My Tokyo Celebrity Girlfriend Is Love-Struck, What Should I Do? - Chapter 5

Damn It! Goddamn It!

At nine in the morning, Kimura took a bus to Kiyomi Art University.

Compared to other places crowded with lifeless part-time workers, the diverse group of young people in front of Kiyomi Art University seemed exceptionally youthful and vibrant.

Kimura arrived at the office according to the information on his phone.

“It should be this one.”

Looking up at the sign hanging in front of the office, he confirmed it matched the information on his phone. Kimura put away his phone, raised his hand, and knocked on the door.

“Please come in.”

A bright and crisp female voice echoed from inside the office.

Kimura pushed open the door and walked in.

Inside the office, there was only one teacher, dressed in a smart suit with a short skirt and black stockings, a woman with plump breasts.

“Koike-sensei.”

Kimura greeted Koike Yui with a smile. Perhaps due to the inexplicable fear of the abyss, every time he saw Koike, he felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

Koike Yui was in charge of his graduation project, and as a student who was slow to submit the initial draft, they had interacted quite a few times before.

In Koike’s mind, he probably had already been labeled with the tag of being negligent and pessimistic about the future.

“Hayata-kun!”

Koike crossed her arms in front of her, her legs clad in black stockings lifted, and she stared at him with a slight frown.

“Yes.”

“Hayata-kun, why hasn’t the initial draft of your work been submitted yet? Even if you can’t submit the initial draft, shouldn’t you at least show the teacher the script for the film you’re planning to shoot? But until now, the teacher hasn’t received any content about your graduation project.”

Koike criticized, her body swaying with her words.

Oh no, abyssophobia is acting up again…

Kimura took a deep breath, remaining silent as he lowered his head, focusing on the ground in front of him.

“With only a month left until the deadline for the graduation project, does Hayata-kun really not care about this matter? You should know that if the graduation project cannot be submitted on time or is deemed unsatisfactory, it will result in a postponement…”

“Perhaps Hayata-kun doesn’t want his family to know about the possibility of delaying graduation due to the failure to complete the project…”

Facing Kimura, Koike spoke with emphasis and concern.

In reality, students like Kimura were encountered every year. These students were mostly young individuals filled with pessimism and negligence towards their future.

Indeed, in this era of society with tremendous pressure on young people, there were plenty of disheartened youth who lacked aspirations.

However, for students like him, Koike had her own set of tactics. 

By using methods such as threatening with postponement or informing family members, she could easily make even the most indifferent students obedient.

As for exceptions? Those truly apathetic youth had long embarked on adventures in another world. 

The ones left behind were just young individuals wavering between apathy and uncertain future choices.

If it weren’t for the approaching deadline, Koike wouldn’t want to resort to these tactics. 

However, since she had brought it up, she was determined to make the young man in front of her submit the proposal for his graduation project today.

After Koike finished speaking, the office fell into a brief silence.

A moment later, Kimura slowly raised his head, his hand rubbing his neck, and a helpless smile appeared on his face.

“Koike-sensei, my parents passed away before I started university. I come from a rural area outside of Tokyo, and the cost of living in Tokyo is high. I usually have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. I’m truly sorry for the delay in the initial draft, and I understand that it has upset Koike-sensei.”

Koike’s red lips parted, and her gaze remained fixed on the tall young man in front of her. Her legs, which were initially crossed, had unknowingly been placed back on the ground.

Parents passed away, from the countryside, needing to work multiple jobs to sustain a livelihood.

Did she just use the threat of informing family and postponement against this hardworking young man from the countryside?

A strong sense of guilt rushed into Koike’s heart, and the emotions of shame and remorse made her feel as if she were sitting on pins and needles.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Kimura-san. I didn’t know about your… Actually, this graduation project is not as urgent as…”

Koike raised both hands in front of her, shaking them in a fluster, her words somewhat disordered.

Kimura shook his head and whispered.

“It’s okay, Koike-sensei. I know students like me cause a lot of trouble for teachers. I’ll quit those part-time jobs when I get home today and complete the initial draft of the project as soon as possible to hand it over to Koike-sensei. It’s just that my illiterate grandmother from the countryside needs some extra money, so I need to sew a few more clothes for her.”

“Koike-sensei, I’m really sorry. The initial draft of the project hasn’t been submitted until now, and it must have caused a lot of trouble for the teacher. I’m truly sorry.”

Koike was completely disoriented, and a strong sense of bitterness tinged the tip of her nose. Shame, self-blame, and remorse filled her mind.

“No, no, Kimura-kun, please don’t apologize.” Koike stood up in an emotionally excited state. “It’s the teacher who didn’t understand the situation.”

“Koike-sensei, about the graduation project…” Kimura hesitated.

Koike took a deep breath and shook her head. “Actually, there’s no rush for the initial draft of the graduation project…”

Watching the slender figure in front of her, Koike gritted her teeth.

“Handing in the script by the end of the month is the final deadline. The filming can be completed by the end of next month.”

Kimura breathed a sigh of relief. If it was just submitting the script by the end of the month, it would be relatively easy.

“Koike-sensei, I heard that renting photography equipment requires a significant expense. I’m not sure about my financial situation…”

Koike turned around, tore a piece of paper from the notebook on the table, wrote a few lines on it, and handed it to Kimura.

“This is the address and contact information for the school’s photography department. The head is Koike Koichi, a junior. I am the faculty advisor for the photography department. If you have any problems with the shoot, you can ask him for help.”

Kimura took the note, quickly glanced at it, and promptly put it into his pocket.

Bowing to Koike, he said, “Thank you, Koike-sensei.”

“No, there’s no need. It’s what I should do,” Koike replied awkwardly, waving her hand. “Actually, Hayata-kun, what I said earlier was just because I think you’re a very capable student…”

“I understand, Koike-sensei. If my parents were still alive and knew that I had such a good teacher like Koike-sensei, they would definitely be happy for me.”

Kimura grinned, his eyes sincerely fixed on her.

For some reason, Koike’s heart seemed to be struck by an arrow once again.

Damn it! Goddamn it! She should have never said those things earlier. Koike wished she could give her past self a few big slaps, and then commit seppuku.

“Um, Koike-sensei, actually, during part-time work, I don’t interact much with my classmates. For the shoot, we might be lacking a female lead… What do you think?”

“…”

……

Looking at the closed office door behind him, Kiimura scratched his head.

Indeed, Koike didn’t fall for it all the way. 

However, having this outcome was already an unexpected delight. He originally thought he would need to persuade Koike more to change her decision.

As for the matter of the actress, it was just a spur-of-the-moment idea. He thought that if he could get Koike Yui involved, the entire project would naturally go smoothly. Clearly, Koike wouldn’t be fooled as a teacher.

But it didn’t matter; if it was before yesterday, he might have had a headache over finding an actress. However, now, it didn’t seem that troublesome.

“Moreover, there are more pressing matters to deal with,” Kimura sighed.

With less than three days until the end of the month, even though it was just submitting a script, it was still a time-consuming and brain-draining task.

It seemed like some part-time work would have to be put on hold. Otherwise, he would be working during the day and staying up all night writing the script.

Even Kimura, tough as he was, couldn’t handle that.

After finishing his tasks today, he decided to have a good discussion with Asuka about it.

With a determined mind, he felt as if he had let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and his steps became noticeably lighter.

Kimura took out his phone from his pocket, sent his schedule for the day to Asuka, and specifically instructed her not to prepare lunch for him.

Life might be a bit rough, but it wasn’t all tragedy.