| Izumi | .... |
| Yuzo | —And that's everyone. All right, call the rest of them in. |
| Taichi | Okay! |
| Izumi | .... |
| (I didn't think the quality of their portraits would vary this much. It sheds light on problems more fundamental than acting skill.) |
| (I get why Yuzo-san assigned them this project now. He's really incredible.) |
| Yuzo | How was that? |
| Izumi | Well... it made some things very clear to me. |
| Yuzo | Right? Now all that’s left is figuring out how to guide them from here on out. Do your best. |
| Izumi | —Yes! |
| Taichi | I called everyone over. |
| Yuzo | All right, you’re all here. |
| I'll announce the current standings. |
| First. The best one was Juza's. |
| Banri | Hah? |
| Juza | Eh...? |
| Yuzo | It was only better than Sakyo's by a small margin, but it was good. |
| Izumi | (Juza-kun and Sakyo-san's regrets were a little similar. They both spoke about averting their eyes from their passion for acting for such a long time.) |
| (But the feelings that came across were different, and that was really moving....) |
| (Juza-kun is younger; that might be why he’s more intensely focused on acting alone. It makes up a bigger part of his feelings.) |
| (But more importantly—Juza-kun's portrait had a feeling of moving forward. I think that made the difference.) |
| Banri | They’re gonna vote on the real thing. There’s no point ranking us based on personal preference. |
| Yuzo | Hah, you think we're just playing favorites? |
| Banri | Can you say that you're definitely not? |
| Izumi | Well, Banri-kun... yours was probably completely made up, right? |
| Banri | —. |
| Yuzo | So you noticed too. |
| Banri | How would you know? |
| Yuzo | Because it was easily the shallowest of them all. |
| Banri | Hah? What the hell do you guys know about my life? Content, structure—it was all put together in exactly five minutes. |
| Izumi | You have more than enough skill for someone who just started acting a few weeks ago. But I also think Juza-kun's portrait was better. |
| Banri | ...So our judges have no taste, huh? If you asked a hundred people, they’d all choose me over that daikon. |
| Yuzo | Well, you’re right. The audience is gonna choose the winner, not me. But I can say this for sure: you’re gonna lose to Juza. |
| Banri | —Tch. |
| Izumi | Ah, Banri-kun—. |
| Sakyo | Leave him alone. There’s nothing we can do until he figures it out on his own. |
| Yuzo | Juza. It was good, but you still need a lot of polishing. Especially your acting—it's pathetic. There’s no other way to put it. |
| Make sure you’re working hard; keep on practicing your acting. |
| Juza | Yes. |
| Yuzo | Next, Sakyo. The difference between you and Juza is that your portrait was about "regret" till the very end. |
| You're still stuck. Somewhere in your heart, you've given up. Push yourself forward. Make it clear what you want to do. |
| Sakyo | ....What’s this, are you telling me to compete with high schoolers? |
| Yuzo | You need a hungry spirit. Stop pretending you've wilted, boy. |
| Sakyo | —Tch. |
| Yuzo | Next. Taichi and Omi, you're pretty much at the same level. |
| Taichi | Okay. |
| Omi | Yes. |
| Yuzo | First. Taichi—unlike Banri, yours isn't a lie, right? |
| But that’s the “biggest regret of your life”? You’ve gotta be kidding me. Show us more about yourself. |
| Taichi | ...Okay. |
| Izumi | (Taichi-kun's portrait was about how he couldn’t be honest with the girl he liked, but...) |
| (Compared to everyone else's, the topic felt childish, and I didn't learn much about Taichi-kun himself.) |
| Yuzo | Next, Omi. Your portrait is related to the "biggest regret of your life," but you don't get to the actual core of the issue. Am I wrong? |
| Omi | .... |
| Yuzo | Don't take the stage lightly. It’s not somewhere you can stand while hiding your true self. Find your resolve. |
| Omi | ....Yes. |
| Izumi | (Omi-kun's portrait was about spending his high school years in a bosozoku[1]; he regretted hurting many, many people.) |
| (I don't think he was lying, but....) |
| Yuzo | That’s all. Finish them up before the real thing. |
| |
| Izumi | (Everyone usually relaxes in the living room around this time of day, but today, they're all working on their portraits.) |
| Omi | Director. |
| Izumi | Ah, Omi-kun. |
| Omi | I'm going to bake some scones—if you have some time, could you help me out? |
| Everyone's working hard, so I thought I should bring them a midnight snack. |
| Izumi | Sounds good! Of course I'll help! |
| |
| Izumi | Is this enough for the flour and eggs? |
| Omi | Yup. |
| Scones are easy to make and fill you up, so everyone likes them. Especially Juza. Though he won't show it. |
| Izumi | Juza-kun does....? |
| (He did eat all those kamekichi manjus.... He must love sweets.) |
| Omi | I make sure to give him extra heapings of jam and cream. |
| Izumi | I see..... |
| You're a kind person, Omi-kun. |
| Omi | ....I wonder. |
| You know, he reminds me of someone. |
| Izumi | Who? |
| Omi | ....My best friend, who died three years ago. |
| Izumi | (He's touching the scar on his face.... I wonder if it has something to do with this?) |
| Does it have to do with that scar? |
| Omi | .....—. |
| Izumi | If you don't want to talk about it, you don’t have to. |
| Omi | —No, could you listen to my story? Director. |
