suddenly it's July. Part 2
PART 1
Nino pulls his script out of his bag, setting it in front of him. It’s the norm (or what people say is business rule #3, but he won’t quote himself on that) after all to bring his to a production meeting. Even if he doesn’t have any pressing questions about the content, he needs to be able to consult (and make notes on) his copy when necessary. He can easily steal one of Sho’s fancy pens if he needs to. Yet, it’s almost never necessary. Production teams will get into heated arguments and throw each other countless suggestions. There will be numerous revisions all over the timelines, all over the directions, all over the details.
But not on this one. Ohno-sensei likes his productions to run smoothly, or more precisely, he leaves everything in Sho’s hands. With the help of Aiba, he’ll have his own freedom and all Nino has to do is to work his best.
Somehow, Matsumoto doesn't know about this yet. All serious across the table, the man has his notebook ready, making small notes all over, following Sho’s detailed explanation of the schedule, making more small notes, stretching his legs under the table right across him-that’s nice a pair of sneakers by the way-making more and more small notes.
“We’ll be stretching the second part of the Yokohama studio shoot for few days. It should give you the time span you requested, Sensei,” Sho says, pausing his reading to turn toward Ohno.
Ohno nods. “Thanks.”
“And it should give us a few more days for the Tokyo team to get ready,” Sho continues, turning to Yamada-chan.
“Great. That should be enough for us.” Yamada-chan scribbles down some notes. “Thank you, Sho-kun.”
“We then can move to the Tokyo outdoor part. Aiba-chan can explain rest of the rough time estimate,” Sho says, looking up from his screen to signal to Aiba to continue with the explanation.
“We have accommodated both your last-minute requests and fit them onto the master schedule,” Aiba says, seamlessly keeping the rhythm Sho has set, to both the art department chiefs. “We’re going to have a few off days for both Nino and Matsumoto. It’s all on this new copy of the schedule,” Aiba passes a piece of paper to Matsumoto, while Sho gives one to Nino at the same time. “There should be enough detailed points for you at the moment. We’ll get you the day-to-day points every few days during the shooting period and-“
At this point, Nino drifts off from the conversation. He can still hear Aiba continuing with his explanation. He’ll get the details later, or if he needs it, he could always ask Aiba. He shifts his gaze to Matsumoto, who’s paying attention and still making small notes every once in a while. It’s mostly Sho and Aiba talking to Matsumoto anyway-because Nino already knows they are most likely going to have another last-minute change made to the detailed schedule; they always do. Nino notices that Ohno-sensei is fixated with his own doodles; Takeda and Yamada-chan are whispering to each other, perhaps having their own little scheduling meeting; and Sho and Aiba are getting so much better at working together, completing each other’s explanations, giving details based on their strong points (Sho on site-order and Aiba on dispatch, Sho on the minutia and Aiba on the unexpected). So far Nino has listened to a good production plan, and he’s in good hands. That’s enough for him.
Perhaps Matsumoto hasn’t been made aware of this, so nothing is enough for him. The small note taking is beginning to annoy him.
“And as a last point, Sensei, do you have anything else to add?” Aiba closes his explanation and turns to Ohno-sensei.
“When is the rehearsal again?”
“Next Saturday morning for Nino,” Sho answers promptly. He doesn’t need to check his file; he has everything memorized by now. “Sunday morning for Matsumoto, and then evening for both.”
“Okay. I’ll need-“ Ohno finally looks up from his doodles. He bites into the tip of his pencil before deciding what they will need for the weekend. “Takeda-san, I need a keyboard, or if you can a piano, for Saturday morning. Set it up for number 5.”
“Got it, Sensei. I’ll see what I can do about the piano, but a keyboard shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good. We’re practicing that scene,” Ohno says before switching his gaze toward Nino.
Nino nods silently at the implied instructions.
“And full wardrobe for Sunday morning,” Ohno continues. “We’re doing number 15.”
“Yes, Sensei,” Yamada-chan answers, readily taking notes. “I’ll get them ready. Only Matsumoto?”
“Yes. And no need for extras, Sho-kun. It’s just rehearsal.”
“Okay.”
Ohno pauses for a while, sorting his thoughts openly, everyone else waiting patiently, before he adds, “And a bed for Sunday night.”
Nino can’t help but stiffen the moment he hears the word ‘bed’ come out of Ohno’s mouth. He was half-listening to the technical details, nothing that he needed to tune into though sometimes it’s useful to know nonetheless; Sho usually will keep him updated later or he can always check back with Aiba if he wants. But at the mention of the ‘bed’, the images he’s been so busy repressing for the last few weeks come back to mind. Lips. A pair of lips. His and, now he has the other owner of said lips sitting right in front him.
Nino glances quickly across the table and finds Matsumoto is staring at him openly this time. He turns his attention back to his hands in his lap right away, slumping his shoulders further, trying to not attract any attention because he is almost certain Aiba will notice if he’s paying any attention to Nino. Perhaps not, nothing to worry about, not now, because Aiba is busy with his notes and Ohno’s instructions.
He glances across the table again, quicker this time, and this time finds Matsumoto no longer starting in his direction, and furiously taking notes instead. Can it be that the man is nervous? Not as nervous as he is perhaps, but still nervous, even just a little bit. He doesn’t know how he should take the knowledge yet but at least it’s something to think about. He has till Sunday to prepare himself. He’d rather not spend more time in the room with Matsumoto than necessary right now-which makes him even more eager to check the script for its scene numbers, or wipe the sweat from his palms without Sho knowing. If he’s gotten the numbering correctly-plus there’s a bed, what else can that be-which he’s sure he did but there’s no harm in double-checking, they will definitely rehearse the bed scene on Sunday. He and Matsumoto will-sooner than he expected then. And if he’s gotten the hint correctly, Matsumoto is at the moment trying to decide whether he should talk to Nino or not. Nino doesn’t want that to happen right now.
“We’re doing number 9 then. Do we need full lighting, Sensei?” Takeda asks. “It’d be a bit difficult-“
“No need to splurge. We’ll be rehearsing some positioning and dialogue. I only need the bed, nothing else. Oh, a stand light will be enough, or something to enhance the flash.”
“I can get few stand lights for Sunday night. No problem.”
Sho writes a few more notes down. And so does Matsumoto, Nino notices. The man looks like a kid against a baseball fence, at the first school game. Someone needs to tell him that the game hasn’t even started yet-because Nino’s beginning to have doubts whether he’s nice enough to break the man’s bubble of excitement himself.
“And I’ll get the arrangements for the truck ready by tomorrow then,” Aiba says to Yamada-chan, already anticipating her question.
“Thanks. Let’s try Saturday morning,” she says.
“Consider it done.” Aiba sees that Sho’s taking notes and then turns again to Ohno. “Is there anything else, Sensei?” Aiba prompts him when Ohno seems like he’s still lost in his thoughts, not yet finished giving out instructions.
“Nothing on the schedule. Though,” Ohno says, “I’ll need new lenses, Sho-kun.”
“I’ll double check that order later,” Sho answers this time. “I guess the scheduling meeting is done then.” He turns his gaze to everyone on the room. “Do you have any questions?” he asks Matsumoto specifically.
Matsumoto shakes his head. “Nothing that I can think of.”
“Good. We’re done then,” Sho says, before turning to Nino. “You definitely don’t have any questions, right?”
“I might have,” Nino says. “But you’ll never know.”
“Great. I’ll text both of you,” Sho concludes quickly, gesturing to Nino and Matsumoto, “about your pick-up arrangements. I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Can Takeda-san and I go then?” Ohno says. “All my shooting plans are at my office, so if you don’t mind.”
“And I need to go to Yamada-chan’s office to approve the delivery details.”
“Meeting’s done then. Thank you everyone for coming. I’ll get those lens details to you this afternoon,” Sho says to the whole room and to Ohno. “And I think I forgot something. I need to send Nino and Matsumoto the previous memo. I’ll be with you in a minute, Aiba-chan.”
Nino puts his script back into his bag, straightening his posture and getting ready to leave.
“Let me send this email to both of you before you go,” Sho says, focus back on his laptop, fingers typing rapidly.
“Why do I have to wait for you to finish working first?” Nino says, slumping back against his chair.
He’s fully aware that it’s only Sho and him and Matsumoto-who’s still taking notes, seriously, what is he taking notes of?-left in the room now. He has a night shift in two hours, already thinking about getting some quick dinner and going through the script again before his shift begins. “I need to get to my shift. We’re all done here, right?”
“In a minute, Nino.”
Nearly half minute passes, and Nino stays in his chair, gaze fixed on his old jeans, his shoes, his bag, that nice a pair of sneakers under the opposite table. He fights the urge to look up because he knows he will find Matsumoto looking at him, he can feel it right now. The man will want to talk about it, and he doesn’t, so he waits.
“Okay, done. Just be sure to check the latest details I just sent you,” Sho says finally, “and you can go now. We’ll see you Saturday.”
“Finally.” With a relief, Nino bolts to the door and leaves the office as fast as he can.
“Why do you have to start on the weekend? You know how busy we are on weekends?”
“Not that busy,” Nino says, half-listening to the run-on light protests as he sorts the magazine rack. “And it wasn’t my decision, okay, so there’s that.”
Yuriko has been grumbling the whole week about his schedule, about his going away for too long, about Ryo-chan’s latest mishaps with the salad delivery, about a pack of stray puppies she found in a box on the way back to her apartment the day before yesterday, about everything that happened when Nino had a day off. It doesn’t seem to make any sense to him but he gratefully accepts the distraction, anything that can keep his mind off the upcoming rehearsal-after all it’s only a rehearsal. He still has to go through the whole two months of shooting, with the man he’s going to share a bed with, with the man he’s going to meet every day, with the man who looks so good, very sure of himself, wearing a loose floral shirt, white tank top under, hair styled a bit differently but Nino can recognize those eyebrows anywhere. Wait. What? He doesn’t just-
“Just. Why?”
