I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

“Senpai, would you be interested in doing a part-time job?”
Minato Naoya, who had suddenly joined us, said this as she looked straight at me.

“A part-time job?”
An offer I hadn’t even remotely expected.
As I blinked in confusion, Minato Naoya smiled softly and explained.

“The thing is, I’m currently filming a youth drama set in a high school. They said they needed a one-off role that fits the image of a delinquent gang leader, and you came to mind, so I recommended you to the director.”
“…Me?”
This was my first time meeting Minato Naoya, a first-year student.

Since we’d never even exchanged a word before, I could only feel more baffled.
“Senpai might not know me well, but I’ve known about you since I entered the school. Even if I don’t come to school often, I know all the faces in the student council. Not to mention, senpai stands out even from afar.”
There was no denying what she said.

Most people who saw me once could remember my face the next time.
Still, that’s one thing, and this is another.
“I’ve never acted before. Even if I did it, I’d probably just be a burden.”

“You just need to show up and say a single line. The rest, the camera director said he can cover with editing and framing.”
I wanted to decline politely, but she was persistent.
As I was trying to think of a way to shake off this insistent underclassman, Minato Naoya glanced at me and pulled out her smartphone.

Then she showed me a messenger window.
“If you agree to appear, we can offer this much as a performance fee.”
What she showed me in the chat log was 50,000 yen.

“…Seriously?”
My eyes went wide.
It wasn’t as much as the money Sasha gave me, but for a student getting paid for a bit part where they just show their face? That was a pretty hefty amount.
“If the director ends up liking your acting, he said he could pay more, so I don’t think it’d be a loss.”

“Urgh.”
Having cold hard cash waved in front of my eyes made it hard not to consider it.
After all, the 2 million yen Sasha gave me had mostly gone into building my home gym, so this was kind of a tempting deal.

And I did need to buy a new jacket anyway.
I felt like if I stayed here, I’d end up persuaded by her sweet talk, so I decided to retreat for now as a tactical move.
Clatter!

“Can I think it over a bit more and get back to you? It’s not something I can decide on the spot.”
“I don’t mind, but if possible, I’d like a decision by today. The next shoot is in a few days, and if you say no, we’ll have to find another actor.”
“…Got it.”

I nodded, picked up my empty lunchbox, and was about to leave the cafeteria when the petrified Satoru suddenly came back to life.
“Ah, wait! Yu-seong! C-could I maybe get an autograph?!”
At that, Minato Naoya smiled gently and nodded.

“No problem. Do you have paper and a pen?”
“Ah, n-no.”
“Fufu, that’s fine. I carry some around since this kind of thing happens at school a lot.”

Minato Naoya pulled out a small notebook, signed a page, and tore it out to hand to him.
“Thank you! I’ll treasure this forever!”
“I’d be honored if you did.”

Minato Naoya said that with a slight bow, then stood up following after me.
She held out her phone and asked,
“Then could I have your email address, senpai? I’ll need it to contact you.”

“Sure.”
I exchanged my ID with her as she asked.
“So I just reply here?”

“Yes, that’s right. If it’s you, Kim Yu-seong-senpai, personal messages are totally ok anytime.”
She said that with a teasing, impish tone, then put her sunglasses back on.
“Well then, I’ll be going now. I really enjoyed our chat today.”

Just like when she appeared, she vanished like the wind.
I’d meant to leave first, but somehow she beat me to it.
Looking down at the phone now containing Minato Naoya’s messenger ID, I decided to head back to class together with Satoru, who was still glowing with happiness.

***
“What?! Ryu-chan’s gonna be on TV?!”
“No, I just got offered a minor role. I haven’t accepted yet.”

When I talked about my conversation with Minato Naoya during break time, Rika’s eyes lit up.
“If it’s the drama Minato Naoya’s in right now, it’s that one! The Blue Academy Youth Apocalypse!”
“What the hell is that title.”

