Side Profiles and Irises – Vol. 3 Ch. 3

Chapter 3: Block It Out (3)




—–Translated by daydrop. Please read on the original site at daydrop.nowaki.net.

โ€œOh, hold on, this shot here.โ€

Shitara was in the editing suite previewing a video piece when he directed his hand at the monitor.

โ€œSeat belts need to be present for shots inside a car.โ€

โ€œTheyโ€™re properly fastened,โ€ Sakae retorted.

โ€œYeah, thatโ€™s why they need to be shown in the footage that theyโ€™re properly fastened. Thatโ€™s what the review guidelines say. With this closeup shot, you donโ€™t see the seat belt.โ€

โ€œWhat? Iโ€™ve never heard of that before.โ€

โ€œI only learned about it in a meeting yesterday. Sorry, the information probably hasnโ€™t gone out to everyone yet. If you just replace this one shot, it should be fine.โ€

โ€œBut I want to show a closeup of the profile here.โ€

โ€œHmm, how about adding another 2 or 3 seconds?โ€

โ€œThatโ€™ll mess with the rhythmโ€ฆ Whatever, Iโ€™ll take a look at everything and start over.โ€

โ€œHey, you donโ€™t have to expend that many calories to fix it.โ€

โ€œIโ€™ll do it.โ€

Shitara knew that when Sakae insisted on something, there was no changing his mind. That was why he said, โ€œThank you, I will count on you, Sensei,โ€ and gave a slight bow of his head.

โ€œBut remember, itโ€™s airing the day after tomorrow.โ€

โ€œI know. Iโ€™ll finish the fine cut by tomorrow night.โ€

Sakae was glad that it was still at the stage where they hadnโ€™t locked anything down yet, before he started adding captions to the cut. But he still thought that it was a stupid guideline, so he said so.

โ€œItโ€™s so dumb. Whoโ€™s going to even see it and care?โ€

โ€œI wholly agree with you, but you never know when things will crop up out of nowhere to bite you for it, so we need to eliminate any of those possibilities beforehand. Youโ€™ve put in all this work into this piece; you wouldnโ€™t want someone with an agenda to come pick it apart for something stupid, right? In the past, we would remove headrests and film out of the sunroof by sticking our arms out from itโ€”and that was considered normal, but now it would never be tolerated. It will only get more fussy and restrictive in the future, but we just have to work with it. Play this back for me.โ€

โ€œI said Iโ€™d redo it.โ€

โ€œYeah, but youโ€™ll change everything around completely, knowing you. Itโ€™s a waste. I want to see what it looks like now.โ€

โ€œYou have strange tastes.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s my privilege as the producer.โ€

Shitara had said that he liked Sakaeโ€™s videos. When Sakae watched other peopleโ€™s videos, he thought they were mostly shit, but he didnโ€™t know how to describe what made his own videos good. He simply wrote the scripts and scenarios that he liked, edited the footage in the way that he liked it, and added anything that was needed (like captions, effects, and music). Those were the only feelings that he felt. After finishing the final package, he didnโ€™t care about what aired on TV. It was disposable; people consumed it and forgot about itโ€”so what? That was fine. But Shitara watched Sakaeโ€™s videos with the same gaze he used when watching a movie. He would check that the video conformed to all of the networkโ€™s broadcast guidelines and point anything out, of course, but he was generally very relaxed. He never showed any intentions to criticize Sakaeโ€™s work, and he didnโ€™t.

โ€œThis shotโ€™s really nice. Did you work with someone from the technical team?โ€

โ€œI shot it myself.โ€

โ€œWow, impressive.โ€

And sometimes he would innocently admire the videos like a child.

โ€œItโ€™s such a long shot, but you did a great job. It doesnโ€™t get rocky at all. The editingโ€™s great too. How come you can do everything so well?โ€

โ€œItโ€™s simple.โ€

There was no other answer.

โ€œIโ€™m the only one who knows what I want to do, so I just have to do it.โ€

โ€œBut even if you know what you want, it doesnโ€™t mean you can execute it.โ€

โ€œArenโ€™t there plenty of manuals around that explain how to use the cameras and editing equipment?โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s not what I meant.โ€ Shitara smiled wryly. He seemed much older than his actual age of 33 years old. Being responsible for a TV show was like becoming a president of a small-to-medium company, but Sakae wondered if that responsibility made people age faster.

