Chapter 10 – Hyuuga Haruka - I Want to Be Like Her at Twenty-Nine (1)
Usually, I decline post-recording drinking parties and meals, citing my studies as the reason.
But today, I was eating dinner with a senior voice actress.
"It's rare for Haruka-chan to have dinner with us. Onee-san is happy."
The one smiling in front of me is Shiraha Yurika.
She's an undisputed top idol voice actress.
Known as an actor's actor, she had a long period of not being popular until she broke through with an idol anime at the age of twenty-five.
Now at twenty-nine, she continues to lead the industry. She's the senior I respect the most.
"Why did you invite only me?"
I've co-starred with Shiraha-san a few times, but we haven't interacted much.
Today, I'm just a guest, so to her, a regular, I'm someone she won't see from next week.
"Hmm? I've been interested in Haruka-chan for a while. You're a good actress."
When she flutters her head from side to side, her glossy black long bob sways at her shoulders.
It's a word that makes me jump for joy.
Fans love her as an idol voice actress, but within the industry, many appreciate her as an actor.
She hardly ever NGs and meets the director's demands in one shot.
Yet, she has a deep understanding of the works and a wide range of roles she can play.
There's even a rumor that "Yurika Shiraha is always the final decision for every work."
Her acting range is so wide that she fits any role.
What's amazing about this story is that wanting to cast Shiraha-san is a given for any work.
Being praised for "acting" by such a person is the happiest thing.
"Ah, thank you."
"Oh dear, don't cry."
"Eh...?"
When I touch my cheek, tears are flowing.
"It's different... This is wrong. I don't cry in public..."
That's Aoi's role.
"Oh dear, you've been holding a lot in. I've been there too."
Shiraha-san doesn't mock or worry about my tears; she slowly sips her jasmine tea.
"You too, Shiraha-san?"
"You remind me of my younger self, Haruka-chan."
She even smiles nostalgically, as if it's a picture.
I wonder how much of her is acting.
"In what way am I similar?"
I don't "have" it like you do. Neither luck nor talent.
"I wanted you to say I'm still young, didn't I?"
"Au au."
"Ufufu, just kidding. What's similar is that you're convinced you don't have luck or talent."
She hits the nail on the head, and my heart skips a beat.
"I'll tell you something good. At least you have the talent for acting, Haruka-chan."
"That's not..."
"No modesty. You'd doubt my eye for talent."
"Yes... I see."
"And you have luck too."
"That's not true. I'm not selling well..."
That can't be. If that were the case, by now I should be more successful, and I should be getting along better with my childhood friends.
"Haruka-chan, you had a recording today, right?"
"Yes."
"See, you're lucky."
"Eh?"
"You don't believe anymore that you can make it in this industry just with talent, do you?"
"Of course not."
I've seen many girls who are better and cuter than me disappear.
Even someone with as short a career in the industry as me feels that many people disappear for reasons other than lack of talent... No, there are more people who disappear for those other reasons.
"So, the fact that you can work like this now is a sign of great luck."
"Ah..."
Before I knew it, I had taken this environment for granted.
Even though I was afraid of disappearing at any moment, I only looked up.
"But to go even further 'ahead' from here, you need an unbelievable amount of luck. I just happened to have it."
The expression "ahead" instead of "above" is typical of Shiraha-san.
"I kind of understand."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lecture you like this."
"No, it was helpful."
Maybe I've been arrogant without realizing it.
"I really just wanted to become friends with Haruka-chan."
"Why me?"
Of course, no one would be unhappy to be told that by Shiraha-san.
Especially if they have less experience than her.
"Maybe because I like Haruka-chan's acting."
"Thank you..."
The words she gave me were, of course, delightful. Even if they were just flattery.
To judge someone's likes and dislikes by the quality of their acting, she's a true actor at heart.
It's confusing to respond to.
"Haruka-chan, you don't act based on your own experiences, but rather, you imagine someone else and become them, right?"
Now that she mentions it, that might be true, but I'm not really aware of it.
Without minding my puzzled look, Shiraha-san continues.
"But today was different, wasn't it?"
"Was my acting bad?"
I got an OK from the sound director in one shot, but maybe I actually messed up.
"No, no. It was really good."
Relieved by Shiraha-san's smiling and waving hands, I let out a sigh of relief.
"Haruka-chan, did you recently have a heartbreak?"
"Eh...? Um...?"
I'm flustered by the sudden question.
Indeed, the character I played today was just a side character who pops up and gets rejected by the protagonist.
"It's not like I was rejected... It's more like the person I was going to confess to got a girlfriend before I could say anything..."
Is that the first question you ask someone you're talking to for the first time!?
Isn't that a bit off in terms of personal space!?
Is that necessary to survive in this industry?
"Oh dear... So that's why today, your acting wasn't the character, it was Haruka-chan."
She understood that much...
It's incredibly embarrassing.