Chapter 96 - Kurokawa Akane 01

"The Karate Kid is an average movie and a lukewarm debut in Hollywood for someone who made The Sixth Sense and Children Heaven. It had good action, but the story is alright. However, it is far from the expectations that Aqua has made so far. It was a bit disappointing, especially after not making movies for a long time. He said— Isn't that quite harsh?" Kana said this to me when she read one of the reviewers. 

"Well, it can't be helped. I can't make everyone happy." I responded to Kana's words. At the moment, I am at Strawberry Pro's main office. After the airing of The Karate Kid, I found myself spending quite a bit of time in the office. Especially after Strawberry Pro cooperated with the Shinomiya Family, taking over some of the agency's idols and actors became easier. 

"It's basically a family movie, after all." 

"Yeah, that's true. It still sucks, though! Seeing people talking out of their asses and talking bad about us instead of? Sometimes it's like they know us." Kana spoke like that to me while complaining about the criticisms that people often make on the internet. She pouted in displeasure. 

"Well, it can't be helped. Sometimes, it's a job for those people." 

"That's true. But it still feels bad." 

I can understand Kana's feelings, and I can say that not everyone has the mentality to face this kind of situation. Although actors get praise and fans, they also sometimes get insults and haters simultaneously. Since Strawberry Pro has been working with the Shinomiya Family, the negative articles about Strawberry Pro have decreased significantly, and if I wanted, I could make the negative articles about me decrease even more. 

However, in the end, I just left it at that. Because I didn't feel that it would affect my image, while Kana and I were having this conversation, I could see someone opening the door and entering the room where the actors and actresses used to practice. 

"Geh—"

I could hear the negative response from Kana, who saw the person who entered, a girl of Kana's age with short, dark blue hair, and gave off the image of a cute girl. But at the same time, she didn't give such a big presence like any other actress. Well, in the manga itself, she became famous after dating a reality show called Lovenow. However, she was famous in the theater world, and she only became successful as an actress after participating in a reality dating show. The girl is none other than Kurokawa Akane. 

"Excuse me, am I not interrupting you, Aqua-kun—"

I don't know if Akane didn't hear Kana's adverse reaction or if she deliberately ignored Kana's attitude. It is evident from her words that she was only focused on me. Before I could answer Akane's question, Kana had already responded to the question.

"Well, obviously you're disturbing us—" Kana spoke while waving her hand, which gave the impression of shooing Akane away. 

"Hah— I didn't ask you, though."

"Hmph— You will ask him if he can help you with your training or not. It's not like it would have bothered Aqua, especially since he's a busy man."

"Ugh, even so— Aqua told me that he's fine and happy to help me with my training." 

"That's— Well, isn't that you're just jealous—" 

"Hah— What's for—" 

I could hear them arguing with each other. It was a common occurrence for the two of them to meet like this, even though they eventually became one agency after Strawberry Pro bought the agency Akane was at. It was an easy thing because the agency wasn't that big. It's just that, unfortunately, I didn't manage to get Mai's agency. 

When I thought about it, I couldn't help but sigh. Well, after all, Akane and Kana's relationship had been going on for a long time before the two of them finally joined Strawberry Pro. So it wasn't strange that they still disliked each other, like in the manga. However, everyone knows that Akane still idolizes Kana. It's just that in the end, she still has a competitive nature, especially now that Akane has joined Strawberry Pro and her stock as an actress has increased. Of course, Strawberry Pro always tries to accommodate both of them reasonably. In the end, sometimes both of them have the same desired job. 

It can't be helped that they clashed like this.

"Okay then, come here— I will help," I called out to Akane, who turned her face away from me in a displeased manner before coming over to me with a hundred-and-eighty-degree face full of excitement. Once again, showing me what a terrifying creature women are. 

"It feels like you're spoiling Akane sometimes," Kana responded, pouting.

"Well, I don't think so. I gave her such a hard time when we were training, and I help you too sometimes, right?" 

"That's true, but giving it away for free if all the actresses and actors know you're giving training, they'll line up to get training with you and pay you handsomely; it feels really pampering your attitude towards Akane." 

"Hm— I feel she had potential after all." 

"Ck—" "I will do my best!!" 

I could hear Kana clicking her tongue in annoyance and Akane bowing her head and thanking me for my trust. Her face was also flushed from embarrassment and excitement, judging from her expression and seriousness when I helped her train. 

I helped Akane practice seriously; it seemed that despite Kana's attitude, she sometimes joined in and also helped with the training session. Ultimately, the training sessions between the three of us were instrumental in improving our acting skills. And to be honest, it was quite fun for me and helped me relax a bit. Sometimes, in the middle of the rehearsal, I would remember one of the essential reasons why I finally decided to make a movie with a production house in Hollywood directly, unlike my previous film. 

Well, there are various reasons why I finally decided to work with Hollywood directly. The most important thing was to finally make a direct connection because even though the movies and TV series I made were all made in Japan and even though they won awards, the main focus was the foundation in Japan, not in the West. That's why The Karate Kid can be the first movie to open a direct connection with Hollywood, mainly since it was also produced there. 

Then, I also had the advantage of first getting acquainted with the Shijo family, who I felt could help me when the Shinomiya family fell, or also utilize these connections to make my plans for the Shinomiya family successful. 

Ah, I'm also a little worried about someone's movements, so I'm hoping to make a foundation in Hollywood. 

[author]

I post this chapter early. Sorry about that---

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