Chapter 167: If You Break His Flag (Patreon)

Kumano Nobuyuki and Morimoto Kengo did know that Minami Yuji carried plenty of weight as a senior in the industry.

But when it came to male charm, they didn't consider themselves so far behind either.

And LoveforReal was, after all, a dating reality show — for the two of them to flatly refuse an invitation from a fellow cast member like that, wasn't that a little inappropriate?

Kumano Nobuyuki and Morimoto Kengo felt somewhat helpless about it.

In truth, what they'd been thinking through was fair enough.

Under normal circumstances — setting aside how the serious-minded Akane Kurokawa might react on camera to the two of them hitting on her — at the very least MEM, as a wildly popular YouTuber, would probably have smiled and gone along with their invitation on the surface, just to keep up her cheerful airhead persona.

After all, as a cast member, she'd have had to think at least a little about how it played on camera.

But that was exactly the problem.

MEM had just met Minami Yuji, someone who felt like the 'moonlight' of her heart, and her mind was already a little hazy from it.

She'd never imagined that one day she'd actually get to costar with him.

Still reeling, unable to steady herself, how could she not feel thrown into confusion when Kumano Nobuyuki and Morimoto Kengo suddenly hit her with an invitation like that?

And so the two girls turned them down flat, leaving Kumano Nobuyuki and Morimoto Kengo frozen in place.

On camera, in the sunlit school corridor, their backs were framed together—

paired with the retreating backs of MEM and Akane Kurokawa, already walking away.

The whole scene radiated a kind of adolescent forlornness, an utterly desolate feeling.

Kumano Nobuyuki and Morimoto Kengo clearly noticed the cameraman's lens trained on them from behind.

The moment it hit them that the footage had already been captured, and might well air on this season of LoveforReal, their heads started to throb.

Getting airtime was a good thing, sure, but playing the comic-relief clown on a show like this... from a male talent's perspective, that was a role nobody wanted, and they sure as hell didn't want it either.

"Aaargh—"

The two of them clutched their heads and let out a mournful groan.

Little did they know, this whole 'loser male lead' routine only made Ando Eichi more interested.

The cameraman didn't hesitate for a second, keeping the lens trained right on them, capturing every bit of this golden footage.

As for what the two of them were thinking, Minami Yuji had no idea.

Because compared to the two of them... Minami Yuji had a headache of his own right about now.

The reason was simple enough—

Sipping his tea, legs crossed, he cast a helpless glance across the Ichigo Pro office, where Kana Arima, Sakurajima Mai, and a wide-eyed, curious Ruby Hoshino were camped in front of a laptop, watching LoveforReal.

Listening to their occasional gasps of surprise, and catching the odd glare they shot his way — the kind reserved for some heartless womanizer toying with girls' feelings—

Minami Yuji sighed.

No wonder shows like this were so popular with girls.

Even someone like Sakurajima Mai, who wasn't much for variety shows, had eyes full of curiosity for this kind of romance program.

It's just...

"Do you three really have to glare at me like that?"

Setting down his teacup, Minami Yuji shot them a wordless sidelong look.

Yeah.

From where he sat, 'glare' didn't even begin to cover it.

Their stares were like ice blades — cold and razor-sharp.

As if any second now they'd charge over and carve him into a thousand pieces.

And on top of that, Kana Arima dropping by Ichigo Pro during a break in her schedule was something he hadn't quite expected either.

"Whoa, did you two hear that? Senpai, Mai-nee, Yuji-nii actually said that. And here he went and made a beeline for that deliberately-cutesy girl the second he showed up — surrounded by young girls, I bet he's just thrilled."

Pointing at the screen, at Minami Yuji's gentle smile toward MEM, Ruby Hoshino's face was full of indignation.

"Yuji-nii never smiles at me like that! Normally it's either konking me on the head or kicking me in the butt! He doesn't treat me like a girl at all!"

"True." Kana Arima and Sakurajima Mai exchanged a glance, then nodded in perfect unison.

In that moment, the two of them had somehow reached the exact same conclusion.

Lips pursed, their expressions were nothing but discontent.

Seriously, what was even going on here!

Minami Yuji barely gave them the time of day normally, but the second he got on the show he came out swinging for some rookie girl he'd just met — and even asked her out himself!