โ€œOh, right, I emailed two proposals for you to look over. And the script for the next shoot.โ€

โ€œAgain? You keep sending new ones to me; I canโ€™t even review everything properly.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re the one who said that the new guys should submit all the ideas they can.โ€

โ€œI did say that, yeahโ€ฆ But what makes it hard is that theyโ€™re all great ideas, but a lot of them are too expensive to shoot. Canโ€™t you give a little more consideration for the showโ€™s budget?โ€

โ€œItโ€™s not my job to think about it.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s something everyone has to think about some day. Even you.โ€

That was something Sakae never wanted to do. He didnโ€™t want to have to guess what others were thinking or have any of the final responsibilities pushed onto him. He just wanted to make videos and direct the broadcasts however he liked. It wasnโ€™t worth it to get a higher position, and it was a pain in the ass. And most of all, he couldnโ€™t do the things needed to run a show like Shitara did. A television show was like a gigantic living creature; the individual functions that made up the show and the arrangement of the resources were the most critical aspects for keeping it alive. The heart couldnโ€™t break down alcohol, and the stomach couldnโ€™t supply oxygen. And if everything wasnโ€™t connected together correctly, it couldnโ€™t go about its normal life. Shitara very deftly put all these complicated parts together. Talent and usefulness werenโ€™t necessarily the same. Even a person with poor specs from the beginning, with some adjustments to the workflow and their required duties, could slot right in place into a well-oiled machine. And if they could demonstrate their contributions, it would motivate them further and make them even more effective. Shitara had the ability to perceive a personโ€™s potential that they might not even be aware of and to draw it out to its fullest. Sakae seriously thought that Shitara should be a scout for a talent agency or a professional baseball team.

โ€œWhich reminds me, Morooka did a great job on the special feature I assigned him. He panics too much on breaking news stories that require quick thinking. I canโ€™t really use him there, but on stories where he can take his time to think through things and write up a script, thatโ€™s where he shines. He also does solid work to collect the facts. Just a single story like that on the show can really give it depth.โ€

โ€œHnnn.โ€

Shitara wasnโ€™t the type to boast about his accomplishments, but he would champion the different parts of the show that he oversaw and relate them back to Sakae. Shitara was persistent; if he decided to pursue something, he would get something incredible. He knew how to charge people up; his praise was almost over the top. And because it made the environment more comfortable and friendly, he would try to communicate with the presenters as much as possibleโ€ฆ Sakae didnโ€™t care one whit about what he had to say and never paid attention to himโ€”and he would clearly show it. Sometimes Sakae would stand up and leave in the middle of his spiel, but it never discouraged Shitara.

โ€œDonโ€™t you think so, Sakae?โ€

โ€œNo idea. Why are you even telling me this? Is this some kind of roundabout lecture? You telling me to take my head out of my ass and look harder at my work?โ€

โ€œWhy would I do that? Iโ€™d just say it directly. Anyway, itโ€™s not like I want you to change.โ€

โ€œThen why are you saying it? Itโ€™s boring listening to you.โ€

โ€œYou can be pretty stupid for how smart you are, Sakae.โ€

โ€œWhat?โ€

โ€œThis is pretty much the only thing that I can teach you.โ€ 

Shitara smiled. It was the smile of a person watching someone leave for a faraway place.

โ€œBecause youโ€™re light years better than me at videos and filming. Itโ€™s a lot of trouble having someone like that work for me. At the very least Iโ€™m desperately trying to keep my dignity as a fussy producer here, you know.โ€

Youโ€™re the one whoโ€™s stupid, Sakae thought. Even with a terrible sense for filming or editing, with practice and experience and some self-awareness, there was still room to improve. But the things that Shitara did were things that only he could do.

Even after the 6 minute 40 second video was over, Shitara continued to stare at the final frame of the videoโ€”as if there were credits rolling in front of his eyes. And after some amount of time, though he didnโ€™t know what, Shitara suddenly turned his eyes away, satisfied, and nodded. โ€œIt was great,โ€ he said. Maybe he had been watching the final credit lineโ€”Produced by: Souma Sakae.

โ€œIโ€™ll look at your scripts by the end of today and your proposals by early next week. …Hey, I keep telling you this, but you really need to show them to Oda-san at the news desk first.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s just a waste of time getting someone so useless to look at them.โ€

The producer gave the final approval to move on the stories, so what was wrong with skipping the guy?

