Time passed minute by minute.
Misaki Itakura, waiting outside, grew more and more anxious.
"I always feel like Mr. Akikawa's audition time is longer than other artists."
"Did he anger the director?"
"Wow! That's very possible!"
"If Mr. Akikawa acts as he usually does, he'll definitely come off as if he's here just to mess with them!"
"In the end, I signed up for the audition without knowing anything about Mr. Akikawa's acting skills. It seemed a bit rushed."
Just as Misaki Itakura was frantically thinking outside, she suddenly heard the voice of a staff member calling the next artist.
Misaki Itakura quickly looked towards the room.
She saw Akikawa Kyusuke walking toward her, looking just as he had when he entered.
Misaki Itakura wasn't disappointed.
On the contrary, she felt lucky, because she saw that Akikawa Kyusuke didn't seem to have displeased the directors and judges.
——
Two days later.
The official cast of *The Lost Lady: Voice of the Dead* was set to announce the final cast list for the play at 10 a.m.
However, as Misaki Itakura didn't hold high hopes, she lost interest in checking the results.
Around 11:30, Akikawa Kyousuke, who had finished his morning training, arrived at Misaki Itakura's workstation and asked curiously,
"What happened?"
"I haven't looked yet. Want to check together?"
"I thought Miss Itakura wouldn't be able to wait until ten to check the results."
"Haha."
Misaki Itakura smiled awkwardly.
She thought that if Nishihara Koichi hadn't been involved, maybe that would have been the case.
She picked up the mouse and clicked on the website.
At that moment, she didn't feel curious about the audition result.
What she worried about most was that Akikawa Kyusuke would be devastated by his first failure.
Nishihara Koichi's name slid past her eyes; Misaki Itakura had anticipated this, so she wasn't too surprised.
"Mr. Akikawa, there's no need to worry too much about the result of your first audition."
"Failure can also accumulate experience, as long as you reflect on it and work hard."
Just as Misaki Itakura was consoling Akikawa Kyusuke, she was checking the official list of cast members for the play.
A familiar name passed in front of her eyes, making her words suddenly get stuck in her throat halfway through.
[High school sophomore Sae Otani: Akikawa Kyousuke (Fantastic)]
Misaki Itakura only felt a "buzz" in her head.
She quickly reopened the website.
Then she saw that Nishihara Koichi's name was not listed next to the high school boy Sae Otani, but instead was assigned to the second deceased character in the novel, the company employee Danny Hecker.
Misaki Itakura's mouth gradually opened as she turned to look at Kyusuke Akikawa, who was leaning over her and watching the screen. She was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a moment.
"Seems like I'm pretty lucky. The advice from senior Nishihara was also very helpful."
Akikawa Kyusuke smiled at Misaki Itakura.
"What... What's going on?! I remember that Mr. Nishihara also auditioned for Kotani Sae! How did he end up as a corporate worker?"
Just as Misaki Itakura was confused, her phone suddenly rang.
She answered the phone and gave her name.
"This is the official production team for the play *The Lost Lady: Voice of the Dead*. Miss Itakura should have seen it; your artist Akikawa Kyusuke passed the audition and was chosen to play Otani Sae."
"Please ask Mr. Akikawa to come to the Imperial Theatre at nine a.m. in two days to begin formal rehearsals."
"The rehearsal time is five weeks, and the play will officially premiere on February 11."
"We've also invited many guests to the premiere, such as the great detective Mouri Kogoro."
The person on the other end of the line spoke at length.
Misaki Itakura, who answered the phone, was suddenly overwhelmed by the surprise after hearing the first few words spoken by the caller.
So much so that she couldn't hear what the person on the other end was saying at all.
After the other party finished speaking and asked her twice if she had any questions, she finally woke up as if from a dream.
She quickly asked,
"Well, may I ask, did Mr. Nishihara from our company also audition for Sae Otani? Why... I just checked the list, and the role he ended up with was Danny Hecker."
"Yes, the director believes that Mr. Nishihara is more suitable for Danny."
After hearing this, Misaki Itakura thanked the other person and hung up.
She understood the underlying meaning in the other person's words—
The director thought Akikawa Kyusuke was more suitable for playing Kotani Sae than Nishihara Koichi, so he asked Nishihara Koichi to change roles!
"Mr. Akikawa?! This is incredible! He can even compete with Mr. Nishihara!"
Misaki Itakura looked at the calm Akikawa Kyusuke beside her in surprise, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
"Could it be that Mr. Akikawa is really good at acting?!"
"Didn't I say so from the beginning? I used to imitate TV characters at home."
"But who would have thought! Mr. Nishihara has been a child actor since he was young!"
"Acting isn't everything; the key is understanding the director's ideas."
"Regardless, Mr. Akikawa is amazing! This is great!"
Misaki Itakura hadn't expected that in her first job as an official agent, she would be in the same workplace as Okino Yoko.
If it weren't for Akikawa Kyusuke, she would never have had this opportunity.
"Mr. Akikawa, you're my lucky star! I'll treat you tonight; you can have anything you want!"
"Miss Itakura is very generous, knowing I can't eat much."
"What?! That's definitely not what I meant!"
——
On the other side.
Okino Yoko, who had just finished presenting special programs on Nippon TV, walked towards the elevator surrounded by a group of old colleagues.
"Yoko, please stay a little longer. We haven't seen you in so long. Let's have lunch together~"
"Sorry, I have to hurry to the Empire Theatre for rehearsals."
Okino Yoko gave a polite smile to her old colleagues.
"Honestly, our ratings have plummeted since Yoko and Reina left Japan."
"Reina... I can't contact her at all now."
Okino Yoko thought of her old friend, the beautiful host Reina Mizuna with cat-like eyes, and felt a deep nostalgia.
She looked at her old colleagues with a lonely expression and quickly said in a cheerful tone,
"But don't worry, I'm still here! As long as everyone needs me, Okino Yoko will return to Japanese TV anytime!"
"Haha, Yoko is so reliable!"
The staff around from Nippon TV were immediately touched by Okino Yoko's energy, and everyone smiled.
After bidding farewell to her old colleagues, Okino Yoko took the elevator to the first floor.
There she met her agent, Sae Nakata.
"Sister Sae."
Okino Yoko greeted Nakata Sae gently.
"Yoko, the remaining cast members of *The Lost Lady: Voice of the Dead* have been finalized."
"Oh, is that so."
Okino Yoko took the drink to soothe her throat from Nakata Sae, then lifted her graceful neck and took a small sip.
Her movements were elegant and slow.
"However, I noticed two interesting things."
"First, Nishihara-kun auditioned for Sae Kotani but wasn't chosen and ultimately got the role of Danny Hecker."
"Here we go again." Okino Yoko sighed helplessly.
Obviously, with Nishihara Koichi's acting skills and reputation, he could definitely get better roles in regular film and TV projects.
But he always had to choose his own work.
This time, he chose a play he had no experience with, and he was compared to others.
It's honestly a bit embarrassing.
"But if he could be compared with Mr. Nishihara, his acting skills shouldn't be bad. Is he from the company?"
Okino Yoko asked as she walked outside the Nippon TV building.
Actors from theater companies definitely perform better on stage than film and television actors.
No wonder Nishihara Koichi wasn't chosen.
"No, that's the second interesting thing."
"The actor who was ultimately chosen as Kotani Sae is named Akikawa Kyusuke."
As soon as Nakata Sae finished speaking, Okino Yoko, walking in front, suddenly stopped in her tracks.
At that moment, her blue eyes began to tremble violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
——
Thank you to all readers for reading and voting!