Chapter 168: Hardworking, Sincere People Get Hurt the Easiest! (Patreon)

"It's blowing up! Seriously blowing up, Director Ando!"

Staring at the backend data charts, the young production assistant's face was full of excitement.

And the reason was exactly what he'd said.

This season's premiere of LoveforReal, even set against every major variety show currently airing, absolutely counted as a runaway hit.

The moment it went live, shares topped 2,900, and likes — hearts — blew past 30,000.

Japan's well-known platform TVer had given the reality show a five-star push rating, and over on the site basda, its variety-show score sat at a full 95 points. As far as online dating reality shows went, LoveforReal's current buzz absolutely towered above the competition.

To put it a little immodestly — as long as LoveforReal could keep this momentum all the way to the finale, greenlighting a third season wouldn't be much of a stretch.

And naturally, as LoveforReal's director, Ando Eichi knew this as well as anyone.

Except... scrolling through the flood of comments online, all of them begging for the next episode featuring "Yuji, Mem-cho, and Akane Kurokawa," he found himself bowing his head, taking a hard drag on his cigarette, brow furrowing faintly.

"Seems like we really should keep the cameras locked on Minami Yuji, Mem-cho, and Akane Kurokawa going forward, huh? That's what the audience wants too... Is something wrong, Director Ando?"

The production assistant checking the data charts had sounded excited a moment ago, but he quickly noticed the look on Ando Eichi's face.

Mainly because he had no idea why the man looked so troubled.

By rights, pulling numbers like this from just the first episode should have had a director like Ando Eichi thrilled. After all, in any other production crew, results like these would easily justify a small celebration party.

So why did he still look like that?

"Ah — sorry about that."

Ando Eichi had clearly noticed his own expression too.

He offered a faint smile. "Results like this really should make me happy. I was just thinking about something."

"Thinking about something...?" The production assistant looked even more puzzled. "Are you thinking about how to make the show even better, Director Ando?"

"Mm — that's important too, but I mean something else."

"Something else?"

"Yeah." Ando Eichi nodded, reaching over to pick up the cast's profile files off the desk.

He took another drag on his cigarette, and as he flipped through the files, he suddenly spoke.

"Miyazaki, do you know what a dating reality show actually needs?"

"Well... I'd guess it needs people like Minami Yuji — someone who really knows how to work a stage?"

The young production assistant, called Miyazaki, mused for a moment before offering his answer.

He had good reason to say so. Take this season of LoveforReal — the key reason it had scored such outstanding results was that Minami Yuji had delivered one iconic, standout scene after another in this episode.

"That's certainly true." Ando Eichi agreed with the point, but then paused. "But do you think everyone on a reality show is as good at showing themselves off to the camera as Minami Yuji is?"

"Uh..." Miyazaki stalled.

Because, just as Ando Eichi had said, not every performer on the cast could pull off what Minami Yuji did. There would always be someone who couldn't adjust to the live pacing, someone who felt left behind.

This was actually something the original storyline of Oshi no Ko had shown too. Akane Kurokawa and Morimoto Kengo, in fact, both belonged to that category — used to shining within their own narrow specialties, they struggled to keep pace with the current shoot.

Bluntly put, a performer like Minami Yuji was, in the end, an exception. But—

"That doesn't really change whether we keep the cameras fixed on Minami Yuji and the others going forward, though, does it?" Miyazaki voiced his own thought.

True enough. Minami Yuji being an exception among performers was one thing, but that didn't stop them from keeping the cameras trained on him. If they had a weapon that powerful, why not use it to the hilt? Wasn't that the obvious move?

"After all — isn't the audience dying to see the interactions between Minami Yuji, Mem-cho, and Akane Kurokawa anyway?" Miyazaki said, pointing at the audience comments.

"Strictly speaking, there's nothing wrong with your reasoning. But that's exactly where the problem lies..."

Ando Eichi stubbed out his cigarette, gave a long look at one particular profile in his hand, then turned his gaze to the episode of LoveforReal playing on the computer.

