Co-Stars
The Roles of A Lifetime
* * *
Oguri Shun: “Isn’t it just because you look at people from a strange perspective? […] Maybe you make up your mind about people before you meet them?”
Inoue Mao: “I do not.”
Shun in regards to Mao’s first impressions of him and Jun during an All Night Nippon interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch
(Unfortunately this link is no longer active. Damn youtube!)
* * *
~July 2005. Then.~
“You got the part.”
“Eh?”
Mao was tucked away in a quiet corner of the Meiji University library, trying to decode the short hand notes she took during her lit class when the call from her agent came in.
“You got the part,” Fujiwara Riko repeated patiently to her young client.
“EHHHHH!!!?” Mao shot to her feet. “Honki desu ka? Are you serious?!” There was a loud ‘shushing’ from behind a bookshelf and a faint voice could be heard from across the library, “We’re trying to study!”
She bowed to no one in particular, “Ah...sumimasen...excuse me...” and returned to her keitai.
“Riko-san, are you serious?” Mao pinched her cheeks. Ittai...not dreaming...
“ Yes, Mao-chan, I am very serious. When am I not serious?”
Mao didn’t miss a beat. “When you’re drinking. You haven’t been drinking, have you?”
“Not since last night.”
“Then I believe you, Riko-san.”
“Thank you...Makino Tsukushi.”
“Kyaa...” Mao couldn’t believe it. She was starring in her own drama. Not just any drama either. “Hana Yori Dango”. She loved reading Hana Yori Dango. And she wasn’t the only one. Hana Yori Dango sold millions as a manga series. The popularity of the Taiwanese series was off the charts. It MADE the actors stars.
Makino Tsukushi, the love story tough poor girl going head to head with a bunch of rich and powerful snobs, was the role she was meant to play. When she heard they were finally going to make a Japanese version of the series she was on the phone with her agent about securing an audition. To her absolute joy, she was one of the actresses they had in mind to play her.
And she had gotten the part. Lead actress. Makino Tsukushi BELOVED MANGA. OWN DRAMA. LEAD ACTRESS.
“YATTA!!!” she couldn’t help the shout of joy from exploding from her mouth.
“Trying to study!!!” that faint voice from the other side of the library yelled out and could be heard among the various shushing sounds.
She bowed again to no one in particular. “Gomennasai. Sumimasen.”
“Breathe, Mao-chan.” Riko-san was still on the phone. “Now I’m going to stop by your house this afternoon with some of the contract information and the script for the first episode.”
“Hai.”
“I want to make sure you read everything.”
“Hai.”
“The director and producer want to see you and talk about the script, characterizations, and promotion scheduling. But I told them you were busy studying for exams till next week. They said that there is plenty of time, they’re ahead of schedule and they could wait till the beginning of August, as long as you have no problems with the contract.”
“Hai.”
“Also shooting doesn’t start till the fall, but you should also talk to your professors in advance in case there are any conflicts.
“Hai.”
“The contract also states that 60 percent of your earnings from “Hanadan” goes straight to your management. Don’t forget to sign it.”
“Ha-- cho-chotto!”
“Just wanted to make sure you were listening,” Riko laughed.
Mao whined laughingly, “Riiikooo-saaan.
“Ah--,” the thought just occurred to Mao, “Riko-san? Has the rest of the cast been chosen?”
“Hmm… for the most part I believe. Most of the main cast anyway. There are a few small parts that they’re still debating on. Also some extras are needed if you want to pass the message on to your acting classmates.”
“Ah, arigatou…demo…who will be playing Domyouji?” The love interest, leader of the F4, Domyouji Tsukasa.
“I was wondering when you would ask. It seems they cast Matsumoto Jun-san.”
“Ahh. Souka.” A Pause. “Eh?...Who’s that?”
* * * * *
“Inoue Mao. Have you ever heard of her?”
