.
“What?” he asked.
I looked up at Ren, and saw his red ears and confused expression. He doesn’t even realize that I could hear his heartbeat. His confused expression was so adorable, my mouth curved upwards.
“Jiniguuji-kun, give him a back hug. Yes, yes. Uh—m, bend down a little so your faces are at the same height. Un, that looks good.”
Following those directions, Ren’s face came closer to mine. Feeling my mischievous side giving me ideas, I matched Ren’s movements and moved my head closer to his.
But Ren didn’t react in any way. No fun. I rubbed my fingers gently against his cheek.
Usually, he’d complain, “Wait,” or, “Aki-san…” so I was puzzled by his reaction, or rather, lack thereof.
Taking a peek at his face, what I saw was him desperately trying to maintain a suitable-for-the-viewfinder expression. I knew it, it’s the usual Ren, after all. It was so cute and satisfying that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Aki-san, what’re you laughing at?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Haha… How adorable.”
“St, jujlc, ktja?”
Facing Ren, who couldn’t fathom as to why I’m laughing in the first place, made me laugh even more.
“Ktf gfijalbcrtlq yfakffc sbe uesr lr gfjiis ubbv. Pa gfjiis mbwfr atgbeut.”
Cujlc jcv jujlc, atf mjwfgjwjc’r rteaafgr milmxfv.
Ktf vgjwj’r atfwf lr, wbgf atjc oglfcvr, ifrr atjc ibnfgr.
Dea, lc atf qtbabrtbba ilxf abvjs’r, la’r mbwwbc obg atfw ab jrx obg rtbar bo joofmalbc.
It’s not like it’s our first romance drama, but it is the first time for me to be so absorbed in photoshoots every day.
I’m honestly surprised at how different BL dramas are.
I felt a little sorry for Ren; this is, after all, his first leading role in a drama.
Every time I see him trying his best to pretend that everything’s fine, my face would light up from how much I liked him.
“Well then, look at each other from that distance.”
The instructions got more and more tricky.
From the sound of it, Ren’s heart was already beating at an incredibly fast rate. At this rate, I began to worry about what would happen if we do look at each other from such a close distance.
But work is work. We had no choice but to do it. I sent Ren a heated gaze, as if looking at a lover.
We were just centimeters away from kissing.
His heart pounded so hard, I thought it’d explode. His cheeks were aflame, and his ears were no different.
His in-character expression had almost been stripped away, and Ren’s countenance was almost back to his normal puppy self.
I wondered if this picture could be used at all.
Worrying about Ren’s heart, I gently placed a hand on his chest to calm him down.
“Ren, are you alright?”
Your heartbeat.
“Eh, why’re you asking?”
Aki-san, since earlier, what’s up with you? Ren tilted his head, asking that with a wry smile.
Even though it’s my own fault for bothering him this way, I pleaded in my heart for the cameraman to give gentler instructions so that Ren’s heart could catch a break. But, naturally, my pleas went unheard.
Afterwards, we were bathed under the camera’s numerous flashes, all the while our contact were never broken.
☆Side Ren☆
–Half a year ago.
“Ren, I found a leading role for you, but…”
My manager, with an unusually stern expression, spoke in an uncertain manner, and handed me a copy of a script.
“A leading role, for me?”
Up until now, I’ve had many auditions for a chance of getting smaller roles, though a lot of them failed.
To this day, I’d only just started becoming more known, but I’ve only ever secured minor roles. Thankfully, I’ve never run out of dramas to audition for.
But, for me to get a leading role, it feels like a heavy burden on my shoulders.
I mean, me, as a leading role…?
Rather than happy, I feel more perplexed.
Normally, my manager would say, “You did it!” Smiling happily for this opportunity at a big role. Instead, his expression was stern.
I wonder if he also felt that it’s too early for me to tackle a lead role.
That does make me feel a little down.
Sitting in my manager’s office, I sat on the sofa and opened the script given to me.
It’s a campus drama with two leads. The other lead is also a man, according to the name.
In other words, it’s not a romance drama, I thought to myself and read on with relief. However, something still felt off.
“… Manager, don’t tell me, this is…”
“Aah. It’s BL.”
“Boy’s… Love…”
I’d never even considered this, so when he confirmed it, my thoughts halted for a bit.
Boy’s love? Man x Man?
I’ve only just learned what BL stood for recently.
I was bewildered when I heard it’s a leading role for a romance drama, who knew it’d be a BL story?