“Why what?” Yuriko turns from the shelves she’s working on to the magazine rack. “What?” She looks over Nino’s shoulder to see Nino’s gaze is fixed on a woman’s magazine with a candid snapshot of man, a striking man, wearing a hideous shirt smiling over a watermelon. “What? Is that what I think it is? Who I think he is?”
Nino puts down the magazines he’s been holding, closes his eyes and waits for Yuriko to connect the dots-he’s sure that she’s going to get it eventually. “Can I switch with Ryo-chan? I can do garbage. No problem. This is getting even more ridiculously embarrassing.”
“He’s that famous?” Yuriko says, stepping closer to the rack, picking up the magazine in question. Realization dawns slowly on her. “And he’s gorgeous, in a way, I don’t know, he’s weirdly attractive. Nice job, Nino.”
“How much is that?”
Yuriko smirks. “980 yen. And it says it has features on the most recent Summer Collection. And a full spread at that. Oh. I bet it’s a nice spread, and summer always means more skin, less fabric. You should definitely buy this.”
“If you’re half as interested as you say you are, you buy it.”
“You saw this first. So you buy it. Plus I’m not buying a magazine so you can borrow it and ogle at your crush during work hours. Naturally, I am going to borrow it later from you to finally get a full glimpse of your crush. I also can get up-to-date info on what to wear this summer. Win-win!”
“But you can ogle, too. Think of it as an investment.”
“Maybe I’m not interested in ogling, or even in investing. Maybe I can live without ever reading this particular magazine.”
“Maybe you are. This is a women’s magazine. There must be something you’re interested in. Come on. Consider it research. An investment and research.”
“But I don’t need to research a girls’ magazine, much less invest in one. That’s your cue. Plus I read my magazines for free at my usual diner, thank you very much. I take it you’re interested. I’m just going to cut it from your next paycheck.”
“You’re going to do that anyway right?” Nino finally gives up; the more he looks at the cover the more he wants to rip open the plastic right away and get down to ogling after all. Why fight the inevitable? Yuriko-chan is going to crack him sooner or later. “Fine. I’ll get Ryo-chan behind the register and we can take this to the back.”
Much to Nino’s relief, he doesn’t spot Matsumoto Saturday morning. He’s told to go to the basement of their office and finds that front security clears him immediately. He steps down the steep steps to find the basement resembling an underground nightclub, complete with the barstools and stage. There’s no harsh lighting-not yet, but he knows there will be a lot of it later-and only a few people from the art department along with Takeda-san are around. A sleep-deprived Sho greets him on under the stairs. “Nice timing. Go see Yamada-chan. Go right, the room by the loading dock. She’ll fix you up. We have 30 minutes.”
“Okay,” Nino says, all serious and without any biting remarks this time. He circles the empty stage to get to the right wing and walks down the hall.
“Good morning.” Nino enters the makeshift corner.
“Oh, Nino-san, good morning. Right on time,” Yamada-chan greets him back. “I’m ready for you. Let’s do your hair first. Here, let’s put your bag over here.”
“Okay,” Nino complies. Setting aside his bag and cap, he then sits on the stool and let Yamada-chan work. No fancy decorations-as expected of a cheap production and Sho. Yamada-chan continues to do something with his hair and face in silence while Nino sits, looking at his own reflection in the small mirror, reciting the whole script in his head, keeping his own mood on check, trying to be still and patient; finally work will begin.
In under 20 minutes, Yamada-chan has finished her work; Nino has his hair styled, and he’s donned a sleek black suit, a loose tie around his neck and a ridiculous purple corsage on his chest.
“Done,” Yamada-chan announces while circling him to inspect her work. “Do you need something else? Anything I missed?”
“You said it’s done so it’s done, Yamada-chan,” Nino replies, adding a sleepy wink. “You know best.”
She smiles tiredly at him. “Just don’t flip this seam, right here,” she adds, showing where the cufflinks should be. “The suit is not yet done. I didn’t make the morning deadline.”
“Got it.”
“Let’s get you to the set then.”
Ohno-sensei is already on set by the time they get there, fiddling with the camera with one of his assistants. Nino says his greeting and waits just in front of the table as Yamada-chan talks to Ohno first. He notices there’s a keyboard on the center stage now, lit by two stand lights.
“Good morning, Nino. All ready, I see,” Aiba greets him, holding what appears to be a giant mug of hot steaming coffee.
“Yeah, good morning to you too,” Nino replies. “Would it be too much if I asked for coffee?”
“No problem, I can get you some,” Aiba says, staying where he is. “You went straight to Yamada-chan, I see.”
“Yeah, Sho-chan forgot his manners and didn’t offer anything at all.”
“You know how he gets at times like this. Seriously, I can get you one. Just after I finish this one, because I don’t think I can move if I don’t down this properly.”
“It’s not even begun yet and you both are overworked already.”
“Well, as Sho-chan always says, we can always sleep later,” Aiba says, “and everything is on schedule, so that’s good.”
“Good then,” Nino absently replies. Yamada-chan is pointing at him, before Ohno-sensei speaks again in low voice. He can’t hear anything, so he keeps on standing, waiting for further instructions.
“How’s the crush going by the way?” Aiba asks, chuckling over his mug when he sees Nino rolls his eyes. “You should talk to him, you know. I think he wants to talk to you.”
“Can you just stop it with that word? And what good would it bring? I’m still going to be nervous.”
There’s genuine concern in Aiba’s voice. “I think he’s also nervous. You must be if this is your first production. We’re not exactly doing a normal film shoot after all. At least you two could be nervous together. That’d be nice.”
Nino was going to respond with a verbal jab or a nudge or a step on Aiba’s left sneaker but Yamada-chan beckons him to come closer, so he only hisses his answer and walks toward the table leaving Aiba with his steaming coffee.
“Yes?”
“Ohno-sensei has a problem with the color of corsage, but for rehearsal, we’re going to go with it anyway.” Yamada-chan reaches for his collar and fixes it, smoothing the creases.
“Okay.”
“So you’re all ready then,” she says. “I’ll be over there if you need me, Sensei.”
Ohno nods, and pats the chair beside him. “Have a seat.”
Nino sits and waits.
“So, you read the scene, right?” Ohno puts his camera down on the table, focusing on Nino now. “I want a full song. Can you do a full song?”
“Sure. What kind of song?”
Ohno stays silent for a while, humming as he gives the question a deep thought. Nino feels a surge of nostalgia all of a sudden, the thrumming excitement of finally being back on camera, given the chance to act out a story, being in Ohno’s work, and this time it’s even in a more important role than being the bikini girls’ assistant-
“Something seductive?” Ohno finally decides.
“Sorry?”
“Something melodious that you think will attract the man you love to enter your honey trap.”
Nino frowns for a while, searching his memory for a particular song that could fit that absurd description; he learned during his first project with Ohno that there’s nothing too ridiculous for the man. It’s rather scary to realize that he’s not even flinching at such directions. “I don’t think there’s any in particular. Do you need the lyrics too?”
“No, no lyrics, that’d be too much. A melody?”
“I can try to play something sultry. Some high notes with a slow tempo.”
“Good. We’ll try that,” Ohno says, nodding his agreement. “What I want to is mostly to work on your posture. We’ll be using a grand piano later, so keep that in mind. There’ll be some adjustments, but you know how that works, right?”
“Yes, Sensei. Matsu-nii CGI?”
Ohno chuckles. “Can’t work on a film without his help, really.”
“I got it.”
“Good. Stand by at the stool, will you? We’ll be right there.”
“Okay.”
The moment he sits down, the sensation comes back at him in waves; being under the spotlight-especially by a keyboard, which he imagines as a grand piano after all, emptying his mind and channeling the longing that reflects in his eyes, wondering when the man he’s been waiting for will walk through the door.
“The door is over there.” Ohno points to the left side of the stage. He now hovers close, camera in hand, and assistant right behind him. “Slouch a bit but keep your head off the keys, staring straight.” He gives instruction after instruction. “Yes, like that. Keep it like that and play.”
Nino complies.
The Sunday location shoot is in a district across town, an apartment in a quiet residential area. Apparently this is where they’ve splurged? Nino thinks as he meets the assistant in front of the building. He lets the guy lead him to the fifth floor to enter a loft and meet Sho.
“Follow me,” Sho says in a low tone, hurriedly walking away from the entrance.
“What?” Nino whispers back, stumbling a bit as he follows. As he navigates his way toward the next room, he notices that the set is flooded with natural light, with a few stand lights creating subtle shadows. The vast large windows show the scenery of dusk falling rapidly on the city below. Sho leads him to a small bedroom they apparently arranged as the makeup and wardrobe room.
Yamada-chan looks up at them entering the room but doesn’t move from her chair to work on Nino’s makeup like the day before. She continues to sip her mug leisurely. “They’re still at it?” she asks Sho.
Sho sighs. “Yeah. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to end soon though.”
“What happened? I’m not late, am I?”
“You’re not late. We are.”
“What? How?”
Sho sighs even more loudly, taking a seat on the stool with his back facing the mirror, and he gestures Nino to do the same.
“There’s no other chair,” Nino says, “except if you expect me to kick Yamada-chan out of her chair. But that’d be rude.”
His remark draws a giggle from Yamada-chan across the room.
“You’d kick me out of my chair anytime,” Sho says, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. Nino congratulates himself for a remark well done. “Just use any crate over there. Nothing except Aiba-chan’s frantic call can get me out of this one. I’ve been standing since this morning. My blood is not circulating well enough.”
“Here, use this instead,” Yamada-chan says, bringing the chair for Nino. “I’ll get both of you some coffee. You, especially, look like you really need another one, Sho-kun.”
“I already lost count of how many cups I’ve had today, but thank you all the same, Yamada-chan,” Sho says as she leaves them alone in the room.
