After that short incident, the tense atmosphere gradually subsided and Kyosuke slumped back onto the couch. Nevertheless, he remained silent throughout the entire time they stayed there.
Kyota asked Sato a few questions about himself, gently probing to see how he was doing. Then, they decided to head out for lunch. Just as they got to the parking lot, Kyosuke suddenly stopped walking.
“I’m not going. I’m heading home.” He crossed his arms, looking stubborn and bristled like a wild cat.
“Suit yourself.” Kyota shrugged impassively. “But just so you know, I’m cutting your food expenses until the photoshoot is done.”
“I dislike you profoundly!” Kyosuke bit out, feeling on the brink of desperation.
First, he was blackmailed into accepting that dreadful job and now he was threatened with hunger. Who on earth had seen such an awful director?!
“Pfft!”
This time, Kyota couldn’t hold back his laughter. He chuckled until his entire body was shaking.
He was finally able to speak after a short while.
“Now that’s a very elegant way of saying you hate me. Alright, I understand. Then go home and be a good boy. Since the restaurant reservation has already been made, Sato will stay to have lunch with me.”
“But… Sato!” Kyosuke whined like a wounded puppy.
“Go.” Sato shot him a calming smile. “Kyota-san will drive me home afterwards, right?” He turned to look at the director, but Kyota was already walking towards his car.
Sato sighed and shook his head. He had a feeling that Kyota had planned this all along just to make Kyosuke angry, but he could never be too sure with him.
“You might have gone a little bit too far this time.” Sato chided softly when he got inside the car.
“Hmm? And here I was, thinking I went too soft on him.”
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.
“Why do you always pick on him? One of these days he’ll really start hating you.”
“P vbc’a mjgf jr ibcu jr tf vbfr tlr pby qfgofmais.” Bsbaj gfabgafv olgwis, tlr obgftfjv mgfjrlcu rilutais. “Vjab, P kjca tlw ab rtlcf. P kjca jii bo sbe ab rtlcf, yea sbe kbc’a yf jyif ab vb atja ys gecclcu jkjs ogbw atf atlcur sbe vbc’a ilxf. Qtfc P olgra wfa tlw, P ecvfgrabbv tlr gfjrbcr yea la’r yffc wbgf atjc olnf sfjgr jigfjvs jcv tf ralii milcur ab tlr ofjgr. Geglcu atlr alwf, tf tjv wlrrfv bea bc rb wjcs ubbv bqqbgaeclalfr atja la’r jiwbra qjlcoei ab kjamt. Vb, P kjca tlw ab rabq gecclcu jkjs.”
“I always knew you were considerate of us whenever you assigned the projects and because of that I always felt guilty. But I never knew Kyosuke’s situation was so bad. He never said anything to me.”
“That’s because he himself doesn’t know it. It’s not terrible yet, but since he refuses to take even his shirt off in front of the camera, he can’t even play in movies that require him to swim or fall into a pool of water. It was fine while he was very young and just barely starting out on his career. However, now he’s beginning to receive attention. People will start noticing him more and more in the future and what will happen then? Will he refuse a good role just because he’s embarrassed to show his upper body? Why become an actor in the first place if you can’t handle that much?!” Kyota finished with an irritated huff.
His usual coldness and composure were beginning to falter. Whenever Kyosuke was involved, it was like his mind didn’t work in the usual parameters. He always got angry with the young man for doing some stupid thing or other, and always ended up having to scold him for it.
But for some reason, even after being mean and standoffish with him, Kyosuke never really showed an open dislike towards him. Sure, he grumbled and said hateful words just like today, but his eyes were always staring at Kyota without any trace of a shadow. They were bright and honest, expressing a genuine interest.
“Kyota-san, it might not be my place to say this, but I believe his reluctance to do this kind of job may have something to do with you as well.”
“Eh?!” It was Kyota’s turn to be surprised now. “What does it have to do with me?!”
“You’re too handsome. There’s just no way he can compare.” Sato grinned, tilting his head to one side. “How can Kyosuke feel confident to show his body when you are such a high competition?”
Kyota blinked several times, looking utterly dumbfounded. He knew what Sato was talking about, but that was a part of his early history in the business. It happened so long ago that no one even remembered it.
“How… I mean…How did you find out?”
“How? Simple.” Sato chuckled softly, covering his mouth with one hand. “Kyosuke found an old photograph of Kyota-san posing for an underwear brand.”
“But that was so many years ago and no one at the agency even knows about it. Also, because that client’s business went under shortly afterwards, they took down all the articles. Only a handful of copies still remained on the market.”
“It’s true though. Somehow, we happened to stumble upon one of those magazines while still in high school. Kyosuke was really impressed with you, Kyota-san. He kept the magazine and looked at the pictures from time to time. When I asked him about it, he said it served as motivation. Later, when I decided to get into acting, he convinced me to come here. We never told you, Kyota-san, but one of the reasons why we chose HoshiAkari Entertainment all those years ago was because you were the director.”
Kyota fell silent. He looked straight ahead, while the hand holding the steering wheel trembled slightly. Despite that, his face didn’t show any visible traces of emotion. After a while, his lips curved upward and his face broke into a smile.
“So that’s how it is.” He said in a whisper. “Then I guess I’ll have to treat my fan better from now on.”
