NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29
“…I refuse.”
Yerin declined before I could even bring up the matter.
Looking at her furrowed brow, it seemed like memories of the Tokyo Game Show resurfaced.
“Could you not ask for more or less and just do it one more time?”
“Senior, do you not remember? There’s still a wish voucher from last time’s Tokyo Game Show?”
“…So, could you just do this one more time for me?”
At the repeated request, Yerin seemed to come up with a good idea and smiled slightly as she asked.
“I’ll do the cosplay if Senior grants me one wish. How about it?”
“Sure. What is it that you want?”
Yerin said confidently in response to that.
“Senior, you cosplay with me.”
“Alright.”
“Huh? You’re rejecting… wait, what?”
“Together, let’s do the cosplay.”
Did Yerin think I would ponder or perhaps refuse?
She clearly looked bewildered and questioned back.
“Are you sure it’s alright?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Huh, alright then. So, what cosplay should we do?”
“Since it’s December, what else but this?”
I showed Yerin a photograph as she seemed curious about the cosplay subject.
It was the Christmas skin draft she had confirmed before.
“That’s… the draft I sent you, right?”
“Yep. We’re supposed to do Santa cosplay.”
“Wait, what event exactly requires us to do Santa cosplay with you?”
“Well, here’s the thing…”
When I explained the reason behind the cosplay, Yerin’s expression contorted.
“So… you were specially invited as a guest for the Christmas special broadcast and the condition was to do Santa cosplay?”
“Exactly.”
“You should have told me from the start it wasn’t just me. Why did you say it weirdly?”
“Well, because it’s fun?”
At that, Yerin’s expression turned extremely stern as she clenched her fists.
“J, Jin…?”
“Yerin…”
“…”
“Let’s make a deal; this kind of joke only happens once, understood?”
“Alright…”
Thus, the small commotion ended with my apology.
Yerin looked at me disdainfully and asked,
“So, when’s the filming?”
“Next Monday. We’re shooting at SFLAG’s studio, so we need to go to Japan this weekend.”
“Is there anything we need to prepare separately?”
“There’s nothing special. We’re just briefly entering during the second part of the guest feature.”
“If it’s just that, I guess it’s doable.”
“Right?”
Yerin nodded at that and got up from her seat.
“Then, can I go back now?”
“Ah, Yerin, wait a moment.”
The conversation had taken a slight detour, making me almost forget something important.
I handed her a pile of documents that had been placed near the monitor.
“What’s this?”
“This is the script for the video. As you can see, all our lines are left as blanks.”
“Truly?”
Upon hearing this, Yerin checked the script.
“It’s really like that.”
“Apparently, they’re interested in hearing the story behind the skin production so preparing along those lines will be convenient.”
After hearing this, Yerin silently nodded in agreement.
Well, as a junior who understands and handles things well, I don’t worry much even without explicitly instructing her.
“Then, I’ll really go now.”
“Alright.”
*
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the trip arrived.
After picking up Yerin in front of the company, we arrived at the airport.
After swiftly finishing the procedures and boarding the flight, we were already at Narita Airport when we knew it.
Due to coming and going to Japan so frequently, I’ve reached a level where I could navigate through customs even with my eyes closed.
Tokyo feels more familiar than Seoul these days.
After Yerin finally finished the immigration procedures, we headed to Shinjuku.
After walking for another 10 minutes or so, we arrived at the shooting location, the studio.
“Senior, you seem to have gotten quite used to finding the way. You were lost for a long time during the game show, right?”
“Anyone who travels to Tokyo multiple times for business trips would end up like me.”
With a shrug, I entered the studio with Yerin.
As if things had already been arranged, an employee greeted us.
“Welcome. Are you Director Jihojin and Director Lee Yerin?”
“That’s correct.”
“Yes.”
“Please wear these visitor badges and proceed to the third floor.”
After hanging the visitor pass given by the staff around our necks and ascending to the third floor with Yerin, Tanaka was there to meet us.
“Mr. Ji Director, it’s been a while.”
“Tanaka, it’s been a while. How have you been?”
“As for me, nothing out of the ordinary. Director Yerin, it’s been a while.”
“Hello.”
After exchanging greetings, Tanaka led us to the waiting room.
“Have both of you confirmed the script?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, I’ll skip the explanation and introduce the cast of the broadcast first.”
We followed Tanaka into the waiting room and were greeted by a considerable number of people.