There, the blue-violet-haired girl sitting beside Minami Yuji — her delicate, pretty face wearing an unmistakably stiff, unable-to-relax expression — was fully within his view.

"A single episode isn't enough to see all the way through a person," he said quietly.

Did Minami Yuji think he'd set off a flag? Of course not.

From his own point of view, he'd already fulfilled his duty to explain — he'd made it clear to both Akane Kurokawa and Mem-cho that his behavior was purely for the sake of better show results.

But the problem was...

"These last few episodes... have felt pretty mediocre, honestly..."

Fingers rubbing lightly at his chin, Minami Yuji arched an eyebrow slightly.

He'd now filmed three episodes since joining LoveforReal. The spark lit in episode one was still burning strong.

Worth noting, perhaps, was that Mem-cho had by now been thoroughly bound to Minami Yuji in the public eye. The pairing of a dependable, steady industry senior with a bubbly-airhead persona had unexpectedly caught fire with viewers, and the whole show now practically revolved around him.

Except... though the show was still entertaining, though the audience still watched it with plenty of laughs, Minami Yuji still felt something was missing.

Maybe it was—

"Isn't Kurokawa trying way too hard... taking this way too seriously?"

He frowned slightly, lifting his gaze toward the other side of the set.

There, Akane Kurokawa stood clutching a small notebook, head bowed, asking Ando Eichi something.

Earnest. Hardworking. Those were qualities worth admiring anywhere. But the problem was, this "falling in love" dating reality show had no script.

No matter how diligently she took notes, no matter how earnestly she sought advice, it didn't count for much. What mattered here was a performer's on-the-spot reactions and instincts.

But the trouble was, Akane Kurokawa's personality — was it rigid, or just inflexible? Either way, as Minami Yuji saw it...

Aside from episode one, where he'd stepped in to lend a hand himself, Akane Kurokawa still hadn't properly found her footing on the dating show's stage, even now.

In short, her earnest, give-everything-you've-got personality meant she'd completely failed to grasp the single most crucial skill on a reality-show stage — thinking on her feet.

The signs were plain enough in her screen time across the last few episodes. Her airtime kept shrinking; the occasional long shot only happened because she'd been standing between Minami Yuji and Mem-cho — nothing more.

Sumi Yuki, on the other hand — barely noticeable among the girls at the start — had since pulled ahead, becoming the second girl to stand out on camera besides Mem-cho, who was now inseparable from Minami Yuji in the edit.

This girl had clearly figured out the trick. Always aware of the camera, always showing herself off just right, she'd built a perfect good-girl image on screen.

And it wasn't just Sumi Yuki. Kumano Nobuyuki and Morimoto Kengo, too, had come from behind, riding their "loser male lead, comic relief" roles to overtake Akane Kurokawa in the latest popularity rankings.

Plenty of viewers were saying it outright: Akane-chan had such a strong presence in episode one — so why was she fading into a nobody?

It laid bare a harsh reality. After just three episodes, the audience could already tell the naturals apart from those who hadn't found their footing yet.

Akane Kurokawa might be a rookie full of promise in her own field, but on a dating reality show, she was completely out of her depth. And so, despite being the very first to latch onto the golden goose — Minami Yuji — her popularity had ended up sliding instead.

"Wonder how it'll go from here." Minami Yuji gave his head a slight shake.

As someone who knew Akane Kurokawa, lending her a hand back in episode one had already been more than fair on his part. But her sliding popularity was entirely her own failure to seize the opportunity.

He could certainly keep helping her, but he couldn't exactly orbit around her forever — that would hurt not just him, but her own growth in the industry as well.

So...

"I'll just keep an eye on things for now. If I can help her out later, I will." Minami Yuji shook his head.

He hadn't forgotten that, in the original storyline, she'd once been the target of an online harassment campaign. She was, after all, someone he'd known for years — he'd help where he could. He couldn't just stand by and watch some girl who sent him a handwritten New Year's card every single year get dragged and bullied online, could he?

Legs pressed wide in a split stretch, hips pushed low, body folding forward — sweat slid down her delicate face.