“Just don’t bully him too much. At this point he’s so accustomed to your current behavior that if you suddenly change it might scare him silly. And besides, he doesn’t know I told you about this.”
“Who knew he had such ideas in that head of his? He never said a word.”
“You’ve been his idol for a long time. What could he do? Come up to you and say he felt embarrassed to compare abs with you?” Sato sighed. “That’s just how Kyosuke is. He has a huge pride and a small mind. His heart, though, is quite big, so don’t go around breaking it, Kyota-san.”
“Kyosuke-kun is indeed a very good kid and deserves the best. Now, leaving him aside, what about you?”
“Eh?!” Sato asked in wonder. The sudden shift in subject took him by surprise.
“Honestly, when I called you out today, I wasn’t sure what you were going to look like.”
Sato remained silent, lowering his eyes to stare at his hands. Suddenly, all his former cheerfulness vanished as if it was sucked by a vortex. His previous sparkling eyes became dull and his face expressed pain beyond words.
Kyota’s loud sigh came from next to him.
“See? That’s exactly what I was afraid of. You, showing exactly that expression. Haven’t you had enough, Sato-kun? Even that bull-headed Kyosuke is doing something to fight his demons, albeit forcibly. So, how long are you going to run away from yours?”
“In his case, his demon is you and you’re… Well, you’re different, Kyota-san.”
That was indeed true. Regardless of how mean Kyota acted towards Kyosuke, he never did anything to truly hurt him. Even when forcing him to do something against his will there was always a reasonable purpose behind it. While Touma was… Well not even he knew what exactly Touma was to him anymore.
“Sato-kun, I heard of a good opportunity. Would you be willing to give it a try?” Kyota asked suddenly, just as they reached the restaurant.
“A… good opportunity? You mean there is a company that doesn’t mind the rumors about me?”
“You’d be surprised to see just how little those rumors matter in the face of pure talent.”
“Kyota-san I… I don’t know.” Sato looked torn between the longing he felt towards acting and the fear of the past repeating itself.
“I won’t force you to accept, but I want you to at least think about it. Afterwards, you can decide whether you wish to take a shot at it or not.” Kyota paused for a moment, before continuing to speak in a businesslike tone. “Next week there is going to be an audition for a movie. I think you should attend.”
“An audition? For a movie?” Sato blinked in surprise.
He had expected an easier project, such as modeling for an advertisement or something similar. Considering the long break he had taken and the reasons behind it, he felt it would be difficult to deal with something so big right from the start.
“Yes.” Kyota nodded, continuing his explanation. “The movie is an adaptation of a well-received book and will be directed by Mayama Kenta. I am sure you’ve heard of him. He is very famous in the industry and almost all the projects he has picked up made huge waves. Whether it’s due to luck or it’s his amazing talent, the fact is that anything directed by him will get you famous.”
“You know I don’t aspire to be famous. I just… I just want to be able to do what I love the most, and that is acting. Even if it’s a small production, I wouldn’t mind. But…”
“As long as you want, there is nothing that’s stopping you from trying. I know what you are afraid of, but you can’t run away forever. If you wish to remain in this industry, you’ll have to pick up the pieces and move on. It’s true that what happened a year ago dealt a huge blow to your acting career. I still remember how difficult it was to control the media from doing articles about it. But now those rumors have almost entirely vanished. No one even remembers what happened at that time. Also, since you’ve been out of the spotlight for so long, no one will even recognize you.”
“I really wish I could believe that. Unfortunately, things aren’t that easy.” Sato smiled sadly.
“That’s true, it isn’t easy. It wasn’t easy to be stabbed in the back by the one you loved. However, one day you will have to face that camera and the people standing behind it. Or else you will be forced to give up the dream you’ve worked so hard for to achieve. Do you really want that to happen?”
“I…” Sato stared blankly. His befuddled mind was unable to come up with an answer right away.
What was it that he really wanted? It’s true that he wished he could act again, but at the same time he was afraid of standing in front of other people and of showing his talent. All he could think about was hiding and avoiding being seen.
Behaving in this manner, he appeared like a person who had lost his way and his confidence; just like a star that’s slowly dimming until it becomes a dark spot in the sky. Will that happen to him as well if he continues like this? Will his light also fade away, never to return?
In the meantime, the car had stopped and through his hazy thoughts, Sato heard Kyota speaking slowly next to him.
“As I said before, I won’t force you to go. Nevertheless, I think you should at least think about it. If you decide to try, let me know. Here is the address where the audition will be held at.”
Kyota extended his hand and gave Sato a piece of paper with all the necessary information regarding the location and time of the audition. As he stared at it, Sato had a strange feeling rising in his stomach, like a foreboding premonition. Was it just his imagination or was it caused by mental strain?
A/N: This is the last chapter of the weekend. What do you all think? Will small cinnamon bun Sato-kun be brave enough to give up on hiding and try to audition? Or will something else happen that will make him change his mind? 🤭 Until next time! See you next weekend! 
Can’t wait for the next chapter~~! 💜
💜💜💜
I hope you will enjoy that one as well!
I hope he summon the courage to audition.
That shitty ex still gives me a bad vibe
Well, I guess we will just have to wait and see 🤭
Hmm, Touma will definitely not be out of the picture just yet 😉
Thank you for the chapter 😘
😘😘😘
thanks for the chapter <3
<333