Matsumoto Jun was pretty sure he had ever heard the name of his future Hana Yori Dango co-star before. Jun had been offered the male lead, which he only agreed to play if they cast his good friend and fellow actor, Oguri Shun, as one of his best friends. Shun had just gotten the call from his manager that he got the part Jun had recommended him for. So now they were heading off with for a congratulatory lunch. Jun had never really met many of the people he would be working with on this drama before and he was curious about his leading lady. So he posed the question to the man sitting in the driver’s seat beside him.
“Inoue-san?” Shun replied. “Ah! Sou…She was in the hospital drama I was in just this past year.”
“So you’ve met her? What’s she like?”
“I might have talked to her once,” Shun replied. “We really didn’t have any scenes together. She played a girl who attempted suicide. Nanako-san, the one playing your older sister, she was in more scenes with her.” He nodded to himself, remembering. “Inoue Mao, ne? Cute girl. A little quiet from what I remember. Wasn’t she Akane on that ‘Kid’s War’ drama a while back?”
Jun remembered that title as his band mates Nino and Aiba used to catch it once in a while when they had time, their tastes in entertainment a bit childish. Ok. Sometimes really childish. He also remembered the skinny, awkward looking, loud-mouth tomboy. “Akane-chan! So cool! So kawaii!” Nino and Aiba would say to each other.
Grimacing, Jun scoffed, “That little runt? Hounto? How old is she now? 16? 17?” Shun shrugged. He didn’t know.
Well, that was disappointing. It had been a faint hope he had that the producers would go with a more known actress or casting someone a little older, at least around his age. Personally, he’d prefer an older woman. He liked the women he acted across to be more mature. Real women. They knew how to kiss. And, for the most part, they knew how to act.
“Great. I knew this was going to be a bad idea.” Yabai…he knew the role of Makino Tsukushi screamed ingénue rather than real actress. He just didn’t want to be spending his time teaching some relatively newbie actress the ropes. The role of sempai he was all too familiar with all the Johnny Juniors trying to make their way into the big leagues.
But there was something about Domyouji Tsukasa that intrigued him. An arrogant, violent bully, lonely and abandoned by his rich parents, what he had seen of the world made him cynical, yet his hard front masked a childish innocence. And his love for Makino was incredibly simple and pure. Plus he was rather stupid in a comical way. Domyouji was a unique character, and if he played him right, it would definitely be a boost to his acting career. Jun refused to watch the Taiwanese version. It would be a challenge to take this role and make it his own.
But the story itself… was a bit fluffy for his taste.
“What’s so bad about it?” Shun asked him. “It should be fun. Plus you’re going to be the big, damn romantic leading man. You’re fans are going to go nuts.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” As part of a successful, and he hated this term, boy band, Jun knew about young, screaming, obsessive fans who fawned all over him in embarrassing ways, invading his personal space.
Shun started laughing at the look of disdain on Jun’s face. “Ne, ne, Jun-kun! Did you check out the script yet? It’ll be great! I’ll finally get a taste of your Idol lifestyle. Bonding with a bunch of boys and leaving trails of heartbroken girls all screaming, ‘F4 yo!’” He snapped his fingers, “Ah! I know! We should record a song? Form a group like those other guys! I wonder if Matsuda and Tsuyoshi know how to sing and dance?”
“Uresai. That’s not funny.” He leaned his head on the car seat. “Did they have to cast this girl? The last thing I want is a boy crazy teenage little wannabe following me around on set.”
Shun doubled over laughing, hitting the car horn with his forehead. “Jun-kun, Jun-kun, you are amazing.” He slapped Jun on the chest. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and she’ll never even have heard of you.”
Jun scoffed. That wasn’t likely. Who hadn’t heard of King Matsumoto Jun of the all popular Arashi?
This picture makes me laugh for some reason.
* * * * *
“You don’t know who MatsuJun is?!”
Startled at her friends’ outburst, Mao started choking on her iced coffee. Her friend’s wanted to celebrate her new drama. She confessed that she didn’t know much about her co-star, but she didn’t expect such a strong reaction to her ignorance. Recovering her breath, she became aware of the stares of the other patrons in the café that they were all eating lunch at. If you wanted to get someone’s attention, 4 shrieking females was the way to go.
