Chapter 25: CH 25

Public Recording

There was a commercial center in front of the station, where you could do everything from shopping to dining. The sixth floor of the center was the venue for the public recording.

When I got off the elevator, there was a signboard showing the way, and a line of audience was already forming. I lined up at the end and began to wait – Young men made up a larger percentage of the audience, but there were quite a few women  as well.

Asatani-san, publicly known as Kiritani Noa, was starring in a drama called ‘Lyric of Love and Blue.’ The protagonists were two high school students who were having unsuccessful relationships, and Asatani-san played the role of a girl who had a fruitless crush on her brother-in-law.

“This week’s ‘Ao Riri’ was great, wasn’t it? It made me cry so many times.” 

(T/N : The show is called koi to ao no ririku, hence ‘Ao Riri’)

“Noarin is really cute, and I’m glad she didn’t get less screen time after being rejected.”

“Ryuuto-kun came on the show last week and he looked really cool. I’m sure Noarin is going to look cute too.”

A female customer in front of me mentioned a name – an actor named Ryuuto Fukagawa. There was a rumor circulating on the Internet about his relationship with Asatani-san.

It was said to be a mere topic of conversation, but for the fans it was a touchy subject, and Ryuuto Fukagawa’s name was forbidden. Noarin’s office had a strict no-fraternization policy, and the media probing her private life was against the rules when she was still in high school. As a could-be girlfriend of an equally popular actor, many defended her, but there were also many slanders that were unbearable to stand.

As for the variety show that they appeared on together for promotion, there was some backlash. The  entertainment news started poking around, and asked why Kiritani-san, a secondary character, was appearing in the show, and said that the relationship between the two was suspicious and they should not appear together again.

Asatani-san told her friends not to believe the articles on the Internet. It wasn’t the first time that she had to verify the authenticity of an entertainment news- Afterall, she had to deal with the constant curious stares all year round.

–I didn’t mind. As long as the people around me knew the truth, I was fine with it.

Everyone took those words at face value and said with admiration that Asatani-san was born with a star quality.

Needless to say, I was one of them.

Being in the same junior high school with someone who lived in a different world, I was so attracted to her that I used the change in environment as a convenient opportunity to confess my feelings to her.

If I had confessed to her before she became famous, something might have been different. But that’s impossible and shouldn’t even be considered hypothetically.

The fact that she became famous as ‘Kiritani Noa’ was part of what made her ‘Asatani-san’.

“Thank you very much for coming to the public recording of ‘Saturday Live Peaceful’ today. We’re going to show you to your bleachers now, but please note that we have limited seats so those in groups of two or more will have to sit closer together.”　

The staff started to explain – I thought they were just going to continue their explanation and move on, but then the staff started to call out to the people in line and the audience started to line back up.

“Ticket A, number 10, are you here?”

“Ah… Yes, Ticket A number 10 is here.”

I was standing at the very back, but they moved me to the tenth spot from the front. From the sound of the people around me, it seemed that these tickets were given out to those involved in the event, and that the general public would start at number eleven.

I wondered if the seats in front of and behind me were empty because they hadn’t been filled – Or if Nakano-san had only been given one ticket and handed it to me. In any case, I would have to talk to her later.

I messaged Takane-san to ask her if I could call her, and told her that I was going to the public recording.

–I understand. Thank you for telling me before you go.

–I think Asatani-san wanted Nagito-san to come. I don’t know if she asked Nakano-san to invite Nagito-san, but that could just be it…

Takane-san reached the same guess I had been struggling to come up with, surprisingly fast.

Was I being slow, or was I overthinking this? Or was there something about girls that they could understand anything without telling each other?

–I’m sorry. Even though I started going out with Takane-san, right now it’s like I’m regretting it…

–It’s because I have always been rooting for Asatani-san… And I can’t seem to get rid of those feelings even now.

–But it’s not like I have regretful feelings. I think it would be better if she doesn’t realize that I’m here.

That’s why I wanted you to let me go – In the end, no matter how I say it, it’d sound like I was having feelings of regret.

Even though I knew Takane-san could lose her feelings towards me, even though I knew what I was doing was something really foolish, I still did it. 

