"Suzune?"
Shiratori Seiya picked up the phone, tilting his head in confusion:
"Why'd you change your number?"
"Umm…"
The girl on the other end hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice:
"Well… let's just say there are some special reasons…"
She drew out the words in that classic shy anime girl way, then quickly changed the subject:
"Oh, by the way, Seiya, has Ando-obasan called you lately?"
Hearing that, Seiya frowned.
"Why are you suddenly asking?"
Ando Norika had called him, but everything she said was about Hōjō Shione. After he repeatedly assured her that Shione was fine and could still sing, her main concern shifted to begging him to comfort and take care of Shione more.
"W-well…"
Hōjō Suzune's voice stretched out, like she was wrestling with whether to say something.
Seeing that, Seiya pressed:
"Suzune, what's going on exactly?"
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Hōjō Suzune took a deep breath—her small chest puffing up like she was bracing for a boss battle—and said seriously:
"I just wanted to ask… Ando-obasan doesn't know about Nee-san taking medicine all this time, right?"
"She doesn't know…"
Seiya said, then turned the girl's words over in his mind.
"Suzune, are you saying someone's planning to tell Auntie about this?"
He thought for a moment, then guessed:
"Is it Mrs. Hōjō?"
Hōjō Suzune didn't expect him to figure it out that fast. She let out a surprised "Ah!" and quickly said:
"If Mom hasn't said anything by now, she probably won't…"
"Whether she says it or not… what exactly happened?"
When he left the hospital that day, he'd actually considered the possibility of Mrs. Hōjō spilling the beans to Auntie. So he hadn't exactly been losing sleep over it. An apology would be appropriate—it was bound to happen sooner or later.
But at the hospital, Mrs. Hōjō clearly didn't want to see him. Apologizing while she was still fuming probably wouldn't have done any good anyway.
Ando Norika didn't know Shione was taking medicine because of him. She just thought it was the Hōjō family's way of cutting ties.
But now it seemed different from what he'd imagined.
"Actually, Nee-san…"
Hōjō Suzune awkwardly recounted how her sister had stopped their mother. She left out the whole threatening-suicide part—no need to dump that psychological bomb on Shiratori Seiya. She kept it light.
Her sister wasn't the only one who'd been suffering. She'd been in pain too, but she'd never schemed against Seiya. Regardless, she couldn't agree with her sister's methods. Stopping their mother from tattling? That part made perfect sense to Suzune.
But precisely because she'd lost control of her emotions back then, her mother found out she also liked Seiya. And then her mother confiscated her phone—using the "college entrance exams are super important" excuse. Really, she just didn't want Suzune contacting Seiya.
Suppressing the urge to argue with her mom, Suzune told herself that in less than half a year, her mother wouldn't be able to control her anymore.
With that thought, Hōjō Suzune secretly used her allowance to buy a second-hand phone.
Of course, Seiya didn't need to know that. It would only make him worry.
If possible, she only wanted him to be happy forever.
Nothing made her happier than seeing Seiya happy—not even that kind of thing.
The reason she called today was to offer some emotional support in case Ando-obasan had yelled at him. But she hadn't expected him to be so sharp and guess everything right away…
Listening to Hōjō Suzune finish, Shiratori Seiya fell silent.
Suddenly, he had no idea what Hōjō Shione was really trying to do.
If he followed her logic—allowing Mrs. Hōjō to tell Ando Norika—then with Auntie's personality, she'd probably drag him over to apologize. And since Shione had always been Auntie's number one priority, it wasn't impossible that Auntie would force him to marry Shione and take responsibility for her for life.
Of course, he'd definitely say no to that.
So… was Shione playing the long game? Trying to win him over with a softer approach?
It was still hard for him to accept this new version of Hōjō Shione in his mind. He hadn't thought in that direction at first.
But following this logic, it did match Shione's current mental state.
"Seiya?"
