Chapter 190: Those Eyes, Without a Doubt—(4000 words) (Patreon)

"Huh? An internal adjustment?! What do you mean, an internal adjustment?"

Her flaxen hair swayed with the agitated motion of her speech.

Her palm, nails painted a pale pink, slapped down on the desktop with a loud thud.

Saitou Kyoko's voice rose sharply as she demanded an answer.

Times had changed — these days, Ichigo Pro was fairly well-known even among mid-sized agencies.

Fame naturally brought confidence.

These days, she no longer had to grovel the way she once did when dealing with certain people.

Besides, this was simply too infuriating.

What did they mean, there might be an "internal adjustment" at this year's Television Drama Academy Awards?

Wasn't it obviously aimed at Minami Yuji?

And just what exactly were they planning to adjust?

With a click.

She hung up the phone and turned to look at the Television Drama Academy Awards invitation on the table in front of her, along with the corsage that marked her identity — "Ms. Saitou Kyoko."

It was a decorative accessory that came attached to the invitation, used to distinguish attendees' identities and assign seating at the ceremony.

But right now—

Smack!

Without hesitation, Saitou Kyoko snatched it up and hurled it to the floor.

Yet even that didn't seem to satisfy her anger.

Her flaxen eyes flashed, and she stomped over to Minami Yuji, reaching for his corsage.

"...Aunt Kyoko, why are you so worked up?"

Minami Yuji, who'd been reading a novel, shielded his corsage with a speechless look, staring blankly at Saitou Kyoko.

He had to admit, she really did look like she'd stepped out of an anime. Though Saitou Kyoko was already in her thirties, her mature, alluring beauty hadn't faded with age at all — if anything, it had only grown richer.

It's just — her looks might not have faded with the years, but wasn't this behavior a bit too childish?

"What do you mean, why?! Give me your corsage — I still need to go find Mai and Aqua. Maybe Ichigo Pro just shouldn't even show up at the Television Drama Academy Awards next week!"

She puffed out her cheeks, her whole face scrunched up in anger.

"...Just because of that rumor leaked about the Television Drama Academy Awards?"

Minami Yuji, who'd been listening the whole time, gave her a flat look.

"What do you mean, 'just'?! Yuji, you're about to win your eighth title in a row!"

With a clatter.

She planted both hands on the table in front of him.

Her curvy figure, dressed in a president's suit, leaned forward.

The more Saitou Kyoko thought about it, the angrier she got.

That's right.

If it had been something else — a conflict over agency operations, pay rates, that sort of thing — she wouldn't have minded.

But this, she truly couldn't tolerate.

Because this was the critical juncture for whether Minami Yuji could claim his eighth consecutive Television Drama Academy Award.

That meant real, tangible fame and traffic.

Frankly speaking, whether Minami Yuji could pull off eight straight wins was a matter the entire industry — every agency in it — was watching closely.

Nearly every agency was watching, waiting for the outcome.

Waiting to see whether Minami Yuji could make history.

Even several of the industry's major newspapers and weeklies had specifically run it as headline news.

Headlines like "Genius Young Actor Minami Yuji Challenges the Television Drama Academy Awards! Can He Take an Eighth Straight Title?" or "A Boy's Journey to Eight Consecutive Wins — Looking Back on Seven Years of Genius!"

The hype had been pushed to the absolute limit.

It practically screamed to readers that Minami Yuji's eighth win was already a sure thing.

But now, this "internal adjustment" business had suddenly blown up.

Wasn't that basically inviting readers to laugh at him?

Never mind the readers.

What about the other agencies?

As the saying goes — rivals in the same trade are natural enemies.

If Minami Yuji failed to be selected this time and lost his bid for an eighth win—

there was no telling how the rival agencies might mock him openly, maybe even sneer, "Wasn't Minami Yuji supposed to be so amazing? Best Actor seven years running, and now suddenly he can't cut it? Did he really think acting worked like shogi, with some 'eternal' title?"

Just imagining that happening—

Saitou Kyoko simply couldn't stand it.

After all these years, she'd long since come to think of Minami Yuji as practically her own foster son.

So rather than let Minami Yuji rush off to make a fool of himself, she'd rather they just skip tonight's Television Drama Academy Awards altogether.

