Chapter 29
"...No way."
Ye-rin flat-out rejected me before I could even explain.
Judging by her furrowed brow, it seemed the Tokyo Game Show memories were resurfacing.
"Come on, just one more time? No more, no less?"
"Senior, you seem to have forgotten, but I still have that wish coupon you gave me at the Tokyo Game Show, you know?"
"...That's why I'm asking for just this one favor."
After my repeated pleas, Ye-rin's face lit up as if she'd had a brilliant idea.
"I'll do the cosplay if you grant one of my wishes too, Senior. How about that?"
"Alright. What do you want?"
Ye-rin replied with a triumphant expression.
"You have to cosplay with me, Senior."
"Sure."
"You can refuse if... Wait, what?"
"I said let's do it together. The cosplay."
Had Ye-rin expected me to hesitate or refuse? She asked again, visibly flustered.
"Are... are you really okay with this?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Ha, alright then. So what kind of cosplay are we doing?"
"What kind of cosplay do you do in December? This, obviously."
I showed Ye-rin a photo to satisfy her curiosity about the cosplay subject. It was the draft of the Christmas Igrek skin she had approved.
"This is... the draft I sent you?"
"Yep. We're doing Santa cosplay."
"...What kind of event are we attending that requires both you and me to do Santa cosplay?"
"Well, you see..."
As I explained the reason behind the cosplay, Ye-rin's expression soured.
"So... we've been invited as special guests for a Christmas special broadcast, and the condition is Santa cosplay?"
"Exactly."
"Then why didn't you just say from the beginning that it wasn't just me doing it? Why did you have to be so..."
"Well, because it's fun?"
At those words, Ye-rin's expression turned quite nasty as she clenched her fists.
"Uh, Ye-rin?"
"Senior..."
"..."
"This kind of prank... just this once, okay?"
"Yeah..."
And so, the small commotion ended with my apology.
Ye-rin looked at me with disdain and asked,
"So when's the filming?"
"Next Monday. We're shooting at SFLAG's studio, so we need to head to Japan this weekend."
"Is there anything we need to prepare separately?"
"Not really. We're just going to pop in for a quick chat during the second part's guest segment."
"Well... that sounds manageable."
"Right?"
Ye-rin nodded at that and stood up.
"Can I go back now, then?"
"Oh, Ye-rin, wait a sec."
The conversation had veered off track, and I almost forgot.
I handed Ye-rin a stack of papers that had been sitting next to the monitor.
"What's this?"
"The script for this video. As you'll see, all our lines are blank."
"Really?"
Ye-rin checked the script after hearing that.
"You're right."
"From what I heard, they want to know about behind-the-scenes stories of skin creation. It'll be easier if you prepare along those lines."
Ye-rin quietly nodded at that.
Well, even without this heads-up, she was the kind of junior who'd handle things well on her own, so I wasn't particularly worried.
"Then I'll really be going now."
"Alright."
*
A week flew by in the blink of an eye, and the day of the business trip arrived.
After picking up Ye-rin in front of the company, we arrived at the airport.
We quickly completed check-in and boarded the plane, and before we knew it, we were at Narita Airport.
I've been in and out of Japan so often that I could probably go through immigration with my eyes closed now.
If anything, Tokyo felt more familiar than Seoul at this point.
After Ye-rin finished her immigration process, we headed to Shinjuku,
and after walking for about 10 more minutes, we arrived at the studio where the filming would take place.
"Senior, you've gotten good at finding your way around. Didn't you get terribly lost during the game show?"
"Anyone would end up like me if they came to Tokyo for business trips as often as I do."
I shrugged and entered the studio. As if everything had been arranged in advance, a staff member greeted us.
"Welcome. Are you Director Ji Ho-jin and Director Lee Ye-rin?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Yes, we are."
"Please wear these visitor badges and go up to the third floor."
We put on the badges the staff handed us and went up to the third floor, where Tanaka was waiting to greet us.
"It's been a while, Director Ji."
"It has, Tanaka-san. Have you been well?"
"Oh, you know, nothing special. It's been a while, Director Lee, too."
"Hello."
After exchanging greetings with us, Tanaka led us to the waiting room.
"Have both of you checked the script?"
"Ah, yes."
"Then I'll skip the explanation and introduce you to the broadcast cast members."
As we followed Tanaka into the waiting room, quite a few people were there to greet us.
