Shooting Start

The morning went by super fast. Shinya was mesmerised by the performances. Of course he had seen plenty of behind the scenes content of his favourite dramas, but being there live was a completely different experience. Not only did it make him appreciate all the people who worked on the shoot, he also got a deeper admiration for the actors, who switched so effortlessly between their own selves and the characters. Everyone was a specialist in what they did.

Shinya mostly had eyes for Minato, watching him portray the stoic class rep, who he was for everyone during the first episode. The encounter between him and Hina would be the hook between episode one and two, but since it needed a different set, they decided to film all roof scenes first.

Lunch came faster than expected and Shinya found himself dragged off set to the area where the production company offered bentos for the whole staff. He saw Kazuya staring at him as Minato took him away, and he hoped they wouldn’t fight. Casting both of them in the same drama was a great move for PR, but they were known to clash.

But when he sat down at a table opposite Minato, all of Shinya’s superfluous thoughts were suddenly gone and replaced by his smile.

“Which one did you get?” Minato asked.

“Uh, the fried rice and egg.”

“Nice. I had the same catering company on a shoot before. Their stuff was good.”

Minato opened his container to reveal karaage. Another fact about his idol to memorise. Shinya was giddy about it on the inside as he reached for his drink to mask his smile. Sitting there, with Minato opposite him, felt at the same

time really natural, but also completely surreal. Mostly because Minato was—

“Want to try?”

Shinya looked up to see Minato hold out a piece of fried chicken with his chopsticks. Oh god. Oh no. Ugh.

“Yes,” Shinya said meekly and almost jumped when Minato didn’t put the piece down on his bento, but actually held it over for him.

“Open up.”

Shinya did it automatically. It was just as well Minato couldn’t see the inside of his head, as he was trying to push out certain inappropriate thoughts.

“It’s good,” he said after chewing a little.

“Right?”

“Can I sit with you or am I interrupting?” Saya asked.

“No, no. Sit, sit,” Minato said immediately.

“Thanks.”

Saya had barely taken the seat next to Minato, when the set photographer appeared in front of them. The two went through a series of cute couple poses—including one, where Minato fed Saya a piece of chicken just like he had just done to Shinya. It was an important part of marketing these days to post pictures and short videos from the set, and most of them were obviously centered around the main couple, since they were the draw of the series.

At the end of it, Shinya’s eyes were shining. When the photographer left he had to take care not to swoon.

“You’re actually Kazu and Hina,” he said, more to himself than anyone else. “You look perfect together.”

“Thank you. That means a lot coming from the author himself,” Saya said.

Minato just smiled while he continued eating. Shinya felt Minato bump his foot against his. He let it sit there for the rest of the meal. It felt like a comfortable connection, a shared secret. Shinya’s chest felt warm at the thought. They chatted about the upcoming scenes in the afternoon and general small talk. When Saya and Minato talked about their actions in one of them, Shinya’s thoughts wandered.

So… Minato’s intentions, hm? He said he had made them clear, but what were they? What could they even be? From the first day? He had obviously flirted with Shinya. Several times. Earnestly. Had… kissed him. Even if only his cheek. Gotten jealous.

Was Shinya inside one of his dreams? It was all too good to be true. The debut novel, the drama, the casting and… Minato. Shinya reached for the back of his hand and pinched himself.

“Ouch…” he hissed.

The two people opposite stopped talking and looked at whatever Shinya was doing. Looked… confused.

“Sorry,” Shinya mumbled.

“What was that for?” Minato asked and reached out to grab the hand that now had a red spot on it.

“Thought maybe I was dreaming and had to check.”

A few moments passed until both Minato and Saya burst out into laughter so loud, the whole room turned to look at them. Shinya drew his hand back, embarrassed, but not before the set photographer had taken a picture of the scene. Great. So his stupidity was now immortalised.

“Why would this be a dream?” Saya asked.

“Because… because…” Shinya glanced at Minato, but then took a fortifying breath. “This doesn’t happen to normal people like me. Getting to be on the set of a drama with such a great cast.”

It was the closest he dared to voice his main reason. Minato’s foot bumped into him again. He seemed to understand.

“It’ll be an everyday routine before you know it,” Saya said. “You’ll wish to be as dreamy as you are now.”

“Is it that to you?”

Saya shrugged. “By routine, I don’t mean boring. I love my job. Having experience simply makes it all more relaxed. Not stressing about every little thing you can’t change anyway.”

Minato nodded sagely next to her.

“New things are always exciting. Enjoy the honeymoon phase as long as you can,” Saya said and Shinya almost choked on his drink as he saw Minato grin.

——

A few hours later, Shinya was examining the collection of costumes in the prop room, when his phone chimed. A message. From Minato. Wasn’t he filming on the roof? Shinya had retreated a while ago, too afraid his constant staring was obvious to everyone.

[Minato] [Sorry if I came on too strongly this morning. I didn’t want to scare you. I was just so excited to see you.]

Shinya stared at the text. Then he stared some more.

[Shinya] [No need to apologise. I was excited too.]

[Minato] [I knew. From the first moment two weeks ago.]

Shinya’s knees went weak and he sank to the floor behind the clothing rack. He was alone in the room at that moment, but he still felt like needing to hide his overheated head.

[Shinya] [You did?]

He wouldn’t have been able to ask out loud. There were advantages to the physical distance that texting provided. Advantages that made him bold in the moment, though he would likely regret it later.

[Minato] [Yes. Very much so. And I’m glad you were. It gave me the courage to try and step up.]

Shinya’s hands were shaking.

[Shinya] [You can’t possibly mean that.]

[Minato] [Why not? I told you before. If you could be my fan, why can’t I be yours?]

“Because that’s not how the world works!” Shinya said out loud and continued in a whisper. “That’s not… I couldn’t be that lucky…”

He typed with shaking fingers, correcting typos again and again…

[Shinya] [what does that mean? do you actually like me?]

——

Minato sat at the edge of the rooftop, behind the camera crew. They were filming a few scenes of Saya lost in thought. He could empathise with her character. He, too, felt lost. Flirting was one thing. Flirting was fun and noncommittal. He hadn’t planned on being into it to this degree, but it was light still.

Crossing this line was anything other but light.

He liked Shinya. But not in the way the other implied. He didn’t want to lie to him. But he had dug his own grave, and now Minato had to lie in it. He took the metaphorical shovel and dug himself deeper.

[Minato] [I think so]

He closed the phone immediately and stashed it in his bag. His face was glowing. Why? Why? It was a simple lie. Why did it make his heart race like that?

——

[Minato] [I think so]

Shinya resisted the urge to toss his phone to the other side of the room. He buried his head between his legs instead and shouted into his own stomach. The same lovesick giddyness that usually overcame him when looking at new photos of his idol, only it was so much stronger. So strong it cut off his air, made his heart explode.

He likes me.

Fuck.

I love him. I love him so much. Arai Minato.

Shinya hadn’t allowed himself to fully dive into this feeling since he knew Minato had been cast in the drama. He knew it was unprofessional. He didn’t want to make Minato feel awkward. To make everything awkward. But against all odds, it hadn’t been him to take the first step. It was Minato.

Could that actually be true? The evidence was in writing, right in front of him…

[Shinya] [Go back to work]

He sent the message with an energetic tap and a blushing sticker just afterwards. He proceeded to bury himself further into his body to quell the rising heat.