–Go ahead, it’s okay. Asatani-san is an important friend of Nagito-san’s.

–Since I already said it’s okay, please don’t apologize for anything, Nagito-san.

–In fact, I want Asatani-san to notice that Nagito-san came.

–Because that would be too kind of you cheering for Asatani-san when she doesn’t even realize.

I didn’t know if Asatani-san would notice that I was here. Assuming she did, I couldn’t really picture how she’d take it.

Maybe she’d say ‘Why are you here?’ or maybe she’d say ‘Oh, you’re here.’ – This was why I said I was fine with Asatani-san not noticing me.

However, when they rearranged our seats according to the tickets, I came to a position where I could be seen easily from the recording booth.

(Is this okay…? No, Nakano-san must’ve known when she handed the ticket to me that I would be seated in this position… Also, I wonder if Asatani-san expected that Nakano-san’s ticket would be handed to me in the first place…)

“Everyone, we have some time before we start, but please be back five minutes early. I’d like to have a chance to hear your voices first, so let’s practice a little clapping and cheering.”

A young man from the radio staff was starting to explain. However, the seats next to me – ticket number 11 and 12 were talking louder, making it a little difficult for me to hear the explanation.

“I can’t wait to see Noarin in the flesh. I wonder if she’ll wear erotic clothes at times like this.”

“I didn’t think that was how they marketed her, but if she was dating Ryuuto, that would be a different story.”

“That’s just how the agency markets people like her. They’re constrained in so many ways that they’re hungry for a man. I know what I’m talking about.”

“……”

I got up from my seat. The two young men sitting next to me looked at me in surprise- Then as if nothing happened, they turned to the booth.

“Not good, not good. It’d be bad if people from special seats could hear us. Noarin, do your best. I’m a huge fan.”

“Public recordings are great, but I wish they’d release a photo book and do a handshake session.”

(…We’re just observing through glass, and she can’t hear our voices…But…)

Such people, who write their irresponsible imaginations on the Internet, were participating in the public recording as Asatani-san’s fans.

I could understand why Takadera was worried – When there were people who seemed to be trying to get in touch with ‘Kiritani Noa’ herself so concretely, it really reminded you that you could never be too careful.

“Kiritani-san will appear from the corner on the next segment of the program. She will appear for thirty minutes and after that, we will hand out commemorative gifts.”

“Does that mean Kiritani-san will not hand out the gifts?”

“Due to the current circumstances, she will not be handing them out this time.”

The two people seated next to me looked visibly unhappy – On the contrary, I was glad that Asatani-san was not going to be directly in front of the fans today.

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Truly, all I wanted was to support her appearance in the public recording. However, looking at the situation, I couldn’t help but feel shaken.

The regular host of the radio program came in and the program started. As I had been told, ‘Kiritani Noa’ was called in for the first segment.

“–Nice to meet you, I’m Kiritani Noa. Thank you for your time today.”

Even when I was at school, I couldn’t help but think what a celebrity she was.

It was because her radiance had become so strong that she couldn’t be confused with ordinary students.

As ‘Kiritani Noa’, she was at the forefront of her generation in terms of hairstyles and fashion, and her presence alone had transformed a not-so-glamorous radio recording booth into a completely different place.

“…Hey, hey, that’s foul play… Isn’t she too cute?”

“Holy s**t… She’s so cute…”

The two guests seated next to me who were saying whatever they wanted were losing their vocabulary. When we were asked to help with the recording by cheering and applauding, the audience was so excited that the entire bleachers shook.

“It’s an open recording today, so there are a lot of Noarin’s fans here. Everyone, this is Noarin.”

“I’m sorry… Noarin is… a little embarrassing… But I’m happy.”

Asatani-san looked around the bleachers. Starting with the first seat.

Asatani-san’s gaze passed over the tenth seat – And nothing happened.

That was how it was supposed to be, I thought.

And yet, when she saw me, she looked surprised for just a moment.

–Then she smiled.

Since the graduation ceremony, she hadn’t shown me her natural smile like that.

“…I’m so relieved that so many people came. I was so nervous the entire time until I got on the stage.”

