The moment Shiratori Seiya saw the name "Takahashi Miki," his brain instantly connected the dots with Mio. Without a second thought, he reached for his pen, ready to strike her off the list.
But just as the pen tip touched the first character, his hand froze.
A small blot of ink bled onto the paper, staining the corner of Takahashi Miki's photo.
Shiratori Seiya's cold gaze lingered on the page for a few seconds. Then he looked up at the girl inside the training room.
He put down the pen and pulled out his phone to call Fujikawa Shunpei.
The call didn't go through right away—it even auto-dropped once. But Seiya didn't stop. He dialed again.
This time, he didn't have to wait long. After a few rings, the line connected.
"Hello? X-Sensei, what's up?"
"Producer Fujikawa, I wanted to ask about the filming schedule…"
Fujikawa Shunpei let out a long "Ah?"—clearly wondering why a screenwriter would care about that. But he didn't question it. "Go on."
"Will this drama be filmed all at once, or will we shoot half and air half?"
"W-well…"
That question caught Fujikawa off guard. He paused, rustled through the documents beside him, and after a moment, staring at the proposal, replied:
"For this drama, the schedule's pretty tight. I booked an actor in advance, and he's got another production next year… so yeah, it'll be shoot-half, air-half."
"I see. Thank you, Producer Fujikawa."
"What's wrong? Why the sudden curiosity?"
"Nothing, really. It's my first time involved in a production, so I'm still learning the ropes. Just wanted to understand the flow."
"Haha, I get it. Totally normal for a newbie. But you don't need to worry—your main job's already done, after all…"
"…"
Fujikawa Shunpei tossed in a few more compliments about his efficiency and talent before hanging up.
Seiya put his phone away and stared silently at Takahashi Mio through the glass, remembering the dejected look on her face in the car earlier.
Slowly, he moved the pen tip away from Takahashi Miki's name.
The reason he didn't cross her out wasn't because he'd gone soft—not because she was Mio's cousin.
It wasn't because he thought it would be unfair to erase her like that.
And it definitely wasn't because some sudden protagonist-level conscience had kicked in, making him feel like this was some kind of abuse of power…
Truth be told, he only ever considered one thing: success rate. Any factor that could interfere with Takahashi Mio's success—any unfavorable possibility—should be eliminated.
He could quietly cross out Miki's name and hide it from Mio. Whatever happened to the other girl later? None of his business. Even if Mio found out down the road and resented him, so be it.
At least her very first drama wouldn't get sabotaged by family drama.
Seiya had originally thought that once the first drama was filmed and Mio had her debut work, even if her family found out, she'd have some leverage to "negotiate" with them.
But now… it seemed nearly impossible to keep her family in the dark.
With the shoot-half, air-half format, it was basically guaranteed that the Takahashi parents would find out. And if they found out halfway through filming, then had to deal with family fallout in the middle of production? That would wreck both Mio's mental state and her reputation with the crew.
Better to clean up all potential worries before starting.
Shiratori Seiya had never been the type to procrastinate. Problem comes up? Solve it.
But… even though he was mentally prepared to face Takahashi Mio's family, was she?
His gaze drifted back to the girl in the training room, watching her eager, serious expression. He fell silent.
…
"Thank you for your hard work, Araki-sensei!"
After training ended, Takahashi Mio bowed deeply to Araki Oriko.
After more than a month together, she genuinely respected this teacher. Sure, she'd paid for the lessons, but Araki-sensei held nothing back—she could feel that. Totally different from those online teachers who supposedly taught half and hid half.
Seeing this, Araki Oriko adjusted her glasses and nodded.
"Mm. Generally speaking, no problems. Your current skill level is enough for this role. Just perform normally at the audition."
With that, she also nodded and smiled at Shiratori Seiya. Even though he was her junior in some ways, she'd known him ever since he used to accompany Hōjō Shione. People naturally warm up to talented and humble folks—and she was no exception.
Araki Oriko hesitated, wanting to ask if Hōjō would really be okay singing in the future. But her peripheral vision caught Takahashi Mio standing right there, so she changed tack:
"I listened to your new song, 'Snow Flower.' It's very good."
Shiratori Seiya hadn't expected that at all. He blinked in surprise, then bowed as well. "Thank you."
Araki Oriko's gaze swept over the two of them, and she smiled faintly. "Good luck."
Then she turned and left.
Araki-sensei had been reserved, but it didn't take much thought for Mio to read between the lines.
She was a little surprised that the teacher knew Shiratori Seiya's identity—but at the same time, it made sense.
Still, the thought that Araki-sensei might be comparing her to Hōjō Shione? Yeah, that sent a spike of jealousy straight through her heart.
Mio kept a faint smile on her face, but she couldn't help turning to Seiya and saying:
"That's really nice."
Then she started walking off before he could respond.
Seiya noticed her favorability had dropped a little, but right now, he had zero interest in soothing her jealousy.
"Hold on. Don't rush off. I've got something to tell you."
"?"
Hearing that, Mio stopped and turned back with a questioning look.
Seiya sat down on the bench, pulled out the audition list, and handed it to her.
"Take a look."
"What is it?"
She reached out and took it instinctively, glancing at his expression. Something felt off—her tone grew cautious.
"This is the audition list for the drama's female lead…"
Mio's heart stirred. She couldn't help glancing at him, thinking: No matter how little you trust me, you wouldn't make me scope out my competition in advance, would you? Isn't that a bit much?
Noticing her gaze, Seiya said:
"Look at the second page. Third line from the bottom."
"Oh."
Mio flipped to the second page and looked at the spot he'd indicated.
Her eyes landed on Takahashi Miki's photo.
Her pupils suddenly shrank.