โ€œPlus he wrote โ€˜Triumphant homecoming return to the countryโ€™ for a caption the other day. It was embarrassing.โ€

What did he think the term โ€˜homecomingโ€™ meant? He could have used a dictionary to figure it out, but when Sakae pointed it out, he just gave a blank stare and said, โ€œHuh? Whatโ€™s wrong with it?โ€ God, he wanted to stab his thumb into the moronโ€™s eyeballs, he looked so stupid. It irritated him every time he remembered it.

โ€œBut still, thereโ€™s a protocol you need to follow when working in an organization. I mean, you donโ€™t want people calling you my protege, do you?โ€

โ€œI already know theyโ€™re saying it.โ€

The fucking idiots were fucking idiots. Maybe they hated that there was a producer who was younger than them, but malicious gossip about Shitara was everywhere, and one of them included talk about him pampering a new kid with a huge attitude and making him even more insufferable. Even though Shitara had brushed off the attacks and treated his senior colleagues with the utmost respect due to them for their seniority. It pissed Sakae off, and he wanted to yell, Are you stupid? Not at goons, but at Shitara. Like those imbeciles would ever feel grateful for all the courtesies that Shitara had accorded them. It was an exercise in futility. It was futile for Sakae to work up an anger like this, but for some reason he couldnโ€™t quell his resentment.

โ€œโ€ฆI forgot to stop by to see Oku.โ€ Sakae turned off the computer and rose to his feet. โ€œWeโ€™re previewing this again tomorrow night, so donโ€™t make any plans.โ€

โ€œRoger. You going to ask Oku-sama for another unreasonable demand?โ€ Shitara asked, looking amused.

โ€œHeโ€™s always exaggerating. Saying that I work him like a dog.โ€

โ€œNo, no, itโ€™s good that youโ€™re passionate about your work, but more importantly, youโ€™re going home to rest, right?โ€

โ€œDonโ€™t worry, I work at home too.โ€

Rampant accumulation of overtime hours naturally raised labor expenses, and it wasnโ€™t great in terms of labor managementโ€”plus it affected a producerโ€™s performance evaluation. That was why Sakae had tried to reassure Shitara that he wouldnโ€™t make such a blunder, but Shitara said in a hard tone of voice, โ€œWhat are you even saying,โ€ and reprimanded him.

โ€œIโ€™m talking about your body. Are you sleeping every day?โ€

โ€œWell, Iโ€™ll die if I donโ€™t sleep.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re exactly the type to do that, you know.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re exaggerating,โ€ Sakae retorted and breezed out of the editing suite.

Most news stories had a short shelf life. That meant that the team had to hurry to make arrangements in order to go to air with them, and if they missed the window for a story, they couldnโ€™t even film it. He couldnโ€™t do anything about it if the piece he made was boring and therefore rejected, but he couldnโ€™t stand for it if he had missed out on a story because he didnโ€™t have the hands or brain space for it. He wanted to keep pumping out his ideas. If he didnโ€™t, his brain would stagnate.

Sakae headed for the design team office. He already knew when Mutsuto had his shifts. He called out, โ€œOi,โ€ and as soon as Mutsuto turned his head from the monitor, he already had a look of revulsion on his face.

โ€œGehโ€ฆโ€

โ€œI need the materials listed here. The graphics are going into tomorrowโ€™s show.โ€

Sakae placed the materials request document (several sheets of it) on the desk. Mutsuto gave it a quick glance and turned his back on him.

โ€œYou gotta be freaking kidding me. Youโ€™re bringing something this elaborate to me the day before you need it? I have other work I need to do.โ€

โ€œSo move your hands instead of your mouth, contractor.โ€

โ€œYou call me a contractor again, and Iโ€™m seriously through with you.โ€ Mutsuto slapped his hand down on the documents and continued irritably, โ€œIโ€™ll let you know when Iโ€™m done,โ€ accepting the work. โ€œBut in return, Iโ€™m not making any corrections except for typos.โ€

