Photoshoot

The warm summer wind carried a pleasant aroma from the field of blossoming sunflowers in front of Miyuki. In the distance, she could see a few people standing in the field. A few paces away from the rest was a woman striking a pose.

“You look ready for some pictures,” a somewhat familiar voice sounded from Miyuki’s left.

She turned to see the director approaching, still in his usual black suit. “I’m not late, am I?”

Harun gave a hearty laugh. “Not at all, Miss Haruno. In fact, you’re not scheduled for another seven minutes.”

“Really? That’s good,” Miyuki sighed in relief. She made all the preparations necessary to leave early, but the prospect of being late to the photoshoot still nagged at her. “Who’s before me?” She stared at the group conducting the current photoshoot amidst the army of sunflowers.

“That would be Tsubasa Iwamoto. I hear she’s quite popular in Osaka,” he looked out at the field, where the girl was now walking back from. “Looks like it’s your turn.”

Miyuki nodded and stepped into the open field. On the way to the photographers, she crossed paths with Tsubasa.

“Nice dress,” Tsubasa said as she walked by.

“Thank you. I love your blouse,” she returned with a smile.

“Miyuki Haruno, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” the lead photographer–a man with chin length black hair beneath an equally black cap bowed. “Might I say, that’s a gorgeous outfit you chose for today’s shooting.”

“I appreciate it,” she gave him a smile. “This location is lovely.”

“An excellent fit for Japan’s most lovely girls,” he said. “Could I have you stand right over there for me?” He pointed at a location that had signs of recent human activity.

“Sure,” Miyuki followed his directions and stepped where the other idols before her had stood. “Like this?”

“Perfect,” he knelt down and placed his camera in front of his eyes. “Turn a little to the left.”

Miyuki did as she was told, and was urged again to turn a little more.

“Now look over your shoulder at the camera.”

Miyuki glanced over her right shoulder and smiled with her eyes.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” he said, pressing a button on the camera. Each press of the button was followed by a click. “Now look at the sky with your hands behind your back,” the photographer instructed.

She steadied the straw hat on her head and lifted her head to the sky, clasping her hands behind her flowing dress. “Like this?”

“Exactly like that.” More clicks followed. Clouds lazily drifted in the sky, and the sun poked its head out from behind a large one. “Kazuya, set up the umbrella again, please. The sun is creating a glare that’s taking away from our beautiful model.”

“Understood,” one of the two others nodded and leaned down to pick up a black umbrella. He unlatched the string holding it together, causing the umbrella to shoot open. “Here you are,” he held the umbrella at an angle that blocked the sun from reaching the camera.

The sun only occasionally took cover behind a cloud for the duration of Miyuki’s photoshoot. For the short time the sun was in the correct spot, the glare enhanced the photos being taken rather than ruining them.

Miyuki was instructed to stand in multiple poses and moved to a few different locations within the flower field for the next half hour.

“That will be plenty of photos,” the photographer pushed himself to his feet and hung the camera on his neck by its strap. “Thank you for your time. It was an honor to take your pictures today.”

“Thank you for taking them,” she bowed before heading back the way she came. As the idol trading places with her got close, Miyuki recognized her as Luna.

When they past each other, Luna made eye contact with eyes narrowed in warning, causing Miyuki to nod quickly and increase the pace of her walk.

“How did it go?” Harun asked once she made it back to where he was waiting for the idols to come and go.

“I think it was fine,” she said, glancing back at the distant figures starting the next photoshoot. “May I ask a question?”

“Be my guest,” the director encouraged.

“Why is the second round a photoshoot?”

“What a strange question,” he chuckled. “What’s the name of this competition?”

“The Idol Awards,” Miyuki answered.
“Precisely. An idol’s image is as important as her music. In this business, if you’re not cute enough to attract fans, you won’t succeed.”

“Don’t people become fans because they like the music…?” Miyuki tilted her head as she asked the question.

Harun turned to the distant photoshoot. “That is one reason… But many people follow the idols they find attractive. Your following is no exception to that. Certainly you’ve done photoshoots before?”

“A couple,” she said.

“Did you see a boost in your followers afterward?”

Miyuki thought back to the photoshoots she had done in the past. For most of her career, she closely eyed her online following, equating that to her chances of finding Jin. Upon reflection, she did notice that she had gained a significant amount of followers after the photoshoots.

“Ah, that expression tells me you did. See, modeling like this is an outlet for you to market yourself and gain more fans. Perhaps some fans will flock to others when everyone’s pictures are posted next to each other,” he winked.

“Thank you for answering,” Miyuki said with a slight bow.

“Of course, it was my pleasure,” he responded in kind. “If you’re done here, I would suggest you go somewhere nice today to relax. The voting will start tonight and last twenty-four hours. I’m sure you’ll be anxious to see the results.”

“I’ll try not to think about it too much,” she said. “Thank you for your consideration.” Miyuki took a deep breath and walked away from the location. Her mind wandered to Komi and wondered what outfit she had decided to wear for the photoshoot. With their duo performance being Erii Mitsui’s first live appearance, she wasn’t sure if that would help or harm her odds at getting through this round. Part of her wanted to see the results while she was with Jin, so once she returned home, she gave him a call.