To catch up to Kana Arima and Minami Yuji... how much effort had she poured in, ever since childhood?

Starting at eight, she'd trained in line delivery alongside the rest of the Lala Lai Theatrical Company; by nine and ten, that had expanded from lines to physical movement, and then to fitness training.

You could say that to shine in the acting world the way Minami Yuji and Kana Arima did, she had poured in countless hours of effort.

And the results, it had to be said, were genuinely gratifying. Young as she was, she'd already won First Prize for Acting at a stage-play awards ceremony.

To Minami Yuji, it was probably some trivial, insignificant little award. But to her, it had unquestionably been a joyous achievement — she'd stayed happy about it for a long while afterward.

Because — didn't this bring her just a little closer to Minami Yuji? So she worked even harder. Worked hard, and then harder still.

Closer to Minami Yuji! Closer to the figure she admired — the one who could stand in the spotlight and let his own brilliance shine.

But...

"What exactly do you think you're doing?!"

The agency president's palm slammed down hard on the data report, spit flying as he tore into the fawning manager standing before him.

"You were the one who told me Akane was a genuinely capable kid — that's why I trusted you and got her onto this dating show! So what the hell is going on?! Hasn't her screen time been getting slashed lately? In the most recent episode of LoveforReal, her total airtime didn't even hit three minutes, did it?!"

An accusation! A furiously loud accusation!

"Uh— well, back in episode one, didn't Akane pull off some solid results? Please, President, just give her a little more time."

Akane Kurokawa's manager truly was a decent man. Even now, he kept his tone ingratiating, still speaking up for her.

But—

"Episode one?"

If he hadn't brought up episode one, it might have been fine — but the moment he did, the president only grew angrier.

"Exactly! Episode one had such perfect momentum! The audience had already learned the name Akane Kurokawa! And what did she do with it?! Absolutely nothing! These last few episodes, hasn't her popularity completely cratered into nobody-status? She knows Minami Yuji, doesn't she? Why not just latch onto that genius and ride it?!"

"But... President... Akane's been working really hard—"

"Hard work alone doesn't pay the bills! It's no match for Minami Yuji! There's no shortage of rookies who'd kill to be on this show — why do you think I picked her in the first place?! I don't care what you have to do — from here on, I want to see Akane leave real, tangible results on this show!"

Another hard slam of the fist on the table, followed immediately by the sound of the manager bowing over and over, apologizing.

"..." Akane Kurokawa listened to the harsh voices from inside. Her pale fingers unconsciously clenched around the towel she'd been using to wipe away her sweat.

She hadn't meant to eavesdrop on their conversation — she'd simply been passing by right after finishing training.

But she understood, all the same, exactly why the agency president was this furious. The reason was simple — her popularity had collapsed far too fast.

From the spotlight of episode one to now, from the center of everyone's attention to a total nobody. Only two episodes had passed — barely two weeks.

And for a rookie like her, this dating show was a rare, precious chance. Failing to deliver results and watching her popularity slide instead — of course that would leave the president feeling exactly how the saying goes: the higher the hope, the harder the fall.

She just stood there, silent, not making a sound.

Until the door opened and her exhausted-looking manager stepped out.

He froze for a beat the instant he saw her, but quickly caught the look on her face — and just as quickly seemed to understand. His expression turned apologetic. "Sorry, Akane-chan. You had to hear some ugly stuff just now."

"No... I'm the one who's sorry." Tears welled up before she could stop them.

Looking down at the notes she'd taken on set, recalling the disappointed voices in the comments under the last two episodes, an indescribable weight pressed down on her.

Eyes glistening with tears, Akane Kurokawa's cherry-pink lips trembled faintly. "I'll... try even harder."

Her slender fingers clenched tight into fists. That's right! She would try harder! She had to try harder!

Not just for herself, but for the audience too — whatever it took, by any means necessary — she had to make her mark on this show!

Because at this rate... forget about getting even one step closer to Minami Yuji — she couldn't even live up to the expectations of the people around her.

Pressure like a mountain. In this moment, heavy and unbearably real, it bore down on her small shoulders.