“I know who he is,” she whispered defensively, “I just forgot his name.” She took another sip of her drink.
“Are you sure?” Nishina Akie was in Mao’s Japanese classical literature class, a plain girl who wore little makeup and thick glasses. Not a huge Arashi fan, but she at least knew the names of the boys in the group. Plus she loved Kimi wa Petto.
Yamada Sae, tall, thin, and light brown hair, was in Mao’s theater studies class. Very outspoken. Rather blunt. “She’s not sure.” Secretly (well, maybe not so secretly), Sae kept a memory scrapbook devoted to Ohno Satoshi, under her pillow.
Saito Fumi was also in Mao’s theatre class. Big eyes, curled light hair, dressed in bright colours. She loved MatsuJun. Loved him a lot. “Iineeee…Matsujun-sama…” Her boyfriend was exceptionally understanding of her obsession.
“How could you not know who he is?” Mao met Haeda Hana in her film analysis class. With short hair and clad all in black, she preferred to be called HaHa for some reason. She actually despised Arashi, and all things Johnny related. Bunch of generic, superficial, pretty boys without substance or real talent. Typical “idol” types.
“Isn’t he one of Johnny Kitagawa’s chosen few? Got the call from the big man himself?” They all looked at her strangely. “What?” Her sister had these guys plastered all over her bedroom walls and wouldn’t shut up about them. There was no avoiding it.
“Matsujun-sama is simply the best, Mao-chan,” Fumi gushed. “He can sing, he can act, he can dance, he can model, he can make love like no one else...” They all looked at Fumi like her head had suddenly sprouted small dancing purple elephants. Ok, maybe that was a bit on the ridiculous side, but that was how they felt.
“He can also spit strawberry cupcakes and his farts are made of rainbows,” HaHa laughed.
Fumi humphed. “That’s disgusting, Ha-chan.”
“So is your gushing about the almighty Matsumoto.”
Cough. “He’s not as great as Ohno...” Sae coughed again not so subtly.
And they’re off...
Mao leaned her head into her hands, groaned and reminded herself how much she loved these girls. Since starting university in the spring, she had been lucky enough to meet and become friends with such interesting and different girls. It was a rare experience for Mao, who had a bunch of close guy friends, but very few girl friends. Mao often had to deal with girls jealous of her television career, or girls who mistook her shyness for snobbishness. But Akie, Sae, Fumi, and HaHa readily accepted Mao on an individual level, fast becoming friends with each other, bonding over freshmen university adventures.
“I know who he is, I just didn’t remember him right away.” Mao helped herself to some of Fumi’s chocolate cake, much to Fumi’s dismay.
“Wah!… Mao-chan!!” she cried, her mouth full of cake. Sae poked Mao in the forehead.
“You know, for someone in the business, you can be really clueless.”
“It’s not like I really listen to his music,” Mao stuck her tongue out. “You are the only friends I have who would listen to Arashi.” Cough, cough. “Except for Ha-chan. Onii-chan and the guys would avoid them like crazy.” In fact, her guy friends threatened to post embarrassing elementary school pictures on her website if they ever caught her listening to Arashi or any other band like that. While Onii-chan only let her love for SMAP pass because he respected Kimura Takuya’s acting.
“And I know Matsumoto-san was in ‘Gokusen’, with Oguri-san.” She paused suddenly.
Oguri Shun.
She remembered him from when she appeared on “Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji 4” earlier this year. How could she forget him? Or his dark hair, long legs, smooth voice, soulful eyes. Talented Oguri Shun. Who would be playing Hanazawa Rui. Tsukushi’s first love.
Sae poked her forehead again. “Mao-chan, why is your face all red?”
“She’s making that weird mewing sound she makes when she’s flustered,” Akie noted from behind the manga she had just pulled out.
