Photo Before The Storm

“You… don’t go thinking you’ve won!”

“Tanaka-san, I just ate the last cookie…”

I sighed as the expressionless photographer stomped off, muttering beneath his breath. Was everything a competition to him?

Nevertheless, today was another “normal” day at Arclight.

Meaning: ten people shouting “where’s the spare cable,” the rest speed walking around the set and me trying to look like I knew what I was doing.

I lifted my camera to check the focus on Rin Tsukishiro, center stage.

She was rehearsing choreography under the bright rehearsal lights—fluid, graceful, professional as always.

But… for some inexplicable reason she kept glancing this way.

The first time, I thought nothing of it. Just checking her angle for the camera, maybe.

The second time, her eyes lingered a fraction too long before darting back to the mirror.

The third time, she smiled—small, fleeting, like she’d caught herself doing it—and instantly turned away.

Okay, weird. Maybe I’ve got something on my face.

Or maybe she’s just scanning the room. Totally normal idol behavior. Yeah, that’s it.

I crouched to adjust the tripod, pretending to review settings, and out of the corner of my eye… there it was again.

Rin’s reflection in the studio mirror, stealing a peek when she thought I wasn’t looking.

Her eyes met mine through the glass for half a heartbeat—then she jumped, flustered, and pretended she was looking at something else this whole time.

Twice.

“Rin-san’s acting weird,” I muttered under my breath. “Maybe Nakahara-san finally drove her nuts…”

Saya shot me a look from across the room. “What was that, Mikazuki?”

“Nothing!”

How could she even hear me from all the way there?!

📸

Back in Rin’s dressing room, after rehearsals, the air without Hajime around felt somewhat less charged for Rin. Or at least clearly empty.

The stylists were chatting again. They always did during prep — a background hum of gossip and hairspray. Normally, Rin tuned it out. Normally.

Today, she didn’t.

“Hey, what do you think about that new photographer?”

“Mikazuki-kun? He’s kinda cute, right?”

“Mhm. Warm eyes, talkative, nice smile too. Definitely my type.”

She blinked.

Cute? Hajime-san?

Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her, confused.

He’s… not not cute. Rin thought. He’s polite, funny sometimes… and he had this habit of focusing so intensely when he’s taking pictures that he forgets the world exists.

That was… admirable, right?

Not cute. Just… respectable.

Except, now that they mentioned it, when his hair fell into his eyes in this kind of effortless way he seemed kinda—

Rin’s spiraling thoughts were cut off by the hairdresser’s voice.

“Rin-san, are you okay?”

She flinched. “Eh? Ah, yes! Totally fine!”

The stylist laughed softly. “You’re blushing. You must be excited for the tour, huh?”

“Y-Yes! The tour!” Rin said quickly, gripping the seat.

But even as she brushed through her hair, her eyes drifted toward the studio floor.

There he was, crouched beside the camera, fixing something with that same focused look.

Why am I looking? Stop looking.

Rin shook her head.

Okay, one more look.

He smiled faintly at something Saya said, and her stomach flipped.

He turned to look at her, catching her staring. He gave a small wave.

Rin waved back… rather stiffly.

…What is this? Why is my chest so… tight?

📸

Something was definitely up.

Rin-san kept spacing out between takes, her gaze flickering my way every so often. Every time I looked back, she’d suddenly check her mic pack or pretend she wasn’t.

She was even redder than usual. Maybe it was hot in here? Yeah, probably that. I mean, cameras can’t cause heatstroke, right?

Now I was getting nervous for a whole new reason.

“Okay, break time!” Saya called out.

Rin stretched, stepping off the stage. I crouched beside the equipment case, reviewing shots from earlier when—

“Ah—!”

A loud thud.

Rin stumbled off the side of the platform, her heel catching a loose cable. Before my brain caught up, my body moved.

“Got you!”

I grabbed her waist, steadying her before she fell. The result? Her weight leaning against my chest.

Her eyes widened — those purple, shining irises locking right onto mine.

For a moment, everything stopped. My heartbeat shot up to the moon.

Her hand was small, trembling slightly in mine. Her face was just inches away, close enough to see the faint shimmer of makeup and the soft pink flush rising to her cheeks.

“I—uh—thank you…” she whispered.

“Careful,” I said, voice lower than I meant it to be. “Wouldn’t want you breaking a leg before the tour, right?”

I realized too late that I was still holding her.

“Oh—sorry!” I let go instantly, stepping back. “Reflex!”

She smiled, nervous and flustered. “It’s… okay. You really are fast, Hajime-san.”

A smile bloomed on her face. A radiant, happy one.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “If you said that to my gym teacher back in high school, he’d probably laugh, you know.”

She laughed softly, still looking a little dazed, and something about that sound hit differently this time.

For some reason the air around me seemed to grow muffled. It was as if I was swallowed by her gaze. Was this the aura they felt in romance manga?

For a split second, I wondered what it would be like if this wasn’t work — if she wasn’t Rin Tsukishiro, and I wasn’t just some rookie behind a camera.

Then Saya’s voice snapped through the moment like a whip.

“Mikazuki, Rin-san — great work today.”

I cleared my throat as we separated. Here’s to hoping she didn’t see that…

Lucky for me, everyone else was too busy chasing missing extension cords to notice I just performed a live-action shōjo scene.

“…Oh, and one more thing.” Saya glanced at her clipboard.

I turned. “Yeah?”

“Tomorrow we’ll have another idol joining us for a promotional shoot before her and Rin’s duet. You’ll be photographing both of them.”

Rin blinked. Smile still on her face but also a sign of confusion creeping in. As if the words hadn’t registered yet.

“Me?”

Saya nodded. “Yes. You, Rin-san and a young idol from Arclight… Yozora Yoru.”

Rin’s polite idol smile didn’t falter still. Yet I could tell she slipped into her professional demeanour once more.

As Saya walked off, I scratched my head. “Well, looks like tomorrow’s gonna be busy.”

“It will no doubt,” Rin said softly, her gaze lingering on the floor.

And as she walked away, I couldn’t shake the feeling that tomorrow was gonna be… hectic to say the least.