Chapter 1 - My Cassiopeia!
"Next up, Hiiragi Ren."
Wait. Hiiragi? That name seems familiar somehow.
"Yes!" a boisterous voice erupted, distracting me from my own thoughts.
The voice belonged to a young lady who was right about my age. She was seated at the far left, yet she managed to grab everyone's attention.
When I first glanced at her minutes ago, she seemed like an average girl who just happened to wear something chic in a deliberate attempt to impress. Her unusually lengthy hair was crudely done, and her face didn't bear any remarkable features. However, as soon as she stood up to face the judges, her entire atmosphere completely changed.
It was as if I were witnessing something unraveling before me. Her eyes were sparkling and radiant, resembling that of my mother's. That's why in my mind, I already knew I had lost this battle.
"Start anytime. Show us what you've got," the director announced in a yielding manner.
The girl named Ren then stood there, frozen stiff like a porcelain doll. A veil of complete silence covered the room for a solid minute. All of the people in the room, including myself, were wondering what was going on.
Didn't she know that this was a serious audition? If so, what the heck is going on through her head right now?
But then, I noticed something odd.
Her body was immobile, but her face was showing neither fear nor anxiety. It was the look of sheer determination.
This girl didn't have stage fright. She was preparing for her performance.
The director wasn't even attempting to mask his impatience due to the situation at hand. He was about to pull the plug when suddenly...
The girl collapsed on her knees, breaking the silent air with a thud.
"Don't kill her!"
We were all speechless. Her words alone gave me shivers up my spine. This girl's atmosphere had changed once more.
She then began to stand up with her head hanging low. I couldn't see her face at all because of her hair, but I could still somehow sense the intense emotion it contained.
This was the part where the actor was supposed to be crying and typically, they would just shed crocodile tears to replicate the emotion.
However, we heard actual sobbing. This girl was crying with her fists tightly clenched. We all felt the same sadness and frustration that she was feeling. My hands could even feel the pain from her nails digging into flesh. It was absolutely surreal.
Isn't this what they call method acting? This is what my mother specializes in.
To summarize, method acting is a technique which uses real-life experiences to invoke an emotional and expressive performance. It requires lots of training and can even take years to master. It is not as simple as flipping a switch, but this girl managed to do it like it was a breeze.
Just as I thought, her skill level was insane. How come I've never heard of her before?
Hiiragi Ren...
"Amazing!" The director quickly stood up and gave a brief round of applause in delight, which was then followed by the other staff members.
I clapped for her stunning performance as well.
"Your acting took my breath away, quite literally, in fact. I don't think I could breathe any air all throughout," he jested.
The director then sat back down and rummaged through the clumsy-looking stack of papers in front of him. My heart leapt within my chest since I knew that I was next.
I was the final person to be called today.
"Last one. Momoshiro Kohane."
"Y-Yes!" I quickly stood up and replied loudly, albeit with a light stutter.
Hearing my name was a curse that I've been carrying since I was born into this world. Momoshiro. My mother, being a world-famous actor expects great things from her only child. Of course, I have no other choice but to deliver.
"No need to be nervous. Start whenever you feel like it," the director said to me.
I felt the immense pressure emanating from his unbroken gaze, but I refused to cave in so easily.
I am completely aware that I'm being watched right now. This is supposed to be my performance. I already knew that it could never match Hiiragi Ren's, but I still had to do my best or else all my effort would mean nothing.
This performance was no longer about my mother or the movie auditions. It is a bigger part of my life than I could ever imagine. This is an initiation into my life as an actor. There is no room for error.
Breathe in and exhale.
My body soon moved on its own, and I could hear my own voice spill out. My entire focus was on the scene playing inside my head. All of me — my limbs, my mouth and my eyes were simply reflecting the exact same images of that scene.
I let my emotions flow freely like a stream during early spring, and at times, I could see the crowd completely allured.
Embrace my entirety.
This is me. This is my passion.
Acting is my passion.
Before I knew it, my motions had ceased, and I was sweating quite profusely. I then faced the director and saw that he was left unimpressed by my performance.
"Uh...Momoshiro-san. You're the daughter of Chiyoko herself yet how come you're completely different from her?"
Honestly, I can't blame him for saying such a thing. I know nothing about my mother's acting, so I had to learn the basics from scratch. The only time I ever see her face is on the movies she premieres in. Behind the screen, I see an actor and not a mother.
"Now, now. She's still young. Give her some time and she'll grow. I'd say that her performance just now wasn't too shabby," a middle-aged man in a suit remarked.
His white hair didn't ring any bells, but both his posture and tone showed a level of high importance, so I assumed that he was the producer of the movie. Either that or he's the executive of a sponsoring company.
"I won't deny that," the director scoffed at his comment.
Then, we were all surprised by an unexpected sound. It was the sound of clapping.
After giving such a grand performance, the girl named Ren was clapping for me with a genuine smile on her face. Was she mocking me for my lack of skill or was it an attempt to gain even more attention to herself? For the very first time, I couldn't see through another person's actions.
Indeed, this girl was a complete mystery.
She then tied her hair into a ponytail and put on a pair of worn-out round eyeglasses. As soon as she faced us, everyone wore a look of shock. She transformed into an entirely different person in less than a minute.
Is she actually who I think she is?
