Since neither of the newcomers looked familiar to him, Sato waited silently for Asakura to explain. He saw him turning his head towards one of the men and his eyes instinctively followed the same direction.
That person’s appearance was striking and Sato found himself gaping openly at his face. He immediately took in the beautiful shape with defined lines and the pair of clear, charming eyes. That person had a pale complexion that contrasted with his dark colored hair and slightly rosy lips.
This man, whomever he was, looked truly beautiful, yet seemed to be somewhat distant. Just like an aloof character from an ancient painting; he could only be gazed at, but never touched.
Asakura’s voice travelled to Sato’s ears, eventually bringing his attention back to the current situation.
“Masato-sensei, this is the person I was telling you about. Imamura Sato.”
Asakura first addressed the other man, before finally turning towards Sato to continue the presentation.
“Sato-kun, this is the original author, Masato Keita-sensei.”
“Eh?! You are Masato Keita-sensei?” Sato couldn’t hold back a cry of surprise.
“I am glad to make your acquaintance, Imamura-san.” Keita stretched out a hand towards Sato.
“Ah, yes! I’m honored to make your acquaintance, Masato-sensei.” Sato hurried to reply, grabbing Keita’s hand.
Indeed, he had heard a little bit about this person while listening to the other members of the cast. He knew Masato Keita was a rather introverted type of person, who preferred avoiding social interactions if possible. Despite having such an eccentric personality, though, he was known for having a passionate style of writing, being able to create wonderful characters and worlds.
But regardless of everything Sato had heard of, he would never have expected Masato Keita to look so stunning. Was this person really a famous secluded author and not an actor like himself?
A moment later, Keita pulled his hand away and Sato saw him show a peculiar smile. It was a mixture of amusement and frustration. This short display of emotion made his face look even more charming.
“I am sorry to say, Imamura-san, but my acting abilities are acceptable only when dealing with one person. Apart from that, I am no good.” Keita declared openly.
“Eh?” Sato gaped at Keita, looking dumbstruck.
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.
How was this person able to tell what he had been thinking about just now? Could there really be such a coincidence in the world?
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Though, he did look at Kurosawa Rintarou with interest, taking in his appearance as well.
This person was almost the complete opposite of Masato Keita. Bright and cheerful appearance, easygoing attitude, and above all, he looked handsome in a very manly way. His features were not delicate, but attracted one’s eye without fail. His eyes seemed to overflow with self-confidence and positivity, almost blinding Sato.
“I guess you don’t remember seeing me at the audition.” Keita spoke while taking a seat next to him.
The other two followed his example and pulled a couple of chairs, sitting across from them.
“Oh, no. I apologize.” Sato breathed out hastily, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “That day I… I was so nervous that I can hardly remember anything. It was actually a big surprise that I got the part.”
After speaking those words, Sato fell silent. He inwardly berated his senseless mind for not remembering such an important person.
That day he had been told the author of the book would also be present during the tryouts. However, when the time came for him to perform, his mind blanked out everything else apart from the script in his hand and the other actors he had to enact the scene with. Thus, he never even saw Keita’s face properly before the other man had already left the building. Such stupid thing really happened and now, faced with the man himself, Sato felt truly mortified.
As if knowing what he was thinking, Keita waved a hand gracefully.
“It’s alright. You did a wonderful job that day. After I saw your performance I felt that my character couldn’t have fallen into better hands. With you playing Oinuma Zetsu I have every confidence that the result will be what I had imagined when writing the story.”
“Masato-sensei, you saying all this…”
Sato struggled to keep his emotions in check. His current expression was that of a student who had just been praised by his favorite teacher. His pupils trembled and his eyes became moist. In all appearances, he looked as though he was about to cry.
“I am not trying to put useless pressure on you.” Keita continued calmly. “It’s just that your performance really impressed me. That, and also Asakura-san asked for me to talk to you before the table reading began.”
“Talk to me?” Sato asked, his eyes widening.
