Chapter 50 Fatal Attraction: Underage Body vs. Mature Acting Skills
Risa gripped her phone tightly and subconsciously glanced at the man beside her.
The other party seemed to sense something, considerately made a "I'll take my leave" gesture, pointed to the business card, and mouthed "I'll contact you tomorrow."
“Yes, that’s me.” She lowered her voice. “How did you find out about the audition?”
"Oh dear, this circle is very small~" The woman's laughter was as crisp as a wind chime, carrying a sharp arrogance.
"Our agency has been paying close attention to Director Kurosawa's new project."
"Oh, I see..."
Risa responded mechanically.
She walked towards the back of the mountain while talking on the phone. Unconsciously, she turned onto the path leading to the tennis club.
"Our firm is a partner of Toho, and we have a dedicated legal team to protect the rights of our actors..."
The person on the other end of the phone was still enthusiastically describing the firm's qualifications, but those words had already become a blur of white noise in her ears.
As she turned the corner, Risa suddenly stopped.
Behind the wire fence, Yukimura was resting against the railing of the tennis court. Sanada handed him a bottle of mineral water, and as he took it, his eyes crinkled slightly, as if he were thanking him.
The boy tilted his head back as he drank water, his posture conveying the exhilaration of exercise; his Adam's apple bobbed with each swallow. A few drops of water spilled from the corners of his lips, rolled down his chin, and were eventually swallowed by the amber-colored sunset, disappearing into the shadow of his collar.
As she raised her arm, a corner of her shirt lifted, revealing a glimpse of her toned waistline. The muscle definition honed by years of exercise was particularly striking in the afterglow, rising and falling slightly with her breath.
Risa involuntarily held her breath, her mouth dry. Her palms were sweaty, and the phone case became slippery and difficult to hold.
She instinctively clenched her fingers, but couldn't stop her racing heart.
"...Therefore, we attach great importance to the protection of underage artists..."
Minor.
The word was like a thorn, suddenly piercing her consciousness.
Just then, Yukimura turned his head as if sensing something. His gaze pierced through the diamond-shaped mesh of the barbed wire and met her eyes directly.
Their eyes met.
His eyes were clear and bright, as if he could see through her hidden thoughts.
Risa hurriedly lowered her head and quickly looked away.
"...Thank you for your call, but I don't have any plans to sign with an agency at the moment."
The person on the other end of the phone wasn't surprised to hear the rejection.
He continued, seemingly oblivious to the situation, "Actually, we'd like to invite you to the agency for an audition. There are some... things you should know about Director Kurosawa beforehand."
Risa: "Director Kurosawa's...precautions?"
"You'll find out when the time comes," the woman chuckled through the receiver. "There are many... beautiful traps in this circle."
"Thank you for your advice."
Risa hovered her thumb above the screen and pressed the hang-up button hard.
The moment the call ended, the phone lit up again. The same "unknown number" flashed on the screen, like a malevolent eye.
She took a deep breath, silenced her phone, and stuffed it into her skirt pocket.
That's absurd.
Even though his soul was already that of an adult, he lost his composure because of the look in a high school student's eyes.
Looking at her slightly trembling fingertips, and thinking about the gaze she had just taken, an indescribable sense of self-loathing spread through her chest.
—That's terrible.
How could she? How could she use such filthy and disgusting eyes to taint that pure and innocent boy?
Risa quickened her pace, almost running away.
It was as if only by doing this could she escape those unwanted feelings of excitement and anxiety, and escape this place that made her feel unlike herself.
-
Arriving at the door of the doujinshi club's activity room, my heart was still pounding like crazy.
Risa leaned against the door for a few seconds until her breathing gradually calmed down before she pushed the door open and went inside.
"How many invitations did you receive from firms today?"
Yuzuki's voice came from behind the computer; she was the only one in the activity room.
“Including that phone call just now…” Risa threw her schoolbag onto the old sofa, curled up her legs, and sat down at the low table. “This is the fourteenth one.”
She rubbed her temples: "I really don't understand how they found my contact information."
Yuzuki finally looked up from in front of the screen.
"Didn't Yagyu-kun tell you?" She turned the computer around, and the screen displayed the poster page for the contestants who were going to become brand ambassadors. "The contact information on the registration form is public information."
“And this is the usual practice of this competition,” Yuzuki tilted her head and looked at her. “The champion, runner-up and third place winners of each competition are highly sought-after by talent agencies.”
“I see…” Risa nodded knowingly and took out the script that Director Kurosawa had given her from her bag.
"Aren't you planning to sign a contract and debut?" Yuzuki asked her.
"No," Risa replied decisively.
"Why? That's Toho! Countless professional arts school students would kill for that..."
Remembering that Risa had mentioned wanting to go to university, Yuzuki rested her chin on her hand and asked, "Is going to university really that important to you? You might not even earn as much money as you would from acting after you graduate."
"Of course it's important."
Risa's biggest regret in her past life was not being able to go to university.
"I don't want to be packaged by the agency as some exotic creature for people to admire. Director Kurosawa is interested in how I act when I'm competing, so I'll just focus on acting."
"You're really strange. Others are fighting tooth and nail for exclusive contracts, but you treat them like cages."
Risa shrugged and looked down at the script.
Yuzuki picked up the soda next to her, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. As the carbonated bubbles burst on her tongue, she murmured, "But... that's something you would actually say."
-
Original script for "Blue Bird"
Lead actress candidate: Risa Matsuno
Character Name: Aizawa Haruka
For canaries, the cage is actually the safest place.
But there are more than just canaries in this world.
Some birds are born to belong to the sky.