Despite expecting a tense atmosphere in the broadcast waiting room, perhaps because it wasn’t a live broadcast, everyone was in high spirits and cheerful.
Among them, a lively middle-aged man in horn-rimmed glasses approached us first, asking for a handshake and introducing himself.
“Hello. I’m Nagao Kenzo, the MC for today’s special broadcast. You must be Director Jihojin of ‘Girls’ Memorial,’ correct?”
“A, yes. That’s right.”
“Is this Director Lee Yerin?”
“Hello.”
“You both speak Japanese so fluently.”
After shaking hands with all of us, Kenzo smiled heartily and bowed his head.
“I’ve been really enjoying ‘Girls’ Memorial’ recently. Especially Karin’s character in the Halloween event was truly—”
Kenzo continued his praise, proving that his words were not hollow.
Eventually, Tanaka had to intervene to wrap up the conversation.
“While this guy gets hooked really easily… sorry about that.”
“No problem. We appreciate you genuinely enjoying our game.”
“Ha-ha… well, shall we go say hello to the voice actors?”
Following Tanaka further inside the waiting room, there were two voice actors finishing their makeup.
“First, this is Rina. You two have met before, haven’t you?”
Upon confirming the face Tanaka mentioned, it was certainly Takahashi Rina, whom I met last month during a meeting.
Even though she was in the middle of her makeup, Rina seemed surprised to see us and nodded respectfully as a greeting.
“Director, you’re appearing on the broadcast today too?”
“A, yes. Somehow.”
“I wasn’t informed about any special guests.”
“I wasn’t told who the guests for today’s shoot would be either.”
Hearing this, Rina chuckled awkwardly and shook her head.
“They must be planning a surprise event of some sort. Anyway, Director, thank you again for last time.”
“F-for what?”
“It’s about the filming.”
“Ah…”
“Recently, I was feeling a lack of enthusiasm about my voice acting, contemplating whether I should quit, but after the new experience… my motivation surged again. Thanks to you, Director.”
Looking at Rina, she indeed seemed more proactive compared to before our meeting.
“Ah, I’ve talked too much about myself. If it’s not a bother, may I introduce the next guest?”
At Rina’s request, Tanaka nodded readily.
“This is Kouno Shiromi, the voice actress of Karin and the youngest member of our agency. Shiromi?”
At Rina’s call, a woman from behind rushed forward, grabbed my hand, and began speaking enthusiastically.
“Nice to meet you! I am Kouno Shiromi, the voice actress for Karin! It’s wonderful to meet you!”
The first impression I got from Shiromi was quite strong.
She was the complete opposite of Rina, who had an elegant OL vibe; Shiromi exuded a pure gal image.
This impression was partly due to her hairstyle, which was a bold black short bob that reached the middle of her neck with interspersed streaks of red.
“I’ve heard many things from Rina! She said you’re a kind person, and it certainly seems like that!”
“S, Shiromi!”
Caught off guard by Shiromi’s outburst, Rina flailed, then covered Shiromi’s mouth.
“Um, um…”
“Shiromi, come on now. Did I ever say that… right? Shiromi.”
Nodding vigorously, Shiromi finally managed to catch her breath and free herself from Rina’s grip.
“P-please forget what I just said… I almost died back there, Director…”
All I could do was nod at Shiromi’s earnest request.
“Understood.”
With that, the waiting room fell into an awkward silence.
Shiromi looked to Rina for cues and quietened herself in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, while Rina remained conscious of my reaction due to Shiromi’s sudden remarks.
This awkward atmosphere only dissipated when Kenzo, who had finished preparing for the broadcast, arrived.
“What happened here? The atmosphere seems…?”
Shaking his head at Kenzo’s inquiry, I replied,
“Nothing in particular. Is there something you need?”
“A, first of all, both Rina and Shiromi, the director has summoned you. Hurry along.”
“Yes, yes!”
Both of them joyfully left their seats at Kenzo’s words.
Kenzo, looking slightly puzzled at the duo, handed us Santa costumes.
“You both can change into these.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s a free size, so it should fit, but if there are any issues with the costumes, please inform the studio staff immediately.”
“A, yes.”
“Then, I’ll head out first. After changing, please wait here in the waiting room.”
After finishing his speech, Kenzo left the waiting room.
As he departed, I said to Yerin,
“Alright, shall we go change?”
“Sure.”