That's right.
It appears Yashiro has come down with a terrible cold.
I asked her to fill in as your substitute manager.
Yeah, just to follow you around on location.
Huh?
Yeah, I know you don't need her, but please bear with me.
Sir, you have a guest.
Okay.
Well, that's all.
I'm counting on you, Ren.
Wai-
Um...
Is something wrong?
I think back to my days as a child, looking up at the sky.
There was one star in particular that shone more than the rest.
I guess somewhere I gave up, saying "dreams are just that - dreams."
But looking at that star fiercely burning gives me renewed vigor!
I can find comfort in the frigid winds.
They give me the push I need to advance!
I will change the world!
When the world gives me lemons, I'll make lemonade!
I'll use all my heart-pounding anxiety regarding my future
and sprout myself some wings!
My star will soar so high that no one can touch me!
Shining like a star!
Together in the Minefield
You can go home.
Eh?
I'll be okay by myself.
What? I can't!
Supervisor Matsushima asked me to take care of you!
There's nothing for you to take care of.
Besides, there's nothing you can do for me as my manager.
For one thing, you can't do it by yourself.
How rude.
I could handle the role of being your manager.
Eh?
Really?
No.
No!!!
There he goes again with that fake, lying smile.
Why do I always step on minefields with open arms?
If you insist that much...
Don't come any closer! Don't come!
If that's the case, then why don't you show me?
Uh...
U- Uh...
I want to see you work so hard that I'll be forced to thank you.
No!!!
What?
Ren's substitute manager?
Yeah.
It seems she was asked to fill-in this morning.
Huh? I see.
Aww...
Mr. President, if you need to contact Ms. Mogami for any reason, she does have a cell phone.
What?!
Alright! Then tell me her number!
Bravo!
Br-Bravo!
Give me her number! Yay!
Do you have anything else you'd like to add, then?
Nothing else in particular.
Book title: Manager's Duties
I didn't do a single thing this morning. Nothing that felt like something an actual manager does anyway.
All I did was stand with him.
However...
I did organize his hard schedule.
Maybe sometime this evening, I'll be able to do more manager-like things!
Thank you very much.
No, the pleasure's mine.
Good work!
I should carry your...
No way! I can't let a girl carry my stuff for me.
Hey... Tsuruga wait!
But it's my job!
Ren Carries His Own Stuff
Sorry, let's hurry!
I should be the one protecting you!
Ren Protects Her
I apologize for my manager.
Sorry! Someone told me to hold onto this and I suddenly lost my balance.
A substitute manager? I thought you were a laborer.
You must be having a hard time, Tsuraga.
Ren Apologizes for Her
I've always admired your work, Mr. Tsuruga.
That makes me happy.
Hey! Don't you be making things up now!
Dangerous
Do Not Touch!!
Ah, this is worse than it was this morning.
Hey, she is Tsuruga's substitute manager.
Eh? I'm so jealous. I want to trade spots with her.
I would love to hang around with him all day!
There they go again...
She's so lucky!
Wh-What is so lucky about this?!
You... You have no idea how uncomfortable this is!
I'm at my limit!
Talking is Strictly Prohibited in the Car
It seems like he's been angry this whole time.
Just as I thought...
Um...
I'm sorry!
Hm? What?
I took the job of managing too lightly and felt I was really imposing on your work.
I'm really sorry!
You already said that.
Eh?
I'm not angry, so there's really no need to apologize twice.
No, you're lying!
Why else would there be so much tension in the air?
*He's still mad.*
*He's been angry this whole time.*
*100% mad!*
Is my fantasy antenna being deceived?
Huh? What was that noise?
Oh? Could it be that you're hungry?
Eh?
N-No... I mean... Yes.
Ah! Sorry! I had no idea it was so late.
No doubt you'd be hungry.
Alright then, let's find a place to eat.
U-Uh... But...
It's fine, we're right on schedule.
We've got time to stop for a bite.
Ah! His smile isn't lying this time.
I wonder why.
I don't see a reason to be angry at someone who realizes their mistakes.
That alone, you see, is enough for me to excuse them.
Oh... It all makes sense.
That's just the way he is.
But, then, what is he actually angry about?
What would you like to eat?
Eh?
Uh- Um... Whatever you like is fine with me.
Okay. Then...
Boiled Frogs.
No!!!
Acting Department
Eh? So that's why she was assigned to him.
Yeah.
Basically, it's just to make sure Ren eats properly.
In other words, she's more or less someone to make sure he eats, as opposed to being a manager.
Ren's known for his compassion he shows towards others.
I know that he won't be able to let a girl eat out all alone, right?
But, I've heard of a rumor. Where if he goes a long time between meals, then he...
Wow! I wonder how many months it has been...
I'm complete!
