Chapter 65: A Part-Time Job Offer
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 65: A Part-Time Job Offer
"Sunbae, would you be interested in a part-time job?"
Minato Nao, who had suddenly joined our table, looked at me as she spoke.
"A part-time job?"
It was a completely unexpected offer.
As I blinked, unsure what she meant, Minato Nao let out a soft chuckle and explained.
"Actually, I'm currently filming a youth drama set in a school. We need someone for a minor role as the leader of a group of delinquents, and you came to mind, Kim Yoo-Sung Sunbae, so I recommended you to the director."
"...Me?"
This was the first time I'd ever met Minato Nao, a first-year student. We'd never even exchanged a single word, which only made me more bewildered.
"You might not know me well, sunbae, but I've known about you since I enrolled. Even if I don't come to school often, I'm not so out of it that I wouldn't recognize someone from the student council. Besides, you're the type who stands out even from a distance, right?"
I couldn't deny what she said. Most people who met me once remembered my face the next time they saw me.
But that was that, and this was this.
"I've never acted before. I'd probably just be a nuisance if I tried."
"You just have to show up and say one line. The camera director will cover the rest with their directing."
I wanted to refuse politely, but she was incredibly persistent.
As I wondered how to get rid of this perplexing junior, Minato Nao glanced at my face and took out her smartphone.
Then, she showed me the contents of a messenger window.
"If you agree to appear, we can offer you this much for the appearance fee."
The chat window she showed me had "50,000 yen" written in it.
"...Really?"
My eyes went wide.
It was a small amount compared to the money Sasha had given me, but for a regular student making a brief appearance in a minor role, it was quite a lot.
"The director said he could pay you more if he likes your acting, so I don't think it'll be a loss for you."
"Ugh."
Having a realistic sum of money dangled in front of me made me hesitate. I'd already spent most of the 2 million yen Sasha gave me on setting up my home gym, so the offer was quite tempting.
And I needed to buy a new coat, too.
Feeling like I'd be swayed by her sweet talk if I stayed any longer, I decided to make a strategic retreat.
Scrape!
"Can I think about it a little more and get back to you? I don't think it's something I can decide on the spot."
"I don't mind, but I'd appreciate it if you could decide by today. The next shoot is just a few days away. If you refuse, we'll have to find another actor."
"...Alright."
After I nodded, I picked up my empty lunch tray to leave the cafeteria, which was when Satoru, who had been frozen like a statue, finally snapped out of it.
"Ah, wait! Yoo-Sung-ah! C-Could I possibly get an autograph?"
Minato Nao smiled kindly and nodded.
"Of course. Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?"
"Ah, no."
"Hehe, that's a relief. This happens a lot at school, so I carry them with me."
With that, Minato Nao took out a notepad, signed a page, and tore it out for him.
"Thank you! I'll treasure it for the rest of my life!"
"I'd be honored if you did."
Minato Nao gave a slight bow and then stood up from her seat, following me.
She held out her smartphone and said, "In that case, could I get your email address, sunbae? I'll need it to contact you."
"Sure."
I did as she suggested and we smoothly exchanged IDs.
"I should send my answer here, right?"
"Yes, that's right. And if it's you, Kim Yoo-Sung Sunbae, I'm always okay with personal chats too."
Minato Nao teased me with a bold tone, then put her sunglasses back on.
"Well then, I'll be going now. It was nice talking with you today."
Just as she had arrived, she vanished like the wind.
I had been planning to leave first, but somehow she'd beaten me to it.
I glanced down at my smartphone, now with Minato Nao's messenger ID registered, then decided to head back to the classroom with Satoru, who was still lost in his happiness.
*
"What?! Ryu-chan is going to be on TV?!"
"No, I just got an offer for a minor role. I haven't even accepted it."
When I mentioned my conversation with Minato Nao during break time, Rika's eyes lit up.
"If it's the drama Minato Nao is currently in, it must be that one! ~The Blue~ School Youth Apocalypse!"
"What in the world is that?"
The naming sense was completely baffling. Why were "youth" and "apocalypse" in the same sentence?