“Ah! Masa ka? Could it be?” Fumi moved her face directly in front of Mao’s and searched her eyes intently. Mao shrank back from Fumi’s probing gaze. “You liked Sawada Shin, didn’t you?” referring to Matsumoto’s character in ‘Gokusen’. “Wasn’t he cool?!” Fumi sighed dreamily.
“Mao does seem the type to be drawn to brooding men, ne? I think it’s the opposites attract thing.” HaHa pointed out. Mao thought of Oguri Shun again but quickly shoved him from her brain as she fought the blush threatening to spread across her face.
Fumi sighed. There seemed to be a lot of sighing at the table today, Mao noted. “Iino, iino, Mao-chan…you’re so lucky. You’re going to be surrounding by good-looking guys. It’s just like a manga.”
“It’s based on a manga, Fumi-chan,” Akie said dryly.
Fumi ignored her. “And you get to be with Matsumoto Jun-sama.”
HaHa started to gag. Fumi ignored her, too. “You get to have his arms around you…”
“Does she actually have hearts in her eyes?” Sae asked.
“You get to have him fall in love with you and confess his feelings…”
“She does realize it’s a drama right?” HaHa looked at Fumi in confusion.
“And you get to have his lips pressed against yours while the wind is ruffling through his perfect hair, and the sun glistening off his perfect skin…” while Fumi got lost in the her American romance novel cover fantasy, Mao once again started to choke. This time on some of Akie’s ice cream.
“Na-nani?! What was that again?”
Fumi looked confused. “Perfect skin?” Mao shook her head. “Perfect hair?” Still shaking. “Wind?”
“I think she meant about the kiss, Fumi-chan,” Akie said.
“Oh."
Yabai. She was going to have to kiss a popular idol. In front of the cameras.
“Can you get me his autograph?” This time she ignored Fumi.
At least she had the rest of the summer to get over it.
Previous Next
* * * * *
G-notes:
I'm getting images off of Google, but if you have any you'd like to share, by all means let me know. I'll be happy to credit you!
* * *
Oguri Shun: “Isn’t it just because you look at people from a strange perspective? […] Maybe you make up your mind about people before you meet them?”
Inoue Mao: “I do not.”
Shun in regards to Mao’s first impressions of him and Jun during an All Night Nippon interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch
(Unfortunately this link is no longer active. Damn youtube!)
* * *
~July 2005. Then.~
“You got the part.”
“Eh?”
Mao was tucked away in a quiet corner of the Meiji University library, trying to decode the short hand notes she took during her lit class when the call from her agent came in.
“You got the part,” Fujiwara Riko repeated patiently to her young client.
“EHHHHH!!!?” Mao shot to her feet. “Honki desu ka? Are you serious?!” There was a loud ‘shushing’ from behind a bookshelf and a faint voice could be heard from across the library, “We’re trying to study!”
She bowed to no one in particular, “Ah...sumimasen...excuse me...” and returned to her keitai.
“Riko-san, are you serious?” Mao pinched her cheeks. Ittai...not dreaming...
“ Yes, Mao-chan, I am very serious. When am I not serious?”
Mao didn’t miss a beat. “When you’re drinking. You haven’t been drinking, have you?”
“Not since last night.”
“Then I believe you, Riko-san.”
“Thank you...Makino Tsukushi.”
“Kyaa...” Mao couldn’t believe it. She was starring in her own drama. Not just any drama either. “Hana Yori Dango”. She loved reading Hana Yori Dango. And she wasn’t the only one. Hana Yori Dango sold millions as a manga series. The popularity of the Taiwanese series was off the charts. It MADE the actors stars.
Makino Tsukushi, the love story tough poor girl going head to head with a bunch of rich and powerful snobs, was the role she was meant to play. When she heard they were finally going to make a Japanese version of the series she was on the phone with her agent about securing an audition. To her absolute joy, she was one of the actresses they had in mind to play her.