This is your last chance.
What do you want to eat?
Ha-Hamburger!
With a fried egg on top!
I love hamburgers!
Corn!
Look! Corn!
Look! This rock looks just like a hamburger.
This one does too!
This one too.
That one too! Wow!
This must be the Hamburger Kingdom, right?
Then, this one is?
Eh?
Your Majesty, King Hamburger. It's nice to see you doing well.
Huh? Mr. Tsuruga, is something wrong?
Huh? Ah, no...
It just looked like you were really enjoying it.
It is delicious.
Seems like it is, right?
W-What was that?
Hey, he looks just like him.
Huh? But this is just a family restaurant.
Ren Tsuruga would never come here.
Not good!
There's no need to rush.
Who's rushing?
Also, look at the girl he's with.
It's some sort of work uniform, how bizarre.
Yeah, yeah. It probably does look bizarre.
But look, she's probably the same age as us.
Maybe she's trying to dress up.
Eh? Unbelievable.
If you're going to wear something like that, why not just wear your school uniform?
Yeah, get real.
We can only sport the high school look for long. She's wasting her youth.
She's a failure as a high school student.
Damn you...
If only... If only...
If only I wasn't fooled by that jerk, I'd be peacefully enjoying my second year of high school!
Flower Girl: High School Girl
Shotaro...
Whenever I think about you, my hatred for you makes me go over the edge!
Whoa! O-Oh damn!
Ren Left
Love Me!
I did it again.
I have to stop thinking about Shotaro.
A-Again he's mad. Why? What is it now?
High school.
Huh?
I've never asked you about it before, but you never went to high school, did you?
Ugh.
He asked me the last thing in the world I would ever want to talk about.
Is the reason for that... Sho Fuwa?
I was just a mere stepping stone for him on his way to show business.
That's why I will definitely become a bigger star than him and force him to say, "I shouldn't have dumped you."
So that's why you're studying acting.
Eh?
I'm sure you have your reasons.
But if that's your motivation for acting, as a fellow actor, I find it disgusting.
This tense atmosphere.
This is it! This is why he's been so angry!
N-No! I'm studying acting because-
Did you forget that we're in the car?
O-Oh-h y-yeah, I f-forgot about this.
Hello?
Ms. Mogami, I hate you!
Mr. President!
I've been trying to reach you since this morning, why haven't you answered?!
Sorry! I've never owned a cell phone before, so I'm not used to it...
I was going to give you some good news too...
Good news, huh?
Ms. Mogami don't you want to go to...
High school?
Huh?
High school, my dear. High school.
Wha-
What did I tell you?
An acquaintance of mine is a principal at a school with a performing arts program.
They'll let you enroll late.
And of course, they understand that you're in showbiz with a schedule to follow.
I get to go to high school?!
There's an entrance exam with basic review of what you learned in middle school.
So, just review that and you'll be okay.
To high school!
How about it Ms. Mogami? Interested?
Y-Yes, sir. Please!
H-Huh? What was that sound?
T-this problem... I know I've seen it somewhere before.
That's right, that time I was tricked by your audacity and got another deep wound in my heart!
A one-in-a-million chance for revenge! I'll get revenge for that day!
Tsuruga, what's up with her?
Oh, she has an exam soon.
She's emitting this spine-chilling aura.
Damn you, damn you! I'll do this. Now, next!
I couldn't get 100% again.
Mom is going to be mad at me again.
Why am I such an idiot?
Now that I think about it, someone who's never gotten below an 80 would never be called an idiot, huh?
I just realized that.
She's an idiot after all
Well, I was brainwashed, after all.
I was always mercilessly told how stupid I was.
There were no "good grades" or "bad grades" in my life.
I was only praised if I got 100%.
If I was unable to meet my mothers expectations, then that alone made me a failure.
Cut!
Yumiko, can you redo that last line?
Yes, sir.
Please hold on, I'll write it down again.
He cleared his throat again?
He's been doing that a lot today.
Could it be...
That's highly unusual.
What are you doing?
Mr. Tsuruga, you just put milk and sugar in your tea, didn't you?
Why is that?
Huh? I just felt like it, that's all.
You're lying.
I asked around and the people who know you told me.
Be it coffee or tea, you always drink it straight.
What are you? A detective?
But you're right, I am feeling a bit tired.
So, I decided to drink it this way.
Oh? So you're the type whenever you get tired, your throat gets worn out?
No, this is the first time this has happened.
It feels like there is something caught in there, right?
Whenever you swallow, the back of your throat feels itchy.
How did you know? It feels just like that.
Do you know what those symptoms point to?
What?
A cold.
T-That's not something worth laughing over. Those are the early signs of a cold!
Why not take some medicine before it gets any worse?
That's okay.