"...I think you're being a little extreme, Aunt Kyoko."

Having heard her whole analysis, Minami Yuji felt even more at a loss for words.

Saitou Kyoko was clearly letting her concern cloud her judgment.

What did she mean, getting mocked to his face?

This wasn't some brainless power-fantasy where the protagonist gets humiliated for shock value.

Even if he wasn't chosen for Best Actor, his past achievements would still stand.

What agency would really go out of their way to offend him like that?

Everyone in the industry ran into each other sooner or later, after all.

"But still — this is the critical moment for your eighth win, Yuji."

Saitou Kyoko pouted; even after his explanation, she was clearly still stewing over it.

"All right, all right, no 'buts.'"

Minami Yuji waved a hand, half-amused.

It would be a lie to say the buzz and traffic from an eighth win didn't tempt him — of course he cared about it.

But with a committee-based selection system like this, caring wouldn't change anything.

He wasn't the type to torment himself over things — wearing himself down over something like this would be pointless, so he might as well just let it go.

Besides—

he lifted his dark eyes and spoke with a smile.

"We don't know who'll win yet.

"You don't know yet?"

Saitou Kyoko, still leaning forward, blinked in surprise.

The source of this particular rumor was quite reliable — it came from industry connections she'd spent good money maintaining.

So she was nearly certain there would indeed be an adjustment at this year's Television Drama Academy Awards.

A week from now, Minami Yuji would very likely miss out on his eighth consecutive win.

But why — faced with what seemed like an already-decided outcome — was Minami Yuji still so confident?

Perhaps sensing the confusion in her expression—

the black-haired young actor closed the novel in his hands with a smile.

"Because I'm the strongest actor there is."

He said it with an air so natural, so matter-of-fact, it might as well have been obvious.

The statement had no real logic behind it whatsoever.

After all, from an industry standpoint, no matter how famous you were, once something was pre-cast, it was pre-cast — no amount of fame or skill would change that.

And yet, why—

despite the sheer lack of logic in what he'd said, something about it made Saitou Kyoko look as though she'd realized something. She lifted her head and asked without thinking, "Yuji... are you saying...?"

In answer to her question, Minami Yuji only smiled and gave her a wink.

"What I mean is, whether there's an internal adjustment or not doesn't actually matter... We can just make an issue out of the 'actor' himself."

Make an issue out of the actor?

Wait a second?!

Suddenly grasping something, Saitou Kyoko whipped her head around to look at Minami Yuji.

She found him smiling and nodding at her.

Her heart, which had been beating steadily, suddenly began to race.

She slapped both her cheeks hard.

"Ugh! Fine, forget it, I'm not holding back anymore!"

She reached down and picked up the corsage that had fallen to the floor.

The corner of Saitou Kyoko's mouth curled upward.

Fine! If that's how you want to play it, we've got our own tricks too! Let's do this!

Last year, Minami Yuji had starred in the dramas that took first, second, AND third place in annual ratings!

The Television Drama Academy Awards didn't want to give him the trophy, did they?

Well, the award still had to go to someone.

And it would have to go to someone with better acting skill than Minami Yuji.

But — did anyone like that even exist in the industry?!

Could they even find one?

Her Minami Yuji was the strongest actor there was!

If they didn't pick him, who else would they pick?

Go ask the audiences who'd followed last year's dramas whether they'd stand for it first!

Over the next few days, quite a few agencies across the industry began to sense something was off.

Weekly magazines and newspapers had started reporting on how Minami Yuji, as lead actor, had swept the top three spots in last year's ratings.

As news coverage went, this wasn't unusual in itself.

After all, the annual Television Drama Academy Awards were right around the corner.

As the strongest contender for a Best Actor eighth win, it was only natural for social media to ride the hype around Minami Yuji.

But...

"Isn't this level of coverage a bit much?"

Setting down the newspaper in his hands, even Toshirou Kindaichi of the Lala Lai Theatrical Company let out a surprised exclamation.

Beside him, Himekawa Taiki — usually so indifferent about everything — also showed a hint of surprise.

Because the wave of coverage was, just as Toshirou Kindaichi said, genuinely excessive.