Nino thanks her for the chair before sitting down, setting his chair right across Sho. “What happened?”
“We’re two scenes behind. It’s already 6. I only set the room rental till 9. Dusk will soon pass. And we’re two scenes behind. I don’t think you’ll be able to rehearse tonight. We’re two scenes behind!”
“You said it three times in one breath. What happened?”
“Your crush is ruining everything.” Sho slumps in his seat.
“Stop using that word, will you? Soon it’s going to be his nickname, I just know it.” Nino rolls his eyes and smiles afterward when it gets another small smile from Sho. “What did he do? Was he late? Did he break a camera? Did he stumble and destroy Takeda-chan’s lighting arrangement? Did he make Yamada-chan cry? Did he kiss Aiba-chan?”
Sho laughs at the last question before his face turns dark again. “Worse. He’s talking back to Ohno-sensei.”
“Huh?”
Before Sho can give further explanation, his radio beeps and Nino can hear Aiba on the other line whispering. “Sho-chan. Here. Now.”
Sho immediately stands, almost tipping the stool, and runs toward the door, leaving Nino blinking in his seat.
Yamada-chan appears by the door, holding two cups of coffee. “You want to see the live commotion? I have coffee,” she says, raising the cups a little bit into the air.
“Well, since you’ve been kind enough to get me one,” Nino says. “I’ll take one of those. Thank you.”
Yamada-chan leads the way back to the living room, and now Nino can see the cables clearly and navigate his way better. She sits beside Takeda-san, sitting on the edge of a long bench in an unlit corner of the room, and offers him the coffee.
“Thanks,” Takeda says to her before seeing Nino taking a seat beside her. “Hey Nino, I didn’t see you coming in.”
“Good evening. I just got here,” Nino greets him, settling next to Yamada-chan. They have a good view of what’s happening under the spotlight. Sho and Aiba are on the far side of the room, while Ohno-sensei is behind the monitor talking with his assistants. And now that he finally gets a good look at everything, Nino notices the set-a single-seat sofa with a low table-is not empty. Matsumoto is sitting in the seat, waiting, dressed in only a white shirt and trousers, looking like he has had a long day of work, which is probably true since the rehearsal started in the morning.
Takeda sips his coffee gratefully. “I hope they settle this soon. I need the stand lights back by midnight.”
“I think they are going to skip the last scene and cancel the bed scene in the end,” Yamada-chan says. “You must be disappointed, Nino-san.”
He almost chokes on his coffee, before he turns and sees both Takeda and Yamada-chan sending knowing grins at him. “I can see that you’ve all been talking with Aiba-chan. I’m so going to throttle him.”
“Well at least some action is going to happen if you do that,” Takeda says, with a hint of bitterness. “That young man was really into it. Very enthusiastic fellow.”
“Well, he’s new at this,” Yamada-chan replies. “He just needs to get used to the work.”
“I don’t really care. As long as he doesn’t upset the schedule, he’s fine,” Takeda retorts back. “Sho-kun is already near his boiling point.”
Yamada-chan giggles at that. “That’s some fast work all right. Your crush really knows how to ruin a day’s work, Nino-san.”
Nino rolls his eyes in vain. “He’s not my-“
He stops midway when there’s movement on the set. Ohno enters the set and walks toward Matsumoto while signaling Sho to come join them. The three men have a short conversation, mostly involving Sho shoving his tablet toward Ohno, Matsumoto trying to say something, but Ohno-sensei cutting him off with more instructions.
“Takeda-san,” Sho calls out from the set. “Can you come here for a second, please?”
“Yes,” Takeda responds immediately, handing his half-empty coffee cup to Yamada-chan and getting one of his boys to follow him onto the set.
Ohno-sensei points out his instructions for Takeda-san. Sho talks a little bit longer with Matsumoto before calling out again, “Yamada-chan, touch up, please!”
“Okay,” Yamada-chan answers, handing the half-empty coffee cup to Nino, leaving him alone on the long bench to go to the set.
“One cannot have enough coffee, I guess,” Nino says to himself, and continues to sip his coffee while he watches the scene unfold in front of him.
Over the next few minutes, as he stays on his seat, Nino remembers that the scene Matsumoto is rehearsing is scene number 15. From what he remembers, it’s a living room scene with Matsumoto listening to his radio, making phone calls with mostly monologues, and circling the set, with-now he can see why Sho is getting impatient-afternoon lighting from the vast window. It’s completely dark outside now, all the lighting coming from the stand lights, and they are still doing the scene. How that could be beneficial to rehearse he doesn’t know, but apparently Ohno-sensei wants to continue, so they are continuing. At first glance there’s nothing wrong with the scene, in his opinion. They are doing the first two cuts rather smoothly; Ohno-sensei stops the unnecessary turn Matsumoto is making at first and accepts the second even with the unnecessary turn addition. They stop for a while for a sequence check and Matsumoto is talking with Ohno-sensei again.
Realization finally hits Nino after thirty minutes have passed-his coffee finished and now he’s sipping Takeda’s leftovers-and they are still on the same scene: they are using too much time to stop between takes, with Matsumoto talking to Ohno after every take. They then have to spend more time to set Matsumoto’s position back when he comes back onto the set.
No wonder Sho is ready to fly off the fucking handle.
An hour later, it’s Aiba who finds him still sitting on the long chair. He looks relieved to see Nino and settles in immediately beside him. “Here you are. Sho-chan sent me to tell you we’re cancelling tonight.”
“I can see that.”
Aiba leans against the wall and slowly his head finds Nino’s shoulder. “Today has been hell,” he sighs.
“I can see that, too,” Nino says, keeping his tone harsh but shoulder still to support the extra weight.
“You are dismissed, Sho-chan said,” Aiba continues. “Next schedule will be sent to your email tomorrow. If there’s a new schedule, that is. Which I don’t think will exist anyway. We can’t afford another rehearsal.”
“Okay,” Nino says. “I’d offer you coffee but I finished mine and Takeda-san’s, just while waiting.”
Aiba laughs weakly. “You should really talk some sense into that crush of yours.”
“Aiba-chan,” Nino says, tone warning but still not moving, “I bet if I shift suddenly to the left, your head is going to hit the bench pretty hard. It’s going to give you a mild concussion but I’m not going to regret it even a bit because I need to get back to you for gossiping with Takeda-san.”
Aiba ignores the empty threat, too tired to even retort back. “I don’t even know how I’m going to function during the midnight meeting Sho has just now scheduled.”
“Mhmm.”
“But I was being serious, Nino. You should really talk to him. Give him some insight, some words of advice from a concerned and nice senpai or something like that. This cannot happen again.”
“Why am I on babysitting duty all of a sudden?”
“Because you’re the only one who can at the moment?”
“That’s not going to work on me.”
“Oh, come on, Nino. Just talk to him, will you? Sho-chan will appreciate the effort. Heck, the whole team will. I definitely will. Free dinner for a month? Starting from the day this production wraps up, which hopefully will finally come.”
“I smell bribery.”
“Then you know I’m pretty much desperate.”
“That’s so cheap of you.”
“You’re cheap right back.”
At the weak jab, Nino can only sigh. At the end, it doesn’t take very much for Aiba to convince him. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Nice,” Aiba says, still not moving from what it seems to be a comfortable position. “You can take advantage of him, too. We wouldn’t care. In fact, we’ll be rooting for you.”
“I’m so going to shift,” Nino says, “and your head should be hitting this bench right about now.”
Aiba ignores the threat again. “By the way, are you seeing Sho-chan panicking and trying to find me already?”
Nino scans the set quickly and can only make out that Sho’s still talking to Ohno-sensei at the other end of the room. “No, Ohno-sensei still has him busy.”
“Good. I can stay like this for a little longer,” Aiba says, with much relief. “And you’ll talk to him, right?”
Nino doesn’t answer immediately. There are pro and cons, of course; he’s been avoiding the man, that’s fact. But he cannot avoid him forever, sooner or later-he was prepared to get to that sooner tonight but it didn’t happen-the scene will need to happen. Cancelled rehearsal or not, they are going to do it after all. So perhaps better to deal with Matsumoto now, taking one for the team, and settling their footing sooner. “Can dinner be hamburger for the whole month?”
“No,” Aiba says and Nino can feel the smile as Aiba’s cheek moves on his shoulder. “You still need to eat some green things.”
“Dammit.”
“He’s with Yamada-chan right now. You can rescue her from him and accomplish your mission. Wheedle him to buy you fancy dinner or something.”
“I hate you.”
“I know. I hate you, too.”
Just as Aiba said, Nino finds Matsumoto with Yamada-chan in the wardrobe room, inquiring about the trench coat he was using during the first rehearsal scene. The man is already out of his costume, now dressed casually and seemingly ready to go.
“Oh, Nino-san.” Yamada-chan sees him first, and when Matsumoto turns to find him by the door, she makes a small gesture, hinting for Nino to get the man away from her. “I’m done with Matsumoto-san. He’s free to go if you’re waiting for him.”
Nino aims a glare at Yamada-chan. Matsumoto misses the glare and asks instead, “You’re waiting for me?”
“You can say that,” Nino says. “Come on, let’s go. I should escort you out of the building immediately.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s just go. We’re done here, I believe.”
“But I’m not-“
“Just go with him, Matsumoto-san. I’ll have a meeting in half an hour.” Yamada-chan smiles to soften her not-so-subtle dismissal.
Matsumoto frowns. “A meeting? At this hour?”
“It’s mostly because of you,” she says under her breath, before smiling again. “I’ll make sure everything’s ready per your requests by the next shoot. Good work today.”
“Good work today, Yamada-chan.” Nino gestures at Matsumoto to come with him. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
- NIGHT
EXTREME CLOSE UP.
The night air hits them as soon as they step out of the apartment building. It’s pleasantly silent in the residential area and the breeze is warm against their skin.
“Are we going somewhere?” Matsumoto asks, standing next to Nino as they come to a sudden halt just in front of the building.