“En. He said you might be feeling nervous about playing the role of Oinuma Zetsu. He thought maybe if we could talk more about the original story it might help with your performance. I must say, he was very persistent about it.” Keita finished, shooting Asakura a discreet glance from the corner of his eye.
Being called out on it so openly, Asakura gulped silently and turned his head away from Keita. Then, his eyes landed on Rintarou, who all this while had been watching Keita with rapture, as if he was the only person in the room. He looked like something between a mesmerized human and a lovesick puppy. It almost made Asakura want to poke his own eyes out in order to not see it anymore.
Repressing a groan, Asakura got to his feet and decidedly clapped the man over the shoulder. The sudden gesture successfully attracted Rintarou’s attention.
“Eh? Asakura-san, what’s the matter?” he blinked in confusion.
“Let’s go out for a smoke and let them talk.”
Asakura gestured with his head towards the other two. Sato and Keita were now engaged in a conversation about the movie’s plot and didn’t seem likely to finish anytime soon. Luckily, there was still almost half an hour left until the table reading would commence.
Rintarou nodded in agreement and the two men left the conference room one after the other. The moment they were outside on the terrace, Rintarou suddenly turned to face Asakura.
“So, what’s going on between you and this Imamura Sato?”
“There is nothing going on. We’re friends.”
“Says the person who appeared at Keita’s doorstep late into the night and practically begged him for this meeting. Or is that something you do for all your friends?” Rintarou countered with a smirk.
“Even if you say that, it doesn’t change the fact that there is nothing going on between Sato-kun and me. The only reason I did all this is because I wanted to help him. That’s all.”
“Mhm.”
“Don’t sound so skeptical. There is no illicit affair between us.” Asakura scoffed, then added in an undertone. “You sound just like Subaru. No wonder he’s the one who trained you.”
“If I think about it, this is exactly how it began for me as well.”
Rintarou chuckled, leaning his head back to look at the sky. His lips carried a tender smile as he reminisced about the past.
“In the beginning, I also wanted to help Keita. Making sure he ate properly, making sure he rested enough… those sorts of things. In the end, I even started to worry about his cat. Soon, this concern began to evolve into tender feelings and I found myself wanting to hold onto him without ever letting go. That’s when I noticed that I would feel anxious whenever I wasn’t around him, like something was always missing if I didn’t see him for even a day. This restlessness became especially bad after you showed up, but it also helped me realize my true feelings.” Rintarou finished with a low chuckle.
“Well, what can I say? I am glad my humble presence was of so much help to you.” Asakura threw mockingly.
“En. There is no wake-up call more efficient than having to witness the person you care about the most being coveted by someone else.”
Just like stones being thrown inside a lake, these words produced a few ripples in Asakura’s mind. For a moment he remembered the raging fire that had burned inside his chest when he witnessed Sato’s earlier conversation with Touma. At that time, he didn’t think much of it. But looking back at it now, was that supposed to be his wake-up call?
Still feeling doubtful, Asakura glanced at Rintarou from the corner of his eye. Could it really be that this stupid looking person actually knew what he was talking about? Were those feelings of protectiveness and concern triggered by something more than just empathy or friendship?
“Judging by your sullen expression it seems that I have touched a sore spot.” Rintarou teased, catching the other man’s stare.
Asakura shifted his eyes away and ignored him. This only provoked the other into continuing his discourse.
“Just make sure you talk to him about it, before someone comes and whisks him away.”
“Shut up.” Asakura grumbled in a low voice. “I don’t need to hear that from someone, who several months ago was intimidated by my presence.”
“Ouch! That was foul play! Asakura-san, I request a yellow card!”
A/N: This is it for this weekend’s update. I hope you enjoyed the events, and even more so, the conversations 
See you all next week!
I hate this touma ughh …guessing.. what will Asakura do now ?
Thanks for the update btw!!!
💖💖
Well, we just have to wait and see if Asakura will eventually step in or not 😏
💖💖💖
Rintarou made him aware of his feelings~
Thank you for the chapter (๑°꒵°๑)･*♡
Sometimes one needs a person like that, obliviously honest, right? 😁
<3
thanks for the chapter <3
<333