โ€œThat all depends on how good a job you do.โ€

โ€œArgh, you piss me off! Iโ€™m so pissed off Iโ€™m wide awake now!โ€

โ€œGood for you.โ€

โ€œShut up.โ€

Mutsuto wasnโ€™t an employee of the network. Like most of the outsourced staff, he had been dispatched to Asahi TV from a design agency that employed him. There were always several designers that worked the different shifts, but Mutsuto was heads and shoulders above the rest of them, and fast too. It could be graphics, captions, or simple illustrations, if Sakae left the work to one of the incompetents, it would never meet the image and expectations that he had in his head. He could make a template for them, specify the typeface, colors, and other elements in full detail, but there was always something off that he wasnโ€™t satisfied with. Whenever Sakae brought his requests to Mutsutoโ€”diagrams illustrating the people involved in incidents, floor plans of buildings, simple animations for video piecesโ€”he generally never needed corrections from him and used the materials as-is. Even without detailed explanations, Mutsuto delivered a degree of workmanship that exceeded his expectations.

It wasnโ€™t that Mutsuto possessed mind-blowing techniques that he used in his work, but Sakae was surprised by how different a frame could look just by paying attention to the balance of the text, the arrangement of colors, and the trimming around images. Mutsuto often said that he just used his own sense of balance and made whatever he felt looked good. According to Shitara, that was what made Sakae and Mutsuto very similar in a sense, apparently. Mutsuto had graduated from a technical school, and after he found his job, he had been immediately dispatched to Asahi TV. He had worked in the industry two years longer than Sakae, but he had already designed logos and promotional items for several TV programs. 

โ€œIf they use my work, Iโ€™m mainly hoping for prize money. They pay upfront for all the rights, so itโ€™s not really profitable work.โ€

Mutsuto was outstanding. He endlessly complained, Youโ€™re going to kill me from overwork one day, but he never refused Sakaeโ€™s requests. Sakae had been told that their stubbornness also made them very similar. The big difference between them was that people liked and relied on Mutsuto. Even if people came to him with rush jobs, begging โ€œOku-sama, sorry, please help me out here,โ€ Mutsuto would accept them with an โ€œIโ€™ll do my bestโ€ and never complained (except at Sakae). He never forgot to smile, and he never felt like he was forcing himself to be polite either.

Around 11:30 pm, Sakae received an email from Mutsuto.

โ€œMeet me at the terrace. Bring food.โ€

Sakae went out to the wooden deck terrace connected to the staff cafeteria, and Mutsuto was already waiting for him on a bench. โ€œHere,โ€ he said, handing him a plastic sleeve filled with papers. They were printouts of all the graphics that Sakae had requested. Sakae reviewed every single printout, and as usual, the work was excellent, and he had nothing to complain about. It was extreme to accept someoneโ€™s design work as long as there were no glaring mistakes. If typos and mistakes from the designer were disregarded for argumentโ€™s sake, then all that remained was the designerโ€™s personal take and interpretation, which might or might not align with the commissionerโ€”but there was a persuasiveness to Mutsutoโ€™s work that always made Sakae think, This is perfect for what I want.

โ€œWhat do you think?โ€

โ€œIโ€™ll email you if I need corrections.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s all you have to say?โ€ Mutsuto said in disbelief. โ€œYou could say, โ€˜Sorry for the last minute noticeโ€™ or โ€˜Thanks for the great work.โ€™ Canโ€™t you even lie if you have to?โ€

โ€œIโ€™m better off not saying anything if I have to lie.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s a harmless white lie! Everyone does it! Anyway, Iโ€™m telling you to say something from the heart!โ€

โ€œGood job sticking it out. You get paid by the hour, so even with the extra work, your net incomeโ€™s the same.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s not the โ€˜good jobโ€™ I wanted! And you dare say that to me!? Did you notice that everyone ducked their heads down all at once the moment you entered our office? Everyone thinks youโ€™re an angry demon.โ€

Well, he didnโ€™t have any use for those nameless extras either.

โ€œOur office doesnโ€™t want any more victims from Souma Sakaeโ€™s diabolic requests, so Iโ€™ve been made the sacrificial lamb.โ€

โ€œSo youโ€™re a masochist.โ€

โ€œWhat did you call me!? Anyway, did you bring food?โ€

Sakae held out a box of cigarettes.

โ€œThatโ€™s not food! But Iโ€™ll take one. Light me up.โ€

Sakae took out the lighter from his jeans pocket and tossed it. Mutsuto took a slow, deep drag of his cigarette and breathed out a long, thin trail of smoke.

