Act-Age Rebuild: Reborn into a Showbiz Family's Romantic Comedy!?
In the Yonagi household, dinner is bean sprouts, rice, and a stack of unpaid school lunch notices—and the only thing fifteen-year-old Kei has to her name is her mother's old movie DVDs and a habit of mimicking Audrey Hepburn in the dark. So when she sees an ad for a TV audition with a one-million-yen grand prize, she decides on the spot: she'll win it, pay off the debts, and prove to her sharp-tongued little sister Rei and her eye-rolling little brother Rui that when she says she'll do something
Act-Age Rebuild: Reborn into a Showbiz Family's Romantic Comedy!? - An angel being so interested in me? Nobody told me about this!?
"So what's the next job?"
Kei fixed her eyes on the man seated across from her.
The reception room of Studio Daikokuten — on the third floor of an old mixed-use building in Shibuya, worn but meticulously clean. Afternoon light spilled through the window, and two paper cups sat on the table between them.
Kuroyama Bokuji took a slow sip of his coffee before answering.
"...First, an audition for a school drama."
"An audition?"
Kei tilted her head.
"'After School Symphony.' A new Tohto TV series. Filming starts next month. The role is the protagonist's classmate — few lines, but an important part."
Kuroyama laid a single sheet of paper on the table. The audition details.
Kei picked it up.
"...Um, what's the prize money?"
"There isn't any."
"There isn't?"
"There isn't."
Kei lifted her eyes from the paper and stared at Kuroyama.
"...If there's no prize money, why would I even enter?"
"Because it's work."
"Work..."
"Yeah. If you want to make a living as an actor, take the job. The prize money from that audition show is a done deal. That was just your ticket into this world."
Kuroyama's voice was calm — and left no room for argument.
Kei tapped her fingertips against her knee. Tap. Tap.
(Work, huh.)
What surfaced in her mind was the overdue school-lunch notice sitting on the low table at home.
"...Fine. I'll do it."
Kei gave a small nod.
"One condition, though."
"A condition?"
"I hear a genius from Stars is coming to this audition too."
Kuroyama glanced out the window.
"Momoshiro Chiyoko. The actress they call 'the Angel of Stars.' She's trying out for the same role. Which means you'll be going head-to-head with her."
"Momoshiro, Chiyoko..."
Kei rolled the name around in her mouth like a piece of candy.
"A genius..."
"Yeah. The real thing. And a completely different type from you."
Kuroyama set his paper cup down on the table.
"The audition's the day after tomorrow. At the Chofu studio. Don't be late."
"...Got it."
Kei folded the paper and tucked it into her pocket.
(Momoshiro Chiyoko, huh.)
Something deep in her chest gave a small, sharp twinge.
What it was, Kei still didn't know.
———
The day of the audition.
The Chofu studio was far bigger than she'd imagined, swarming with people.
Staff hauling heavy equipment. Actors walking with scripts in hand. Somewhere, someone shouting.
Kei stood frozen at the entrance for a while.
(This is where I'll be auditioning.)
Her fingertips were cold with nerves.
She took a deep breath and headed for the reception desk.
"I'm Yonagi Kei. I'm here for the audition."
"Yes, Yonagi-san. The waiting room is that way. Please wait there until we begin."
Kei headed for the waiting room she'd been directed to.
Several other participants were already there — reading scripts, checking themselves in mirrors.
Kei sat in a chair in the corner and opened her script.
The role: Mizuno Yui, the protagonist's classmate. A high school girl who'd just lost her mother — quiet, unable to show her emotions.
(Lost her mother...)
Kei's finger stopped on the words.
(Same as me.)
Something squeezed tight in her chest.
That was when it happened.
"Hey — you're Yonagi Kei, aren't you?"
A voice came suddenly from behind her.
Kei turned around, and there she stood —
Chestnut hair in loose curls, huge jewel-like eyes with a violet cast. A girl wearing a flawless smile.
"Um, uh..."
Kei's words caught in her throat.
(Who is this? She's... so beautiful...)
"I knew it. I'm Momoshiro Chiyoko. I'm with Stars. I heard Kuroyama-san called you a 'monster' on the audition show."