Nino turns slowly toward him. It isn’t entirely nervous-material now that he’s standing outside with him, away from the film set, and it’s just them. But they are going to talk about work again later, and just like that, the nervousness creeps back in. He lets out a loud sigh. “How about some ramen?”
“What?”
“I’m treating you dinner. How’s that? Is ramen okay?”
“I guess,” Matsumoto says, not sounding sure at all. He tries to search for something, staring more at Nino’s face before he fully grasps the invitation. “Wait. You’re treating me dinner?”
“Well, I’m hungry, you’re probably hungry, and I will definitely have Sho-chan reimburse the bill.”
Matsumoto laughs. “Really?”
“Really,” Nino says, also offering a smile in return. Matsumoto stands blocking the street light, and he can only see a silhouette of the sharp features and feel the stare. “I saw a decent cheap shop near the station. Can we go there now?”
“You sure are weird,” Matsumoto says, gesturing Nino to lead the way.
Nino shrugs-it’s going to be a long night, and exciting all the same. Aiba is going to owe him a lot, and Sho is going to pay the price; better enjoy it while it last. Dinner with Matsumoto? Who knew it would happen so soon?-and starts to walk down the road.
Matsumoto follows him, and soon they fall into a comfortable rhythm. They walk at a leisurely pace, passing a quiet park and a few more rows of houses. Nino’s almost hoping for rain to suddenly pour down on them, or anything to distract him from the ‘obligation’ to strike up a conversation. But Matsumoto doesn’t seem to make any effort to change to mood. It’s Nino who’s asked him to dinner after all. Matsumoto is just coming out of courtesy, being a newcomer in all this. Right, Nino’s the senpai here.
They approach the last block before the station. It has to start now or they will reach the shop and the moment will be gone. Nino forces the question out of his mouth. “So, what happened today?”
“Sorry?” Matsumoto turns to him with a frown, pace halted from the sudden question.
“Today,” Nino repeats his question slowly and with emphasis. “On the film set. What happened?”
“Rehearsal did?”
“You’re pretty thick for a good-looking guy,” Nino says, wondering whether being straightforward is going to work with this guy. “Why do I have to rephrase everything?”
“I don’t understand where you’re getting at,” Matsumoto says, both apologetic and sounding genuinely confused. “And you’re very direct.”
“I am.”
“Somehow it’s charming but not that much.”
“And you’re not as thick as you seem to be, I guess,” he manages to say, flushing at the vague compliment. For a split second he loses his snarky charade, warmth creeping up to his cheek, grateful for the dim lighting the street light provides. “Anyway, why are you posing so many questions?”
“Now?”
“No, during filming.” Nino doesn’t bother to prevent himself from rolling his eyes openly, keeping his tone sharp with a grumble. “I’ll take the not-as-thick compliment back right now, thank you.”
“I wasn’t-“
“You sure were. I was there.”
The answer makes Matsumoto halt suddenly, staring Nino in disbelief. “Really? The whole time?”
“No. Just as scheduled,” Nino says, stopping to turn and face Matsumoto; the crossing light is flaring red at the intersection anyway. “You do know that we were scheduled to shoot our scene during the evening.”
Matsumoto walks a few steps forward to get closer to Nino. “I do. And I was wondering why they cancelled that. The night is still young. You can get evening shots anytime.”
“Not anytime. It says it on the script. Dusk.” The crossing light still flares red, and they don’t move even though there are no cars passing through the intersection.
“Yeah, so?”
“Definitely taking the not-as-thick comment back now. Do you how important dusk is to a filming team?”
“No.”
Matsumoto sounds genuinely confused and Nino can’t help but pity the man a little. The light turns green and he walks ahead to cross the road. He hears Matsumoto follow him; a few steps later they are walking side by side again.
“If it says day or night or afternoon,” Nino begins, “that means they could create day or night or afternoon. But if your script says it’s dusk-or dawn-that means you don’t mess with your time. Dusk only happens once a day and it needs to happen at that precise time.”
Nino turns to see Matsumoto. He doesn’t respond and appears to be thinking; perhaps Aiba-chan was right, and the man just hasn’t considered it until just now. He’s got a nice profile, by the way. Nino has to force himself to look ahead and watch the road. He continues, “Meaning that the shot today, the one we should practice is botched because they missed dusk. And they missed dusk because?”
This time Matsumoto responds, trying to complete Nino’s sentence. “They were still doing my scenes.”
“And they were still doing your scenes because?”
“They’ve been doing it since morning.”
Matsumoto is getting a hang of it. Just a little bit more. “And the reason they’ve been doing it-continuously-since morning is because?”
“We haven’t finished.”
Maybe not a little bit. “My patience is running thin here, Matsumoto. The reason they haven’t finished, or to be exact, could not finish on schedule is because?”
“Of me?” Matsumoto stops walking again.
Nino claps his hands, making a fancy turn to find Matsumoto staring at him in true disbelief. “Good. I’ll take the thick comment back right now. Don’t ruin it.” He then realizes that they’re at the last turn before the station, with people around, and it’s not good to cause a scene here. They don’t appear to be drunk enough to be excused for being a public disturbance.
“Wait. Because of me?”
Nino leaves the sentence unanswered and points ahead instead. “We’re almost there here. See? Ganbou Ramen. Come on.”
They settle on a table for two near the back; most of the patrons are salarymen getting the quick dinner fix. Nino gets the smallest serving while Matsumoto dazedly points at a dinner set without inquiring anything. Nino sips his hot tea slowly as Matsumoto recovers from the shock. Their order comes and Nino begins eating even though Matsumoto only stares on his bowl. “You’re awfully quiet for a man who has just been treated dinner.”
“I thought I was being helpful,” Matsumoto finally says. He holds his chopsticks just above his bowl and stops again.
“Now?”
“During the rehearsal today.”
“No point in beating yourself up now that it’s all said and done,” Nino says, slurping his noodles noisily. “And here I am being nice because you look like you’re seriously down.”
Matsumoto turns to him with an expression that says Nino isn’t wrong, which simply gets Nino worried for a second. All the frustration and other things he can't comprehend at the moment flash in those eyes; which is good because that draws Nino’s attention to that sharp gaze, instead of titling back down to those pouting lips. That’ll cancel all good intentions that he’s having right now in a split second.
Nino puts his chopsticks down and decides to give the man a small break. “Listen, I’m just going to say this once. You need to know that they’ll ask if they want any input from us actors. But basically, you just need to do what they want you to do. Speaking from experience, I can also tell you that Ohno-sensei won’t be needing anything. He has his own vision, and no one gets it but him. If you don’t understand something, ask for clearer directions. If no one asks you about anything, then there’s no need to say anything, just do the job.”
“But that’d be-“
“Correct? Ethically correct? Politically correct? Call it whatever you want, doing your job is still doing your job. It’s not the place nor time to do anything else. We’re there to work. We’re getting paid for it.”
“Barely,” Matsumoto says with a small smile.
“Still, there’s money,” Nino continues. “And if you enjoy this acting thing, perhaps you should start accepting business rule #4.”
“Number four?” Matsumoto repeats, but Nino doesn’t explain further. Instead he turns back to his soggy ramen. He finishes his food in record time, giving nothing back to Matsumoto who finally decides to start eating his now-definitely-soggy noodles.
“You’re not just a little weird,” Matsumoto says in between slurps, “you’re truly weird.”
“Weird gets me pretty far.” Nino pats his stomach, setting the bowl further to the side of the table and reaching for his hot tea again. He decides to give the man-the sad man, if he can add, the sad man who’s been down and now has to eat some soggy ramen because his, haha, nice senpai decided to treat him dinner while setting him straight-another small break. “Remember, that was some senpai advice you just got.”
Matsumoto lets out a bitter laugh. “I thought I knew about how things work, but it turns out I didn’t know anything about it.”
He keeps his tone light; this Matsumoto just had a different perception, that’s all, and now he knows. “There’s nothing complicated about it. Actors act. That’s all,” he says.
Matsumoto frowns at the last statement, turning back to his soggy ramen. Nino lets the silence hang and they stay silent for a while, Matsumoto deep in thought and Nino fighting to finish the ramen.
The first thing Matsumoto says when he’s finished his bowl and is now playing with his iced tea is, “I thought you didn’t like me.”
Nino lets out a loud snort, followed by a giggle. “What?”
“You were staring at me rudely during the introduction party and you didn’t even spare me a glance during the production meeting.”
Nino hides his smile behind his hot teacup. “And that makes me not like you how?”
“Well, I thought, I just have this thought,” Matsumoto says, tone getting lower and lower, “that you might be not comfortable working with me, that maybe you don’t consider me as an actor knowing that I model and this is my first film project and now that I made today’s shooting off schedule and-“
“Too much information.” Nino simply cuts off the on-going ramble. “I like you just fine. I think you are good-looking. Strikingly, annoyingly, amazingly good-looking.”
“Huh?” Matsumoto blinks twice, sharp eyes focusing on Nino’s expression, seeking any indication of sarcasm and failing to find anything but Nino’s set expression. He lets out a small laugh. “Really? Oh, thank you. Really?”
“Really,” Nino says, also offering a smile in return. “Let’s leave it at that right now, okay?”
“Was that another piece of senpai advice?” Matsumoto says, eyes sparkling now with what Nino can identify as delight-he sure hopes it’s delight.
He rolls his eyes at the question. “It was a compliment, you jerk.”
The deep and rich sound of Matsumoto’s genuine laughter in response is like music to his ears; he would spend a lot of time and effort trying to draw the same sound from the man again and again. “You’re so weird.”
“And we’re back to weird. I think we’re done here then,” Nino says. “Let me ask for the bill. Hope that dinner set doesn’t cost a lot.”
“I’m sorry?” Matsumoto offers, his bright expression contrary to the apology.
“You’re a fast learner,” Nino smirks back to him. “I knew it.”
