I Really Don’t Want a Girlfriend Anymore

The script wasn't thick, the dialogue was sparse, and the theme was simple.

[At dusk, a girl by the golden Hoshimi River is proposed to by a man, but she rejects him because her heart belongs to another. The man can't accept it, his demeanor darkens, and he tries to embrace her and jump into the river to die together. However, she kicks him in the groin. The final scene stops as the girl turns heroically and walks away, without looking at the muscular man collapsing behind her.]

—It was precisely this bizarre plot that made Yuu frown after reading the script.

Still, he figured his sister would probably love watching it, so he didn't mind too much.

Of course, for the sake of his image, he wouldn't act entirely according to the script… After all, the crew had said to focus on creating a show effect, no need to be too formal or rigid.

In that case, he'd use his system-certified acting skills to handle it.

"Are you two ready? We're starting."

Yuu and Chizuru exchanged glances, then nodded.

"Ready!"

Seeing Yuu hand the grilled skewers and script to the camera assistant, Chizuru hesitated, then followed suit.

The crew had mentioned that previous participants only held the script and acted with tone and expression. She assumed it'd be the same now and felt a bit relieved…

But in an official performance, no one should hold a script on stage.

Even if it was just a variety show, this was no joke—with such a serious mindset, Chizuru regulated her breathing, letting her mood gradually calm.

(It's fine… This is my goal. If I seize this chance well, maybe a producer will notice me, and I can quickly become a professional actress.)

(It's no different from usual—just borrow an identity… act as 'the me who isn't me'!)

Her fair fists clenched tightly, then slowly relaxed.

Behind her black-framed glasses, she slowly opened her eyes, gazing ahead with a calm expression.

There, a boy smiled at her.

"Get ready, three, two, one… action!"

The off-stage words stopped.

Chizuru quickly shifted her expression, her eyes showing helplessness, sadness, and a hint of alienation.

"Shinichu, I told you… we can't be together."

"Why do you keep bothering me like this?"

She bit her lip slightly, looking ahead, waiting for the man to deliver the next line.

But the man only smiled at her, standing still like a statue.

The air froze for about five seconds. Not just Chizuru, even Kouhei and the others stared in confusion, wondering if Yuu was too nervous, forgetting his lines, and could only stand there daydreaming.

The show's effect came this quickly?

That thought had just crossed the onlookers' minds when Yuu suddenly stepped forward.

The twilight glow shifted away from him, night arriving early, tainting his warm, bright smile into something dark and deranged.

"Darling, what did you say?"

Yuu asked with a concerned tone, like he was standing by a patient's bedside, anxiously watching his wife lying there.

Yet his soft voice seemed to press down on the air, making everyone off-stage gape slightly, trying to breathe through the suffocation.

Chizuru, meanwhile, instinctively stepped back, her face paling, momentarily forgetting she was acting.

"I-I said… I already have someone I like. Please stop bothering me!"

She snapped back to reality.

Clenching her fists to her chest, she firmly rejected the terrifying, obsessive stalker.

Her breathing quickened unconsciously, her urge to turn and run glaringly obvious.

Yuu tilted his head, grinning, revealing two rows of neat, white teeth:

"Oh, who is he?"

He kept smiling, and in the dark space behind him, he smiled joyfully, carefree.

"Tell me… I think I can become him."

"Don't dream!"

That wasn't in the script. Chizuru could only ignore the lines she'd memorized so diligently, clenching her teeth tightly and shouting from the depths of her heart.

"You'll never, ever be him… never be the one I love!"

*SREK!*

The sound of shoes scraping the ground rang out, like it was crushing eardrums.

The world fell silent, like a rainy night.

"Ah."

Then, Yuu let out an intoxicating murmur.

"Ah…"

His voice was like a large, furry hand crawling out of his throat, trying to taint the beautiful twilight scene into something unsightly.

The light couldn't reach the depths of his widening eyes, sending chills and fear through the onlookers, their bodies turning cold.

"Ah—"

His tone suddenly rose, and Yuu spread his arms, as if to embrace the woman before him, slowly stepping forward.

He laughed purely and happily, like a child.

"What a beautiful rejection. It's because you care about me that you reject me, because you notice me that you reject me, because you worry about me that you reject me…"

What kind of scene did he see in his eyes to make it so beautiful and warm?

Even the man who'd been smiling obsessively now spoke in a pure, saintly tone.

"You can only be with me."

He sighed contentedly.

Yuu stopped in front of her, his fingertips slowly reaching toward her slender neck, but not actually touching it.

"In life, or in death."

The heavy air slowly filled the space around Chizuru.

