Unfamiliar Territory (Chizuru Ichinose x Reader)

(33) Quick Update

Y/n's POV:

Once I step outside, she greets me straight away:

Chizuru: "Hey."

Y/n: "Hi."

Chizuru: "...I read over the script and had a look at the storyboard. I think it's good." She says a little shyly

Y/n: "T-Thanks... I've managed to get a director and film crew on our side, as well as all the actors we should need, bar yourself and the male lead." I say quickly.

She takes quite some time before responding:

Chizuru: "Right, about that... After reading the script, I'm not so sure about bringing him onto the team. Is that okay?" She asks, her 'serious' face present.

Y/n: "Yeah, that's fine. Also, we need to talk about pay. How much do you want for being the lead?" I begin to ask before she instantly cuts across me:

Chizuru: "Nothing. The whole point of the movie is so I can show it to grandma. I don't need or want to be paid for this." She says sharply.

Y/n: "Alright then. That should cut costs a little. From what I've calculated, around 2.5-3 million yen should be enough. I'm going to look for good places to shoot based on the script's demands." I say, getting ready to leave.

Just as I'm about to go back inside, she yells out:

Chizuru: "Wait!" She shouts.

I turn back around and face her. She stops for a few seconds, seemingly thinking it over, before finally speaking out:

Chizuru: "I want to give you a proper thank you. In just a few days, you've already got almost everything sorted. Y-You're a good producer..." She says, trailing off to the point where I nearly fail to hear the last few words.

"One more thing..." She says, at a louder volume than previously.

"Here's the stuff I thought could be used as rewards for backing the project." She says, handing me a small box.

Y/n: "Right, thanks. I'll launch the crowdfunding page once I get back in. It was nice to talk to you. Later." I say, smiling as I re-enter my apartment, placing the box by the couch and going straight to my laptop.

I launch our campaign online, going straight to 'NottPad' right after and sending a notification to all of my readers, telling them about the project. 

With the large fanbase I have, the project should be fully funded within a week or two at best.

Half an hour later, I return to the project page, only to find a 40,000 yen donation from none other than Chizuru. If she's going to do that, then I guess I'll do that too! I say to myself, donating an equal amount through a second account I quickly create.

I spend the rest of my time watching through tons of videos about movie-making, learning as much as I can within the next few hours. After I shut off my laptop and make my way to bed, my mind inevitably wanders to Ichinose.

It starts with simple reminders of her kindness and beauty. However, the longer I spend, the more my longing to be with her increases. As hard as I try, these thoughts fail to leave until I fall asleep.

(The Next Day)

I wake up early, ready to look for suitable locations for each scene of the movie. I look over the crowdfunding page:

"780,000 Yen!?"

Wow! In only 9 hours, we're already over a quarter of our goal! I shoot Ichinose a quick text, which she replies to similar surprise. 

I start looking for the best locations, ideally hoping for a good compromise between weather, the view and how far away each one would be. I shortlist a couple of them down, before contacting the director, telling him that he's free to select a male lead of his choosing. This seems to make him happy and he replies, saying that he'll try to hold a good balance between skill and price.

Director: "Also, would you be able to set up a meeting so I can see this female lead of yours. I'd like to discuss my ideas of the production with her so that I can assess talent her myself and give her an idea of how I'll be structuring certain scenes, so she can prepare herself as best as possible."

Y/n: "Sure. Give me a second." I say, ending the call as I send her a message.

Once I receive an answer, I tell the director, and with that, the conversation ends. The rest of my day consists of my working non-stop to get everything else in order. Loving her aside, this is actually pretty exciting! I think to myself, with a look of exhilaration on my face. 

Maybe I should move into the world of film-production? It shouldn't be hard to move my writing talent to that field of work...

Chizuru's POV:

After the meeting, I get dressed and head out to the hospital, updating grandma on how things are going.

Sayuri: "There's my dear grand-daughter! How nice of you to see me again so soon." She says happily.

Chizuru: "Hello grandma. Guess what? I'm going to be in a movie!" I say, excited.

Sayuri: "Oh! That's great! When does it premiere? I need to get out of here and celebrate!" She replies, overjoyed.

Chizuru: "Well... it's actually thanks to Y/n. It's a crowdfunding Despite knowing nothing about film-production he's managed to get a lot of stuff done in very little time.. He even made a script, got a director and camera crew on his side..." I say, going on and on about how he helped, without noticing the growing smile on my face.

Grandma just sits there, listening until I finish. Once she has the chance, she talks:

Sayuri: "Chizuru, do you know the first moment of love?" She asks, to which my expression completely changes.

Chizuru: "What?" I ask, hoping this isn't going where I think it is.

Sayuri: "It's when you're having the time of your life just talking about them." She says gently.

I instantly tense up, getting annoyed at yet again another of her remarks. However, I have to force it a little this time around.

Chizuru: "Don't be silly. I'm happy because I can fulfil my promise to you, that's all." I say.

After a few more minutes, I bid farewell to her, leaving the hospital and going back to my abode. I sit there, reflecting on our conversation. Why did I have to try to be angry this time? I wonder, before knowing exactly what the problem is. Maybe... just maybe I do really enjoy being around him a little... but it's not love!! I'm not cut out for relationships after all." I conclude.

I receive a text from him, arranging a time for me to meet with the director. However, this only serves for me to think about him even more. No... we can't... I can't.

Everyone has left me at some point. Even grandma will leave soon, I don't want it to happen again...