โ€œIโ€™m revivedโ€ฆโ€

There was no smoking allowed anywhere on the terrace, but there were no fire alarms out here unlike inside the building. The bench was in a small garden hidden by trees. They didnโ€™t stand out, and security wouldnโ€™t be making their rounds until much laterโ€”theyโ€™d be able to get away with it. 

โ€œOh right, last week I went drinking with Shitara-san, and it was crazy.โ€

โ€œHow so?โ€

โ€œI felt like talking to some girls, so for our second stop of the night, we stumbled into a girls bar. And it happened to be an underboob bar.โ€

โ€œWhat the hell is that?โ€ Sakae laughed at the disparity between Mutsutoโ€™s strangely serious expression and the stupidity of the term.

โ€œThe girls wear these really short tank tops, and the beer dispensers are located really high up, so every time you order a beer, they have to raise their arms up to fill the mugs. So itโ€™s like, you think you can see, but maybe you donโ€™tโ€ฆ? You get what I mean?โ€

โ€œSo youโ€™ve got no problems going to adult venues like that.โ€

โ€œWe didnโ€™t know what it was until we got inside! In the end, we had 3 or 4 beers, maybe? And when we asked for the bill, guess how much the total turned out to be? 60,000 yen!1 We didnโ€™t even drink 10 beers between the two of us, and it cost 60,000 yen! They like added an extra zero!โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s what you get for walking into a strange place.โ€

โ€œI said that we didnโ€™t know what it wasโ€ฆ I was totally panicking and wondering what to do, but Shitara-san just smoothly put down 20,000 yen and said, โ€˜Letโ€™s run.โ€™โ€

โ€œAnd after that?โ€

โ€œโ€ฆWe ran like hell. God, I was dying with all of the alcohol Iโ€™d already had. I was so worried that theyโ€™d send some scary dude after us, and my heart was beating out of my chest.โ€

โ€œWhat, so you each paid 10,000 yen? Thatโ€™s a pretty expensive lesson.โ€

โ€œNo, Shitara-san wouldnโ€™t let me pay him back, and I feel really bad about it.โ€

โ€œWhy not? Itโ€™s fine. And bring me along next time. Donโ€™t ditch me and keep all the fun to yourselves.โ€

โ€œIt was a day you turned us down because you needed to work on edits. But like, Shitara-san had no hesitation whatsoever when he made the decision to run. It was crazy. It was like, no wonder heโ€™s a producer with those snap decision-making skills.โ€

โ€œEven though you were completely ripped off.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s funny if thatโ€™s the case.โ€

Mutsuto snuffed out his cigarette on the ground and sat back up to ask him a question.

โ€œWhen youโ€™re walking around the city, do you ever catch a glimpse of yourself in a mirror and jump a little?โ€

โ€œHuh?โ€

Sakae saw no connection in the sudden change of subject and thought, What the hellโ€™s he saying, but Mutsuto continued with a serious look on his face.

โ€œItโ€™s different from standing in front of a mirror to look at yourself. Itโ€™s like you catch a glimpse of yourself in your natural state. Like a โ€˜who the hellโ€™s that, oh, itโ€™s meโ€™ kind of thing. And then you notice things like your hairโ€™s sticking up in the back, or your bag doesnโ€™t match your clothes today, or you slouch a lot. That’s the feeling I get sometimes when Iโ€™m around Shitara-san. Itโ€™s scary, like everythingโ€™s reflected to him in full, true-to-life scale, and he can even see all the little flaws. I wonder if itโ€™s because heโ€™s a producer. Are you fine around him, Souma?โ€

โ€œDunno. Never thought about it.โ€

That was a lie, of course, but saying that he agreed with him like Mutsuto had precisely captured his thoughts, it made him want to deny it. He was stupidly stubborn and a contrarian. On the flip side, he couldnโ€™t say anything that he didnโ€™t think. There was no middle ground for him. If Shitara were there, he would probably see through his lie and laugh it off with an โ€œOhhh, boy.โ€ Now that Sakae thought about it, he had been hanging out with this man who made him queasy.

โ€œThat attitude of yours makes me think you could be a producer too.โ€

โ€œYou gotta be kidding me.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™ve got a lot to work on in terms of social skills and building relationships with people, but when it comes to the work, you never lie and you never cut corners. I think you could be a producer who leads by bulldozing ahead. Youโ€™d be like, โ€˜Yeah, Iโ€™m the producer, so what? No one else will take responsibility for the ratings or budget.โ€™ Iโ€™d love to see what show you make once you make it to the top.โ€

โ€œAnd I donโ€™t. It sounds like a pain in the ass.โ€

Just as he thought, What the hell is he saying all of a sudden, Mutsuto suddenly grabbed the front of his own T-shirt and started fanning himself with it.