PART 3
Nino pulls his script out of his bag, setting it in front of him. It’s the norm (or what people say is business rule #3, but he won’t quote himself on that) after all to bring his to a production meeting. Even if he doesn’t have any pressing questions about the content, he needs to be able to consult (and make notes on) his copy when necessary. He can easily steal one of Sho’s fancy pens if he needs to. Yet, it’s almost never necessary. Production teams will get into heated arguments and throw each other countless suggestions. There will be numerous revisions all over the timelines, all over the directions, all over the details.
But not on this one. Ohno-sensei likes his productions to run smoothly, or more precisely, he leaves everything in Sho’s hands. With the help of Aiba, he’ll have his own freedom and all Nino has to do is to work his best.
Somehow, Matsumoto doesn't know about this yet. All serious across the table, the man has his notebook ready, making small notes all over, following Sho’s detailed explanation of the schedule, making more small notes, stretching his legs under the table right across him-that’s nice a pair of sneakers by the way-making more and more small notes.
“We’ll be stretching the second part of the Yokohama studio shoot for few days. It should give you the time span you requested, Sensei,” Sho says, pausing his reading to turn toward Ohno.
Ohno nods. “Thanks.”
“And it should give us a few more days for the Tokyo team to get ready,” Sho continues, turning to Yamada-chan.
“Great. That should be enough for us.” Yamada-chan scribbles down some notes. “Thank you, Sho-kun.”
“We then can move to the Tokyo outdoor part. Aiba-chan can explain rest of the rough time estimate,” Sho says, looking up from his screen to signal to Aiba to continue with the explanation.
“We have accommodated both your last-minute requests and fit them onto the master schedule,” Aiba says, seamlessly keeping the rhythm Sho has set, to both the art department chiefs. “We’re going to have a few off days for both Nino and Matsumoto. It’s all on this new copy of the schedule,” Aiba passes a piece of paper to Matsumoto, while Sho gives one to Nino at the same time. “There should be enough detailed points for you at the moment. We’ll get you the day-to-day points every few days during the shooting period and-“
At this point, Nino drifts off from the conversation. He can still hear Aiba continuing with his explanation. He’ll get the details later, or if he needs it, he could always ask Aiba. He shifts his gaze to Matsumoto, who’s paying attention and still making small notes every once in a while. It’s mostly Sho and Aiba talking to Matsumoto anyway-because Nino already knows they are most likely going to have another last-minute change made to the detailed schedule; they always do. Nino notices that Ohno-sensei is fixated with his own doodles; Takeda and Yamada-chan are whispering to each other, perhaps having their own little scheduling meeting; and Sho and Aiba are getting so much better at working together, completing each other’s explanations, giving details based on their strong points (Sho on site-order and Aiba on dispatch, Sho on the minutia and Aiba on the unexpected). So far Nino has listened to a good production plan, and he’s in good hands. That’s enough for him.
Perhaps Matsumoto hasn’t been made aware of this, so nothing is enough for him. The small note taking is beginning to annoy him.
“And as a last point, Sensei, do you have anything else to add?” Aiba closes his explanation and turns to Ohno-sensei.
“When is the rehearsal again?”
“Next Saturday morning for Nino,” Sho answers promptly. He doesn’t need to check his file; he has everything memorized by now. “Sunday morning for Matsumoto, and then evening for both.”
“Okay. I’ll need-“ Ohno finally looks up from his doodles. He bites into the tip of his pencil before deciding what they will need for the weekend. “Takeda-san, I need a keyboard, or if you can a piano, for Saturday morning. Set it up for number 5.”
“Got it, Sensei. I’ll see what I can do about the piano, but a keyboard shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good. We’re practicing that scene,” Ohno says before switching his gaze toward Nino.
Nino nods silently at the implied instructions.
“And full wardrobe for Sunday morning,” Ohno continues. “We’re doing number 15.”
“Yes, Sensei,” Yamada-chan answers, readily taking notes. “I’ll get them ready. Only Matsumoto?”
“Yes. And no need for extras, Sho-kun. It’s just rehearsal.”
“Okay.”
Ohno pauses for a while, sorting his thoughts openly, everyone else waiting patiently, before he adds, “And a bed for Sunday night.”
Nino can’t help but stiffen the moment he hears the word ‘bed’ come out of Ohno’s mouth. He was half-listening to the technical details, nothing that he needed to tune into though sometimes it’s useful to know nonetheless; Sho usually will keep him updated later or he can always check back with Aiba if he wants. But at the mention of the ‘bed’, the images he’s been so busy repressing for the last few weeks come back to mind. Lips. A pair of lips. His and, now he has the other owner of said lips sitting right in front him.
Nino glances quickly across the table and finds Matsumoto is staring at him openly this time. He turns his attention back to his hands in his lap right away, slumping his shoulders further, trying to not attract any attention because he is almost certain Aiba will notice if he’s paying any attention to Nino. Perhaps not, nothing to worry about, not now, because Aiba is busy with his notes and Ohno’s instructions.
He glances across the table again, quicker this time, and this time finds Matsumoto no longer starting in his direction, and furiously taking notes instead. Can it be that the man is nervous? Not as nervous as he is perhaps, but still nervous, even just a little bit. He doesn’t know how he should take the knowledge yet but at least it’s something to think about. He has till Sunday to prepare himself. He’d rather not spend more time in the room with Matsumoto than necessary right now-which makes him even more eager to check the script for its scene numbers, or wipe the sweat from his palms without Sho knowing. If he’s gotten the numbering correctly-plus there’s a bed, what else can that be-which he’s sure he did but there’s no harm in double-checking, they will definitely rehearse the bed scene on Sunday. He and Matsumoto will-sooner than he expected then. And if he’s gotten the hint correctly, Matsumoto is at the moment trying to decide whether he should talk to Nino or not. Nino doesn’t want that to happen right now.
“We’re doing number 9 then. Do we need full lighting, Sensei?” Takeda asks. “It’d be a bit difficult-“
“No need to splurge. We’ll be rehearsing some positioning and dialogue. I only need the bed, nothing else. Oh, a stand light will be enough, or something to enhance the flash.”
“I can get few stand lights for Sunday night. No problem.”
Sho writes a few more notes down. And so does Matsumoto, Nino notices. The man looks like a kid against a baseball fence, at the first school game. Someone needs to tell him that the game hasn’t even started yet-because Nino’s beginning to have doubts whether he’s nice enough to break the man’s bubble of excitement himself.
“And I’ll get the arrangements for the truck ready by tomorrow then,” Aiba says to Yamada-chan, already anticipating her question.
“Thanks. Let’s try Saturday morning,” she says.
“Consider it done.” Aiba sees that Sho’s taking notes and then turns again to Ohno. “Is there anything else, Sensei?” Aiba prompts him when Ohno seems like he’s still lost in his thoughts, not yet finished giving out instructions.
“Nothing on the schedule. Though,” Ohno says, “I’ll need new lenses, Sho-kun.”
“I’ll double check that order later,” Sho answers this time. “I guess the scheduling meeting is done then.” He turns his gaze to everyone on the room. “Do you have any questions?” he asks Matsumoto specifically.
Matsumoto shakes his head. “Nothing that I can think of.”
“Good. We’re done then,” Sho says, before turning to Nino. “You definitely don’t have any questions, right?”
“I might have,” Nino says. “But you’ll never know.”
“Great. I’ll text both of you,” Sho concludes quickly, gesturing to Nino and Matsumoto, “about your pick-up arrangements. I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Can Takeda-san and I go then?” Ohno says. “All my shooting plans are at my office, so if you don’t mind.”
“And I need to go to Yamada-chan’s office to approve the delivery details.”
“Meeting’s done then. Thank you everyone for coming. I’ll get those lens details to you this afternoon,” Sho says to the whole room and to Ohno. “And I think I forgot something. I need to send Nino and Matsumoto the previous memo. I’ll be with you in a minute, Aiba-chan.”
Nino puts his script back into his bag, straightening his posture and getting ready to leave.
“Let me send this email to both of you before you go,” Sho says, focus back on his laptop, fingers typing rapidly.
“Why do I have to wait for you to finish working first?” Nino says, slumping back against his chair.
He’s fully aware that it’s only Sho and him and Matsumoto-who’s still taking notes, seriously, what is he taking notes of?-left in the room now. He has a night shift in two hours, already thinking about getting some quick dinner and going through the script again before his shift begins. “I need to get to my shift. We’re all done here, right?”
“In a minute, Nino.”
Nearly half minute passes, and Nino stays in his chair, gaze fixed on his old jeans, his shoes, his bag, that nice a pair of sneakers under the opposite table. He fights the urge to look up because he knows he will find Matsumoto looking at him, he can feel it right now. The man will want to talk about it, and he doesn’t, so he waits.
“Okay, done. Just be sure to check the latest details I just sent you,” Sho says finally, “and you can go now. We’ll see you Saturday.”
“Finally.” With a relief, Nino bolts to the door and leaves the office as fast as he can.
“Why do you have to start on the weekend? You know how busy we are on weekends?”
“Not that busy,” Nino says, half-listening to the run-on light protests as he sorts the magazine rack. “And it wasn’t my decision, okay, so there’s that.”
Yuriko has been grumbling the whole week about his schedule, about his going away for too long, about Ryo-chan’s latest mishaps with the salad delivery, about a pack of stray puppies she found in a box on the way back to her apartment the day before yesterday, about everything that happened when Nino had a day off. It doesn’t seem to make any sense to him but he gratefully accepts the distraction, anything that can keep his mind off the upcoming rehearsal-after all it’s only a rehearsal. He still has to go through the whole two months of shooting, with the man he’s going to share a bed with, with the man he’s going to meet every day, with the man who looks so good, very sure of himself, wearing a loose floral shirt, white tank top under, hair styled a bit differently but Nino can recognize those eyebrows anywhere. Wait. What? He doesn’t just-
“Just. Why?”