Chiyoko slid smoothly into the chair beside Kei.
So close.
"And that your acting is really something else. I'm curious."
Chiyoko gently cupped Kei's hand in both of hers.
"Um, uh... why are you here?"
Kei felt her face go hot all at once.
(Why is she holding my hand!?)
"I'm auditioning too. For the same role. So that makes us rivals."
Chiyoko smiled brightly.
That smile was so perfect it looked manufactured.
"Rivals..."
"Yes. But I want to see your acting. I'm dying to know how you'll play it."
Chiyoko's violet eyes fixed on Kei.
Kei couldn't escape that gaze. She just stayed silent.
"Fufu, what an interesting reaction."
Chiyoko let go of Kei's hand and stood.
"Well then, see you later. Yonagi Kei."
With that, Chiyoko left the waiting room.
Kei sat frozen in place for a while.
"...What was that about?"
She looked at her hand.
Chiyoko's warmth still lingered.
(What did she even come over here for?)
Her heart kept pounding for a long time after.
———
The audition began.
The practical exam. One by one, the participants performed the assigned scene in the center of the room.
Kei's turn came.
She stood in the middle of the room.
Several judges were watching her.
Kei pictured the scene from the script.
Mizuno Yui. A high school girl who'd just lost her mother.
A scene in the classroom, where a friend asks, "Are you okay?"
Yui tries to pretend she's fine. Tries to smile.
But she can't.
(Mom...)
Her mother's face surfaced in Kei's mind.
Her kind mother. Her mother, wasting away in a hospital bed.
"Yui, are you okay?"
A judge read the line from the script.
Kei opened her mouth.
"...Yeah. I'm okay."
She tried to smile.
But her lips trembled.
(Mom, I'm sorry. I still can't accept that you're gone.)
Kei's vision blurred.
"I'm sorry... I guess I'm... not okay after all..."
She was saying words that weren't in the script.
"Mom... without you, I can't do anything..."
The tears wouldn't stop.
Kei crumpled to the floor.
"Mom... Mom..."
Her voice had dissolved into sobbing.
The room went dead silent.
The judges stared at her, bewildered.
"...What's with her?"
"She's not following the script. What is she doing?"
A restless murmur rippled through the room.
Kei no longer knew what she was doing.
She was just remembering her mother — and the grief and the pain wouldn't let the tears stop.
(No. This isn't... this isn't how it's supposed to—)
But her body wouldn't move.
That was when it happened.
"—It's okay, Yui."
Suddenly, Chiyoko appeared in front of Kei.
She gently wrapped her arms around Kei, who was crouched on the floor.
"I'm right here. You're not alone."
Chiyoko's voice was gentle and warm.
Kei kept crying in Chiyoko's arms.
"Mom... Mom..."
"Yeah. It's okay to cry. I'm here."
Chiyoko rubbed Kei's back, softly.
The gesture was so natural it looked like a real older sister.
The air in the room shifted.
The confusion from moments before melted away.
The judges watched the two of them, holding their breath.
"...Incredible."
"Momoshiro Chiyoko improvised to match her?"
"She pulled us right into that girl's performance."
In Chiyoko's arms, Kei's tears finally began to subside.
She looked up, and Chiyoko smiled at her.
"Are you okay?"
"...I'm sorry."
Kei pulled away and stood.
Her legs were shaking.
"I couldn't do it the way the script said."
Kei hung her head.
"That's fine. Your acting was wonderful."
Chiyoko looked straight into Kei's eyes.
"Your tears were real. I've never seen anything like it."
Her violet eyes sparkled.
Kei couldn't say a word.
———
The results came the next day, in a call from Kuroyama.
"You passed. Both of you, actually."
"Both?"
"Yeah. You and Momoshiro Chiyoko. You're both in the drama. She's the lead. You're her best friend."
"Best friend..."
Kei gripped the phone.
(Acting alongside Momoshiro Chiyoko.)
Something stirred in her chest.
"First day of filming is next Monday. The script's at the office. Read it thoroughly."
"...Got it."
Kei hung up.
———
First day of filming.
Kei stood in the corner of the set, clutching her script.
"...I'm nervous."
Her heart was pounding.
Around her, the staff moved busily.