And she had gotten the part. Lead actress. Makino Tsukushi BELOVED MANGA. OWN DRAMA. LEAD ACTRESS.
“YATTA!!!” she couldn’t help the shout of joy from exploding from her mouth.
“Trying to study!!!” that faint voice from the other side of the library yelled out and could be heard among the various shushing sounds.
She bowed again to no one in particular. “Gomennasai. Sumimasen.”
“Breathe, Mao-chan.” Riko-san was still on the phone. “Now I’m going to stop by your house this afternoon with some of the contract information and the script for the first episode.”
“Hai.”
“I want to make sure you read everything.”
“Hai.”
“The director and producer want to see you and talk about the script, characterizations, and promotion scheduling. But I told them you were busy studying for exams till next week. They said that there is plenty of time, they’re ahead of schedule and they could wait till the beginning of August, as long as you have no problems with the contract.”
“Hai.”
“Also shooting doesn’t start till the fall, but you should also talk to your professors in advance in case there are any conflicts.
“Hai.”
“The contract also states that 60 percent of your earnings from “Hanadan” goes straight to your management. Don’t forget to sign it.”
“Ha-- cho-chotto!”
“Just wanted to make sure you were listening,” Riko laughed.
Mao whined laughingly, “Riiikooo-saaan.
“Ah--,” the thought just occurred to Mao, “Riko-san? Has the rest of the cast been chosen?”
“Hmm… for the most part I believe. Most of the main cast anyway. There are a few small parts that they’re still debating on. Also some extras are needed if you want to pass the message on to your acting classmates.”
“Ah, arigatou…demo…who will be playing Domyouji?” The love interest, leader of the F4, Domyouji Tsukasa.
“I was wondering when you would ask. It seems they cast Matsumoto Jun-san.”
“Ahh. Souka.” A Pause. “Eh?...Who’s that?”
* * * * *
“Inoue Mao. Have you ever heard of her?”
Matsumoto Jun was pretty sure he had ever heard the name of his future Hana Yori Dango co-star before. Jun had been offered the male lead, which he only agreed to play if they cast his good friend and fellow actor, Oguri Shun, as one of his best friends. Shun had just gotten the call from his manager that he got the part Jun had recommended him for. So now they were heading off with for a congratulatory lunch. Jun had never really met many of the people he would be working with on this drama before and he was curious about his leading lady. So he posed the question to the man sitting in the driver’s seat beside him.
“Inoue-san?” Shun replied. “Ah! Sou…She was in the hospital drama I was in just this past year.”
“So you’ve met her? What’s she like?”
“I might have talked to her once,” Shun replied. “We really didn’t have any scenes together. She played a girl who attempted suicide. Nanako-san, the one playing your older sister, she was in more scenes with her.” He nodded to himself, remembering. “Inoue Mao, ne? Cute girl. A little quiet from what I remember. Wasn’t she Akane on that ‘Kid’s War’ drama a while back?”
Jun remembered that title as his band mates Nino and Aiba used to catch it once in a while when they had time, their tastes in entertainment a bit childish. Ok. Sometimes really childish. He also remembered the skinny, awkward looking, loud-mouth tomboy. “Akane-chan! So cool! So kawaii!” Nino and Aiba would say to each other.
Grimacing, Jun scoffed, “That little runt? Hounto? How old is she now? 16? 17?” Shun shrugged. He didn’t know.
Well, that was disappointing. It had been a faint hope he had that the producers would go with a more known actress or casting someone a little older, at least around his age. Personally, he’d prefer an older woman. He liked the women he acted across to be more mature. Real women. They knew how to kiss. And, for the most part, they knew how to act.
“Great. I knew this was going to be a bad idea.” Yabai…he knew the role of Makino Tsukushi screamed ingénue rather than real actress. He just didn’t want to be spending his time teaching some relatively newbie actress the ropes. The role of sempai he was all too familiar with all the Johnny Juniors trying to make their way into the big leagues.
