NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12 – First Meeting with Arima Kana
"Okay, boy… At least in Japan, the casting is almost always decided by higher-ups. The more money spent on making films, The more they can’t screw up, In the end, their objective is to make money, and the safest way is to get a hold of actors who will bring in a big audience. And to make those happen, they have their own battle too." Taishi explained a lot of things, especially how the showbiz industry works and about casting actors.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Only a handful of super big-shot directors have the authority and privilege to pick their own cast. Or maybe the director, who is working with a super low budget on a small-scale film… Do you wonder which one I look like?"
"Super low budget…"
"Yes, that’s correct. This is a low-budget set we have here."
Taishi spoke while we were all in an old school in the countryside. Just like Taishi said, most famous directors sometimes need work on a low-budget movie. In my previous world, names like Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan made low-budget movies before they took off and became famous.
This movie would be a success if it followed the manga and made Ai’s become more famous. As for me, even though it may be a good thing to become a famous actor since childhood. I still felt like I wanted more than that, but I still needed the director's help.
"Maaaamma, mamaaa, I wanna go back to where mama is!! Why is mama not here with us!?" Just like in the manga, I experienced Ruby crying like a child. Well, even though she's still young when she died and now reincarnated, being still an infant makes her literally like a child. Ah, don’t forget that she was also an ill child in the past, so there was no way she had a massive experience in life.
"Well, too bad she’s busy with work."
"I wanna go home and have her fawn over me!!"
To be honest, I expected she would be much more mature with all of our activities as a model or commercial star? I guess… But it looks like she acts just the same… or worse… I don’t know. Sometimes she just acted like in the manga, but since I see how she acts every day, it feels much worse. I guess.
"Hey!! This is a pro’s line of work, you know!! If you’re here to play, then go home!!" Another child in the room banged on the table and said something harsh to the two of us. No, she specifically calls out Ruby’s childish attitude.
Yeah, because of Ruby's childish behavior, I forget about her.
"I’m Arima Kana. I’m your partner today." She introduced herself to us. She folded her arms across her chest in a rather bossy manner.
I can see the movie script we're both going to play in her hands. I feel like she is wearing a summer-like dress with a summer hat on top of her head. She had short red maroon hair and eyeballs of a similar color.
"Oh, wait isn’t she…? Un… What’s she called again? The genius child actor who can lick baking soda like that…" Ruby said as she remembered about the person who stood in front of her.
"No, she's a genius child actor who can cry in ten seconds flat." I corrected what Ruby said before Kana spoke for herself.
"Ah, is that so…"
"Yeah… That’s me. It looks like your brother still has a decent brain. Anyway, everybody says the way I cry in dramas is amazing." She said this time she tapped the script on her left hand on her right hand as she was still acting proudly. "Well, it's amazing after all." She emphasizes quite a bit how amazing she is.
"You know, I don’t really like this girl. Like, she seems fake, and I have an instinctive distaste for her…" Ruby responded with her own personal attack toward Kana.
"What are you saying to a little kid?" I put my hand to my own forehead and sighed deeply.
"Hump… I know you two are commercial stars, and my mother says you are quite famous for being geniuses. But it looks like you two are just spoiled kids." Kana said this time, pointing her hand with a script book rudely toward me and Ruby.
"Is that so…"
"Haaa… What’s your problem…"
While my response was quite lukewarm, Ruby was quite offended by Kana’s attic.
"Not only that! I know all too well… You two have a connection, right, to be here? I don’t see any of you in the original script. Neither you nor that idol have any lines, and mom told me it’s because the director insisted!! That’s really not allowed, you know!!" Kana explained the reason she dislikes the two of us.
"Ano… That’s not exactly how it went… but I don’t think you hear me, huh…" I said those words, but Kana continued her words.
"I saw the drama that the director shot recently, and that Idol hardly had any screen time at all. I bet her acting was so bad they had to cut it all out! Ah~~ She seems to be good at buttering people up, though! Hey… Ad-san hold onto my bag!" She said that while walking toward the outside of the room and asked the staff to hold her bag, who were busy with their jobs.
"Oni—chan—" Beside me, Ruby shows a furious aura and angry expression.
"Hahaha, she’s just a brat… You know. Don't let the words she utters get to your heart… It’s not worth it." I replied while patting her hair.
"I can make her learn how hard the real world is next time…" I continued to say that, and Ruby heard my response. She smiled in satisfaction.
"Yeah, teach her the harshness of the real world, Oni-chan…" Ruby rooted for her big brother to bully a child.
Oh well, to be honest, it’s not that different from the manga. But she sees us more like rivals, maybe because our status in this world is more established than before. I mean, we had the same kind of alias as genius child actors.
It’s easy for me to see why she looks at us like that. But to be honest, I was surprised to see her in person like this. I mean, to see someone at her age talking and acting like that was super impressive.
Unlike the two of us, she wasn’t a reincarnated person after all.
Oh well, this world was an anime world that had supernatural things like reincarnation. So I don’t think it's weird that there’s someone like Kana who is super smart in this world.
Anyway, it’s time for me to get ready for acting.