On the other end, Hōjō Suzune couldn't help calling out when she noticed his silence.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Um… has Nee-san said anything to you lately?"
"Said what? We haven't really talked much recently. Isn't she either resting or busy with company stuff? Press conferences, apologies, rushing to fulfill commitments…"
Although Hōjō Shione had told him she'd rest for a while, she still had to wait for the storm to blow over. After that incident, she probably wouldn't call him. Their messages were just simple mutual greetings.
Mainly, he'd been super busy with the script these days and hadn't had much time to focus on her.
"Oh."
Hōjō Suzune responded, then carefully warned him:
"Nee-san… Seiya, you need to be careful of her. She's… she's not the person you remember anymore. I never told you before, but now you know, right? You still need to be careful. Especially watch out for her playing the emotional card with you…"
Even though her sister's actions were unforgivable, Suzune understood the torment her sister carried inside.
But Hōjō Suzune never believed her love for Seiya was even a milliliter less than her sister's.
The suffering she'd endured was no less.
She was the one who met Seiya first—yet her sister snatched him away. The number of times she'd secretly watched their sweet, intimate moments and then cried alone under her blankets was countless.
How many times had she dreamed of stabbing her sister with a knife…?
Her sister thought she was the only one suffering. How ridiculous.
Listening to Suzune warn him to be wary of her own sister, Shiratori Seiya almost wanted to laugh.
"You two are family, you know? Why are you siding with an outsider like me?"
He couldn't help wondering what Suzune's favorability toward him actually was.
But unfortunately, the system only displayed Mio's. And it could only detect his ex-girlfriends' favorability as maxed out.
Still, he could feel a strong sense of concern in the girl's words. And Shione had become somewhat unfamiliar to him, so he acknowledged what Suzune said.
Then he continued, shifting to a softer tone:
"Oh, by the way, Suzune, I remember you're studying for the college entrance exams, right? Don't get too caught up in all this lately. Focus on your studies first. Even if you're taking the art exam, you still gotta put in the effort, yeah?"
"You've got good talent. If you get into Toei Art, I'll give you a reward at the end."
"A reward? Really?!"
The girl's joyful voice practically burst through the phone. Shiratori Seiya could almost picture her glowing smile, and he chuckled:
"A promise is a promise."
"Okay! A promise is a promise! Seiya, I'll definitely make it in!"
"…"
After a few more casual exchanges, Shiratori Seiya hung up and checked the time: 13:23.
He dialed producer Fujikawa Shunpei.
The phone rang twice, and the other side picked up.
"Hello? Shiratori-kun?"
"Yeah, it's me, Fujikawa-producer. I've finished the rest of the script. Got time today?"
"That fast?"
Hearing he'd finished the remaining manuscript, Fujikawa Shunpei was surprised at first and instinctively wanted to ask if the quality was okay.
But then he remembered Shiratori Seiya had mentioned back when he first showed the manuscript that he'd already written the rest… He thought for a moment and replied:
"Not today. Got two meetings to attend…"
"Oh, by the way, Shi… X-Sensei."
Remembering Shiratori Seiya wanted to keep his identity under wraps, Fujikawa corrected himself and continued:
"About next week's auditions—we're still screening the preliminary selection list…"
"The list needs to be out by this Sunday. I'll send you the initial version now. You can filter out any actors whose basic conditions don't meet the requirements first. Then you can discuss it with Director Murayama…"
After all, as the main screenwriter, he still had a pretty big say in casting.
"Got it."
"Alright, I'll send it over now. Oh, and while this isn't as confidential as the script, please don't leak it—don't want any unnecessary trouble."
"Yeah, I know."
After hanging up, Fujikawa Shunpei quickly sent the list.
Shiratori Seiya opened it and scrolled through the actor roster.
Suddenly, as his finger moved past a section in the middle of the female actors, he stopped.
He stared at the person's photo and name, frowned, and instinctively narrowed his eyes.
"Takahashi Miki"
…