But there was something about Domyouji Tsukasa that intrigued him. An arrogant, violent bully, lonely and abandoned by his rich parents, what he had seen of the world made him cynical, yet his hard front masked a childish innocence. And his love for Makino was incredibly simple and pure. Plus he was rather stupid in a comical way. Domyouji was a unique character, and if he played him right, it would definitely be a boost to his acting career. Jun refused to watch the Taiwanese version. It would be a challenge to take this role and make it his own.
But the story itself… was a bit fluffy for his taste.
“What’s so bad about it?” Shun asked him. “It should be fun. Plus you’re going to be the big, damn romantic leading man. You’re fans are going to go nuts.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” As part of a successful, and he hated this term, boy band, Jun knew about young, screaming, obsessive fans who fawned all over him in embarrassing ways, invading his personal space.
Shun started laughing at the look of disdain on Jun’s face. “Ne, ne, Jun-kun! Did you check out the script yet? It’ll be great! I’ll finally get a taste of your Idol lifestyle. Bonding with a bunch of boys and leaving trails of heartbroken girls all screaming, ‘F4 yo!’” He snapped his fingers, “Ah! I know! We should record a song? Form a group like those other guys! I wonder if Matsuda and Tsuyoshi know how to sing and dance?”
“Uresai. That’s not funny.” He leaned his head on the car seat. “Did they have to cast this girl? The last thing I want is a boy crazy teenage little wannabe following me around on set.”
Shun doubled over laughing, hitting the car horn with his forehead. “Jun-kun, Jun-kun, you are amazing.” He slapped Jun on the chest. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and she’ll never even have heard of you.”
Jun scoffed. That wasn’t likely. Who hadn’t heard of King Matsumoto Jun of the all popular Arashi?
This picture makes me laugh for some reason.
* * * * *
“You don’t know who MatsuJun is?!”
Startled at her friends’ outburst, Mao started choking on her iced coffee. Her friend’s wanted to celebrate her new drama. She confessed that she didn’t know much about her co-star, but she didn’t expect such a strong reaction to her ignorance. Recovering her breath, she became aware of the stares of the other patrons in the café that they were all eating lunch at. If you wanted to get someone’s attention, 4 shrieking females was the way to go.
“I know who he is,” she whispered defensively, “I just forgot his name.” She took another sip of her drink.
“Are you sure?” Nishina Akie was in Mao’s Japanese classical literature class, a plain girl who wore little makeup and thick glasses. Not a huge Arashi fan, but she at least knew the names of the boys in the group. Plus she loved Kimi wa Petto.
Yamada Sae, tall, thin, and light brown hair, was in Mao’s theater studies class. Very outspoken. Rather blunt. “She’s not sure.” Secretly (well, maybe not so secretly), Sae kept a memory scrapbook devoted to Ohno Satoshi, under her pillow.
Saito Fumi was also in Mao’s theatre class. Big eyes, curled light hair, dressed in bright colours. She loved MatsuJun. Loved him a lot. “Iineeee…Matsujun-sama…” Her boyfriend was exceptionally understanding of her obsession.
“How could you not know who he is?” Mao met Haeda Hana in her film analysis class. With short hair and clad all in black, she preferred to be called HaHa for some reason. She actually despised Arashi, and all things Johnny related. Bunch of generic, superficial, pretty boys without substance or real talent. Typical “idol” types.
“Isn’t he one of Johnny Kitagawa’s chosen few? Got the call from the big man himself?” They all looked at her strangely. “What?” Her sister had these guys plastered all over her bedroom walls and wouldn’t shut up about them. There was no avoiding it.
“Matsujun-sama is simply the best, Mao-chan,” Fumi gushed. “He can sing, he can act, he can dance, he can model, he can make love like no one else...” They all looked at Fumi like her head had suddenly sprouted small dancing purple elephants. Ok, maybe that was a bit on the ridiculous side, but that was how they felt.
“He can also spit strawberry cupcakes and his farts are made of rainbows,” HaHa laughed.
Fumi humphed. “That’s disgusting, Ha-chan.”