“They said they could wait for a while, so you could go home and think about it first.”
“Ah… yes…”
I clasped my hands on top of the script, and thought.
Acting as a lead role in a story is honestly something to be happy about. It’s like a dream.
If I were to be chosen, I’d like to answer them with all my heart. With that kind of thinking, I accepted all sorts of roles up until now.
But this time, it’s BL. Which means, a homoromantic drama.
Of course, there were a lot of gay depictions throughout the script. Thinking that there’d be kiss scenes, hand-holding scenes… all that with a man, I had mixed feelings.
Since it’s a campus drama, it shouldn’t go further than a kiss, I thought.
Would I be able to pull it off…. I really don’t know.
This wouldn’t be my first rodeo with romance dramas, but I’ve never had to stage a kissing scene.
In fact, I’ve never played a role that required me to express love in any way.
And now, to suddenly have to play a leading role is just too much of a burden.
“Maa, it’s a leading role I got with great pains. Though there is a certain level of risk that follows having a BL image.”
My manager let out a deep sigh and furrowed his brows, as he stroked his trademark bread.
I finally understood why his expression was so stiff.
It’s true, if such an image is attached to me, it’d surely make it more difficult for him to market me.
I see, I understand.
And I finally understood why this role landed on my lap.
Surely, other actors had avoided this very role.
I wonder how many people it’d passed through before finally finding me?
If I turn it down, the role will go to the next actor, then the next, and the next.
Thinking like that, somehow, my doubts were cleared away.
“Excuse me, manager. I, I’d like to take on this job. Please, let me do it, please!”
I said it clearly, though I’m fully aware that I am not yet capable of taking a lead role.
Even though so, I don’t know how and why I was chosen, but I want to respond to the one who chose me.
I’m sure that person had felt, as the role passed by actor upon actor, hope that there’d be a positive response next time.
And finally, they found me, a young man with budding talent, in a sea of actors. I’d really like to work with such a person.
My manager just said one sentence, “Un, that’s a good look on your face,” slapped me firmly on the shoulder, and nodded with a smile.
☆
On the day we met, when I first saw him beyond the TV screen, I was taken aback by how beautiful he was.
The aura around his body was so incredible, I really thought he’d devour me.
On his soft chestnut hair, the light formed an angel’s halo around it.
Though he’s a little shorter than me, and had a smaller build, the main point is that he’s beautiful. Manly, dignified, and a super cool guy.
He’s the leader of a dance & vocal group, PROUD, Kuon Akito. 23 years old. Though I have seen him before on TV, this is my first time truly seeing Kuon Akito.
There were only a few people in the room, and everyone introduced themselves and exchanged greetings.
At that moment, he noticed me and opened his mouth, saying in a gentle voice, “Nice to meet you.”
After a quick self-introduction, he suggested we call each other by our first names, and after ruminating over it, I decided to call him “Aki-san.”
I don’t know why, but since the moment I stepped into the room, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of Aki-san.
I was drawn to him, and couldn’t help but stare at him.
Even now, I just stared at Aki-san as he talked to someone who seemed to be his manager.
Am I the only one who feels like the air around Aki-san feels sparkly?
Just as I realized auras don’t show up outside of the screen, Aki-san suddenly looked my way, and, dokin, my heart skipped a beat.
Then, Aki-san’s eyes widened in surprise, and he burst out laughing.
“What’s with that?”
And he said with a wide smile.
I didn’t understand why.
“You mean, me?”
“Eh… Hm, what do you mean?”
“Just now, you were saying things like auras and TVs.”
“… Eeh?!”
It seems like the voice in my heart leaked out somehow.
“Ren-kun, you’re so funny!”
“……..”
It felt like someone had peeked into my heart. Embarrassment rose, and I felt my face heat up.
“Eh, you’re pretty cute, aren’t you–”
Aki-san covered his mouth as he spoke, his shoulders shook as he laughed.
“No, please, just let it go….”
I covered my bright-red face with my hands.
“Hahaha, Ren-kun, I like you already….”
Aki-san said haltingly as he laughed.
“That! Is, why…”
I removed my hands from my face and raised my voice, before finding myself at a loss for words; Aki-san’s beaming smile captivated me.
The devastating power of his beauty completely took me by surprise.
Such a wonderful person is my co-star, what am I supposed to do?
If things continue like this, this is embarrassing, but I don’t have the confidence to be able to act with him around. Seriously…
T/N: Welcome to Fureteitai, Eien Ni! A story about two stars falling in love! 
