Tokyo: My Best Actor Gear List

Chapter 64 The Strange Senior

Inside Fuji Television's Studio 1, a massive blower is roaring.

Tiny white foam, like snowflakes, danced in the air and landed on the "Tokyo street scene" that had been specially built for the set design.

To avoid causing a commotion, Rie Miyazawa wore a baseball cap pulled low and hid behind several large reflectors.

She was originally in the recording studio next door preparing for a variety show rehearsal. It was her break time, and she should have gone to rest, but her legs seemed to have a mind of their own, and inexplicably brought her here.

She wanted to see that man.

What kind of person is that man who scared her mother away with just a few words in the corridor yesterday?

What kind of performance will you give when you're acting?

"This episode! Action!"

At the director's command, the man standing in the "snow" moved.

At this moment, the suffocating coldness emanating from Kitahara Shin had completely vanished.

He was wearing a khaki trench coat, a scarf around his neck, and his hands in his pockets, as Rika, played by Honami Suzuki, was pelting him with snowballs and making him run for his life.

"Ouch! Rika, this is murder!"

As he dodged, he wore a wry smile that was both helpless and indulgent.

When Rika pretended to be angry and turned to leave, he subconsciously reached out his hand, but hesitated in mid-air, and finally just gently tugged at the hem of her clothes.

That look in his eyes.

Rie, hiding behind the reflector, felt her heart be gently bumped.

It was a complete and unreserved acceptance.

It's like a sturdy air-raid shelter. No matter how fierce the bombings outside are, as long as you hide in that gaze, you're safe.

Rie had never seen such a look before. In her world, there was only her mother's greedy gaze and the way those important people looked at her as if they were choosing a pet.

"Cut! That was good. Okay, we can take a twenty-minute break!"

The director's satisfied voice interrupted Rie's thoughts.

The set instantly became noisy as staff began sweeping away the foam snow from the ground.

Kitahara Shin walked to a corner of the rest area and sat down on a folding chair.

He took a sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap out of his bag and took a bite.

Rie Miyazawa felt this was perhaps her only chance to speak to him, so she took a deep breath and clenched the clean, ironed handkerchief in her pocket.

She mustered her courage and stepped out from behind the reflector.

"Um... Kitahara-senpai."

The sound was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Kitahara Shin had just taken a bite of his sandwich when he heard this and looked up.

Seeing that it was the same little girl from yesterday, he wasn't too surprised. He simply swallowed the food in his mouth and patted the bread crumbs off his hands.

"It's you."

"Is there something you need?"

"this……"

"Here... is it back to you?"

Rie handed over the dark blue handkerchief with both hands, bending at a ninety-degree angle. "Thank you so much for yesterday! I've washed it clean!"

Kitahara Shin glanced at it, smiled, took the handkerchief, and casually stuffed it into his trench coat pocket.

"Don't be so formal, it's just a small favor."

"No matter what, thank you so much."

After saying that, the two fell silent.

Rie straightened up, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Her gaze involuntarily drifted to the sandwich in Kitahara Shin's hand.

It was a very ordinary-looking egg sandwich.

The white toast with the hard edges cut off is sandwiched in a thick layer of golden egg salad, and you can faintly smell a aroma mixed with mayonnaise and black pepper.

"Gurgle..."

An extremely untimely sound came from the stomach of this national beauty.

Rie's face turned bright red instantly, and she wished she could disappear into the ground.

To maintain her figure and look good in photos, her mother strictly controls her diet, to the point that she has only eaten one apple so far today.

Kitahara Shin looked at the sandwich in his hand, then at Rie, whose face was flushed.

He naturally broke the sandwich, which was still more than half full, and handed over the uneaten half.

"Would you like to try some?"

His tone was casual.

Rie was taken aback.

She looked at the sandwich handed to her; the golden egg bits looked incredibly tempting under the light.

"Thank you, but I appreciate your kindness. I'll head back now..."

She subconsciously glanced back at the doorway, her eyes filled with the fear left by her long-term control.

"I see."

Kitahara Shin didn't try to persuade her; he simply turned to the side and adjusted his posture.

His large trench coat perfectly blocked the view of the rest area entrance, creating a blind spot that even a photon couldn't see.

He set the half-eaten sandwich aside and then began to open the script without looking up:

"I'm a little full; if I don't eat the rest, I'll just have to throw it away."

Rie Miyazawa realized his implied meaning; if she still refused after being hinted at so much, it would be rather ungrateful.

So the girl held the soft sandwich in her hands, the touch from her fingertips like some forbidden temptation.

She swallowed hard, looking very nervous.

Then, cautiously, as if doing something naughty, it quickly took a small bite.

The moment your taste buds touch the food.

[Special Effect: The Healing Touch of Everyday Life]

[Special Effects Take Effect: Soothes Anxiety]

The ingredients processed by that abandoned chef's knife from the Midnight Diner seem to possess some kind of magic.

The spiciness of the onions has been completely removed, leaving only their sweetness; the eggs are incredibly soft and tender, and the proportions of the mayonnaise are so perfect it's as if they've been precisely calculated.

An indescribable warm current slid down my esophagus.

It wasn't just the taste of the food; it felt more like a pair of warm, large hands gently supporting her heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, constantly fearing it would fall.

Rie's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

In recent years, she has eaten top-notch kaiseki cuisine and visited the most expensive French restaurants.

But no other flavor made her feel as safe as this half-sandwich.

No need to worry about getting scolded for gaining weight, or getting beaten up for not smiling nicely.

It's simply about eating as a hungry person.

"Why are you crying over a meal?"

Kitahara Shin caught a glimpse of the tears sliding down her cheeks out of the corner of his eye, and looked up from his script with a hint of helplessness.

He could roughly guess what the girl was going through.

That vampire-like mother is slowly draining her of her life force.

He reached out and gently patted Rie's head, which was covered by a baseball cap.

The movements were very gentle, without any excessive intimacy, as if soothing a frightened kitten.

"Eat more if it's delicious, don't choke."

He withdrew his hand, his gaze returning to the densely packed lines of dialogue, his tone as indifferent as if he were reciting a trivial remark:

"If you're still afraid of being bullied in the future, or if you're really starving, you can come find me."

"While I'm not exactly a champion of justice, I'm far more experienced than you in dealing with 'bad guys'."

Rie stopped chewing.

She stared blankly at the man who was looking down at the script.

"Help?"

"Um."

Kitahara Shin turned a page of the script, his voice calm:

"At least it will give you a place to hide when that lady goes crazy, and a hot meal."

This statement doesn't sound like the hypocritical talk of adults at all.

It's very practical.

It's as real as the sandwich in my hand.

Therefore, Rie also felt that this statement was more convincing than any vow.

Because she had indeed witnessed how this man had frightened her mother so much that she dared not speak.

She sniffed hard, trying to hold back her tears.

Then, he nodded heavily and took a big bite of the sandwich.

That's the taste of rebellion.

It also tastes like hope.