“So is your gushing about the almighty Matsumoto.”
Cough. “He’s not as great as Ohno...” Sae coughed again not so subtly.
And they’re off...
Mao leaned her head into her hands, groaned and reminded herself how much she loved these girls. Since starting university in the spring, she had been lucky enough to meet and become friends with such interesting and different girls. It was a rare experience for Mao, who had a bunch of close guy friends, but very few girl friends. Mao often had to deal with girls jealous of her television career, or girls who mistook her shyness for snobbishness. But Akie, Sae, Fumi, and HaHa readily accepted Mao on an individual level, fast becoming friends with each other, bonding over freshmen university adventures.
“I know who he is, I just didn’t remember him right away.” Mao helped herself to some of Fumi’s chocolate cake, much to Fumi’s dismay.
“Wah!… Mao-chan!!” she cried, her mouth full of cake. Sae poked Mao in the forehead.
“You know, for someone in the business, you can be really clueless.”
“It’s not like I really listen to his music,” Mao stuck her tongue out. “You are the only friends I have who would listen to Arashi.” Cough, cough. “Except for Ha-chan. Onii-chan and the guys would avoid them like crazy.” In fact, her guy friends threatened to post embarrassing elementary school pictures on her website if they ever caught her listening to Arashi or any other band like that. While Onii-chan only let her love for SMAP pass because he respected Kimura Takuya’s acting.
“And I know Matsumoto-san was in ‘Gokusen’, with Oguri-san.” She paused suddenly.
Oguri Shun.
She remembered him from when she appeared on “Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji 4” earlier this year. How could she forget him? Or his dark hair, long legs, smooth voice, soulful eyes. Talented Oguri Shun. Who would be playing Hanazawa Rui. Tsukushi’s first love.
Sae poked her forehead again. “Mao-chan, why is your face all red?”
“She’s making that weird mewing sound she makes when she’s flustered,” Akie noted from behind the manga she had just pulled out.
“Ah! Masa ka? Could it be?” Fumi moved her face directly in front of Mao’s and searched her eyes intently. Mao shrank back from Fumi’s probing gaze. “You liked Sawada Shin, didn’t you?” referring to Matsumoto’s character in ‘Gokusen’. “Wasn’t he cool?!” Fumi sighed dreamily.
“Mao does seem the type to be drawn to brooding men, ne? I think it’s the opposites attract thing.” HaHa pointed out. Mao thought of Oguri Shun again but quickly shoved him from her brain as she fought the blush threatening to spread across her face.
Fumi sighed. There seemed to be a lot of sighing at the table today, Mao noted. “Iino, iino, Mao-chan…you’re so lucky. You’re going to be surrounding by good-looking guys. It’s just like a manga.”
“It’s based on a manga, Fumi-chan,” Akie said dryly.
Fumi ignored her. “And you get to be with Matsumoto Jun-sama.”
HaHa started to gag. Fumi ignored her, too. “You get to have his arms around you…”
“Does she actually have hearts in her eyes?” Sae asked.
“You get to have him fall in love with you and confess his feelings…”
“She does realize it’s a drama right?” HaHa looked at Fumi in confusion.
“And you get to have his lips pressed against yours while the wind is ruffling through his perfect hair, and the sun glistening off his perfect skin…” while Fumi got lost in the her American romance novel cover fantasy, Mao once again started to choke. This time on some of Akie’s ice cream.
“Na-nani?! What was that again?”
Fumi looked confused. “Perfect skin?” Mao shook her head. “Perfect hair?” Still shaking. “Wind?”
“I think she meant about the kiss, Fumi-chan,” Akie said.
“Oh."
Yabai. She was going to have to kiss a popular idol. In front of the cameras.
“Can you get me his autograph?” This time she ignored Fumi.
At least she had the rest of the summer to get over it.
Previous Next
* * * * *
G-notes:
I'm getting images off of Google, but if you have any you'd like to share, by all means let me know. I'll be happy to credit you!