My Tokyo Celebrity Girlfriend Is Love-Struck, What Should I Do? - Chapter 19

This Is a Fan Enthusiast Club, Right?

At the Kiyomi Art University Photography Department.

Kimura looked at Koike Koichi, introducing the four people behind him.

All four were members of the photography department, pulled in by Koichi Koike to assist Kimura in shooting.

“Please take care of us!” The four said in unison, bowing.

“Please take care of me,” Kimura responded.

It had to be said that Koike Koichi, the head of the photography department, had some energy.

In such a short time, he had assembled his own photography team.

“Kimura-senpai, the five of us will be responsible for the cinematography, lighting, and other aspects of the film.”

“Ah, okay.”

Kimura snapped back to reality.

Facing four pairs of bright eyes, he felt a bit odd.

He didn’t know what Koike Koichi had told them before.

But for now, it seemed that the script, props, and photography team were all in place.

A small-scale film crew was beginning to take shape.

All that remained was to sign contracts with each person and prepare for the official start of filming.

“I’ll go draft the contracts later. Once everyone has signed, the crew will be officially established,” Kimura paused for a moment and continued, “Details about shooting the script and other matters will be shared with everyone after signing the contracts. Any questions for now?”

The four people glanced at each other but remained silent.

Observing this, Kimura turned to Koike Koichi beside him.

“Koike-kouhai, can I use the photography department’s printer and computer?”

“It’s over there.” Koike Koichi pointed to the printer on the long table.

Kimura sat down at the table, opened the computer, and began drafting the contracts. 

Although they were shooting an edited script, it was essential to prepare a simple confidentiality agreement to avoid unnecessary complications during the future full-scale film production.

Moreover, since Kimura saw the T-Station Film Festival competition unit on Koike Yui’s computer screen during their previous meeting, he had decided to upload his work to participate in the film festival competition. 

Once the work had commercial ties, filming would no longer be a simple university campus endeavor.

His past experience had taught him that, no matter when, copyright and written contracts were the practical safeguards of one’s interests. 

Otherwise, society wouldn’t provide a second chance for trial and error.

If only the copyright of his songs in the past life hadn’t been taken by the company, he probably wouldn’t have been pushed to a dead end.

……

Holding the contracts, still warm from printing, Kimura distributed them to each person.

After confirming there was nothing unusual in the contracts, the five people signed their names.

Koike Koichi collected the contracts and handed them to Kimura.

“Kimura-senpai, is this okay?”

Kimura put the contracts back into his bag and then took out the printed and edited script from his backpack.

He had printed three copies in total, handing them to Koike Koichi to distribute to the others.

The group sat around the photography department’s long table.

“‘TEven if This Love Disappears from the World Tonight?'”

Koike Koichi stared at the script cover, “A pure love film?”

All five sets of eyes turned to Kimura.

“Yes,” Kimura nodded calmly.

Everyone knew that neon pure love films had almost become synonymous with obscurity.

In this era burdened with heavy responsibilities and low desires, pure love seemed to symbolize the new-age clown.

It was a society where even a couple who had survived together for decades might be plotting to get each other’s hefty retirement funds.

Who still believed in love, especially pure love?

“Kimura-senpai, this theme seems a bit niche… How about trying a suspense theme? It might attract more attention,” Koike Koichi whispered, offering a small piece of advice.

Even though he had heard praises from his sister about Kimura’s script before, when he found out it was a pure love story, there was still some hesitation in his heart.

Although the quality of the script didn’t have much impact on them, he couldn’t help but try to persuade Kimura a bit.

“Let’s see first; it might be different from what you imagine… probably,” Kimura scratched his head, smiling.

For the Japanese generation in this world where pure love was considered dead, this theme was indeed not favorable. 

It was a perfect opportunity to test the acceptance of the Japanese generation toward the script.

After all, previously, it was Koichi Yui who was reviewing it, and it didn’t represent the taste of the younger generation.

The five people exchanged glances, not saying much more.

Because what they cared about wasn’t this…

As the group flipped through the pages, sitting at the corner of the table, Yoshida Ikumi exclaimed with surprise.

“There’s really Asuka-senpai! Look, the female protagonist is named Asuka.”

Like a spark, the once relatively quiet room suddenly descended into a chaotic uproar.

“Ah! It seems like Koichi-senpai didn’t lie to me. I can actually participate in Asuka-chan’s filming.”

“I feel like I’m dreaming. Am I really going to meet Asuka-senpai? Oh God, I don’t know if my hands holding the lights will tremble… No, I must make sure that Asuka-senpai looks incredibly cute in the film…”

“I wonder if it’s okay to ask Asuka-chan for an autograph. Ah, I’m so worried. It looks like I need to get a haircut; I must leave a good impression on Asuka-chan.”

“…”

Huh?

For a moment, Kimura felt like his ears were surrounded by Asuka’s name.

He looked up, somewhat confused, at the people sitting around the table.

Wait, what’s going on?

Why are they all shouting “Asuka-chan” one after another?

He turned his head and caught the evasive gaze of Koike Koichi, who was sitting diagonally across from him.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

No wonder this guy chose to sit on the other side when he first arrived.

Come to think of it, when he met these four people this morning, they all seemed… excited.

He initially thought it was because they were eager to shoot the film…

So, the problem was with this!

Kimura rubbed his nose in disbelief.

This wasn’t a film crew for his graduation project; it was clearly a fan club for Asuka, right?

“Cough, cough…”

At a critical moment, Koike Koichi coughed forcefully.

The noisy voices immediately quieted down, and the four individuals realized they had gotten too carried away. All of them sheepishly lowered their heads.

“Um… Kimura-senpai, actually…” Koike Koichi intended to offer some explanation or maybe a defense.

“I figured it out,” Kimura sighed heavily, clasping his hands in front of him. “They’re all Asuka’s fans, just like you, right?”

“Yes…” Koichi Koike awkwardly nodded.

Seeing the twitching corners of Kimura’s mouth, Koike Koichi quickly added, “But, because Kimura-senpai fulfilled our wish to meet Asuka-chan, helping with the filming can be considered a club activity. Kimura-senpai doesn’t need to pay any compensation.”

“Eh?” Kimura’s frustration suddenly dissipated. “No compensation?”

“Yes,” all five of them excitedly nodded simultaneously.

Somehow, Kimura suddenly had a bold idea in his mind.

But it was just a fleeting thought.

Suddenly, he understood why certain circles in his past life made money so quickly.

“Asuka will indeed play the role of the female lead in the script, but please don’t spread this information any further… After all, if too many people know, it might be distressing for Asuka,” Kimura carefully chose his words, going along with the situation.

All five: “Got it!”

“Let’s continue reading the script…”