Tsuzuru Minagi/Festival of Blooming

Roommate Mission! Tsuzuru as Masumi

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Tsuzuru	(Me acting as Masumi… huh…)
	*Sigh*…
Friend A	What’s with the sigh? Is something bugging you?
Friend B	Are you stuck on a script?
Tsuzuru	Nah, it’s just… well, you aren’t wrong.
	(Acting as Masumi is going to be a tough task in more ways than one…)
	(You think of Director when you say Masumi, huh?)
	(I mean, I can imitate him a little if I try hard enough. But actually acting as him is a high hurdle…)
	(I’m an actor though.
	I’ve played roles that are far removed from myself before.)
	(Let’s imagine for a second…)
	*imagination starts*
	Director… I like you.
	Marry me.
	If it’s for you, I can do my best.
	I love you.
	*imagination ends*
	God, help me~…
Friend A	Hey, you okay there, bud?
Chikage	Thank you for waiting.
Tsuzuru	Sorry, I know you’re busy and all.
Chikage	Don’t worry about it.
	You said you wanted me to teach you magic?
	Is this for work or something?
Tsuzuru	No… it’s about that assignment we got from Director and Yukio-san. I have to act as Masumi.
Chikage	Oh, yes. The one where we’re supposed to play our roommates?
Tsuzuru	Whenever I think about how I should go about playing Masumi, the way he expresses his feelings straight to Director comes to mind…
	I think that’s Masumi’s character, for better or for worse.
	Although… he’s calmed down quite a bit these days.
Chikage	That’s true.
Tsuzuru	So, I thought I’d act as Masumi when he interacts with Director…
	But it’d be a bit tough acting like that on stage, let alone in front of the guy himself.
	That being said, I thought if I put some effort in, I could show how Masumi works to hard to show magic tricks to Director…
Chikage	Is that why you asked me for a favour?
Tsuzuru	You’re Masumi’s magic teacher, after all.
Chikage	If that’s how it is, I’ll help you.
Tsuzuru	Thank you very much!
	I-I think I got it…
Chikage	Now all you need is practise.
	That trick I just showed you was one of the very first ones I taught Masumi.
Tsuzuru	You mean during our Oz play?
Chikage	Before I joined the company, I only knew how Masumi was on stage. It was a little surprising and unexpected when I saw how he was towards Director.
	I got the strong impression that Masumi was a skillful and cool young man.
	Of course, I wasn’t mistaken about that Masumi either. Both are different aspects of Masumi.
Tsuzuru	—.
	I thought I knew that, but when it comes to Masumi, how he keeps confessing to Director isn’t all there is to him…
Chikage	…Why don’t you think it over some more?
	If it’s you, then I’m sure you know a Masumi that you can play best.
Tsuzuru	I think you’re right. I’ll give it some thought!
Chikage	Since we’re here, I’ll give this sponge to you.
	You might be able to find some use for it.
Tsuzuru	Thank you.

Tsuzuru	(For now, let’s jot some things down about Masumi.)
	First off… he’s cheeky.
	He’s calm, collected, and he does well in acting and everything else.
	The exception is when it comes to Director.
	He’s actually rich.
	He has a refined and pretty face.
	And… he likes music.
	He’s seriously the complete opposite of me.
	Other than that…
	…Oh, I know.
Masumi	Here’s my clothes.
Tsuzuru	Thanks. I borrowed some headphones from the Manager.
Masumi	It’s fine. You can use mine. You’ll be more like me with those.
Tsuzuru	Wait, but…
Masumi	?
Tsuzuru	Hatsue-san gave those to you. They’re special to you, aren’t they?
Masumi	They won’t break unless you drop them super hard.
	Their quality isn’t that cheap.
Tsuzuru	…Are you sure? Alright, I’ll use them gratefully then.
	I managed to shimmy in… but it’s tight…
Masumi	That’s not a good look on you.
Tsuzuru	Straight to the gut!
	Well, it’s fine. I wasn’t expecting you to compliment me anyways…
	In any case, I’m starting.
	“…Hello, grandma?
	I saw on the news it snowed a lot over there. Are you doing alright?”
Masumi	(This is me when I’m videocalling with grandma…)
Tsuzuru	“I heard there’s a heatwave. You're not suffering from heatstroke or anything, are you?”
	“Happy birthday, grandma.
	Did you get the present I left with dad?”
Masumi	(Is that how I am when I’m talking with grandma?)
Tsuzuru	“Let me know when you’re coming back to Japan.
	Director wants to see you too. …Yeah, I’ll be waiting.”
	…So, how was that?
Masumi	That wasn’t like me at all. …Probably.
	I mean, I’ve never seen myself when I’m talking to grandma.
	But I clearly remember when those scenes happened.
	I’m sure you weren’t off.
Tsuzuru	To tell you the truth, I like seeing you when you’re speaking with Hatsue-san.
Masumi	?
Tsuzuru	I can’t verbalize it very well if you ask me why…
	How do I put it? I get the feeling that’s your true self.
	We were born with and raised in completely different circumstances, and I've felt that countless times while we’ve been living together.
	However, you love your family and want to cherish them as much as I do…
	Seeing you when you talk to Hatsue-san makes me feel really close to you.
Masumi	…That gives me goosebumps.
Tsuzuru	Same here.
	Anyways, we have to take the polaroid picture.
	What should I do for the pose~.
	…Ah.
Masumi	What?
Tsuzuru	I have a heart sponge I got from Chikage-san.
	I was actually considering doing magic tricks, so I asked him to teach me.
Masumi	…Hmm.
	I’m going to take the polaroid, so pick your pose.
Tsuzuru	O-okay, give me a second.
	…Like this?
	*click*
	Yeah, this really doesn’t suit me.
Masumi	That’s why I said it’s not a good look on you.
Tsuzuru	Tsuzuru:*Sigh*… I hope they cancel the polaroid merch.
Masumi	…Hey.
	Were you able to pull off that magic trick?
Tsuzuru	Ah, yeah, more or less.
	I got the hang of it, but I can’t do it well. I still need to practise.
Masumi	If you’re going to show off that magic trick, don’t you dare do it in front of Director.
Tsuzuru	I doubt I’d get a chance to, so that’s fine by me…
Masumi	That’s the first magic trick I performed for her, after all.
Tsuzuru	Ah, I see.
	Yep, that’s Masumi for you.

Anna