Cold one moment, all smiles the next!

That beaming smile of his — how could they possibly accept it!?

Was it that they weren't pretty enough?

Or that they weren't as famous as these rookie girls?

Luckily, at that moment Saitou Kyoko, who'd been going over Ichigo Pro's influencer data reports nearby, sighed and spoke up with a fairer take, coming to Minami Yuji's defense.

"...Honestly, you three... It's perfectly normal to feel upset when a guy close to you gets tangled up with other girls — it does feel like something of yours is being taken away. But you also have to consider that Yuji's putting on an act here purely for the sake of the show, don't you think?"

"Uh..."

The moment she said it, all three girls fell silent.

It was, admittedly, the plain truth.

Put simply, once you're on a show, you're not fully in control of yourself.

Having accepted the job, Minami Yuji had to at least put on an enthusiastic front — that was only right.

After all, Minami Yuji's persona in the industry had a flawless, zero-complaints record — that alone said something about his worth.

But still—

"Yuji-nii looks so serious here — is this acting too? He's not going to end up dragging another girl home, is he?"

Ruby Hoshino pointed at the scene of Minami Yuji talking with MEM.

The raised hand braced against the wall.

The handsome face closing in.

It had all been edited by the LoveforReal production team in a wildly misleading way.

From their angle, it looked like Minami Yuji was about to kiss her!

How infuriating!

So envi— no, wait! It's genuinely infuriating!

They ground their teeth.

Minami Yuji, for his part, couldn't help but marvel.

No wonder they were a professional dating-show production team.

Their skill at editing footage into misunderstandings was frankly terrifying.

In that shot, he really had reached out and braced a hand against the wall.

But from where he actually stood, it only looked like a kabedon from a distance.

It was the same trick as a 'forced-perspective kiss.'

In reality, Minami Yuji had been standing a fair distance off to the side of MEM.

But the LoveforReal crew really was stacked with talent.

Even a simple gesture like that, paired with background music and the crew's 'well-intentioned' editing, could be spun into such a charged, suggestive mood.

Left with no choice, Minami Yuji just came out and explained.

"It's just a forced-perspective editing trick. And didn't I already tell you? Everything I'm doing on this show is acting."

To put their minds further at ease, he even paused for a beat before continuing.

"And there's also the part they deliberately cut from the broadcast — the conversations I initiated with them. Might as well tell you now: what I mainly told them was that everything I do on the show is acting, and not to take any of it seriously."

Right — to focus fully on making the show work, and mainly to keep these girls from actually falling for a fake romance, Minami Yuji had given both Akane Kurokawa and MEM a heads-up early on.

Actually, Minami Yuji had considered asking MEM whether they'd met before.

But on second thought, he'd held his tongue.

After all, in the original storyline, MEM's age was a sensitive, hard-to-explain issue.

Asking such a personal question in front of a cameraman might have caused her real trouble.

So Minami Yuji decided he'd find another opportunity to ask her, later.

All things considered—

there was nothing in Minami Yuji's conduct he needed to feel guilty about.

His whole approach came down to: stand straight, and you needn't fear a crooked shadow.

"There was more to it than that?"

Minami Yuji was being far too calm and open about all this.

Even Kana Arima, who'd been quietly holding a grudge against him for sneaking off to join a dating reality show on his own, looked a little taken aback.

"Won't doing this... affect the filming of the show?"

Kana Arima couldn't resist chiming in.

Announcing on a dating reality show that you weren't going to fall for real, no matter how you looked at it, seemed like a bad idea.

As for Kana Arima's concern, Minami Yuji waved it off without hesitation.

"Doesn't matter. The production team's definitely going to cut that part out anyway."

Any footage that looked bad, or did nothing for the ratings, the editors would take care of in post.

That much, Minami Yuji wasn't worried about at all.

And as it turned out—

"Hasn't this season already blown up anyway?"

Setting his feet down and downing the last of his tea in one go, Minami Yuji simply shot the question right back at her.

"Um..."

The girls exchanged glances, falling completely silent at his counter-question.

Because just as Minami Yuji had said—

this season of LoveforReal really had blown up.

In fact, it was blowing up in a big way!

