The only people Tenma had ever surrounded himself with were fellow actors, producers, and managers. Not that he had ever been close to them, he didn't really bother with trying to get to know more about them.
He always had one goal, one job, and that was acting.
He didn't have any friends. Well, maybe he did. But he barely even knew enough about them to call them as such.
It wasn't that he didn't want friends. He just didn't have the time to get any. He was too busy acting in dramas and movies that he barely even had time to go to school.
To everyone, he was the Tenma Sumeragi. The young actor and the son of two famous actors. People swarmed around him only because of his status.
No one ever saw him as who he was inside. In everyone's eyes, he was an idol. Not a person.
Because of that, he was expected to be perfect. Tenma made sure to answer their expectations. Both inside and outside of acting. But as a consequence, he had to hide his weaknesses from everyone. He didn't want to disappoint those people who counted on him, and he most definitely did not want to disappoint his parents.
"Alright, stop there."
Tenma stopped.
He looked over at the arctic-blonde woman, who held a script in front of her face as she stood in her thinking pose. Her weight on one foot, crossed arms and an index finger to her lips. It was a quirk Tenma found amusing about her.
"The way you said this line seems a little too soft." She observed, "Your character is soft-spoken, but he's an excellent public speaker. Try saying this line with a little bit more passion."
Minori wasn't an actor, but she knew a mistake if she saw one. She was an excellent coach and it showed. Her feedbacks were straight-forward and detailed, she was very optimistic too, which boosted his confidence and inspired him to keep going.
Tenma nodded and took her advice to heart.
"Great job!" She grinned, closing the script. "Alright, everyone. We can stop here."
As everyone dispersed and exited the practice room, Tenma picked his towel up from a corner and took several gulps from his water bottle before catching up with Minori.
"Let's go? The cafe might be a little full if we don't hurry up." He said, slinging his towel over his shoulder.
"I'll go change first, let's meet up downstairs." She replied with a small smile and walked down the hall to her room.
•
•
•
It became routine for Tenma and Minori to go on movie outings and shopping sprees. It began when they talked about a particular movie Minori saw in a magazine review once, and she had been dying to see it. So Tenma invited her out one day to see it with him. After watching, there was never a time where they wouldn't visit a cafe or a restaurant just to talk about it.
(It wasn't just movies either. They often tried to make time out of their busy schedules to go to plays and concerts together, then talk about what they thought of it afterward. )
Minori was often the one in charge of suggesting restaurants and cafés to him. As someone who always went café hopping with Banri and Tsumugi and knew him well enough, he always ended up pleased at the places they went to.
The café they were in had a modern aesthetic to it. It had a pretty minimalistic style, it wasn't too much. The atmosphere was calm, small potted plants served as a decoration for the coffee tables. Magazines and coffee table books rested on a shelf in the corner of the shop. The aroma of freshly ground coffee beans wafted over him, making him sigh with satisfaction.
