Tokyo: My Best Actor Gear List

Chapter 22 The Coastline Before Dawn

Two o'clock in the morning.

Chiba Prefecture, Kujukuri Beach.

This is a wild beach that has not yet been completely swallowed up by the resort plans of the bubble economy.

There were no streetlights, no breakwaters, only the boundless black Pacific Ocean, tirelessly lapping against the beach.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

The sound of the waves was enormous, carrying a sense of oppression that threatened to engulf everything.

The rented white Toyota Crown was parked only twenty meters away from the waves.

The headlights went out, leaving only the faint crackling sound of the engine cooling down after it was turned off.

It was cold outside the car, and the sea breeze, mixed with salty and damp air, felt like knives scraping against my face.

Kitahara Shin pushed open the car door and got out first.

He took off his dark gray Burberry trench coat, walked to the passenger side, and opened the car door.

Akina Nakamori was huddled in her seat, staring blankly at the pitch-black sea outside.

"Come out, you can't see clearly from inside the car."

Kitahara Shin draped his trench coat over her shoulders, pulling the collar tight. "Don't worry, there's nothing here except seagulls."

Akina got out of the car somewhat mechanically.

The trench coat was too big for her; the hem almost reached her calves.

She wrapped her clothes tighter, but it still couldn't stop the chill that crept up from her feet.

The two sat side by side on the still-warm car hood.

Before them lay the roaring Black Sea, and behind them lay the slumbering land. It was as if the world had shrunk to just the two of them.

"Do you know that, Kitahara-kun?"

Akina spoke. Her voice was soft, but unusually clear in the howling sea breeze, "Everyone thinks I did it willingly. The media wrote about me as a 'foolish woman crazy in love,' and fans criticized me for being weak... Even you think so, right?"

Kitahara Shin didn't speak, but simply watched the surging waves to his side.

"Actually, there was never that kind of relationship between us."

Akina lowered her head, looking at her pale fingers, her tone as calm as if she were telling someone else's story, "From the very beginning, this was a 'script' arranged by the agency. Kanai was the agency's most favored newcomer. They needed hype, they needed a 'national couple' gimmick to propel him to the top. And I... was the blood bag responsible for the blood transfusion."

"I didn't want to, I wanted to clarify. But the executive director pulled out a stack of contracts and threw them in my face."

Her voice began to tremble slightly. "That's the penalty for breach of contract, my family's address, and the bill for my mother's nursing home... He said that if I don't cooperate in this play, if I don't pay off the gambling debts I owe from racing, he'll make sure I can never recover in this lifetime."

"I'm not his girlfriend, I'm his ATM, his shield."

A gust of wind blew by, ruffling the messy hair on her forehead.

Akina looked up, and her eyes, which had once shone brightly on the stage, were now filled with shattered moonlight.

Tears streamed down her delicate yet pale cheeks.

She didn't cry out, just looked at Kitahara Shin helplessly and desperately.

What a look that was!

Like a fawn cornered by a hunter, covered in wounds, with no way out and even deprived of the right to cry for help, she looked at him as if he were the last straw in this cruel world.

"Kitahara-kun... I'm so tired."

She murmured, leaning slightly forward as if she might be blown into the dark sea by the wind at any moment, "If I go in now, will I no longer have to act?"

Kitahara Shin was stunned.

My heart clenched suddenly.

He always thought this was a common trope in the entertainment industry where scumbags cheat people out of money and sex, and that she was deeply in love and unable to extricate herself.

But he was wrong.

This is not some melodramatic love story at all; it is a complete and utter game of capitalism devouring people.

anger.

An unprecedented, chilling rage ignited in Kitahara Shin's chest.

Seeing Akina swaying precariously, Kitahara Shin suddenly reached out his hand—

"Snapped!"

He grabbed her wrist, which was so slender it looked as if it would break at the slightest touch.

The force was great, even somewhat rough.

Akina was startled when she was caught and looked up blankly.

Don't talk nonsense.

Kitahara Shin's voice was low and hoarse. He stared intently into her eyes, the heat of his hand flowing through her skin. "It's not worth dying for that kind of scum."

"But I can't escape..."

"They can escape."

Kitahara Shin interrupted her, each word like a nail driven into the wind, "If it's a script, then tear it up. If it's a vampire, then pull out his teeth."

He released his grip and pulled the silver Zippo lighter from the inside pocket of his trench coat.

"Click".

The metal cap popped open, and my thumb brushed against the roller.

A cluster of orange-yellow flames stubbornly burned on this dark, cold seashore.

Kitahara Shin did not light a cigarette.

He simply used his palm to shield the small flame from the wind, letting it sway violently in the wind, yet never extinguish it.

"Look at it."

Kitahara Shin held up the lighter, the flame reflecting off his angular face, making him look like an unbreakable sculpture. "As long as the fire is still burning, the nightclub will be over."

Akina stared blankly at the cluster of flames.

In the boundless darkness, this was the only living source of light. It was warm and bright.

"Is the oil almost gone?" she asked softly, her voice slightly nasal.

"It can hold on for a long time."

Kitahara Shin looked at her, his tone extremely serious, "As long as you need fire, there's oil. I'll help you."

This is not just an empty consolation.

This is a decision a man made after learning the truth.

—Since this industry is so shady, then I'll help you expose it completely.

Just then, on the eastern horizon, that dark patch of color began to fade.

Dawn has broken.

The first ray of golden sunlight pierced through the clouds like a sharp sword, shining on the shimmering sea and onto the faces of the two people.

Akina squinted, facing the blinding sun.

She smiled.

A slight upturn at the corners of his mouth revealed a smile that was extremely faint, yet more genuine than the rising sun.

"The coffee's gone cold." She tilted her head back and took a sip of the coffee in her hand, which had already cooled down.

"Let's go."

Kitahara Shin jumped off the hood of the car and reached out his hand to her again. "Go back. The battle has only just begun."

Akina looked at that hand.

Tall, dry, and strong.

This time, she didn't hesitate, put her hand on it, and used it to jump off the car.

"Kitahara-kun."

"Um?"

"Thank you." She pulled the trench coat she was wearing, still warm from his body heat, tighter. "I don't want to die. I want to see who dies first, me or that scumbag."

Kitahara Shin opened the car door, watched her get in, and smiled slightly.

Jinjing.

And that so-called top-tier firm.

It seems your good days are coming to an end.

The Crown started up, turned around, and sped off towards the rising sun.