Unlike the original storyline, where the show had a lukewarm start and only caught fire midway through, once Akane Kurokawa became the target of online harassment—

this time, it was only the first episode, and LoveforReal had already ignited every hot-button moment there was.

Minami Yuji, already famous throughout the industry, brought his own fame to the table.

Add to that his proactive moves, combined with the crew's 'well-intentioned' editing,

and the entire first episode had, almost instantly, built itself around Minami Yuji as the center, with Akane Kurokawa and MEM orbiting him in something that felt just like a love triangle.

Then, on top of all that, there was Kumano Nobuyuki and Morimoto Kengo's whole 'loser male lead' performance.

Whether it was intrigue, show-appeal, or comic relief, the meter was maxed out on every front.

On TVer, the streaming platform jointly launched by Japan's five major networks, it had even earned a five-star must-watch rating.

With buzz running that hot,

the investors backing the show and the production crew alike were probably grinning ear to ear.

So as for Minami Yuji's little bit of self-indulgence, far from objecting, they'd probably have thrown up both hands and both feet in enthusiastic agreement.

They'd even swapped out the official promotional poster for one showing Minami Yuji, MEM, and Akane Kurokawa looking straight into the camera.

Except...

"Even after everything you just said, Yuji-nii... what if a girl really does fall for you? And confesses to you at the end of the show?"

"..." Minami Yuji.

Looking at Ruby Hoshino — one finger raised, her overly pretty little face tilted up in dead seriousness — Minami Yuji genuinely wanted to ask her whether she'd listened to a single word he'd just said.

What did she mean, 'what if a girl really falls for him'?

Had this kid not absorbed anything he'd just said?

He'd told MEM and his co-star Akane Kurokawa, on the show, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn't going to fall in love for real.

Did Ruby Hoshino really think that, with that already made clear, some girl would still fall for him for real?

No way.

Bluntly put...

"Ruby, are you not taking me a little too seriously?"

Minami Yuji shot her a sidelong look, equal parts exasperated and amused — he was honestly at a loss.

As a level-headed adult, he knew perfectly well his standing in the industry wasn't low, and that he probably did have a bit of charm of his own.

But just a bit more than average, that was all.

The problem was, he wasn't some walking succubus.

How could there possibly be a girl who'd fall for him even knowing full well it was all an act?

And confess to him on top of that? That just wasn't going to happen.

"......" Sakurajima Mai, Kana Arima, Ruby Hoshino.

The three girls fell silent.

They just narrowed their eyes at the black-haired young man in front of them, shrugging, declaring with utter conviction that it was completely impossible.

Honestly, if it had been anyone else, the three of them would have agreed there was no chance of it.

But...

the person standing in front of them was Minami Yuji!

As 'victims' themselves, they knew all too well just how easily this guy could snare a woman without even trying.

One moment of carelessness, and you'd take the bait he'd dropped and never be able to pull free.

The most infuriating part was that the young man in front of them had no idea he'd been scattering bait all along.

Still...

"Well, since Yuji's said as much..."

Sakurajima Mai, propping her delicate chin on one hand, let out a sigh and let the matter drop.

After all, Minami Yuji had already explained things to the girls on the show ahead of time, precisely to avoid any misunderstanding.

He'd laid out every precondition in advance — you couldn't say he hadn't done everything humanly possible.

If, even under those conditions, one of the girls still confessed to him... now that really would be unbelievable.

Thinking that, she and Kana Arima beside her relaxed and settled in to watch the dating show comfortably.

How to put it.

Once they'd convinced themselves that everything Minami Yuji did on the show was pure acting, and that none of the girls on it posed any real 'threat' to them,

Kana Arima and Sakurajima Mai, watching together, actually found the whole thing rather entertaining, even tossing out the odd teasing jab at Minami Yuji now and then.

However—

Ruby Hoshino stayed quiet.

Watching the cheerful scene in front of her, she couldn't shake a nagging sense that something was off.

She felt like she was overlooking something important.

"Are we sure there's really nothing to worry about?"

Looking at Akane Kurokawa, MEM, and the others on LoveforReal, then glancing over at Minami Yuji, Ruby Hoshino couldn't help muttering to herself.

She had an ominous feeling — the sense that Minami Yuji had just planted a 'flag'...