โ€œI thought Iโ€™d praise you once in a while, and now Iโ€™m all sweaty. Ahh, Iโ€™m burning up.โ€

โ€œWhatever. You were just running your mouth.โ€

โ€œBecause Iโ€™m all sleep-deprived thanks to someoneโ€™s fault here~โ€

Mutsuto looked up at the night sky for a while like he was searching for some wind, but he soon gave up and bummed a second cigarette.

โ€œI want to go see fireworks~โ€

โ€œArenโ€™t you hot?โ€

โ€œIโ€™ll bear with it for the fireworks. Will the evening news cover any live firework shows? If I donโ€™t have a shift at the time, I want to tag along and watch the fireworks from the back somewhere.โ€

โ€œDunno.โ€

Mutsuto suddenly froze when Sakae gave his disinterested answer. Then he snatched the cigarette that Sakae was smoking and trampled it under his sneaker with his own.

โ€œOi.โ€

โ€œShhh!โ€

Mutsuto clamped his hand over Sakaeโ€™s mouth.

โ€œSomeoneโ€™s coming.โ€

At the same time as Mutsutoโ€™s whisper, there was the sound of plants rustling, and then footsteps. They exchanged looks with each other. It would be fine as long as they werenโ€™t found out for smoking, but the smell lingered around, and it would be a hassle if the person turned out to be fussy. Should they run? Let them walk past? He couldnโ€™t decide, and then Shitara appeared at the end of the meandering path.

โ€œHey, I figured youโ€™d be here.โ€

โ€œWhat the hell, itโ€™s just you, Shitara-sanโ€ฆโ€

Mutsuto quickly let go of Sakae and pressed his hand to his chest, releasing a deep breath. The bitter smell of smoke that had stuck to his fingers was cloying to Sakaeโ€™s nose.

โ€œIf youโ€™re that apprehensive, you must have been smoking out here.โ€

โ€œHeh hehโ€ฆ Oh right, I still have work to do, I should get going. Have a good night~โ€

Mutsuto clutched the cigarette ends in his hand as he left, and Shitara took the empty seat next to Sakae and picked up the plastic sleeve with the printouts.

โ€œIs this Oku-samaโ€™s work?โ€

โ€œYeah.โ€

He flipped through the contents, made a complicated face, and let out a deep sigh.

โ€œDid you make him draw this map from scratch?โ€

โ€œI mean, I needed it.โ€

โ€œGeezโ€ฆ Oku-sama should really refuse your requests from time to time.โ€

โ€œTell that to him.โ€

โ€œI haveโ€ฆ Give me a cigarette too.โ€

โ€œIโ€™m out.โ€

โ€œWhat? Well, thatโ€™s disappointing.โ€

โ€œIโ€™m not a cigarette dispenser. โ€ฆDid you come out here just to get a cigarette?โ€

Itโ€™d be faster to go to a smoking area and find a chump if he needed to ask for one.

โ€œNo, no, I came to tell you that the late night news had to air a trouble filler just now, a first in a while.โ€

Late at night after the networks finished the broadcast of their shows, they would air a filler screen, which was a lot like a screen saver (generally so-called beauty shots of oceans or fields). There wasnโ€™t a problem with that, but trouble fillers were shown if the broadcast ran into difficulties for whatever reason. The master control room would override the production control room and put up a screen that said, Please wait and pardon the interruption. It would not appear for slight issues with the picture or stumbles over words from the presenters. Now that he thought about it, Sakae had never seen it happen the entire time he was here.