I'm quite proud of the fact that I've never caught a cold before.
Don't hang onto your glorious past.
You have a cold!
You're wrong.
A cold.
You're wrong!
Why are you denying that you have a cold?
You too. Why do you keep insisting I have one?
I'm not trying to convince you. You do have one.
You probably caught it from Mr. Yashiro.
That makes it even more unlikely.
I'm not sneezing like him, nor do I have a fever.
H-He's really being evasive about this. What are you, a kid?
Well, let's put it like this...
If I wake up tomorrow, and I'm sneezing with a running fever like Yashiro, then you're right about it being a cold.
You're not going to treat it? By the time you have a fever, it'll be too late.
I train my body, so I'll be just fine.
What are you going to do if you can't make it to work?
Not going to happen.
You'll end up crying later.
I won't cry.
You're definitely going to regret this!
Will not.
See! Just as I thought.
Why did I have to catch a cold?
You're still sulking?
Mr. Tsuraga, Supervisor Mastsushima told me himself.
"Well, I figured if you were with him, he'd eat properly."
"He doesn't know how to take care of his own body."
To be blunt, you're a failure as a professional.
No!!!
Ah! I can't believe that you, of all people, is saying that.
Frozen Tundra of Despair
Ugh! Mr. Tsuruga, I don't know how well you train your body, but merely toning your outward appearance is not how to stay healthy.
I understand you're a busy man, but you still need to eat properly.
And you haven't even taken your medicine yet!
Sorry.
Eh? What?
You're 100% right.
I was too overconfident.
I'm embarrassed.
Seeing how it turned out, I should have listened to what you said in the first place.
Something like that.
When he says something so naturally, I can't help but think that he sure is mature.
He's evasive, like a child.
But yet, he's able to apologize so naturally.
Even though he's so disgusted with me...
We still have a misunderstanding, right?
Regarding Shotaro and how I'm studying acting to get revenge.
Huh? That tingling aura he's giving off...
I've felt this before, long ago.
I'm sure that was when he said...
Don't assume that having a lot of guts will get you past every obstacle.
That's right...
At that time...
He was angry because I joined showbiz for the sake of getting revenge on Shotaro.
That must be why he was mean to me right from the beginning.
Preparing for the rain scene.
Eh? A rain scene?!
Yeah.
Ah! Absolutely not!
What do you think will happen if you get soaking wet? Your cold will get worse.
Hm...There's nothing I can do about that.
I asked for it.
That's...
Looks like we've got some great clouds.
The rain scene will be no problem at all with these.
Hurry up! Time is money.
Today is the only day we have this location.
Incoming rain!
Even if I collapse, I'll keep acting to the best of my ability until they get the best take possible.
Ready!
Start!
Right up to the moment I lose consciousness.
It's true, I was surely the one at fault.
But I just don't understand!
There's something wrong with that person!
It's extremely spacious.
Ah! Darn, I said it again.
Cut!
Yumiko, it's suspicious not spacious.
Don't worry about it, we're counting on you!
I'm so sorry!
That's the third damn take...
Why can't she pronounce "suspicious" correctly?
His face is so pale...
It they can't cancel the shoot, I should at least ask for a break.
Since it's not working out, shall we take five?
We can't, Director.
Huh?
Eh?
We don't have enough time to take a break.
What?
Yukimo, it's alright. You'll get it this time around.
Sure.
Mr.Tsuruga, you're the one who needs the break the most!
Suspicious...Suspicious...Suspicious...Suspicious...
Don't worry about the others or myself.
Shall we go?
Mr. Tsuruga, thank you.
Just as I thought, he's only so harsh on me.
I see.
All right!
Roll the cameras!
Ready.
Start.
Dressing room - Mr. Ren Tsuruga
Eh? Um...
Mr. Tsuruga?
Please get up.
His fever has risen!
W-What should I do?
No matter how many thousand times we cry, we'll get through it.
But pretending to be clumsy and turning tail is not an option.
Though I'm sure you know that already.
We're not afraid of blowing our last chance.
Sadness, woefulness, and affection will all find their remedies someday.
Somedays things don't go my way,
so I lie to myself that everything is A-OK.
But something inside me is about to burst and tears will come flowing out.
Unable to be honest.
Unable to put on my true face.
If I keep running away from my problems,
no one will ever understand my feelings.
But it's not over till the fat lady sings, in fact it hasn't even begun!
I've yet to find the answer, I haven't given up yet.
I have yet to fully appreciate the joy of what it means to be me.
I stand here alone, my future awaiting.
All those tear-filled days are over. We're going to be strong once again.
But pretending to be a coward and turning tail is not an option.
Though I'm sure you know that already.
Knock us over a million times, we'll get right back up.
Your voice will guide me as I continue journeying onward.