Sato was sitting on a small sofa in the lobby. His head was lowered and, from what Asakura could see from that distance, his body was trembling slightly.
"Sato-kun!" Asakura couldn't help but call out, then he quickened his footsteps until he was standing in front of the young man.
The sudden call startled Sato out of his thoughts. Slightly confused, he looked up and blinked several times before his brain finally managed to recognize the other man.
"A-Asakura-san! I'm happy to see you again." Sato smiled weakly. "Also, thank you very much for what you did back there."
"Don't mention it." Asakura waved a hand dismissively, taking a seat next to Sato. "Those people are like a pack of wolves. They can't see a pretty person without making a ruckus."
"But you seemed to manage them quite well, Asakura-san."
"Yes… Well, I guess money can be scarier than beauty."
"Yes, I guess you're right." Sato whispered softly.
"You were late, you know." Asakura chided, abruptly changing the subject.
"Eh?"
"Why didn't you call to let me know you were going to come to the audition? Didn't I tell you to let me know if you decide to give it a try? Also, I've checked the names of the actors who enlisted several times during this last week and..."
Reaching up to here, Asakura's voice gradually faltered and, in the end, he stopped talking. Realizing what he just said caused Asakura to feel very embarrassed. What he had unwittingly admitted to was something shocking, even for himself.
All this while he had been restless, looking for Sato's name, waiting for his call to arrive. Those were things which he hadn't said to anyone except for Kota. Having them now exposed to the party involved made the overconfident Asakura feel stumped for words.
Sato, on the other hand, looked more confused than anything else. He kept blinking his bright eyes, patiently waiting for the other man to continue his sentence.
Being on the peak of embarrassment, Asakura turned his head to the side and coughed twice in order to clear his throat. There was no way he could continue his previous statement. As such, it was time for the conversation to take a different direction.
"Anyway, how come you're here?" he said, appearing to be very casual. "Did you finally decide to step out of your hiding place?"
"En." Sato nodded.
His voice was low and soft. While he spoke, he kept clasping his fingers together, trying to keep calm and collected.
"To be honest, when I made the decision, I didn't know this would be the audition you talked about. Director Kyota told me about this tryout last week. At first, I didn't want to come, but after swinging back and forth several times, I finally decided to stop being a coward. And since this was something the agency I'm under recommended, I thought I might as well give it a try."
Sato paused, raising his limpid eyes towards Asakura as he continued to speak calmly.
"Kyota-san sent the documents last night l, and this morning he personally called to make sure I could attend. When I arrived here this morning, I discovered that the movie you mentioned and the one Kyota-san talked about were actually one and the same. Truly a marvelous coincidence, don't you think?"
Asking this, Sato shot Asakura an unexpected bright smile.
With that one smile, Sato's entire complexion suddenly brightened. His expression became more animated, making it seem as though all his previous worries had vanished like smoke.
"Mh, indeed. It's lucky that such coincidences happen." Asakura replied, falling into a daze.
That enchanting smile came like a swift and ruthless attack on his heart. It knocked him silly, causing him to gape foolishly at the other man.
"I heard there was going to be a second part to this audition. Do you know if there is anything that I need to prepare beforehand?"
Sato's voice gradually pulled Asakura out of his reverie. He cleared his throat again and tried to reply as professionally as possible.
"There is no need to prepare anything. The second part consists of acting in a scene together with other actors. You will be split in groups and will be given a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the part. Since judges want to see how well the performers adapt to their roles, and just how much they can improvise, they didn't ask for anyone to memorize any lines beforehand. You'll be given scripts and be allowed to read from them."
"Oh, I see." Sato nodded in relief, taking mental notes. "I was actually worried, thinking I would have to memorize my character's lines in such a short time. That would have really put me in a bind." he admitted.
"Normally, that's how things are done in most common auditions." Asakura smiled knowingly. "But Director Mayama is a rather eccentric man, and the producer isn't any less strange either."
"Are they really such unusual people?" Sato inquired.
Showing a visible interest, he leaned slightly towards Asakura. Without Sato even realizing, their shoulders almost touched.
Witnessing this, Asakura felt mysteriously pleased. He smiled to himself before replying confidently.
"They are the weird duo of the movie industry. Almost everyone knows about them. However, no one can deny the quality of their joint projects. One of the reasons is the manner in which they deal with every stage of the project. When it comes to casting, for example, they aren't looking for people with a good memory, but for those that can give a heartfelt performance."
"That means they care a lot about their work." Sato nodded knowingly. "And they also have a keen knowledge on which people to hire for the job. Having the talent for it, but not the heart, can ultimately affect the overall performance."
While the two of them chatted like this for several minutes longer, all the interviews had ended.
With that, the first part of the audition was finally declared closed.