"Huh? You don't know, Ryu-chan? It's based on a super famous manga."
"If it wasn't serialized in Jump, I wouldn't know."
"Ah, well, can't be helped then. The Blue was serialized in Shonen Magazine."
Rika, an authority on shonen manga, stroked an imaginary beard as she spoke.
"It's a surprisingly deep story about a passionate new teacher who rehabilitates delinquent students while tackling social issues. Minato Nao plays a student in the main character's class."
"Sounds like something teens and people in their twenties would like."
"Isn't that how most school stories are? I really enjoyed the original work, too."
Rika grinned, then rested her chin on her desk and asked, "So, are you going to do it?"
"I'm still thinking about it."
As I said that and prepared for the next class, something occurred to me and I asked, "By the way, what were you three talking about during lunch?"
"Huh?"
For a moment, Rika had a blank expression on her face. But she quickly waved her hands dismissively as if nothing had happened.
"Nothing much, really. We were just chatting about this and that because we wanted to get to know each other better as girls."
"Really?"
It seemed like it was nothing more than I thought. They always ate lunch with me, but today they'd suddenly decided to eat by themselves, so I thought something might have happened.
"Well, that's a relief. I was wondering if I'd have to eat alone tomorrow."
Satoru was popular in our class and always had plans. It was just a coincidence that he was free today; otherwise, I would have been eating alone again, just like at the beginning of the semester.
Well, if I went to the student council room, the members would probably eat with me, but that would be an imposition in its own way.
Scrape!
"Alright, time to study. The teacher's here."
Rika, who had been in the middle of our conversation, took out her notebook and pencil case.
Watching her, I took my science textbook out of my bag.
It was the last class of the day.
*
Minato Nao was a celebrity.
A famous one, at that—the kind most people in Japan would recognize with an "Oh, her?" if you mentioned her name.
She began her acting career at the age of six.
Her first role was the young daughter of a supporting character in a weekend drama.
Influenced by her actress mother, she had frequented theater companies as if they were her playground since she was a child, and she possessed a natural talent for acting.
With skills that stood out among her peers, she quickly gained fame for her versatile acting spectrum and became active in various fields.
She had appeared in over ten commercials to date.
And last year, after playing the main character's younger sister in a movie, she earned the title of "the Nation's Little Sister" and was currently at the peak of her career.
But this Minato Nao had a secret.
It was that she was a huge fan of "muscles."
Her muscle fetish awakened a year ago, right after she saw a clip of the Mr. Olympia competition shown as a reference on a variety show.
Living, breathing muscles that looked like they belonged on a Greek statue.
The physical beauty that could only emanate from a body trained to its absolute limit.
The muscles, glistening a coppery brown under the oil, set the 15-year-old girl's heart ablaze.
Ever since then, the adolescent girl had kept her secret preference to herself, not revealing it to her family or even her manager.
Instead of reading fashion magazines like other girls her age, she read macho-scented fitness magazines, and her interest eventually led her to devour all sorts of videos related to domestic and international fitness competitions.
Her body was that of a slender high school girl, but her knowledge on the subject was no different from that of the machos who preferred protein over carbs.
It was around the time Minato Nao's muscle fetish was gradually intensifying.
At the Ichijo Academy High School entrance ceremony, which she had barely managed to attend amidst her busy schedule, she discovered a man who perfectly matched her ideal type.
'Kim Yoo-Sung.'
The student council's secret weapon, who was practically a famous figure at the academy.
Witnessing his firm, trained physique—one that couldn't be built without overwhelming talent and bone-grinding effort—Minato Nao thanked God for the first time.
Thanked him for allowing her to come to this school.
Afterward, despite her hectic schedule, she began to gather various pieces of information about him in her spare time.
Someone else might have called it stalking, but she felt she was in the clear. She had gathered it strictly through a private investigation agency, so it wasn't something she had done herself.
She had never even properly spoken to him, but as she was nurturing her one-sided love for Kim Yoo-Sung—
She received a call from the private investigator she had assigned to him.
He said he had captured some incredible footage today.