Loveless (Book 1) [Completed]

Chapter 67.

"I know that you were not trying to play Mio," Kazutoyo said patiently. "Perhaps, you did it without realising. Mio's character is so much drilled into your brain that you acted her out subconsciously."

"I'm pretty sure that's not it," Kyoko was adamant. It was because Mio was so much drilled into her brain that she was pretty sure she wasn't acting her out. If she were, she would have noticed by now.

"Is that so?" The Director stroked his chin again, glancing at his assistant, who finally looked like he just had a breakthrough unlike his superior.

"Sir, I think I'm starting to get what's going on," he said. "Kyoko, could you show us a bow?"

Kyoko first blinked at his own unusual request, but then obliged anyway. Her back bended effortlessly at an exact angle of thirty. The movement was as supple as the lithe gait of a peacock. At that moment, anyone would have believed Kyoko to be a young heiress from a prominent family. She maintained her bow for a few long seconds before straightening up again, just as gracefully.

"Do you see it now?" The assistant inquired.

Realisation struck on Kazutoyo's face, and he replied instantly. "Yes! Kyoko, could it be that you're from a rich family?"

"No! I mean, yes...it's complicated." When she thought about it, she realized that she couldn't exactly say that the Fuwas weren't loaded, but she couldn't call herself rich, since none of their wealth ever belonged to her as she was never a true part of that family. The main reason why Mrs Fuwa worked so hard on her was because she had hoped for her to marry Sho and take over as the hostess. "Actually, the family that I grew up with, they had been running an inn for generations. Which was why I was trained to be a hostess from a very young age."

"Ah," Kazutoyo nodded in understanding. "Now that you mention it, it does make more sense. You do give off that vibe of a hostess. But you still have to work against this habit of yours, however perfect it may be. We can't have our Natsu looking different from her friend, can we?"

"I still don't know why I look different," Kyoko confessed. "Do I stand weird?"

"No, absolutely not! In fact, your posture is quite perfect. But Natsu's isn't. So when you're standing with the rest of the girls, you don't seem to fit in and you look way too stiff. For now, just try standing more comfortably."

Kyoko didn't know what she was supposed to do. Because she was already perfectly comfortable the way she was.

"Let your shoulders droop from your neck, hang down your arms. And slump your back too." The Director instructed.

She tried doing what she was told.

"No, not like that! You're doing it all wrong! You look like you have a stomach ache. Try relaxing your back. Don't just bend it."

But whatever Kyoko did, she could not succeed. As she kept trying different poses to stand with the help of the assistant director, who was guiding her, Kazutoyo clapped his hands twice and announced, "everybody, let's evacuate and move to Studio B. We'll shoot the classroom scene for now." He looked at Kyoko. "We'll start with the bullying scene, the part Kyoko is good at."

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While the crew was busy setting up the shooting equipment in Studio B, the cast members were sent to one of the conference rooms to wait. The leading lady, Rumi Maruyama, along with her three costars who were a part of the supporting cast, occupied the large table in the middle of the room.  When Kyoko started to join them, Yuka pushed her chair away before she could sit.