Rental No More - Chizuru Ichinose [Mizuhara] X Reader (Kanojo, Okarishimasu)

Episode 22: December

A few months have gone by. Of course, you'd kept track of the time, and how much you could not waste due to the fact that you wanted to finish the movie as soon as possible. It was now December, and it was exactly on the 2nd day of this last month of the year that you and the rest of your small cast and crew (consisting of only your two friends, your girlfriend, and a little introverted individual) finally finished filming.

Yes, you all finally finished filming the movie. There was a moment when everyone, including yourself, suddenly felt a strangely energetic vibe in the air as soon as you said those three magical words:
"It's a wrap."

You never felt more excited in your life. The day after filming was done, everyone went out for dinner. You, Chizuru, Sumi, Tsu, and Hiro. The food there felt like the greatest you had ever consumed. At the time, of course.

But it wasn't the moment to exactly shout 'Victory!' to the skies just yet. There still was post-production stuff left, and you and Tsu were in charge of all of that. It proved to be a bit of a nuisance in the next few days, but it wasn't anything you two couldn't handle. With fast food and a couple of soda cans and water bottles, you two surprisingly pulled through with making the short film actually feel like a film. And all of it was done in the comfort of your apartment.

It was now the 22nd of December. 1:13 AM. Eyes were being rubbed, the last can was being thrown away inside of an already full trash bin—you and Tsu had a weird staring competition for a solid minute before looking back at the computer screen. You saved your progress. The final draft of the movie, now officially titled In A Bottle, was done.

It was over, or at least, that's what it felt like on your end. You still needed to show this movie to Sumi, Chizuru, and Hiro. And then? Show it to Chizuru's grandmother. Show it to others. Publish it online. Get it out there one way or another. Get yourselves out there one way or another.

That last step was optional for now.

Right now, it was imperative that the short film be sent to Chizuru and the others for a last check before it makes its way to Chizuru's grandma.
Right, Chizuru's grandma. Why her specifically?

This was explained to you a couple of weeks ago, the last week of November.

LAST WEEK OF NOVEMBER

Eating dinner with Chizuru in her apartment after a long day of filming, Chizuru suddenly felt like telling you something she should've told you before.

"...Hey, Y/N?" Chizuru said.

"What's up?"

"I'm grateful."

"Huh, for what?" You asked.

"I'm grateful that you allowed me to help you with your movie. That, and... that you're also helping me accomplish my own dream."

"Becoming an actress. You never told me why you wanted to do that, right?"

"It's... because of my grandma. She used to be an actress in the past." Chizuru smiled just at the returning thought of seeing her grandma for the first time on her television screen years ago. It was mind blowing at the time that someone like her grandma used to be so popular and so talented.

"Really?"

"Yep. Phoenix Sayuri. It was because of her that I started admiring the people in all the movies I watched. And why I wanted to become just like her, an actress, and have her see a movie I starred in. Both her and grandpa..." Only mentioning her grandpa made Chizuru feel slightly melancholic about the past. It was a bit of a touchy subject.