“Why what?” Yuriko turns from the shelves she’s working on to the magazine rack. “What?” She looks over Nino’s shoulder to see Nino’s gaze is fixed on a woman’s magazine with a candid snapshot of man, a striking man, wearing a hideous shirt smiling over a watermelon. “What? Is that what I think it is? Who I think he is?”
Nino puts down the magazines he’s been holding, closes his eyes and waits for Yuriko to connect the dots-he’s sure that she’s going to get it eventually. “Can I switch with Ryo-chan? I can do garbage. No problem. This is getting even more ridiculously embarrassing.”
“He’s that famous?” Yuriko says, stepping closer to the rack, picking up the magazine in question. Realization dawns slowly on her. “And he’s gorgeous, in a way, I don’t know, he’s weirdly attractive. Nice job, Nino.”
“How much is that?”
Yuriko smirks. “980 yen. And it says it has features on the most recent Summer Collection. And a full spread at that. Oh. I bet it’s a nice spread, and summer always means more skin, less fabric. You should definitely buy this.”
“If you’re half as interested as you say you are, you buy it.”
“You saw this first. So you buy it. Plus I’m not buying a magazine so you can borrow it and ogle at your crush during work hours. Naturally, I am going to borrow it later from you to finally get a full glimpse of your crush. I also can get up-to-date info on what to wear this summer. Win-win!”
“But you can ogle, too. Think of it as an investment.”
“Maybe I’m not interested in ogling, or even in investing. Maybe I can live without ever reading this particular magazine.”
“Maybe you are. This is a women’s magazine. There must be something you’re interested in. Come on. Consider it research. An investment and research.”
“But I don’t need to research a girls’ magazine, much less invest in one. That’s your cue. Plus I read my magazines for free at my usual diner, thank you very much. I take it you’re interested. I’m just going to cut it from your next paycheck.”
“You’re going to do that anyway right?” Nino finally gives up; the more he looks at the cover the more he wants to rip open the plastic right away and get down to ogling after all. Why fight the inevitable? Yuriko-chan is going to crack him sooner or later. “Fine. I’ll get Ryo-chan behind the register and we can take this to the back.”
Much to Nino’s relief, he doesn’t spot Matsumoto Saturday morning. He’s told to go to the basement of their office and finds that front security clears him immediately. He steps down the steep steps to find the basement resembling an underground nightclub, complete with the barstools and stage. There’s no harsh lighting-not yet, but he knows there will be a lot of it later-and only a few people from the art department along with Takeda-san are around. A sleep-deprived Sho greets him on under the stairs. “Nice timing. Go see Yamada-chan. Go right, the room by the loading dock. She’ll fix you up. We have 30 minutes.”
“Okay,” Nino says, all serious and without any biting remarks this time. He circles the empty stage to get to the right wing and walks down the hall.
“Good morning.” Nino enters the makeshift corner.
“Oh, Nino-san, good morning. Right on time,” Yamada-chan greets him back. “I’m ready for you. Let’s do your hair first. Here, let’s put your bag over here.”
“Okay,” Nino complies. Setting aside his bag and cap, he then sits on the stool and let Yamada-chan work. No fancy decorations-as expected of a cheap production and Sho. Yamada-chan continues to do something with his hair and face in silence while Nino sits, looking at his own reflection in the small mirror, reciting the whole script in his head, keeping his own mood on check, trying to be still and patient; finally work will begin.
In under 20 minutes, Yamada-chan has finished her work; Nino has his hair styled, and he’s donned a sleek black suit, a loose tie around his neck and a ridiculous purple corsage on his chest.
“Done,” Yamada-chan announces while circling him to inspect her work. “Do you need something else? Anything I missed?”
“You said it’s done so it’s done, Yamada-chan,” Nino replies, adding a sleepy wink. “You know best.”
She smiles tiredly at him. “Just don’t flip this seam, right here,” she adds, showing where the cufflinks should be. “The suit is not yet done. I didn’t make the morning deadline.”
“Got it.”
“Let’s get you to the set then.”
Ohno-sensei is already on set by the time they get there, fiddling with the camera with one of his assistants. Nino says his greeting and waits just in front of the table as Yamada-chan talks to Ohno first. He notices there’s a keyboard on the center stage now, lit by two stand lights.
“Good morning, Nino. All ready, I see,” Aiba greets him, holding what appears to be a giant mug of hot steaming coffee.
“Yeah, good morning to you too,” Nino replies. “Would it be too much if I asked for coffee?”
“No problem, I can get you some,” Aiba says, staying where he is. “You went straight to Yamada-chan, I see.”
“Yeah, Sho-chan forgot his manners and didn’t offer anything at all.”
“You know how he gets at times like this. Seriously, I can get you one. Just after I finish this one, because I don’t think I can move if I don’t down this properly.”
“It’s not even begun yet and you both are overworked already.”
“Well, as Sho-chan always says, we can always sleep later,” Aiba says, “and everything is on schedule, so that’s good.”
“Good then,” Nino absently replies. Yamada-chan is pointing at him, before Ohno-sensei speaks again in low voice. He can’t hear anything, so he keeps on standing, waiting for further instructions.
“How’s the crush going by the way?” Aiba asks, chuckling over his mug when he sees Nino rolls his eyes. “You should talk to him, you know. I think he wants to talk to you.”
“Can you just stop it with that word? And what good would it bring? I’m still going to be nervous.”
There’s genuine concern in Aiba’s voice. “I think he’s also nervous. You must be if this is your first production. We’re not exactly doing a normal film shoot after all. At least you two could be nervous together. That’d be nice.”
Nino was going to respond with a verbal jab or a nudge or a step on Aiba’s left sneaker but Yamada-chan beckons him to come closer, so he only hisses his answer and walks toward the table leaving Aiba with his steaming coffee.
“Yes?”
“Ohno-sensei has a problem with the color of corsage, but for rehearsal, we’re going to go with it anyway.” Yamada-chan reaches for his collar and fixes it, smoothing the creases.
“Okay.”
“So you’re all ready then,” she says. “I’ll be over there if you need me, Sensei.”
Ohno nods, and pats the chair beside him. “Have a seat.”
Nino sits and waits.
“So, you read the scene, right?” Ohno puts his camera down on the table, focusing on Nino now. “I want a full song. Can you do a full song?”
“Sure. What kind of song?”
Ohno stays silent for a while, humming as he gives the question a deep thought. Nino feels a surge of nostalgia all of a sudden, the thrumming excitement of finally being back on camera, given the chance to act out a story, being in Ohno’s work, and this time it’s even in a more important role than being the bikini girls’ assistant-
“Something seductive?” Ohno finally decides.
“Sorry?”
“Something melodious that you think will attract the man you love to enter your honey trap.”
Nino frowns for a while, searching his memory for a particular song that could fit that absurd description; he learned during his first project with Ohno that there’s nothing too ridiculous for the man. It’s rather scary to realize that he’s not even flinching at such directions. “I don’t think there’s any in particular. Do you need the lyrics too?”
“No, no lyrics, that’d be too much. A melody?”
“I can try to play something sultry. Some high notes with a slow tempo.”
“Good. We’ll try that,” Ohno says, nodding his agreement. “What I want to is mostly to work on your posture. We’ll be using a grand piano later, so keep that in mind. There’ll be some adjustments, but you know how that works, right?”
“Yes, Sensei. Matsu-nii CGI?”
Ohno chuckles. “Can’t work on a film without his help, really.”
“I got it.”
“Good. Stand by at the stool, will you? We’ll be right there.”
“Okay.”
The moment he sits down, the sensation comes back at him in waves; being under the spotlight-especially by a keyboard, which he imagines as a grand piano after all, emptying his mind and channeling the longing that reflects in his eyes, wondering when the man he’s been waiting for will walk through the door.
“The door is over there.” Ohno points to the left side of the stage. He now hovers close, camera in hand, and assistant right behind him. “Slouch a bit but keep your head off the keys, staring straight.” He gives instruction after instruction. “Yes, like that. Keep it like that and play.”
Nino complies.
The Sunday location shoot is in a district across town, an apartment in a quiet residential area. Apparently this is where they’ve splurged? Nino thinks as he meets the assistant in front of the building. He lets the guy lead him to the fifth floor to enter a loft and meet Sho.
“Follow me,” Sho says in a low tone, hurriedly walking away from the entrance.
“What?” Nino whispers back, stumbling a bit as he follows. As he navigates his way toward the next room, he notices that the set is flooded with natural light, with a few stand lights creating subtle shadows. The vast large windows show the scenery of dusk falling rapidly on the city below. Sho leads him to a small bedroom they apparently arranged as the makeup and wardrobe room.
Yamada-chan looks up at them entering the room but doesn’t move from her chair to work on Nino’s makeup like the day before. She continues to sip her mug leisurely. “They’re still at it?” she asks Sho.
Sho sighs. “Yeah. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to end soon though.”
“What happened? I’m not late, am I?”
“You’re not late. We are.”
“What? How?”
Sho sighs even more loudly, taking a seat on the stool with his back facing the mirror, and he gestures Nino to do the same.
“There’s no other chair,” Nino says, “except if you expect me to kick Yamada-chan out of her chair. But that’d be rude.”
His remark draws a giggle from Yamada-chan across the room.
“You’d kick me out of my chair anytime,” Sho says, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. Nino congratulates himself for a remark well done. “Just use any crate over there. Nothing except Aiba-chan’s frantic call can get me out of this one. I’ve been standing since this morning. My blood is not circulating well enough.”
“Here, use this instead,” Yamada-chan says, bringing the chair for Nino. “I’ll get both of you some coffee. You, especially, look like you really need another one, Sho-kun.”
“I already lost count of how many cups I’ve had today, but thank you all the same, Yamada-chan,” Sho says as she leaves them alone in the room.
Nino thanks her for the chair before sitting down, setting his chair right across Sho. “What happened?”