She couldn't move, as if shackled in place by his shrinking pupils, her blood ceasing to flow in her carotid artery, leaving her mind blank.

"…"

The cameraman off-stage snapped out of it, panting with lingering fear, turning to Kouhei and saying:

"W-What do we do? Should we stop it?"

This scene didn't just deviate from the script—it surpassed all their show's arrangements and handling methods.

Kouhei stared intently at the two in the scene, his friendly smile long gone, his voice slightly hoarse from his throat:

"The acting's too good, too perfect to stop… Even if we have to use some reserves, we can't miss this scene."

"But letting him improvise like this…"

Kouhei pointed at the young man.

"Do you see it? It's not just his expressions and voice—his stance and gaze angle perfectly utilize the entire environment. The camera positions we set, the shifting light and shadows of nature—he's carefully orchestrated it all into his stage. Every move and action draws the audience into his performance."

"Ah, it's… incredible."

"Not just incredible! Someone like him—I wouldn't believe it if you said he's never performed on a big stage… The problem is, I've never seen a young star with acting skills like his."

In the camera's frame.

Through her glasses, Yuu gazed into Chizuru's eyes, like twinkling stars in the river, so clear and beautiful.

One of the rewards from Yukinoshita Haruno today, a one-time Acting (Perfect Level) skill, was active.

Yuu not only captivated every onlooker but also trapped Chizuru in his stage, forcing her to dance along.

"I love this river."

He lowered the hand that had paused at her neck, speaking gracefully with a relaxed tone.

Chizuru snapped out of her strange fear, unconsciously following his gaze to the Hoshimi River, slowly shrouded in the darkness of night.

"It's so beautiful, so beautiful it can wash away all filth and impurity, perfect for us."

Yuu gently held her arm, walking toward the Hoshimi River.

As if reciting a fairytale, he spoke with a smiling, calm yet crazed tone:

"Let us be together forever there, flowing in a beautiful, eternal love story—"

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Chizuru stared at his profile, or rather, at the 'thing' he had become.

It was indeed acting, but so flawless there was no room for critique, even making people think Yuu had developed a split personality.

How could she keep up?

How could she avoid holding him back?

The script and director's instructions faded from her mind. Chizuru now only knew she had to use her best abilities, her finest acting, to respond to this most perfect performance.

If she still wanted to hold onto her dream of becoming an actress—

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

"Sadly, I don't like it."

Chizuru suddenly pulled her arm free, which wasn't held tightly, and stepped back.

The gradient sky divided them into two sides—light and dark.

With her cheek facing the setting sun, Chizuru stared sharply into his darkened figure, no longer avoiding his gaze.

"You're willing to sink to the river's depths, but I just want to stand by its edge, to embrace the one I love."

"You and I end here. Don't bother me again!"

As if severing everything, her voice fell heavily to the ground.

Chizuru no longer looked at him, turning to leave.

Yuu sighed in disappointment, as if bored with everything, and said weakly:

"If I could, I really didn't want to leave scars on you."

"…What?"

Chizuru turned back, seeing a hand with all five fingers spread wide lunging toward her, and she couldn't help but squint.

"Don't come closer!"

She instinctively kicked toward his groin, but as her leg rose, she realized this was acting and quickly pulled back her strength.

But it was too late—

Her foot hadn't even fully kicked when Yuu leaped in place, letting out a series of horrific screams, rolling once in the air, twice on the ground, then kneeling on the grass-covered ground, panting in pain.

"???"

Chizuru froze with her leg raised, blinking in confusion with a blank face.

She clearly hadn't kicked anything! How did he end up rolling like that?!

"Ah… you win."

His breathing eased slightly, and Yuu gave a strained smile, his tone soft:

"In that kick of yours, I felt your love for him… more radiant and beautiful than the Hoshimi River."

Chizuru: "…"

"May you… be happy."

His voice faded to a whisper, as if swallowed by the belated night, his head drooping helplessly, silent.

A few seconds passed.

Yuu raised his head with a resigned expression, looking at Chizuru, still standing frozen.

"Ichinose-san, the turn-and-leave scene! If you don't do it, how will this end?"

"…Ah? Oh, I-I got it!"

Hurriedly snapping out of it, Chizuru turned, glancing at him 'dying' again from the corner of her eye.

Struggling to suppress the sudden urge to laugh, she adjusted her expression—three-quarters sadness, two-quarters loneliness, and five-quarters relief. Chizuru flicked her braids back, turned away from Yuu, and strode off heroically.

"Goodbye, my friend."

The scene stopped.

"Alright, cut!"

Kouhei announced the end of the shoot with an odd expression.