"All right, we're rolling!"
Kei walked to the center of the set.
Chiyoko was already there.
"Morning, Kei-chan. Nervous?"
Chiyoko spoke to her with the usual perfect smile.
"...A little."
"You'll be fine. You can do this."
Chiyoko patted Kei's shoulder.
"Action!"
Filming began.
Kei tried to say her line.
"Mizuno-san, want to walk home together again today?"
"...Oh, yeah."
Chiyoko's acting was flawless.
The tone of her voice, her expressions, her timing. Everything was the character.
"Then I'll wait for you at the front gate after school."
"Yeah, got it."
"...Huh?"
The next line wouldn't come out.
"Cut!"
"Yonagi-san, you dropped your line. Let's go again."
"...Sorry."
Kei bowed her head.
(Why can't I get the lines out?)
"Action!"
Filming started again.
"Mizuno-san, want to walk home together again today?"
"...Oh, yeah."
"Then I'll wait for you at the front gate after school."
"Yeah, got it."
"So then, um... that is..."
Kei fumbled her line again.
"Cut!"
"Yonagi-san, calm down. Page three, second line."
"...Sorry."
Kei looked at the script.
The line was right there.
But it wouldn't sink in.
(What am I even doing?)
The staff around her started murmuring.
"Is that girl gonna be okay?"
"Did she even read the script?"
"Such a waste, getting to act with Momoshiro-san."
Kei bit her lip.
(Frustrating.)
"Cut, cut! Take a break!"
Kei moved to the corner of the set and crouched down.
"...What am I doing?"
She clutched the script tight.
"Kei-chan."
Chiyoko was standing in front of her.
"Are you okay?"
"...I'm not okay."
Kei answered without looking up.
"I can't even say my lines. I'm causing trouble for everyone."
"You're right. Right now, you're completely hopeless."
Kei looked up at Chiyoko's words.
Chiyoko wasn't wearing her usual smile — her expression was serious.
"But I want to act with you. That straightforwardness of yours. Those tears you showed at the audition. That's something only you can do."
Chiyoko took Kei's hand.
"I don't want to lose to you. So don't lose to me, either."
Chiyoko's violet eyes looked straight into hers.
Kei felt her heart skip.
"...But my acting's terrible."
Kei looked down.
"It's not terrible at all. It's just that your acting is something only you can do."
Chiyoko squeezed her hand tight.
"So let's act together. With that straightforward heart of yours."
Something burned hot deep in Kei's chest.
(Frustrating. But more than that—)
Kei squeezed back.
"...I won't lose."
She looked into Chiyoko's eyes and said it clearly.
"I definitely won't lose to you. I'll get better."
Chiyoko looked surprised for a moment — then smiled softly.
"Yes. I'm looking forward to it."
That smile looked more real than any she'd shown before.
———
Filming somehow wrapped.
Kei had flubbed take after take, but the final scene had come together.
(Still — I'm nowhere near good enough.)
Kei walked down the studio hallway.
She was exhausted.
But her heart felt strangely light.
(Chiyoko-san...)
She remembered Chiyoko's words.
'Your acting is something only you can do.'
(Acting only I can do, huh.)
Her fingertips moved unconsciously.
That was when it happened.
"—That girl's acting might be dangerous."
Kuroyama's voice came from around the corner of the hallway.
Kei stopped in her tracks.
"Method acting will break her someday."
(Huh?)
Kei pressed herself against the wall and held her breath.
"...Kuroyama-san, is that really what you think of Kei-chan?"
Chiyoko's voice, too.
"Yeah. That girl's acting chips away at herself. She ties the character's emotions to her own past wounds and forces them out. Keep that up, and one day her mind will break."
Kuroyama's voice was dead serious.
"...But even so, I want to act with her."
Chiyoko's voice was quiet.
"Her acting reminds me of something. Something I've been searching for all this time. That's why I want to stand on stage with her."
"...Chiyoko."
"I know. That it's dangerous. But I won't stop her. If anything, I want to see more of her acting. I want to see how far she can go."
Kei leaned against the wall.
(My acting is dangerous?)
(It'll break me?)
Her chest throbbed.
(But Chiyoko-san says she wan
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