Not only were the industry's major newspapers scrambling to cover it, even obscure tabloids and gossip weeklies were pushing the story of Minami Yuji sweeping the top three ratings spots last year.

The momentum was genuinely frightening.

It was as if he'd simply gone to sleep one night, and by the next day, every corner of the internet and print media alike had been overtaken by talk of "Minami Yuji."

The way the media fawned over him, combined with the blanket publicity and the hook of "eighth consecutive win"—

gave readers an unmistakable, overwhelming impression.

Namely — that this year's Best Actor at the Television Drama Academy Awards was already, unquestionably, Minami Yuji. A done deal.

But that was exactly the problem.

These outlets, which normally had little contact with one another — and could even be called rivals — how could they possibly all report in such perfect unison?

It was as if they'd all agreed on the same script beforehand...

Wait!

The same script?

Himekawa Taiki and Toshirou Kindaichi exchanged a glance, both suddenly realizing something.

Toshirou Kindaichi was the first to burst out laughing.

"Ichigo Pro... and Minami Yuji — they really went and did it. I didn't expect this move at all."

Yeah...

They really went for it.

As an agency, Ichigo Pro obviously had no power to change the awards committee's decision regarding the adjustment.

But if you added the power of the "audience" to the mix... that carried an entirely different weight.

Ichigo Pro had pulled off a truly brilliant move — an outright success, really.

Rather than reacting directly to the Television Drama Academy Awards, they'd carved out an entirely new path.

As a result, nearly everyone online was now talking about this year's Television Drama Academy Awards.

Minami Yuji's impending eighth win in particular had drawn the attention of countless viewers.

As mentioned earlier, surveys had shown that at least seventy to eighty percent of the Japanese public had heard the name Minami Yuji.

In other words, stop ten random Japanese people on the street, and at least seven of them would have heard of, or watched, a drama starring Minami Yuji.

Some of them might have only watched his dramas without actually knowing much about him — not everyone kept up with industry gossip, after all.

But thanks to Ichigo Pro's intense promotional push over the past few days, even those who normally paid no attention to industry gossip suddenly found themselves thinking — oh, so the lead actor from that drama I watched, Minami Yuji, is about to set a record of eight straight Television Drama Academy Award wins.

This kind of self-propagating public opinion was genuinely terrifying.

At least, that was how Toshirou Kindaichi saw it.

With so many curious viewers watching, the attention on this year's Best Actor award at the Television Drama Academy Awards was unprecedented, to say the least.

And under that level of scrutiny...

"Pulling any tricks quietly is basically impossible now."

Himekawa Taiki, who normally showed no interest in anything, wore an expression of genuine admiration.

He'd assumed the internal adjustment was already set in stone and that Minami Yuji's eighth win was all but impossible.

But he truly hadn't expected the other side to come up with a move like this, turning the tables completely.

"...I suppose... that's just what you'd expect from Minami Yuji, huh?"

Toshirou Kindaichi let out a wry laugh.

As head of the Lala Lai Theatrical Company, he understood perfectly well.

Only a performer with a keen instinct for his own popularity and buzz — someone able to seize the moment — could have thought of a plan like this.

He was confident in saying so.

This kind of tactic could only work for someone like Minami Yuji; any other actor attempting it would fail.

Because if it were any other actor—

first, no amount of money could buy them the same level of attention Minami Yuji naturally drew from the public.

Second — and this was the most critical point—

they simply didn't have the acting talent that Minami Yuji did.

That was true.

You could say Minami Yuji was drumming up hype.

But you couldn't deny it — his talent really was that strong!

That he'd swept the top three ratings spots last year was an unshakable, ironclad fact. The award really did belong to him — anyone else picked in his place would simply be undeserving.

Not convinced?

Then keep your mouth shut.

That was the confidence that came from being leagues ahead in both skill and fame!

Honestly, Toshirou Kindaichi had seen countless actors in his time, but this was the first time he'd seen anyone leverage their acting talent to such an extreme degree.

This time, he was genuinely impressed.

He even found himself curious about what interesting things might happen at Saturday's Television Drama Academy Awards.

Because the hype had now been fully stoked to its peak.

So how would the Television Drama Academy Awards respond?

Would they stick to their original plan and push through with the internal adjustment?

It really was something to look forward to...