In the eyes of a hawk, no matter how magnificent and secure the cage is, it is still nothing more than a prison.
Canaries may fear the storms outside, but true birds would rather break their wings than give up the freedom of the sky.
The script was very short; it took Risa almost an hour to read it.
She closed the script, took a deep breath, and dialed the number on Akito Kurosawa's business card.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Risa got straight to the point: "I've finished reading the script, and it's a very touching story. I'd really like to try playing the role of Haruka Aizawa."
After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, a deep male voice rang out:
"I'll send a car to pick you up from Rikkai University tomorrow at 3 PM for your audition."
-
The following afternoon, at Toho Studio AXT15.
Under the spotlight, Risa's unadorned skin was almost translucent. She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, all the naivety had faded from her gaze—
"Scene 3, Aizawa Haruka confronts her father, begin!" The assistant director's voice suddenly rang out.
Risa lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, her knuckles white from clenching her fists. When she looked up again, her almond-shaped eyes were filled with shattered light.
"Dad, the safety you talk about... to me it's a cage."
"......"
"I am not the canary you keep in a cage..."
She suddenly raised her voice, "I am—"
A sob caught in her throat, and she bit her lower lip hard, forcing back the tears. "I am a bluebird yearning for freedom!"
The last sentence was almost shouted.
Her red-rimmed eyes were brimming with tears, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall. That defiant strength, clinging to life on the verge of collapse, plunged the entire studio into a deathly silence.
The assistant director, staring at the monitor, seemed to have forgotten to yell "Cut!"
Akira Kurosawa adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze piercing through the lenses and locking onto Risa.
"It's too perfect..."
His voice was soft, yet it made the entire set hold its breath.
The next second, he pressed his knuckles to his lower lip and chuckled softly, his shoulders trembling slightly. The laughter didn't sound like joy, but rather like some long-suppressed obsession finally finding an outlet; his voice was incredibly hoarse.
"I've finally found you. My..."
"Muse".
The last two words escaped his lips with an ambiguous gasp.
"Prepare to sign the contract," Akira Kurosawa told the producer. "I want her to be the lead actress in the new film."
Producer Sasaki hesitated for a moment: "But she's an amateur high school student with no experience. Casting her as the lead might... "
"Precisely because she's a newcomer..."
Akira Kurosawa's fingertip hovered over the monitor screen, his gaze still fixed on Risa's close-up. "It's easier... to shape her."
The studio fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone finally realized that what was flashing in the eyes of this genius director was not the fervor of an artist, but the gleam of a gambler discovering his trump card.
-
Half an hour later, contract negotiations began.
“Matsuno’s performance was truly impressive.” Producer Sasaki pushed a document over. “This is the preliminary contract drafted based on your terms.”
Risa quickly skimmed the terms and conditions, stopping at one point: "Binding terms for affiliated offices?"
"This is standard protection for newcomers," the publicity manager explained with a smile. "The agency will assist with legal, scheduling, and public relations matters, especially for underage actors..."
"Including a 50% commission on agency contracts?" Risa interrupted, pointing to the details of the terms and conditions. "Even social media accounts are to be managed by the agency? The newly revised Entertainment Business Act doesn't seem to stipulate that."
The meeting room fell silent instantly.
Sasaki's pen stopped on the notebook.
"I'm sorry." Risa closed the file. "I only sign contracts for single films and am not affiliated with any agency."
“Matsuno-kun,” the producer leaned forward, “do you know how many professional art school students…”
“Mr. Sasaki,” Risa interrupted the producer, “According to the relevant regulations on the protection of minors in the entertainment industry, I have the right to refuse any form of long-term binding contract.”
Kurosawa Akito chuckled. He twirled the ring on his ring finger, his eyes fixed on Risa: "Ms. Matsuno... knows the rules of the industry very well?"
“After all, we’re going to be working with Director Kurosawa.” Risa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We should do some research first.”
“In that case…” Kurosawa Akito leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and interlacing his fingers against his chin.
“Mr. Sasaki,” he ordered the man beside him, his gaze never leaving Risa’s face, “change the contract to a single film.”
The propaganda minister choked on his tea. He was about to say something, but he fell silent at Kurosawa's glance.
“Ms. Matsuno, why don’t you take a look at the other terms? We can discuss any questions you may have.”
Risa looked up with slight surprise, noticing the undercurrent behind the man's gentle gaze.
(Psychological pressure? That kind of trick won't work on her.)
She lowered her head and continued to focus on the contract.
Akira Kurosawa gazed at the girl before him, his eyes tracing her trembling eyelashes, her high nose, her parting red lips, and even the graceful lines of her neck.
Her underage body was like an uncut gemstone. But what truly made him gasp was her mature acting skills and demeanor.
Her reading speed was astonishing; she could read almost ten lines at a glance. Her hands, turning the pages, were slender and pale. Her fingers moved swiftly across the paper, yet always managed to capture every crucial detail.
Whenever she discovered a problem, her almond-shaped eyes would narrow slightly, and her voice would be calm yet firm.
Throughout the three-hour tug-of-war, Risa maintained her upright posture, fighting against three opponents single-handedly.
• The portrait rights clause in item 5 is open to interpretation and its scope of use needs to be clearly defined.
• A clause prioritizing academic studies must be added. When filming conflicts with entrance exams, my studies must take priority.
• The initial payment for the actor's salary should follow industry practice, with 30% paid before filming begins, not the 15% you've proposed. Regarding the box office revenue sharing clause...
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Author's Note: In the next chapter, the village guy is going to get serious!! We've finally finished this career-related storyline!
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