“We’re two scenes behind. It’s already 6. I only set the room rental till 9. Dusk will soon pass. And we’re two scenes behind. I don’t think you’ll be able to rehearse tonight. We’re two scenes behind!”
“You said it three times in one breath. What happened?”
“Your crush is ruining everything.” Sho slumps in his seat.
“Stop using that word, will you? Soon it’s going to be his nickname, I just know it.” Nino rolls his eyes and smiles afterward when it gets another small smile from Sho. “What did he do? Was he late? Did he break a camera? Did he stumble and destroy Takeda-chan’s lighting arrangement? Did he make Yamada-chan cry? Did he kiss Aiba-chan?”
Sho laughs at the last question before his face turns dark again. “Worse. He’s talking back to Ohno-sensei.”
“Huh?”
Before Sho can give further explanation, his radio beeps and Nino can hear Aiba on the other line whispering. “Sho-chan. Here. Now.”
Sho immediately stands, almost tipping the stool, and runs toward the door, leaving Nino blinking in his seat.
Yamada-chan appears by the door, holding two cups of coffee. “You want to see the live commotion? I have coffee,” she says, raising the cups a little bit into the air.
“Well, since you’ve been kind enough to get me one,” Nino says. “I’ll take one of those. Thank you.”
Yamada-chan leads the way back to the living room, and now Nino can see the cables clearly and navigate his way better. She sits beside Takeda-san, sitting on the edge of a long bench in an unlit corner of the room, and offers him the coffee.
“Thanks,” Takeda says to her before seeing Nino taking a seat beside her. “Hey Nino, I didn’t see you coming in.”
“Good evening. I just got here,” Nino greets him, settling next to Yamada-chan. They have a good view of what’s happening under the spotlight. Sho and Aiba are on the far side of the room, while Ohno-sensei is behind the monitor talking with his assistants. And now that he finally gets a good look at everything, Nino notices the set-a single-seat sofa with a low table-is not empty. Matsumoto is sitting in the seat, waiting, dressed in only a white shirt and trousers, looking like he has had a long day of work, which is probably true since the rehearsal started in the morning.
Takeda sips his coffee gratefully. “I hope they settle this soon. I need the stand lights back by midnight.”
“I think they are going to skip the last scene and cancel the bed scene in the end,” Yamada-chan says. “You must be disappointed, Nino-san.”
He almost chokes on his coffee, before he turns and sees both Takeda and Yamada-chan sending knowing grins at him. “I can see that you’ve all been talking with Aiba-chan. I’m so going to throttle him.”
“Well at least some action is going to happen if you do that,” Takeda says, with a hint of bitterness. “That young man was really into it. Very enthusiastic fellow.”
“Well, he’s new at this,” Yamada-chan replies. “He just needs to get used to the work.”
“I don’t really care. As long as he doesn’t upset the schedule, he’s fine,” Takeda retorts back. “Sho-kun is already near his boiling point.”
Yamada-chan giggles at that. “That’s some fast work all right. Your crush really knows how to ruin a day’s work, Nino-san.”
Nino rolls his eyes in vain. “He’s not my-“
He stops midway when there’s movement on the set. Ohno enters the set and walks toward Matsumoto while signaling Sho to come join them. The three men have a short conversation, mostly involving Sho shoving his tablet toward Ohno, Matsumoto trying to say something, but Ohno-sensei cutting him off with more instructions.
“Takeda-san,” Sho calls out from the set. “Can you come here for a second, please?”
“Yes,” Takeda responds immediately, handing his half-empty coffee cup to Yamada-chan and getting one of his boys to follow him onto the set.
Ohno-sensei points out his instructions for Takeda-san. Sho talks a little bit longer with Matsumoto before calling out again, “Yamada-chan, touch up, please!”
“Okay,” Yamada-chan answers, handing the half-empty coffee cup to Nino, leaving him alone on the long bench to go to the set.
“One cannot have enough coffee, I guess,” Nino says to himself, and continues to sip his coffee while he watches the scene unfold in front of him.
Over the next few minutes, as he stays on his seat, Nino remembers that the scene Matsumoto is rehearsing is scene number 15. From what he remembers, it’s a living room scene with Matsumoto listening to his radio, making phone calls with mostly monologues, and circling the set, with-now he can see why Sho is getting impatient-afternoon lighting from the vast window. It’s completely dark outside now, all the lighting coming from the stand lights, and they are still doing the scene. How that could be beneficial to rehearse he doesn’t know, but apparently Ohno-sensei wants to continue, so they are continuing. At first glance there’s nothing wrong with the scene, in his opinion. They are doing the first two cuts rather smoothly; Ohno-sensei stops the unnecessary turn Matsumoto is making at first and accepts the second even with the unnecessary turn addition. They stop for a while for a sequence check and Matsumoto is talking with Ohno-sensei again.
Realization finally hits Nino after thirty minutes have passed-his coffee finished and now he’s sipping Takeda’s leftovers-and they are still on the same scene: they are using too much time to stop between takes, with Matsumoto talking to Ohno after every take. They then have to spend more time to set Matsumoto’s position back when he comes back onto the set.
No wonder Sho is ready to fly off the fucking handle.
An hour later, it’s Aiba who finds him still sitting on the long chair. He looks relieved to see Nino and settles in immediately beside him. “Here you are. Sho-chan sent me to tell you we’re cancelling tonight.”
“I can see that.”
Aiba leans against the wall and slowly his head finds Nino’s shoulder. “Today has been hell,” he sighs.
“I can see that, too,” Nino says, keeping his tone harsh but shoulder still to support the extra weight.
“You are dismissed, Sho-chan said,” Aiba continues. “Next schedule will be sent to your email tomorrow. If there’s a new schedule, that is. Which I don’t think will exist anyway. We can’t afford another rehearsal.”
“Okay,” Nino says. “I’d offer you coffee but I finished mine and Takeda-san’s, just while waiting.”
Aiba laughs weakly. “You should really talk some sense into that crush of yours.”
“Aiba-chan,” Nino says, tone warning but still not moving, “I bet if I shift suddenly to the left, your head is going to hit the bench pretty hard. It’s going to give you a mild concussion but I’m not going to regret it even a bit because I need to get back to you for gossiping with Takeda-san.”
Aiba ignores the empty threat, too tired to even retort back. “I don’t even know how I’m going to function during the midnight meeting Sho has just now scheduled.”
“Mhmm.”
“But I was being serious, Nino. You should really talk to him. Give him some insight, some words of advice from a concerned and nice senpai or something like that. This cannot happen again.”
“Why am I on babysitting duty all of a sudden?”
“Because you’re the only one who can at the moment?”
“That’s not going to work on me.”
“Oh, come on, Nino. Just talk to him, will you? Sho-chan will appreciate the effort. Heck, the whole team will. I definitely will. Free dinner for a month? Starting from the day this production wraps up, which hopefully will finally come.”
“I smell bribery.”
“Then you know I’m pretty much desperate.”
“That’s so cheap of you.”
“You’re cheap right back.”
At the weak jab, Nino can only sigh. At the end, it doesn’t take very much for Aiba to convince him. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Nice,” Aiba says, still not moving from what it seems to be a comfortable position. “You can take advantage of him, too. We wouldn’t care. In fact, we’ll be rooting for you.”
“I’m so going to shift,” Nino says, “and your head should be hitting this bench right about now.”
Aiba ignores the threat again. “By the way, are you seeing Sho-chan panicking and trying to find me already?”
Nino scans the set quickly and can only make out that Sho’s still talking to Ohno-sensei at the other end of the room. “No, Ohno-sensei still has him busy.”
“Good. I can stay like this for a little longer,” Aiba says, with much relief. “And you’ll talk to him, right?”
Nino doesn’t answer immediately. There are pro and cons, of course; he’s been avoiding the man, that’s fact. But he cannot avoid him forever, sooner or later-he was prepared to get to that sooner tonight but it didn’t happen-the scene will need to happen. Cancelled rehearsal or not, they are going to do it after all. So perhaps better to deal with Matsumoto now, taking one for the team, and settling their footing sooner. “Can dinner be hamburger for the whole month?”
“No,” Aiba says and Nino can feel the smile as Aiba’s cheek moves on his shoulder. “You still need to eat some green things.”
“Dammit.”
“He’s with Yamada-chan right now. You can rescue her from him and accomplish your mission. Wheedle him to buy you fancy dinner or something.”
“I hate you.”
“I know. I hate you, too.”
Just as Aiba said, Nino finds Matsumoto with Yamada-chan in the wardrobe room, inquiring about the trench coat he was using during the first rehearsal scene. The man is already out of his costume, now dressed casually and seemingly ready to go.
“Oh, Nino-san.” Yamada-chan sees him first, and when Matsumoto turns to find him by the door, she makes a small gesture, hinting for Nino to get the man away from her. “I’m done with Matsumoto-san. He’s free to go if you’re waiting for him.”
Nino aims a glare at Yamada-chan. Matsumoto misses the glare and asks instead, “You’re waiting for me?”
“You can say that,” Nino says. “Come on, let’s go. I should escort you out of the building immediately.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s just go. We’re done here, I believe.”
“But I’m not-“
“Just go with him, Matsumoto-san. I’ll have a meeting in half an hour.” Yamada-chan smiles to soften her not-so-subtle dismissal.
Matsumoto frowns. “A meeting? At this hour?”
“It’s mostly because of you,” she says under her breath, before smiling again. “I’ll make sure everything’s ready per your requests by the next shoot. Good work today.”
“Good work today, Yamada-chan.” Nino gestures at Matsumoto to come with him. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
- NIGHT
EXTREME CLOSE UP.
The night air hits them as soon as they step out of the apartment building. It’s pleasantly silent in the residential area and the breeze is warm against their skin.
“Are we going somewhere?” Matsumoto asks, standing next to Nino as they come to a sudden halt just in front of the building.
