I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Upon discovering that Yuu Tenkuji had returned the skewers and script to the camera assistant, Chizuru Ichinose hesitated for a moment before doing the same.

After all, the production team had just mentioned that the previous participants had acted out scenes using scripts and their tone of voice and facial expressions. She had assumed the same thing would happen now, and felt somewhat relieved...

However, in a formal performance, they would not bring a script on stage.

Even if it's just a variety show, it's not something to be taken lightly—with such a serious mindset, Ichinose Chizuru adjusted her breathing, allowing her emotions to gradually settle down.

"No problem... This was my goal all along. If I seize this opportunity, maybe I'll catch the eye of a producer and quickly become a full-fledged actor."

'Nothing different from usual, just rent out my identity... and act out 'a self that doesn't belong to me'!'

His fair fist clenched tightly, then gradually relaxed.

Behind her black-rimmed glasses, she slowly opened her eyes and gazed calmly ahead.

There, a boy was smiling at himself.

"Get ready, three, two, one... action!"

The voices from the sidelines faded away.

Chizuru Ichinose quickly changed her expression, her eyes filled with helplessness, sadness, and a hint of estrangement.

"Shinichi, I told you... there's no way we can be together."

"Why are you still bothering me to this extent?"

She bit her lip slightly, looked at the person opposite her, and waited for him to say his next line.

He simply smiled and looked at him, remaining motionless like a statue.

The air was silent for about five seconds. Not only Chizuru Ichinose, but also Kohei Morikawa and the others looked at him with suspicion, wondering if he was so nervous that he forgot his lines and could only stand there in a daze.

The show's effect came out so quickly?

The idea had barely popped into the minds of the audience when Yuu Tenkuji suddenly took a step forward.

So the sunset missed him, and night fell early, turning that warm and bright smile into a filthy and crazy one.

"Love, what are you talking about?"

Tenkuji Yu asked a question that sounded like concern, as if he were standing in front of a hospital bed, looking worriedly at his wife lying on it.

The gentle voice seemed to be squeezing the air, causing everyone outside the arena to open their mouths slightly, trying to catch their breath.

Chizuru Ichinose instinctively took a step back, her face turning pale, momentarily forgetting that she was acting.

"I...I've already found someone I like, please stop bothering me!"

I came to my senses.

With her hands clenched in front of her chest, she issued a refusal to her chillingly persistent suitor, a rejection that was all bark and no bite.

My breathing quickened involuntarily, and the thought of turning around and running away was crystal clear.

Tenkuji Yu tilted his head, grinned, and revealed two rows of clean, fine teeth:

"Oh, who is it?"

He was still smiling, laughing joyfully and happily in the dimly lit space.

"Tell me, tell me... I think I can become him."

"Stop dreaming!"

That wasn't part of the script, so Chizuru Ichinose had no choice but to abandon the lines she had painstakingly memorized, grit her teeth, and shout them out from the bottom of her heart.

"You can never, ever become him... never become the person I like!"

brush.

The sound of shoes scraping the ground was as clear as if ear bones were being crushed.

The world was as quiet as a rainy night.

"what."

Then, he let out a low, intoxicating hum.

"what……"

The sound, like a large, hairy hand, crawled out of his throat, trying to defile the beautiful sunset into a horrible mess.

The light couldn't illuminate the depths of his wide-open eyes, which instilled fear and chills in all onlookers.

"what--"

With a sudden rise in her voice, Tenkuji Yu opened her arms as if to embrace the woman in front of her, and slowly walked forward.

He laughed with childlike innocence and joy.

"What a beautiful denial. It's precisely because you care about me that you deny it, it's precisely because you care about me that you deny it, it's precisely because you are concerned about me that you deny it..."

How beautiful and heartwarming was the scene he saw?

Even the person who had been laughing and going wild just moments before was now speaking in a sacred tone.

"You can only be with me."

He sighed contentedly.

Tenkuji Yu stopped in front of her, his fingertips gently reaching towards her slender neck, but he didn't actually touch her.

"Regardless of life or death."

The heavy air gradually filled the space around Ichinose Chizuru.

She couldn't move, as if she were imprisoned in place by his pupils, which had shrunk to pinpoints. Her blood flow was interrupted in her carotid artery, leaving her mind blank.

"..."

The cameraman off-camera finally came to his senses, and, still slightly shaken, turned to Morikawa Kohei and said:

"W-What should we do? Should we call a halt?"

This scene not only went beyond the script, but also exceeded all their pre-arranged plans and response methods for the program.

Morikawa Kohei stared intently at the two people in the arena, his friendly smile long gone. Without turning his head, he uttered a slightly hoarse voice:

"The acting was excellent, it would have been a waste to call 'cut'... Even if we had to bring in a few spares, we couldn't have let this scene go."

"But, if we just let him do whatever he wants..."

Morikawa Kohei pointed at the boy.

"Did you notice? It's not just his expressions and voice; his positioning and eye angles make perfect use of the surrounding environment. The camera positions we set up and the changes in natural light and shadow all become a stage that he carefully controls. Every move he makes can draw the audience into his performance."

"Ah, that's really... amazing."

"He's more than just amazing! I don't believe someone like him has never performed on a big stage... The thing is, I've never seen a child star with his acting skills before."

In the shot.

Through the lens, Yuu Tenkuji looked into Chizuru Ichinose's eyes, which were like stars twinkling in a river, clear and incredibly beautiful.

—One of the rewards Yukino Yukinoshita gave me today is the "Perfect Acting Skill (once)" skill, which is currently activated.

He not only captured the attention of all the audience members, but also drew Ichinose Chizuru into his stage, forcing her to dance.

"I love this river."

He lowered his hand from his neck and spoke in a gentle and relaxed tone.

Chizuru Ichinose snapped out of her inexplicable fear and instinctively followed his gaze toward the Hoshimi River, which was gradually being enveloped by the night.

"It's beautiful, so beautiful that it can wash away all the filth and impurity, just right for us."

Tenkuji Yu gently took her arm and walked towards Hoshimi River.

As if reading a fairy tale, he spoke with a smile, calmly going mad:

Let us be united there forever, leaving behind an eternal and beautiful love story—

△

Chizuru Ichinose looked at his profile, or rather, at him who had become "something".

That was indeed acting, but it was so perfect that no one could find fault with it, and some even thought he had a split personality.

How can I keep up?

How can I avoid holding others back?

The script and the director's instructions faded from her mind; all she knew now was that she had to use her greatest abilities and best acting skills to respond to this most perfect performance.

If she still wants to pursue her dream of becoming an actress—

△

"Unfortunately, I don't like it."

She suddenly shook off his hand, which he wasn't even holding tightly, and took a step back.

The gradient colors on the horizon divided the two people into light and dark sides.

With her face turned towards the setting sun, Ichinose Chizuru stared intently at him in the shadows, no longer looking away.

"You're willing to sink to the bottom of the river, but I just want to stand on the shore and embrace the people I love."

"This is the end for us. Stop bothering me!"

The sound seemed to sever everything, landing heavily on the ground.

Chizuru Ichinose stopped looking at him and turned to leave.

Yuu Tenkuji sighed in disappointment, as if he were bored with everything, and spoke listlessly:

"If I could, I really wouldn't want to leave any scars on you."

"……what?"

Chizuru Ichinose turned around and saw a hand with its five fingers spread wide coming toward her, causing her pupils to shrink involuntarily.

"Don't come any closer!"

She instinctively kicked him in the groin, but as soon as she lifted her leg, she realized it was all an act and quickly withdrew her strength.

But it was too late—