The Girl Who was My Little Sister

In a certain classroom.

They rented a high school building in Tokyo to shoot a drama.

Since today was a holiday, no students were around.

The lead actor was playing a teacher, the supporting actors and actresses played students and some extras played students with no dialogue.

Naturally, it needs more than just actors to make a drama.

The director, the scriptwriter, the camera crew, the lighting staff, the sound staff, and various other people that carried the equipment, were also standing in this classroom beside the performers.

One single episode of this drama required many people and a lot of tech.

Moreover, there are also the sponsors, some news reporters, and also managers like me, who shouldn’t disturb the shoot and watch from afar.

“That’s a lot of people…”

“You’re right. But there are a lot more people that don’t work on-site. I wonder how much it’ll cost to pay for all of them. This work has to generate that much money.”

I was overwhelmed by the set.

My little sister has appeared in several movies and dramas by now, but I, despite being her manager, was witnessing all of this for the first time.

Well, I did attend some movie and other production sites but couldn’t really get the full picture as I had to leave right when the shoot was over.

In response to my mutterings, Sasaki-san, who is also my little sister’s manager, gave me a worried look.

Recently, I’ve been spending less and less time with Saki but this time I was actually allowed to attend the whole shoot.

“You seem to be worried about Saki”

“Isn’t that obvious? This time Saki-san may not be playing a leading role, but the promotional campaign for this drama will use her name prominently. If this drama flops, her image might get tarnished.”

It’s just as Sasaki-san said. This drama didn’t feature my little sister in a leading role yet the TV commercials for it will still view her as such if not more than that.

This was due to her role in a previous drama that had become a masterpiece. Her eerie yet strangely fascinating performance became infamous worldwide.

“To make matters worse, this show is set in a school. It’s not really a setting that hits nowadays. Thanks to Saki-san and the other actors’ hard work, we were able to harvest some good numbers but it will become difficult if this continues.”

(TLN: Y’know how anime are all set in schools most of the time? Maybe they’re referring to that? Though I never watched K or J-Dramas, so I dunno)

“Is that so…”

Three episodes have already been released so far.

It’s a 12-episode show, so we covered a 4th of the whole thing.

The first episode was well-received thanks to the publicity efforts and came with a rating of 17%, which means great satisfaction. But the second and third episode, while barely managing to remain in the two-digits, performed worse.

It’s not like these numbers are bad but the downward trend is.

Nobody really understands ‘what the cause’ is. They can just ponder and perhaps guess that it might be because of the school setting after all.

As for me, I have somewhat of an inkling why this is happening right now.

My little sister isn’t in a good condition currently.

Nobody seems to think that way but I can pretty much see it crystal clear.

She was obviously not able to focus at all during the shoot. She was like a body without a soul.

As for why she was feeling this way, I could roughly guess it. It was because–

“Yep, okay! Let’s take a break. Staff stay behind!”

The director called for a short break.

The crew inspected the video and worked out the next arrangements, while the performers started to lightly banter with each other.

From there, my little sister ran up to me with quick steps.

“Kousuke-san, did you see? I gave my best!”

“…Yeah, you did.”

“I will even try much much harder, so please watch me!”

“…”

She seemed like a puppy seeking affection from its owner. She repeatedly talked about trivial things to me.

Or rather, she frantically tried to appeal to me.

Yes, the main reason why my little sister is currently in a bad condition… is me.

Since the day we’ve moved together I distanced myself from her bit by bit.

Of course, I’m not doing something extreme like ignoring her or shouting at her to drive her away, instead I kind of walk one half-step further away from her than usual or avoid eye contact when talking with her. It’s a subtle behaviour.

I’m not doing this because I’m angry at her or because I’m sulking, I find myself behaving like this unconsciously.

I realised my own unconscious actions because she started to behave slightly strange.

Saki is someone who is usually composed and elegant, yet the number of little mistakes she makes has increased recently. For example, she once broke the dishes while washing them, this is a trivial thing but happens very rarely. When I asked her if she was okay, she seemed excessively happy for some reason.

When I confronted her about that, she brushed it off though.

After that, I noticed that she was always strangely delighted whenever I approached her by myself. This is how I figured out that I was actually unconsciously avoiding her before, making her unhappy as a consequence.

As for the reason for my recent behaviour… I don’t trust my little sister.

Until now, I believed my little sister to be a precious existence to me.

No, that hasn’t changed now either.

But now this feeling of distrust was overwhelming the other.

I don’t know what she’s thinking. That alone was enough to make me reject her.

I’m aware that it can’t go on like that, hence I tried to consciously bridge the distance between us again.

But before I knew it, we started to grow even further apart from each other…

“Kousuke-san, you know, I really like these school uniforms used for this drama–”

“Saki-san, it’s nice and all that you chat with Kousuke-kun but please rest a little…”

“Hey, are you listening to me? Kousuke-san, Kousuke-san!”

“…Saki..-san?”

Sasaki-san was calling her but Saki didn’t react and just kept appealing to me instead. Noticing this strange behaviour, Sasaki-san put her hand on Saki’s shoulder.

“—… Ah, Sasaki-san. How can I help you?”

“No, I mean,… uhm… could you please rest a little, you still need your strength for the rest of the shoot.”

“Is that so? I see, I’ll do that then.”

Just like that, she sat next to me like a puppet that got disconnected from its strings.

She then absentmindedly looked in a random direction with a lifeless face. Nothing reflected in those eyes.

“Kousuke-san, what is this? She was able to behaving normally just a moment ago… what happened?”

“…I don’t know…”

I lied.

If it gets leaked that Saki is currently not stable, her career might get affected severely.

Since I’m the cause, I’m also the only one who can solve this.

So that’s why I lied.

There is no point in being honest here.

(TLN: From my understanding, since he’s the only one who can solve this, there is no point in revealing anything to the others, as they can’t do anything about it anyway.)

“Perhaps she’s just tired? I’ll inform the director and we may end today’s shoot a bit earlier than usual. Just to be sure, let’s get her checked up at the hospital as well.”

“…No, I’ll take care of her, so just let me handle this one. I’m sure Saki is also aware of the importance of this shoot.”

“….Is that so? If you’re saying this as her brother, then I shall believe you.”

For my sister, this job is her calling. She’s even able to act properly in this condition.

This just shows once again that she possesses tremendous talent.

As an older brother, I want to protect her talent and her future.

That’s why I’ll talk to her tonight…

–that it will be better if I am not by her side anymore.

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TL: maperu

Thanks maperu for tling this chapter.    : )

The rest of the chaps will probably be coming. It’ll take time though.