Nino turns slowly toward him. It isn’t entirely nervous-material now that he’s standing outside with him, away from the film set, and it’s just them. But they are going to talk about work again later, and just like that, the nervousness creeps back in. He lets out a loud sigh. “How about some ramen?”
“What?”
“I’m treating you dinner. How’s that? Is ramen okay?”
“I guess,” Matsumoto says, not sounding sure at all. He tries to search for something, staring more at Nino’s face before he fully grasps the invitation. “Wait. You’re treating me dinner?”
“Well, I’m hungry, you’re probably hungry, and I will definitely have Sho-chan reimburse the bill.”
Matsumoto laughs. “Really?”
“Really,” Nino says, also offering a smile in return. Matsumoto stands blocking the street light, and he can only see a silhouette of the sharp features and feel the stare. “I saw a decent cheap shop near the station. Can we go there now?”
“You sure are weird,” Matsumoto says, gesturing Nino to lead the way.
Nino shrugs-it’s going to be a long night, and exciting all the same. Aiba is going to owe him a lot, and Sho is going to pay the price; better enjoy it while it last. Dinner with Matsumoto? Who knew it would happen so soon?-and starts to walk down the road.
Matsumoto follows him, and soon they fall into a comfortable rhythm. They walk at a leisurely pace, passing a quiet park and a few more rows of houses. Nino’s almost hoping for rain to suddenly pour down on them, or anything to distract him from the ‘obligation’ to strike up a conversation. But Matsumoto doesn’t seem to make any effort to change to mood. It’s Nino who’s asked him to dinner after all. Matsumoto is just coming out of courtesy, being a newcomer in all this. Right, Nino’s the senpai here.
They approach the last block before the station. It has to start now or they will reach the shop and the moment will be gone. Nino forces the question out of his mouth. “So, what happened today?”
“Sorry?” Matsumoto turns to him with a frown, pace halted from the sudden question.
“Today,” Nino repeats his question slowly and with emphasis. “On the film set. What happened?”
“Rehearsal did?”
“You’re pretty thick for a good-looking guy,” Nino says, wondering whether being straightforward is going to work with this guy. “Why do I have to rephrase everything?”
“I don’t understand where you’re getting at,” Matsumoto says, both apologetic and sounding genuinely confused. “And you’re very direct.”
“I am.”
“Somehow it’s charming but not that much.”
“And you’re not as thick as you seem to be, I guess,” he manages to say, flushing at the vague compliment. For a split second he loses his snarky charade, warmth creeping up to his cheek, grateful for the dim lighting the street light provides. “Anyway, why are you posing so many questions?”
“Now?”
“No, during filming.” Nino doesn’t bother to prevent himself from rolling his eyes openly, keeping his tone sharp with a grumble. “I’ll take the not-as-thick compliment back right now, thank you.”
“I wasn’t-“
“You sure were. I was there.”
The answer makes Matsumoto halt suddenly, staring Nino in disbelief. “Really? The whole time?”
“No. Just as scheduled,” Nino says, stopping to turn and face Matsumoto; the crossing light is flaring red at the intersection anyway. “You do know that we were scheduled to shoot our scene during the evening.”
Matsumoto walks a few steps forward to get closer to Nino. “I do. And I was wondering why they cancelled that. The night is still young. You can get evening shots anytime.”
“Not anytime. It says it on the script. Dusk.” The crossing light still flares red, and they don’t move even though there are no cars passing through the intersection.
“Yeah, so?”
“Definitely taking the not-as-thick comment back now. Do you how important dusk is to a filming team?”
“No.”
Matsumoto sounds genuinely confused and Nino can’t help but pity the man a little. The light turns green and he walks ahead to cross the road. He hears Matsumoto follow him; a few steps later they are walking side by side again.
“If it says day or night or afternoon,” Nino begins, “that means they could create day or night or afternoon. But if your script says it’s dusk-or dawn-that means you don’t mess with your time. Dusk only happens once a day and it needs to happen at that precise time.”
Nino turns to see Matsumoto. He doesn’t respond and appears to be thinking; perhaps Aiba-chan was right, and the man just hasn’t considered it until just now. He’s got a nice profile, by the way. Nino has to force himself to look ahead and watch the road. He continues, “Meaning that the shot today, the one we should practice is botched because they missed dusk. And they missed dusk because?”
This time Matsumoto responds, trying to complete Nino’s sentence. “They were still doing my scenes.”
“And they were still doing your scenes because?”
“They’ve been doing it since morning.”
Matsumoto is getting a hang of it. Just a little bit more. “And the reason they’ve been doing it-continuously-since morning is because?”
“We haven’t finished.”
Maybe not a little bit. “My patience is running thin here, Matsumoto. The reason they haven’t finished, or to be exact, could not finish on schedule is because?”
“Of me?” Matsumoto stops walking again.
Nino claps his hands, making a fancy turn to find Matsumoto staring at him in true disbelief. “Good. I’ll take the thick comment back right now. Don’t ruin it.” He then realizes that they’re at the last turn before the station, with people around, and it’s not good to cause a scene here. They don’t appear to be drunk enough to be excused for being a public disturbance.
“Wait. Because of me?”
Nino leaves the sentence unanswered and points ahead instead. “We’re almost there here. See? Ganbou Ramen. Come on.”
They settle on a table for two near the back; most of the patrons are salarymen getting the quick dinner fix. Nino gets the smallest serving while Matsumoto dazedly points at a dinner set without inquiring anything. Nino sips his hot tea slowly as Matsumoto recovers from the shock. Their order comes and Nino begins eating even though Matsumoto only stares on his bowl. “You’re awfully quiet for a man who has just been treated dinner.”
“I thought I was being helpful,” Matsumoto finally says. He holds his chopsticks just above his bowl and stops again.
“Now?”
“During the rehearsal today.”
“No point in beating yourself up now that it’s all said and done,” Nino says, slurping his noodles noisily. “And here I am being nice because you look like you’re seriously down.”
Matsumoto turns to him with an expression that says Nino isn’t wrong, which simply gets Nino worried for a second. All the frustration and other things he can't comprehend at the moment flash in those eyes; which is good because that draws Nino’s attention to that sharp gaze, instead of titling back down to those pouting lips. That’ll cancel all good intentions that he’s having right now in a split second.
Nino puts his chopsticks down and decides to give the man a small break. “Listen, I’m just going to say this once. You need to know that they’ll ask if they want any input from us actors. But basically, you just need to do what they want you to do. Speaking from experience, I can also tell you that Ohno-sensei won’t be needing anything. He has his own vision, and no one gets it but him. If you don’t understand something, ask for clearer directions. If no one asks you about anything, then there’s no need to say anything, just do the job.”
“But that’d be-“
“Correct? Ethically correct? Politically correct? Call it whatever you want, doing your job is still doing your job. It’s not the place nor time to do anything else. We’re there to work. We’re getting paid for it.”
“Barely,” Matsumoto says with a small smile.
“Still, there’s money,” Nino continues. “And if you enjoy this acting thing, perhaps you should start accepting business rule #4.”
“Number four?” Matsumoto repeats, but Nino doesn’t explain further. Instead he turns back to his soggy ramen. He finishes his food in record time, giving nothing back to Matsumoto who finally decides to start eating his now-definitely-soggy noodles.
“You’re not just a little weird,” Matsumoto says in between slurps, “you’re truly weird.”
“Weird gets me pretty far.” Nino pats his stomach, setting the bowl further to the side of the table and reaching for his hot tea again. He decides to give the man-the sad man, if he can add, the sad man who’s been down and now has to eat some soggy ramen because his, haha, nice senpai decided to treat him dinner while setting him straight-another small break. “Remember, that was some senpai advice you just got.”
Matsumoto lets out a bitter laugh. “I thought I knew about how things work, but it turns out I didn’t know anything about it.”
He keeps his tone light; this Matsumoto just had a different perception, that’s all, and now he knows. “There’s nothing complicated about it. Actors act. That’s all,” he says.
Matsumoto frowns at the last statement, turning back to his soggy ramen. Nino lets the silence hang and they stay silent for a while, Matsumoto deep in thought and Nino fighting to finish the ramen.
The first thing Matsumoto says when he’s finished his bowl and is now playing with his iced tea is, “I thought you didn’t like me.”
Nino lets out a loud snort, followed by a giggle. “What?”
“You were staring at me rudely during the introduction party and you didn’t even spare me a glance during the production meeting.”
Nino hides his smile behind his hot teacup. “And that makes me not like you how?”
“Well, I thought, I just have this thought,” Matsumoto says, tone getting lower and lower, “that you might be not comfortable working with me, that maybe you don’t consider me as an actor knowing that I model and this is my first film project and now that I made today’s shooting off schedule and-“
“Too much information.” Nino simply cuts off the on-going ramble. “I like you just fine. I think you are good-looking. Strikingly, annoyingly, amazingly good-looking.”
“Huh?” Matsumoto blinks twice, sharp eyes focusing on Nino’s expression, seeking any indication of sarcasm and failing to find anything but Nino’s set expression. He lets out a small laugh. “Really? Oh, thank you. Really?”
“Really,” Nino says, also offering a smile in return. “Let’s leave it at that right now, okay?”
“Was that another piece of senpai advice?” Matsumoto says, eyes sparkling now with what Nino can identify as delight-he sure hopes it’s delight.
He rolls his eyes at the question. “It was a compliment, you jerk.”
The deep and rich sound of Matsumoto’s genuine laughter in response is like music to his ears; he would spend a lot of time and effort trying to draw the same sound from the man again and again. “You’re so weird.”
“And we’re back to weird. I think we’re done here then,” Nino says. “Let me ask for the bill. Hope that dinner set doesn’t cost a lot.”
“I’m sorry?” Matsumoto offers, his bright expression contrary to the apology.
“You’re a fast learner,” Nino smirks back to him. “I knew it.”
PART 3