Made no sense to me at all.
Why are ‘youth’ and ‘apocalypse’ in the same sentence?
“Huh? You don’t know, Ryu-chan? It’s based on a super famous manga.”

“If it wasn’t serialized in Jump, I probably don’t know it.”
“Ah~ if that’s the case, I guess it can’t be helped. The Blue was serialized in Shonen Magazine.”
Rika, the authority on shounen manga, said this while stroking her imaginary beard.

“It’s about a passionate new teacher who rehabilitates delinquent students and tackles social issues—a surprisingly deep story. Minato Naoya plays one of the students in the protagonist’s class.”
“Sounds like something teens and twenty-somethings would love.”
“Well, that’s what school dramas usually are, right? I actually enjoyed the original manga quite a bit.”

Rika said that with a cheerful smile and rested her chin on her desk.
“So? Are you gonna do it?”
“I’ll think about it a bit more.”

As I said that and got ready for the next class, I remembered something and asked,
“By the way, what were you three talking about during lunch earlier?”
“Huh?”

Rika looked blank for a moment.
But then she waved her hand nonchalantly and replied as if nothing had happened.
“Nothing special? Just wanted to bond a bit as girls and chatted about stuff.”

“Really?”
Guess it wasn’t anything important after all.
We usually ate together, so when they suddenly decided to eat without me today, I thought something must’ve happened.

“That’s good, then. I was starting to think I’d have to eat alone tomorrow.”
Satoru was the class’s popular guy, so he always had plans.
Today was just a lucky break, or I would’ve had to eat by myself again like at the start of the semester.

Well, I could always go to the student council room and eat with the members, but that felt like I’d be burdening them.
Clatter!
“Alright, study time. The teacher’s here.”

Just as our conversation hit its stride, Rika said that and pulled out her notebook and pencil case.
I followed her lead and took out my science book from my bag.
It was the last class of the day.

***
Minato Naoya is a celebrity.
A household name—if you mentioned her, most Japanese people would say, “Ah~ her?”

She started acting at the age of six.
Her first role was the daughter of a supporting character in a weekend drama.
Thanks to her actress mother, she’d grown up visiting theater companies like it was part of daily life, and she had a talent for acting.

Among kids her age, she had an outstanding range, and quickly gained popularity for her acting versatility, working across multiple areas.
She’d already filmed more than ten commercials.
And last year, she played the little sister of the lead in a film, earning the title of “The Nation’s Little Sister” and reaching the peak of her career.

But Minato Naoya had one secret.
She loved muscles—immensely.
Her muscle fetish awakened about a year ago, when she saw a clip from Mr. Olympia during a variety show.

Muscles that looked like living Greek statues.
The kind of physique that could only ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) come from absolute dedication.
Bronzed, oiled muscles glistening under the lights set fire to the heart of a 15-year-old girl.

From that moment, the pubescent girl kept her peculiar taste a secret from both her family and her manager.
Instead of reading fashion magazines like other girls her age, she devoured bodybuilding magazines full of macho vibes, and her passion extended to watching all sorts of domestic and international fitness competitions.
She might have had the body of a delicate high school girl, but her knowledge was no different from those protein-obsessed bodybuilders.

Her muscle fetish was steadily intensifying.
And then, during the Ichijo Academy entrance ceremony, which she’d barely managed to attend despite her packed schedule—
She found him.

The perfect match for her ideal type.
Kim Yu-seong.
He was practically a legend on campus. The student council’s secret weapon.

His body, sculpted with overwhelming talent and relentless effort, left Minato Naoya silently thanking the heavens.
Thanking God for letting her enroll in this school.
Since then, even with her hectic schedule, she’d begun collecting information on him little by little.

Some might call it stalking, but she had no shame.
She’d gone through a private investigator agency—she hadn’t done anything herself, technically.
Even though she’d never properly spoken to him, her feelings for Kim Yu-seong grew quietly in her heart—

Until one day, she got a message from the investigator she had watching him.
They said they’d caught an incredible video today.