The girls beside me began to whisper to each other. All of a sudden, the director's face turned pale, and he shouted from the top of his lungs.
"It's Seira! Kuroyama Seira!"
I knew it. This level of acting could only be expected from such a high-caliber personality. She was so good that she even managed to fool everyone with her disguise.
She's the adopted daughter of renowned director and filmmaker, Kuroyama Sumiji who has won countless awards in both Japan and overseas. Both of her parents are unknown, but there are rumors circulating that she might be the child of the legend, Yonagi Kei herself. Many even go as far as saying that Kuroyama Seira is fated to be her successor.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't help but see the fresh faces of our soon-to-be stars," she said teasingly.
The director immediately stood up and went to shake her hand. From what I've heard, getting to meet Seira for business matters is already a rarity in itself. This means that her showing up unannounced like this and showcasing her talent is certainly a one-in-a-million chance event.
"No wonder you delivered such an unparalleled performance! I could hardly believe it myself!" the director exclaimed.
I could see Seira's flushed face as she was greeted by numerous staff members. Even the paparazzi showed up out of nowhere, flashing their pesky cameras.
"This audition is for the movie made in honor of Yonagi Kei so of course I'd be here. If Pops were still with us, he'd come too," she said.
Yonagi Kei. This name embodies the very essence of an actor. Japan became one of the leading film producers all because of her refined talent. I also heard that she and my mother were friends when she was still part of Stars Agency.
Her claim to fame is shrouded in mystery, but many attribute it to Kuroyama Sumiji, the man who discovered her potential. Throughout her career, she pushed forward without ever stopping, and that's how she reached the very summit. Unfortunately, her time had come and now, the entire film industry is mourning the loss of a great icon. Yonagi Kei's films continue to inspire many actors today.
I'm one of them, and that's why I have to get this role no matter what.
"It was a surprise for sure! So what'd you think of the ladies today?" the director asked her.
For several seconds, she was deep in thought until she approached my seat and crouched to make direct eye contact with me. Her hazel eyes were so pretty that I became entranced with them and couldn't avert her gaze.
What the heck is she trying to do?!
"Momoshiro Kohane?"
My lips began to quiver, and I couldn't get a single word out of my dry throat. I just ended up pathetically nodding my head.
"Kohane-chan. To be honest, you've impressed me today," she softly uttered.
Hold on. I impressed her?
"It's so cute how you displayed such a show of poise moments ago, but now you're acting all flustered when I'm this close to your face."
Okay. She's just teasing me at this point.
"Whenever I act, my co-stars tend to give up. They witness my talent and end up feeling like they're not worthy. It's similar to soldiers surrendering when they're overwhelmed by a stronger force."
"However, you showed me the complete opposite. In fact, you even used my performance as a push to make yourself better. You shone like a beautiful angel."
"I loved that."
Why is she so damn frank about things like this? I may be a fellow girl, but I'm still sensitive to excessive flattery!
"Wow. Your face is as red as a tomato," she teased me again and chuckled.
It was hopeless. In my state, I couldn't fire any comebacks. I might as well surrender.
"That's enough, Seira. You're obviously just teasing her now," the white-haired man from before interrupted.
"Eh. I was seriously impressed though," she said while finally backing off.
At last, I could breathe easy.
"Hoshi-san. I've decided!"
Hoshi... Wait. Hoshi Akira?! The head of the Stars Agency?! Well, since Seira's here right now, I guess it makes sense that he's here too.
"Huh? You're not even in this movie," he sighed.
"No, not for this movie. I've decided to make Kohane-chan my successor!"
"What?!" I couldn't help but cry out in disbelief.
She then pointed at me and shouted
"I've finally found my Cassiopeia!"
XXX
Author's Notes pt. 1:
Thank you for reading! To be honest, I intended this to be a one-shot sort of thing, so most likely, I will not write a follow-up. I just wanted to end the story on a happy note while keeping what happened to the original characters ambiguous.
Some thoughts while I was writing this. Bruh, I'll just say that I'm really frustrated about what happened to Act-Age, being cancelled and all. The actions the writer did were absolutely disgusting, and I'm glad that he got arrested for them. What's sad is that now the artist who does the manga's illustrations (which are very beautiful by the way) is now out of a job, and not to mention, two young girls are now probably traumatized for life because the writer decided to throw his life away for something so stupid.
Author's Notes pt. 2:
The italicized words are there for subtle emphasis. Names are arranged in surname - first name so that characters will be easily identified. Also, if you're wondering why I didn't use the word "actress", it's because I meant "actor" as in the gender-neutral term.
There are a couple of references to the source material, one being the part Kuroyama Seira was acting during the auditions. It's the scene in Chapter 4 wherein Yonagi Kei acts in a historical drama as a background character. Personally, I chose this because it was the first time she actually acted as part of a "film". This means that it's a very significant event. The other reference was Seira's pseudonym, "Hiiragi Ren" which is just a combination of Hiiragi Yuki's and Tamaki Ren's names (two people who greatly inspired her as she became an actor)
Finally, a quick explanation when it came to the names:
Kuroyama Seira (黒山 星羅) - Seira roughly translates to "star which envelops"
Momoshiro Kohane (百城 小羽) - Kohane roughly translates to "little wing" in reference to her mother's title of "Angel of Stars"