โ€œWhat did they screw up?โ€

โ€œThey came out of commercial and aired the wrong tape. Apparently it wasnโ€™t related to what they aired before the commercial.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s not still up, is it?โ€

โ€œItโ€™d be a calamity if it were.โ€

โ€œThen why come all the way out here to tell me?โ€

โ€œJust giving you the latest news that happened. Oh, right, Oku-sama made the filler screen for us. Did you know that?โ€

โ€œNo.โ€

โ€œLast year, the network decided to make a new one. I liked the old one too; it had a lot of nostalgia, but upper management really liked the one that Oku-sama made.โ€

โ€œI want to see it too, so letโ€™s screw up on our show.โ€

โ€œDonโ€™t even joke about thatโ€ฆ Oku-sama should really go independent. Heโ€™d get more compensation for his services if he did.โ€ 

โ€œBut if you go independent, the networks are always looking to cut back. It’s a pain if anything happens.โ€

โ€œYeah, itโ€™s a tough world out there. If anything happens, the network can only think about protecting itself first. But Oku-sama can do anything. If he wanted to, he could get onscreen credit like the show writers and negotiate his own commissions. But he said that he likes where he is right now. That it might inconvenience his agency.โ€

โ€œHeโ€™s a moron.โ€

โ€œCall it a strong sense of duty.โ€

โ€œAnd Iโ€™m saying thatโ€™s moronic. By the way, what does the term โ€˜fillerโ€™ mean?โ€

โ€œBurying something, plugging something, filling something in. The injections used in cosmetic surgery procedures are also called fillers.โ€

โ€œGeh, thatโ€™s gross.โ€

โ€œHey, you havenโ€™t submitted your top department choices to HR yet.โ€

โ€œI forgot about it.โ€

HR had requested his top department choices to use as a reference for the personnel assignment and transfers that would occur in October, but how much his answers would matter was all a black box. Maybe the people at HR had Shitaraโ€™s judgement skills, and they were testing out the pieces of a human puzzle.

โ€œIโ€™m pretty sure theyโ€™ll never give me any of my top choices if I submit them. Maybe Iโ€™ll write down the places I donโ€™t want instead.โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t disagree with the first part of your statement, but Iโ€™d recommend against trying to game the system,โ€ Shitara warned with a laugh. He leaned over his lap, resting his chin in his hand, and peered over at Sakae. โ€œI personally think youโ€™d do well in entertainment production.โ€

โ€œWhy?โ€

โ€œYou have this loose, vibrant energy thatโ€™s so much funnier than the stiff news pieces that we put out. I mean, in that recent story about the Metropolitan assemblyman accused of sexual harassment who suddenly cried during his interview, you wrote in the script, โ€˜His tear ducts were affected.โ€™ Who writes that normally? Everyone in the control room was laughing.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s just the difference in source material.โ€

There werenโ€™t many people who thought that hard news was very enjoyable to watch.

โ€œItโ€™s not just that. Weโ€™re a news show, so youโ€™ve been restraining yourself to stay just under the time limits for your pieces, right? You have a lot more restraint than people give you credit for. Iโ€™m interested in what youโ€™ll make once you remove the stopper.โ€

Entertainment production. Sakae had never thought about it before. Just like he had never thought about going to the accounting, human resources, or programming departments, Sakae didnโ€™t care about anything except for the reality at this very moment. He would find out when he found out, and he thought that it was useless to think about it.

โ€œOku-sama mentioned it too. That you can make some surprisingly funny videos. I think youโ€™ll come into your own at a fresh, exciting variety show with that unique sense for rhythm and color that you have.โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t get it.โ€

โ€œThere you go again, giving me another halfhearted response.โ€

The air of the calm night clung to him all sticky. The lights of the city buildings seemed to raise the temperature, and it irritated him. It would be nice if the buildings in the area could lose power all at once. An interruption without any filler. The shadows of the leaves cast by the lights were a deeper green than the darkness. The summer plants were unabashedly lush and thick.

โ€œYouโ€™re the producer. Donโ€™t you assess your staff?โ€

โ€œWell, yeah, that’s my job.โ€

โ€œWhy donโ€™t you write something on my assessment? I canโ€™t handle him anymore, so please take him off my hands and put him into entertainment production.โ€

Your figure reflected in the mirror is just way too warped.

โ€œHmm, who knows.โ€ Shitara made a show of playing dumb. โ€œWell, if you go to entertainment production, there are plenty of strong personalities and misfits like you there, so you should fit right in. Especially TV personalities from outside agencies, now they really have no common sense.โ€

โ€œNot chance in hell,โ€ Sakae said. โ€œDo you think someone like me can tolerate other peopleโ€™s lack of sense?โ€

โ€œWell, thatโ€™s a good argument.โ€ Shitara raised his voice and laughed.

โ€œOi, keep it down. I donโ€™t want to be caught here.โ€

Sakae pulled out two cigarettes that he had put away and shoved one into Shitaraโ€™s mouth.