I thought the atmosphere would be tense since it was a broadcast waiting room, but everyone seemed cheerful, probably because it wasn't a live broadcast.
Among them, a jovial man in his 30s wearing horn-rimmed glasses approached us first, offering a handshake and greeting.
"Hello. I'm Nakaoka Kenzo, the MC for today's special broadcast. You're Director Ji Ho-jin from Girls Memorial, right?"
"Ah, yes, that's correct."
"And this is Director Lee Ye-rin?"
"Hello."
"You're both quite fluent in Japanese."
After shaking hands with both of us, Kenzo laughed heartily and bowed his head slightly.
"I'm really enjoying Girls Memorial these days. Especially Karin in the Halloween event was really—"
Kenzo continued praising Girls Memorial as if to prove his words weren't just empty flattery,
and the conversation only ended when Tanaka, who was standing nearby, finally intervened.
"This guy gets really passionate once he's into something... I'm sorry."
"It's fine. We're grateful that he genuinely loves our game."
"Haha... Well then, shall we go meet the voice actors?"
As we followed Tanaka deeper into the waiting room, there were two voice actors finishing up their makeup.
"First, this is Rina-san. You've met before, Director, right?"
Checking the face at Tanaka's words, it was indeed Takahashi Risa, whom I had met for a meeting a month ago.
Rina seemed surprised that I was the guest too, and despite being in the middle of makeup, she bowed her head in greeting.
"Are you appearing in the filming of today's broadcast too, Director?"
"Ah, yes. Somehow it turned out that way."
"I hadn't heard anything about there being a special guest..."
"I hadn't heard who the filming guest was today either."
Hearing this, Rina shook her head with an incredulous smile.
"Looks like they planned a surprise event. Anyway, Director, thank you for last time."
"What do you..."
"The filming job."
"Ah..."
"I had been losing motivation for voice acting and was thinking about quitting... but after that new experience, I found myself full of enthusiasm again. It's thanks to you, Director."
Looking at Rina after hearing her words, she did seem to have become much more proactive compared to before our meeting.
"Oh, I've been talking too much about myself. If it's not too much trouble, may I introduce the next guest?"
Tanaka nodded readily at Rina's question.
"This is Kouno Shiromi, Karin's voice actor and the youngest in our agency. Shiromi?"
At Rina's call, the woman behind her rushed forward, grabbed my hand, and said,
"Hello! I'm Kouno Shiromi, Karin's voice actor! Nice to meet ya!"
My first impression of Shiromi was intense.
In contrast to Rina, who gave off a calm OL vibe, Shiromi was the epitome of a gyaru.
Maybe it was because of her hairstyle—black, shoulder-length hair with red highlights.
"I've heard a lot about ya from Rina-nee. She said you're a kind person, and it seems she was right!"
"Shi-Shiromi!"
Flustered by Shiromi's sudden outburst, Rina hurriedly covered Shiromi's mouth.
"Mmph, mmph..."
"This girl... When did I ever say such things... Right, Shiromi?"
*Nod, nod*
Only after nodding vigorously did Shiromi manage to break free from Rina's grasp, gasping for air.
"I... I almost died. Director, please forget what I said earlier..."
I could only nod at Shiromi's desperate plea.
"Understood."
As the situation concluded like this, a momentary silence fell over the waiting room.
Shiromi, who should have been setting the mood, quieted down while watching Rina's reactions, and Rina kept glancing at me nervously because of Shiromi's unexpected outburst.
This awkward atmosphere only ended when Kenzo, who had finished preparing for the broadcast, came in.
"Huh? Did something happen? Why is the atmosphere..."
I shook my head at Kenzo's question and said,
"It's nothing. Is there something going on?"
"Ah, first of all, the filming director is looking for Rina-san and Shiromi-san. You should hurry over."
"Yes, yes!"
The two brightened at Kenzo's words and hurriedly left their seats.
Kenzo tilted his head at their behavior and then handed Santa costumes to Ye-rin and me.
"Both of you can change into these."
"Thank you."
"They're free size, so they should fit, but if there's any problem with the costume, please let the studio staff know right away."
"Ah, yes."
"Then I'll head out first. Please wait in the waiting room once you've changed."
After Kenzo finished speaking and left the waiting room, I turned to Ye-rin and said,
"Shall we go change then?"
"Yes."