Extra in the Student Council
20. Not my favorite actress
Once Shuu left the school grounds, he moved straight home, where Ai was waiting for him. Today they had promised to look for a new place for Ai to move. They had been busy all this time, so they were only able to look for one today.
After he disguised Ai like usual, they left the house to look for a new place. At the same time, it was also a date.
***
"It's good that we were able to find a good place," Shuu said as they walked hand in hand on the shopping street. They could easily travel by vehicle, but they choose to spend their time like this; after all, it is a date.
"It's far from where you live, though," Ai replied, a bit disappointed by the result.
Shuu showed a wry smile. "Well, if it's close to mine, isn't it better for you just to live with me?"
"Ohh~ I never thought of that; it's a good idea!" took a few steps forward, then turned to Shuu with a bright smile.
Shuu nodded at her, saying, "Let's do that after you quit your idol work."
"Eehh, but why?"
"Family"
Hearing that single word from Shuu was enough for Ai to understand the Katsuragi family's motto, huh? What a pain!" She complained.
"I agree, it's a pain in the ass," Shuu replied. "Anyway, what do you want to eat for dinner?"
"Hmm." Ai turned back forward as she thought of what to eat tonight when, by coincidence, someone entered her vision. "Shuu," she called, "isn't that your favorite actress?"
"My favorite actress?" Shuu tilted his head, he had never had such a person. As he turned his gaze toward where Ai pointed, he saw a couple walking from the other side toward them, hand in hand.
What he saw was Ichinose Chizuru, the actress he met at Lalaie Theater, along with a man he didn't recognize,
Shuu knows it's bad for him to think this way, but he can't help it. The moment that man entered his vision, the first impression he got of him was of a sloppy young man with an invisible green hat on top of his head. As they walked straight toward them, it was only a matter of time before they saw Shuu and Ai.
"She's not my favorite actress, you know." Shuu denied her claim, saying, "After all, I already have you."
But Ai only brushed it off. "Yeah, yeah, Hoshino Ai would believe it if she didn't know just how much Katsuragi Shuu had prepared just for her first debut in the industry." Slapped with the fact that there's nothing Shuu could retort.
Chizuru walked hand in hand with Kazuya, as that's her usual procedure as a rental girlfriend. But then she met an acquaintance—no, it's not just any acquaintance; he is her boss at the moment, as long as their contract is still valid. It was a nightmare. Chizuru wasn't stupid, she knew the entertainment industry wasn't pure and white. It might even be blacker than ordinary ones. A scandal involving their upcoming actress was the last thing they wanted. That's why she snapped her hand away from Kazuya, hoping that Shuu wouldn't notice it. Kazuya could only look at his hand, dumbfounded.
"Ichinose-san" Shuu called just in case he got the wrong person, and her reaction was enough to assure Shuu she was her, so he continued, "And her boyfriend, I guess, good evening." He greeted them like usual.
Chizuru quickly replied, "Good evening, Katsuragi-san. What a coincidence!" Chizuru tried to brush it off.
"What a coincidence," Shuu replied with his usual harmless smile, while Kazuya switched his attention to Chizuru and Shuu again and again, trying to comprehend their relationship since, in the end, Chizuru was only his rental girlfriend.
"Well, I guess you're an actress and not an idol who needs absolute purity." At that moment, Shuu felt a punch from behind, but he ignored it. "It also wasn't my right to tell you what to do with your private life. But just as a reminder, I wish you not carelessly uploaded something crazy to Social media."
(He completely misunderstood our relationship!) Chizuru was surprised for a moment there before she quickly recovered and was about to clear up the misunderstanding.
"Kazuya?" Another voice came toward them, and the third party entered the scene. As two young men who seemed to know Chizuru's boyfriend approached them, Shuu quickly moved and hid Ai as much as possible from them.
Sure, Hoshino Ai was in disguise, but with a close look, there was still a slight chance for her rabid fans to recognize her. Even if there's only a 0.01% chance, Shuu won't risk it.
Then, as the three watched, Shuu, Ai, and Chizuru watched them make an instant comedy in the middle of the streets, reconfirming their relationship as friends. "Shuu..." Ai called in a small voice. "Ah, I noticed it too," Shuu replied.
Their relationship was already quite suspicious at the beginning, but this confirmed it. Ai realized the hidden secret of their relationship, while Shuu already knew their relationship had only started and was going because of fait accompli!
Fait Accompli!
Shuu felt like he heard a strange voice in his head explaining things, but he quickly threw it away from his head.
Shuu moved and took Chizuru's hand. "Mister," Shuu called Kazuya. "Thanks for showing us the way." Shuu then also pulled Ai, and the three left together.
Kazuya was once again left dumbfounded in place for the nth time. while his friends were relieved that his friend was still the friend they knew.
***
After they walked quite far from Kazuya and friends, Shuu quickly let go of Chizuru.
The way he just let go of her hand without hesitation made Chizuru have self-doubt about her charm as she stared at her hands for a moment, then she refocused her attention on Shuu.
"Um, thanks," she conveyed quite sincerely.
"Don't mind it." Shuu replied, "This is just me doing selfish things for my own satisfaction, while it is also my gratitude for you for accepting my contract. But this will be the last time I'll help you." Shuu stated decisively: "I don't really know what happened between you two. But.…"
"You can never bring somebody up if they don't want to go up. No matter how good you think you are, no matter how much you tell them you could help them, if they don't want to go up, There's nothing you can do."
"Think carefully why I told you this." Shuu said, "Then, see you at work," and when Shuu was about to leave with Ai,
"Wait!!"