โ€œโ€ฆI thought you said you were out.โ€ Shitara said, holding the cigarette lightly between his teeth, his pronunciation not entirely clear.

โ€œI changed my mind.โ€

โ€œSeriously, you.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s all good, I’m sharing with you, arenโ€™t I? Here, Iโ€™m lighting up.โ€

Two cigarette sticks tilted into the small flame of the lighter. The orange light flickered and made whitish dots in the centers of Shitaraโ€™s eyes. Sakae wondered what was reflected there now. Was it himself, satisfied that he had gone to entertainment production, having found his calling like Shitara had thought? He wanted to cloud over the mirror and erase his reflection from it, and he opened his mouth.

โ€œโ€ฆOku said he wants to go see fireworks.โ€

โ€œHeโ€™s going? When?โ€

โ€œHeโ€™s not going. He asked to tag along if we were going to cover one live.โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t have any plans for it now. Even if I did, the evening news is too early for fireworks. The highlight is much later in the night.โ€

Shitara let smoke waft into the night air. โ€œI like fireworks better in the winter,โ€ he murmured. โ€œIn the summer, it lingers and sticks around, whether itโ€™s the smoke or the sound. But in the winter, the air is cold and dry, and when it explodes, it leaves nothing behind. Thatโ€™s what I like about it. What about you, Sakae?โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t care either way. A minute of fireworks is enough for me. Then I lose interest.โ€

โ€œYou say that, but in a movie theater, you can sit and watch the credits long enough to circumnavigate the earth.โ€

It wasnโ€™t an issue of interest; it was just an ingrained habit. He thought to say, My hometown shoots fireworks all year round, but it sounded like an invitation to go there, and it made him change his mind.




—–Translated by daydrop. Please read on the original site at daydrop.nowaki.net.

Please leave a comment if you enjoyed the story!โค


Translation Notes

  1. 60,000 yen – Approx. $600 USD.



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13 thoughts on “Side Profiles and Irises – Vol. 3 Ch. 3”

  1. Sakae just goes with whatever he feeling, never imagining that he could be a big-shot producer one day. It’s kind of sweet and innocent. I recall the part in “Side Profiles” when Shin says that Sakae never shot down ideas for budget reasons, and he took all the budget considerations on himself… He never wanted to do it, but in his own way, he shielded his staff from it…

    Also Sakae getting so pissed off at Shitara’s treatment from his seniors… and playing it off as being mad at Shitara. You tsundere.

    The Oku-sama, please help me out here is really cute.

    It’s just nice to see Sakae finding people he fits in with. Geez, he likes Mutsuto’s work so much, he doesn’t want to work with anyone else. That’s like insane for Sakae who thinks 95% of things are crap.

    But, damn, the unresolved sexual tension when Sakae and Shitara leaned in to light their cigarettes at the same time. ใƒพ(โ‰งโ–ฝโ‰ฆ*)o

  2. He really deserved to be called -sama hahaha I don’t know why but I really like Mutsuto, the way he handles both Shitara and Sakae (and
    is friends with them). I also wanted a boss like Shitara though– considerate but on point in his criticisms. Lol how I wish I can push both their heads when lighting their cigarettes.. given that the lighter and cigarettes fell so that they can kiss properly (without being burned)

    Thank you so much for the chapter!!!~ ๐Ÿ™‡๐Ÿ™‡๐Ÿ™‡๐Ÿ™‡๐Ÿ™‡๐Ÿ™‡๐Ÿ™‡๐Ÿ™‡

    1. The three of them have a nice dynamic, and it’s good to see Sakae find people he can hang out with and feel comfortable around.

      Shitara is so mature and sexy, damn. When he makes that snap judgement to run… ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿ‘Œ

      You push their heads together, I’ll take care of the lighter and cigarettes!

      1. Yeeaaahhh!! I’m kinda happy seeing them interact.. I wonder where is Mutsuto now.. I haven’t encountered his name in both books and volumes..

        Hahahaha and then we’ll be running.. I’m quite sure Sakae will be raging xD

        1. You will find out in this book.

          Let’s hope Shitara brings out his snap judgement to distract Sakae, and we can run. XD

      1. Holy fk, I read this somewhere else and somehow I skipped the whole arc about him completely how the hell does that happen lmaoooo
        Thanksss

  3. I think what happened in the past has to do with their friend, something I don’t like about him

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