“It was a huge turnout. We got a lot of applicants by postcards and email and I’ve never seen anything like this since this show started.”

“Thank you, to everyone who won, it’s nice to meet you. And to those of you who didn’t win, I hope we get another chance to meet.”

“I’m sure everyone here and the fans listening to the show are happy to hear that. I’m sorry for just the audio, but Noarin really is so cute.”

“That’s not true, I’m so nervous that I’ve been practicing my smile.”

Asatani-san was modest, but she didn’t seem uncomfortable at all – She simply matched the announcer’s narrative and was able to carry the conversation effortlessly.

She said that when she first appeared as a guest on the radio, she was so nervous that she couldn’t understand what she was discussing. The fact that she was able to speak so calmly must be the result of her experience and effort.

This radio appearance also included the advertisement of a drama, and the conversation got straight into that content.

“Fukagawa-san, who came to the show last week, also received this question from a listener… Since you’re still appearing on the show, can I ask you a question? Many people love you two because you act like brother and sister, but what kind of person is Fukugawa Ryuuto-san from the perspective of Kiritani Noa-san?”

Part of the audience was buzzing.

That’s because some of the people who were here as fans of Kiritani Noa were also fans of Ryuuto Fukagawa.

All the attention was on her. Asatani-san thought for a moment, then she answered.

“…I think he is an actor who can make the atmosphere around him more relaxed. He plays the role of the older brother, but in terms of his age he wasn’t really that old, and he’s quite the dependable person too.”

“Right now, both Fukagawa-san and Kiritani-san were said to be breaking new ground. Kiritani-san’s acting of unrequited love was really sad, and when she backed off in the last episode, I was wondering if that was really okay! I was like, ‘Are you sure about that?’”

“…That is…”

–Asatani-san looked at me again.

I never thought that she would look this way again, but she did – Maybe she just happened to look here and I was overthinking it. Or maybe, if there was someone you knew, you would want to look at them in a situation like this. 

As I thought this, Asatani-san said,

“Now that I’m in high school, I’m starting to understand things that I didn’t understand before. I think I’m becoming more of an adult.”

“I guess you’re right, you seem much more mature lately. But thinking back to when Noarin had that commercial that gave her her breakthrough, it just hits me that time really flies.”

“I can’t watch that commercial by myself now, it’s so embarrassing.”

“Everyone said you were like a hidden gem making her debut, you were just too cute.”

Asatani-san answered the male announcer’s question with embarrassment – And then looked at me again for a moment.

“…Just now, she was looking at me right?”

“Really? That’s awesome.”

“I’m going to meet Noarin later. You should go home first, we’ll just stand out as two.”

“Woah, that’s sly. I’d usually go home at the end, but I also want to meet Noarin.”

Of all the people – I wondered if they were the people whom Takadera said I should look out for.

The recording proceeded smoothly. We played rock-paper-scissors between the audience, and the winner would get an autograph as a prize – Some of the audience were happy and some were sad, but the guys next to me were not even listening to the recording properly anymore.

“I’m going to miss you, Noarin… But it’s time for our guest, Kiritani Noa to wrap it up. I’d like to ask you one last thing, do you remember the ending quote for the show?”

“Yes, I’ve been practicing. Always in the heart, Peaceful! …This is Kiritani Noa.”

After making a heart with both hands and striking a pose for the audience, Kiritani-san bowed in all directions before leaving the booth.

After receiving their souvenirs, the audience was dismissed. The two men, who had said they would wait for Asatani-san to come out, were asking questions directly to the staff.

“Um, I’m not allowed to tell you where she would come from…”

When the staff refused to tell, they walked out with a look of reluctance. It was my turn to go outside, so I followed the two men out.

“This way, right? Staff entrance and exit.”

The men hid in the shadows, watching the door to the staff entrance – What if Kiritani-san were to come out from there? I didn’t think she would come out unguarded, but it would be bad if these two men were to follow her.

Asatani-san probably noticed that I was here. Since our eyes were locked, there was no doubt about it.

Just to be safe, I should let her know that there were suspicious men waiting for her at the door.

But wouldn’t she think it was just an excuse to speak with her? However, in that situation, I couldn’t afford to hesitate for long.

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