My acting love - Watashi no engi ai (Aqua Hoshino x Akane Kurokawa)

Chapter 3 - Akane's cue

Akane was very nervous. She  had been practicing her acting skills since she was a child, but was acting really on the table for a reality TV show? Well, of course you had to be able to act, but this was kind of like acting a part loosely based on yourself. Just be yourself, but not too much. The audience won't like that.

She was on her way back to her manager's office to give him back his car keys. Not anything exciting, but she liked her director and he often managed to cheer her up. She could use some of that now. She turned the corner to his office.

"Hey, Director! I just came by-"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HUH?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF FIRED!?"

Akane took a step back, thinking the words were directed at her, but they weren't.

Her directors boss, the CEO of her agency, Lalalie, was seriously pissed at her manager.

"I was told the show was good, so I decided to watch it! But Akane hasn't even got 10 minutes of screen time! What kind of manager allows that to happen! You should be making sure she puts herself out there enough to be noticed!"

"Please, sir, she's trying her utmost to-"

"Trying your best isn't enough in this industry! Now sort something out before *I* do!"

"y-yes, sir."

Akane sank towards the floor with her back resting on the wall. No, this couldn't be right. What could have happened?

Akane gathered her nerves enough to apologise to her director as he walked past.

"No. I'm sorry. You heard everything, right?"

Akane's lower lip trembled as she nodded her head yes.

"You have given it your all, Akane, so you don't have to take that stuff to heart. I promise to protect you properly."

As we walked away, the trembling became too much for Akane. She broke down into sobs.

"It's because I'm such a disappointment! I can't even do my job right!" she cried out loud to herself. She knew it was true. She knew she was right. It shouldn't be her manager's job to get her screentime, it should be hers!

Later that night, she lay in bed reading comments about her on Twitter about the show. Most people felt ambivalently about her, saying that she didn't really have enough of a presence to be judged.   

She knew what had to be done

She had to make her presence known, and finally get put more into the spotlight. This was her time! She could do this! She knew the support for the YukiYuki ship was by far the largest. If she went after guy Yuki, that alone would ensure her screentime got boosted. She knew EXACTLY what to do.

The next time filming came around Akane made sure she was around Nobuyuki (the guy Yuki) whenever possible. Sumi Yuki seemed to get the hint and acted as the jealous overseer, but eventually she began to fight back. Not only did she manage to pull Nobuyuki over whenever she saw him and Akane together, but she also got in the way of other endeavors the Akane was pursuing. Eventually it became too much.

"Akane, do you hate me? Yuki asked innocently in the middle of redoing Akane's nails. Akane was taken aback by the sudden question.

"What? Of course not? Why would I-"

"That's great to hear!" Yuki smiled cheerfully, "But just so you know, I'm going to keep fighting to keep all the attention for myself!"

Later, Akane was using some W rizz on one of the boys in the show, Kengo Morimoto, Yuki came over.